My goodness, so many likes and follows! I'm shocked! O.O
Thanks! And sorry for the long wait! *^_^
NOTE: There will probably be grammar mistakes that I will fix later.
From the main chamber of the Massive, the Tallest watched in amusement as the smaller battle ships fired their cannons at a small green planet named Loom and the enemy battle cruisers that tried to defend it in vain.
As usual, the Tallest were munching on snacks and spat their popcorn out as they laughed at the carnage before them.
"Oh-ho, look at that!" Purple pointed to the burning body of a Loomian that floated past the Massive. "Haha! He's on fire!"
Red chuckled. "Yeah. Oh, look! That one doesn't have a head! Hahaha!"
The Navigators of the ship watched the Tallest stuff their faces with delicious food, their stomachs growling and their mouths watering. Needless to say, Tallest were loudy bosses. They hardly let the other Irkens on the Massive have a break from their work, two minutes at most, and they hogged all the food, the amount of which was more than enough to feed the whole Armada.
A couple of small pieces of pretzel landed on the floor next to their leaders' feet, and one of the Navigators, driven by hunger, dared to crawl onto the platform and reach for the crumbs. The others quietly begged him to reconsider, but there was no stopping him. He managed to pick up one piece when Purple noticed him.
"HEY!" he bellowed as an angry vein popped out. "GET YOUR OWN!"
The poor Irken dropped the crumb and quickly rejoined the group, trembling in fear.
"They're like animals, I swear to Irk," Red mumbled to Purple, who simply nodded with his mouth full.
Suddenly the alarms in the chamber went off and the Navigators immediately checked the surveillance systems. "My Tallest!" one of them alerted. "There is another large vessel heading straight toward us!"
The main screen appeared before the Tallest and showed the Resisty's ship coming up from behind. Both the Irken leaders groaned in annoyance.
"Oh, no, not those guys again," Red grumbled.
"What did they call themselves again?" Purple asked. "Oh, yeah, the Resisty. What a stupid name."
"Yeah, I wonder if they kept that."
"Let's hope not."
"Anyway, let's just call them and get this over with. I want to see them explode and stuff."
The Navigators contacted the Resisty and less than a minute later, the Vortion and his gang appeared on the large screen. They didn't seem to be nervous like they were the last time they met: in fact, they seemed...confident, cocky even.
Lard Nar smirked. "Hello, Irken scum. We meet again."
Red scoffed. "Well, if isn't the pitiful Resistance? You still calling yourselves the Resisty?"
"Yes."
"Wow. That's just sad."
"Hey! It's a cool name!"
"No, it isn't," Purple said.
"Yes, it is!"
"Nuh-uh."
"Yeah-huh!"
"It's stupid."
"No, it isn't!"
"ENOUGH!" Red shouted. "You guys are crazy to challenge us again. You don't stand a chance against the Irken Armada."
"Oh, we know," Lard Nar replied rather calmly, much to the Tallest's confusion. "Your military power is unmatched throughout the entire universe. To rise up against the Empire is folly. We know now that we could never defeat you."
Red blinked. "Sooooo you're here because...?"
"Because we wish to go out with a bang. We want to go down in history as the brave rebels who died in battle. Maybe they'll name streets and buildings after us."
Shloonktapooxis came into view with a goofy grin. "And put our faces on cheap keychains!"
"Wait," Purple raised an eye ridge. "So you want us to blow you up?"
The Vortion nodded. "Mmm-hmm."
The Tallest stared at each other for a moment, then they both shrugged.
"Eh, I have no problem with that," Purple said nonchalantly.
"Yeah, I'm up for it," Red agreed, then he turned to the Navigators. "Destroy them! Power up the-"
"WAIT!" Lard Nar suddenly shouted, and the Navigators instantly stopped powering up the ship's cannons. "We, uh, we wish to be destroyed by your all-powerful army. It would be a more glorious end."
"Hmmmm..." Red rubbed his chin in thought and turned to Purple. "Interesting. What do you think?"
"Well, Planet Loom is pretty much done for," Purple said, "and this won't take but a minute. Aw, wait the heck."
What the Tallest didn't know was that the whole they were talking to the Resisty, Tak's ship secretly headed toward the Armada. It's pilot, of course, was Zim, and once he got close enough, he pressed a button and the bottom of the ship opened to release hundreds of tiny robot beetles.
They all spread out and each landed on an Irken ship, drilling through the armor and making it's way toward the pilots. Much like the control spiders, the robotic beetles were designed to hack into the Pak and thus be able to manipulate the host's five senses, including sight, via the spinal cord. The Irkens would only feel a tiny zap as the beetles latched themselves onto their Paks and sent their electrons into the nervous system.
From the Massive, Red spoke to them all through the transmitter. Attention, all Irken soldiers. This is your Tallest speaking. Cease fire and turn your attention to the Vort ship.
The soldiers stopped firing and turned to the Massive, but instead of seeing their leaders' ship, they saw the Resisty's, thanks to Zim's beetles manipulating their vision. As for the real Resisty ship, it was projected as the Massive.
Red continued to speak to them. Destroy that ship. Hit it with everything you got! Do not hold back!
The soldiers saluted their leaders. "Yes, my Tallest!" And so they left the few remaining Loomian ships alone and charged at the Massive, which they believed to be Lard Nar's ship. From inside his ship, Zim smiled wickedly. Everything was going according to plan.
Meanwhile, Lard Nar tried his best not to look nervous as the Armada came closer. One of his men, a tall lanky alien named Spleenk, came forward and whispered in his ear, "Boss, are you sure this plan will work?"
"It's better than any plan you could ever come up with," Lard Nar whispered back.
Spleenk paused before he shrugged. "Eh, no argument there."
As the Irken ships got closer to the Massive, Red and Purple suddenly got a bad feeling in their guts. Something wasn't quite-
BOOM!
The whole ship shook after the first laser hit.
"Wait a minute...are they SHOOTING AT US?!" Purple yelled.
As soon as Purple said that, the other ships started firing at them. The Tallest and the Navigators all panicked as they were being attacked from every direction.
The Resisty watched on in utter amazement. "It...It worked?" Lard Nar gasped, then he cried out joyously, "IT WORKED! That Irken was right! We're going to WIN!"
Zim laughed maniacally in his ship. He could see it now, the Tallest screaming and running around in circles as the Massive continued to take critical hits from their own army.
"AAAAHHHH!" The Tallest screamed and ran around in circles. Sparks flew everywhere and the alarms continued to blare, and the main windshield was starting to crack. It was clear that the Massive couldn't take much more damage and they were running out of time.
"Tell those idiots to cease fire!" Red yelled to a Navigator. "NOW!"
"Sir, we-we can't!" the Navigator shouted. "All communication systems are down!"
"My Tallest, we must evacuate inmediately!" another Navigator said.
"Fine!" Red pointed to the exit. "All Irkens to the emergency escape ships!"
"But not before us!" Purple shouted as he shoved past the smaller Irkens with Red following close behind.
Over twenty smaller vessels dashed out of the now burning Massive and less than a minute later, the once glorious ship, the symbol of the Empire's unmatched power, exploded in a ball of fire. The largest of the escape ships belonged to the Tallest, of course, and Zim had a lock on it as he pursued after them, his ruby eyes filled with rage and bloodlust.
Lard Nar also noticed the Tallest escaping. "They're getting away! We have to go after-!"
No! Zim's voice came through the transmitter.
"No?" Lard Nar raised an eye ridge.
The Irken leaders are mine, Zim hissed.
"Um, okay? Well, what about the Armada? Once they find out-"
Before the Vortion could even finish his sentence, the robotic beetles self-destructed all at once with enough power to destroy the Irken ships along with the pilots inside. The force of the explosions was enough to propell the Resisty's ship backwards. Once they stopped spinning and regained control of the ship, the gang stood in silence, horrified by what they had just witnessed.
"Wow," Lard Nar said in a quiet and shaken voice, his eyes big and wide. "That Zim guy is scary."
Meanwhile, Zim chased after the Tallest's personal ship and managed to catch up to them, activating his suit's air bubble helmet and the jets in his Pak. He leapt out of his cruiser and landed on top of his former leaders' vessel. From inside, the Tallest could hear his footsteps hitting the roof.
"What was that?" Purple asked worriedly.
"Probably just tiny asteroids," Red guessed. "We're safe in here, though."
Zim then activated the lasers in his robot spider legs and carved a hole in the roof. The air pressure in ship almost blew him away, but he managed to crawl inside right before the emergency force field filled in the hole. There was a wall that separated Zim from the Tallest, who were in the cockpit, completely unaware of what was happening.
The short Irken smirked and activated the his leg lasers once again.
Red and Purple both yelped when the wall behind them suddenly disintegrated. The Navigator who was piloting the ship swirled his chair around and aimed his gun at the intruder only to be shot in the head.
Zim pointed his smoking raygun at his former leaders. "Hello, my Tallest," he spat out the last two words with so much disgust.
Red couldn't believe his eyes. "Zim?! You're behind all of this?!"
Zim nodded with a proud grin. "Yes. You are impressed, no?"
"Well...yes, actually," Red admitted. "This is the most impressive thing you've ever-"
"Hey!" Purple hid behind the dead pilot's chair. "Don't compliment him! He just destroyed the Armada and betrayed the Empire!"
At that reminder, Red became angry. "Hey, that's right! You did betray us, Zim, and when we return to Irk, we're gonna make you suffer."
Zim wasn't the least bit fazed. "All I ever wanted was your respect," he growled. "Everything I did, I did for you, and for the Empire. And how do you thank me? By ridiculing and exiling me. Well, guess what? I'm over you. And I have a feeling that your other subjects have grown tired of you as well."
Red looked at him confused. "What are you-?"
"You judge an Irken's worth based on his height instead of his skills, and you starve them by hogging all the snacks. I'd be doing them a favor by getting rid of you both." He aimed his gun at Red's head.
"Is that a threat?" Red laughed. "Yeah, right. Like you could ever shoot the Almighty Tall-"
ZAP!
Red's neck snapped back as the laser went right through his forehead and his body dropped to the floor next to Purple, who gasped in horror and covered his mouth as he heaved. Zim then aimed the gun at him.
"W-W-Wait!" Purple begged. "Zim, please! It...It was all a joke!" He chuckled nervously. "Can-Can't you take a joke, man?"
Zim's eyes became big. "A...joke...? You mean to say that you lied to me and left me to die as part of some sick, twisted joke?" he asked incredulously.
"Um...yeah?"
There was a moment of silence before Zim lowered the gun and started to chuckle. Purple stared at him with confused eyes but chuckled along with him, and when Zim started to laugh, he did the same, having already forgotten the danger that he was currently in.
After two solid minutes of laughing, he sighed and wiped a tear from his purple eye. "Ah, those were good times, right?" he said with a smile.
Zim became serious again and raised the gun. "No."
ZAP!
...
Breaking news: The entire Armada has just been destroyed, including the Massive. We have no knowledge of the fate of the Tallest, but all of the Massive's Navigators did escape unharmed. Apparently, the ones responsible for this devastating defeat are a group of rebels who call themselves the "Resisty", led by Vortian Lard Nar. After they-
Oh, wait. Hold on.
I've just received word that the Tallest are alive and well, and they have called for all Irkens, including invaders, to report to Irk at once to address the issue of the rebellion.
...
Within minutes of that broadcast, millions of Irken ships traveled across the universe and returned to Irk as commanded. They all gathered at the Great Hall, where the Tallest were to appear as promised. Among the crowd was Tak, the rogue invader who tried to steal Earth from Zim.
She survived her last encounter with him and was lost in space for months, floating aimlessly with a short food supply. Luckliy for her, a group of Irken cartographers found her escape pod and brought her back to Irk. Before she could return to Earth to resume her invasion, news broke out about the fall of the Armada. Earth could wait; right now her Tallest needed her.
The crowd of Irkens, from the lowest of servants to the mightiest of warriors, waited patiently for the Tallest to appear on the high platform, but to their surprise and confusion, a small Irken descended from the ceiling on a hover board and the spotlights shined down upon him once he landed. There was a large screen which allowed those in the far back to see who this mysterious Irken was, and Tak's purple eyes about popped right out her sockets when she recognized him.
"Zim?!"
Zim stepped up to the microphone stand and lowered it to his level. "Greetings, fellow Irkens!" he said with a big smile. "It is I, Zim! I have returned home! And I have some important news to share with you all!" He cleared his throat. "First off, the Tallest..." He held up the Paks of Red and Purple for the crowd to see and dropped them. "...are dead!"
This earned a collective gasp from the audience, and Tak pulled on her antennae in dispair. The Tallest? Dead?
"In case you're wondering, I am the one who killed them!" Zim told them with some glee in his voice, ignoring their horrified responses. "Which brings me to my second announcement: from now on, I will be your leader!"
There were murmers of disbelief. "What? Is he serious?" "This has got to be some sick joke." "Are the Tallest really dead?" "Shouldn't we arrest him?"
Tak pushed her way through the crowd and stood next to the platform, glaring up at Zim. "YOU?!" she screeched. "Leader?! NEVER!"
Zim looked down at her, suprised to see his old enemy. "Ah, Tak," he said with a lopsided grin. "I see you're still alive. How you doing?"
"You were stupid enough to confess to murdering the Tallest!" Tak hissed. "And you're even more stupid to think that we would ever serve you! Besides, you can't just elect yourself! That is for the Control Brains to decide!"
Several Irkens behind her cried out in agreement.
Zim nodded. "You are correct. Why don't we ask the Supreme Control Brain, himself?"
The Supreme Control Brain was the highest authority in the Irken Empire and the Almighty Tallest were small fish compared to him. He was the one who determined which Irken was worthy enough to become the next Tallest, and no one would dare challenge his decision.
The ceiling opened up to reveal a massive Control Brain that was the size of a blue whale and everyone bowed their heads as it descended. It hovered over their heads, its forty cyan eyes staring down at them.
"Supreme Control Brain!" Zim knelt down on one knee and bowed his head. "We ask for your council! Who do you think is worthy enough to become the next Tallest?"
There was a silence for a moment.
Zim lifted his head and raised an eyeridge. He cleared his throat. "I said, who do you think is worthy enough to become the next Tallest?"
Again there was silence. Someone in the crowd coughed. Many scratched their heads in confusion.
Zim looked up at the Brain irritated. "Well?!"
Huh? The Brain spoke in a high-pitched voice. Oh, yeah! Invader Zim is the best! And he smells like baby wipes! Do whatever he says!
The other Irkens were bewildered, but none of them dared to object, no matter how crazy it sounded. One of them raised himself above the crowd and shouted, "Hail, Tallest Zim!" The whole audience cheered, except for Tak, whose jaw dropped to the floor.
Yayyy! The Brain squealed. Tallest Zim!
Tak stared up at the Brain. His voice sounded different yet familiar...
Then it clicked.
Her blood-pumping organ dropped to her squeedlyspooch.
Zim noticed her reaction and grinned evilly at her.
"You...you didn't," she whispered in horror.
...
Two hours earlier...
Two unconscious guards lay in front of the door that led to the Supreme Control Brain's chamber. The Brain, himself, was in sleep mode as the Vortion Marak tampered with the data conduit. GIR sat next to him and played with his plush caterpillar, all the while humming a merry tune.
Marak burned a hole in the large tube with a laser device, revealing the data beam that flowed throughout the entire planet. "Alright, GIR, if this works, your consciousness will fuse with the computer and you will become the new Supreme Control Brain. All you need to do is stick your head into the tubing and connect with the data beam. Let's just hope that all that electricity won't fry your circuits."
GIR looked up at him and grinned stupidly. "Sounds fun!"
"Alright then, are you ready?"
"Ready Freddy!"
"It's actually Marak, but ok."
The robot skipped excitedly to the tube and poked his head in, connecting with the beam. His body spasmed for a brief moment as the electricity flowed into him, then he collapsed to floor, the cyan light in his eyes gone as he lay lifeless.
The Brain's multiple eyes glowed red and the lights in the chamber flickered. Warning...does not compute...tacos...piggies...monkey-mongoose-fish... As he continued to babble nonsense, his voice got higher and higher until it sounded exactly like GIR's, and his red glow was replaced with GIR's cyan color.
"Um...is-is that you, GIR?" Marak asked nervously.
The Brain responded in GIR's voice, Yep!
The Vortion let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. Now listen carefully, GIR, Zim will arrive in a couple of hours, and when he does, you will pose as the Supreme Control Brain and tell everyone that he is to be their new leader. Do you understand?"
There was a brief pause, then GIR said, Okie Dokie! I'm gonna sing the Doom song 'til he gets here!
"Oh, no, please don't-"
Doom doom doom doom doom doom doom doom doom doom doom...
Marak sighed heavily and rubbed his temples as GIR continued to sing. "I left prison for this?"
...
"Don't fall for any of this!" Tak screeched to the crowd. "It's all a trick!" She pointed to the Control Brain above their heads. "That is not the Supreme Brain talking! It is Zim's SIR unit! Zim is a traitor! He needs to be-"
"You dare question the Brain's wisdom, Tak?!" Zim shouted angrily.
An Irken stepped out from the crowed and pointed an accusing finger at Tak. "You speak blasphemy!" he yelled.
Soon the whole population shouted accusations and threats at her. "Treason!" "Remove her Pak!" "Heresy!" "Let's shoot her out of a cannon!"
Tak began to sweat as the crowd moved toward her. All of Irk was against her and demanding for her death.
But as soon as Zim raised his hand, they all stopped and stood at attention, waiting for his next order. The new leader smiled. He could get used to this. "No," he said sternly. "I will not be like the Tallest before me. In fact, I do not wish to be called 'Tallest Zim', but rather, 'Lord Zim'. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Lord Zim!" the other Irkens cried out in unison.
"I will give Tak a second chance and show her mercy, that is...if she bows to me and acknowledges me as her leader." He looked down and sneered at her.
Tak wanted nothing more than to punch him in the face, but she could feel the glares of the entire population all around her. She knew that Zim had beaten her, and she didn't want to shame herself any further. So with great reluctance, she got down on one knee and bowed her head in submission.
"Forgive me," she squeezed her eyes, utterly humiliated, "Lord Zim."
Zim nodded in satisfaction. "Excellent. Now, my first offical act as leader is to call off Operation Impending Doom II. The Irken Empire will no longer conquer and destroy other planets as it has been for centuries. Instead of total dominion, our goal will be peace. It would be way more beneficial to coexist with the other worlds rather than to force them to serve us. My second act is to improve the Irken diet with healthier foods instead of just snacks. I know it's a big change, but trust me, you all will feel much better afterwards. My third act..."
The planet Earth appeared on the huge screen.
"...is to rid this planet of the species known as 'humans'." The screen then displayed photos of disgusting, unattractive people that Zim had taken during his stay on Earth. "These vile creatures are destructive, loud, and stupid. They have ruined their own planet with pollution and warfare, and they will decline our offer of peace because they fear and hate those who are different. They will resist and fight us, so it would be pointless to negotiate with them. We have no choice but to destroy them all. We will take their planet because they don't deserve it. We will restore all the beauty that they selfishly destroyed. We will eliminate the human parasites and free Earth! Now...WHO IS WITH ME?!"
The Irkens cheered and roared in response, raising their fists in the air.
Zim smiled triumphantly. Soon you will be avenged, Dib.
Next chapter, the end of humanity...?