Chapter Five: Irk, Earth, and a Hidden Realm
Mel brought the Cruiser back towards Earth. Dib was a little disappointed in not going to Irk, but was still recovering from his injuries, so a rest was nice. "For the last time, it's far too dangerous. I won't allow it."
"Wait - I wanted to ask - what is Mission Hidden Realm?"
"That was an attempt to overthrow the Irken Empire. It failed, of course, but is now being recovered by a numerous amount of representatives from planets under Irken rule. It's highly clandestine, so please, don't tell anyone. Not even people who won't believe you about any of this. The only reason I'm telling you is because you probably won't be under investigation."
"I won't. But why do you have to go back?"
"I may dislike being Irken and everything we stand for, but I still have to think of the planet's good. I don't want to see millions of my kind get slaughtered, whether they deserve it or not. I still don't understand why."
"I think I do."
"Thank you, so much. But I must continue with my life, and you must continue with yours. We may never see each other again, but it's worth it." They landed on his roof, and just as Dib was about to leave, she halted him. "I want you to remember this. I want you to remember this encounter between two species for the rest of your life. Two species not in confrontation, but in understanding. Our own definition of a close encounter. A lesson in coping with one another, and living and learning. A way to engrave it in our memory for all eternity."
"How?"
"Silly human. We're etching a clear picture in our heads just by the sheer awe of the event. It doesn't take a photograph, or a picture, or a journal to remember all of this. We'll take this memory right up with us until the day we die. That's how amazing this is. Not one thing in this universe can make us forget. And our conscious minds are so primitive, that it must be something truly powerful."
"Goodbye."
"No. Not goodbye. This is just the beginning." She got back into Zim's Voot, which she had taken, and took off for Irk. Dib spent a moment looking where she had been, until it got too cold and he had to go back inside.
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On Irk
Mel's Cruiser had just landed outside of the BOB, (Building of Official Business) where Second Tallest Red and Purple were about to become officially the Tallest of Irk. She dashed inside, and ran down empty silent hall after empty silent hall. Her boots clacked against the linoleum floor as she comprehended the audacious thing she was about to do. Carefully, she opened the door just a crack, and heard parts of the speech they were reading to initiate the two Tallest of Irk into power. The young invader girl could not allow for this to happen. If she didn't do something, they'd become rulers and their planet would die. It had happened before. It would happen again.
"Intruder!" A high-pitched Irken voice squealed. Mel turned around. For that Irken, his life was about to take a drastic change once again. "Mel? What are you doing here?!" Zim. He was in a security guard's outfit, looking much the same as his normal attire.
"I came to stop them from becoming the Tallest."
"Why would you do that?!"
"Zim, if we don't do something, the Irken Empire will die away! Forever!"
"What are you going to do?"
"I didn't want to, but I'm going to have to kill them."
"No! You can't! Intruder! Securi -" Zim grunted as she pushed him to the ground and held his lips tight.
"Sorry about this, Zim, but if I'm going to save the planet, you're going to cooperate, even if forcibly." Mel took a small, rectangular device, and pointed it at him. "Zim, this is advanced technology you don't understand. You will understand this, though - it can kill. If you don't comply, I'll kill you. I don't want to, but one life isn't worth as much as billions. Now, one question - is Dib here also?"
"I wouldn't know."
"I know you know. Tell me, or we might all die."
"He's here. Inside."
"Oh, no. Zim, you'd better keep up with me, or else this whole place is going to blow sky high!" She dragged Zim along by the hand as she charged into the main room. Brushing past swarms of people, she reached the stairway leading up to the higher levels. In haste, she ran up them, and got to the row Dib was at.
"How'd you find him so quickly?" Zim asked, for there were thousands of rows and hundreds of levels.
"A bit of a presentiment." She took Dib's hand as well, and dragged the two to the central area. A guard stopped them, but she shone a laser in his face, and he passed out. The crowd was in an uproar caused by the disturbance. At long last she got to the platform where the soon-to-be Tallest were standing. She drew out a laser gun and shot at the innermost point in the ceiling. The entire ceiling and walls got covered with a luminescent plaster. "Zim...Dib...three people cannot live through this. Two will be the Tallest, but I'm afraid I'll have to go with them."
"What?"
"I'm going to have to die. But first, let me say that I love you two. You're the best friends anyone could ever have."
"Wait!" A voice called from the crowd.
"Huh? Who on Irk is that?"
"Me! Zal!" Zal ran to the main platform where Mel was, and took her hand. "I'll do it. You have friends. A life. Not I."
"Zal, you've got it all wrong, I -"
"Invader Mel, it would be an honor to die for my planet. I'd jump at the opportunity. I don't have people around me that need me like you do."
"Zal, you're just a small girl..."
"So are you."
"No, let me..."
"Goodbye to all!" Zal leapt up and took the hands of Second Tallest Red and Purple, and the three disappeared. The lasers died down, and the walls returned to normal. Mel hugged Zim and cried.
"We're alive...we're alive, but Zal is not." Her embrace lessened, and the two began to coax her. The audience was speechless, as they watched the spectacle of true compassion. True caring. True life.
Mel brought the Cruiser back towards Earth. Dib was a little disappointed in not going to Irk, but was still recovering from his injuries, so a rest was nice. "For the last time, it's far too dangerous. I won't allow it."
"Wait - I wanted to ask - what is Mission Hidden Realm?"
"That was an attempt to overthrow the Irken Empire. It failed, of course, but is now being recovered by a numerous amount of representatives from planets under Irken rule. It's highly clandestine, so please, don't tell anyone. Not even people who won't believe you about any of this. The only reason I'm telling you is because you probably won't be under investigation."
"I won't. But why do you have to go back?"
"I may dislike being Irken and everything we stand for, but I still have to think of the planet's good. I don't want to see millions of my kind get slaughtered, whether they deserve it or not. I still don't understand why."
"I think I do."
"Thank you, so much. But I must continue with my life, and you must continue with yours. We may never see each other again, but it's worth it." They landed on his roof, and just as Dib was about to leave, she halted him. "I want you to remember this. I want you to remember this encounter between two species for the rest of your life. Two species not in confrontation, but in understanding. Our own definition of a close encounter. A lesson in coping with one another, and living and learning. A way to engrave it in our memory for all eternity."
"How?"
"Silly human. We're etching a clear picture in our heads just by the sheer awe of the event. It doesn't take a photograph, or a picture, or a journal to remember all of this. We'll take this memory right up with us until the day we die. That's how amazing this is. Not one thing in this universe can make us forget. And our conscious minds are so primitive, that it must be something truly powerful."
"Goodbye."
"No. Not goodbye. This is just the beginning." She got back into Zim's Voot, which she had taken, and took off for Irk. Dib spent a moment looking where she had been, until it got too cold and he had to go back inside.
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On Irk
Mel's Cruiser had just landed outside of the BOB, (Building of Official Business) where Second Tallest Red and Purple were about to become officially the Tallest of Irk. She dashed inside, and ran down empty silent hall after empty silent hall. Her boots clacked against the linoleum floor as she comprehended the audacious thing she was about to do. Carefully, she opened the door just a crack, and heard parts of the speech they were reading to initiate the two Tallest of Irk into power. The young invader girl could not allow for this to happen. If she didn't do something, they'd become rulers and their planet would die. It had happened before. It would happen again.
"Intruder!" A high-pitched Irken voice squealed. Mel turned around. For that Irken, his life was about to take a drastic change once again. "Mel? What are you doing here?!" Zim. He was in a security guard's outfit, looking much the same as his normal attire.
"I came to stop them from becoming the Tallest."
"Why would you do that?!"
"Zim, if we don't do something, the Irken Empire will die away! Forever!"
"What are you going to do?"
"I didn't want to, but I'm going to have to kill them."
"No! You can't! Intruder! Securi -" Zim grunted as she pushed him to the ground and held his lips tight.
"Sorry about this, Zim, but if I'm going to save the planet, you're going to cooperate, even if forcibly." Mel took a small, rectangular device, and pointed it at him. "Zim, this is advanced technology you don't understand. You will understand this, though - it can kill. If you don't comply, I'll kill you. I don't want to, but one life isn't worth as much as billions. Now, one question - is Dib here also?"
"I wouldn't know."
"I know you know. Tell me, or we might all die."
"He's here. Inside."
"Oh, no. Zim, you'd better keep up with me, or else this whole place is going to blow sky high!" She dragged Zim along by the hand as she charged into the main room. Brushing past swarms of people, she reached the stairway leading up to the higher levels. In haste, she ran up them, and got to the row Dib was at.
"How'd you find him so quickly?" Zim asked, for there were thousands of rows and hundreds of levels.
"A bit of a presentiment." She took Dib's hand as well, and dragged the two to the central area. A guard stopped them, but she shone a laser in his face, and he passed out. The crowd was in an uproar caused by the disturbance. At long last she got to the platform where the soon-to-be Tallest were standing. She drew out a laser gun and shot at the innermost point in the ceiling. The entire ceiling and walls got covered with a luminescent plaster. "Zim...Dib...three people cannot live through this. Two will be the Tallest, but I'm afraid I'll have to go with them."
"What?"
"I'm going to have to die. But first, let me say that I love you two. You're the best friends anyone could ever have."
"Wait!" A voice called from the crowd.
"Huh? Who on Irk is that?"
"Me! Zal!" Zal ran to the main platform where Mel was, and took her hand. "I'll do it. You have friends. A life. Not I."
"Zal, you've got it all wrong, I -"
"Invader Mel, it would be an honor to die for my planet. I'd jump at the opportunity. I don't have people around me that need me like you do."
"Zal, you're just a small girl..."
"So are you."
"No, let me..."
"Goodbye to all!" Zal leapt up and took the hands of Second Tallest Red and Purple, and the three disappeared. The lasers died down, and the walls returned to normal. Mel hugged Zim and cried.
"We're alive...we're alive, but Zal is not." Her embrace lessened, and the two began to coax her. The audience was speechless, as they watched the spectacle of true compassion. True caring. True life.