Disclaimer: I don't own Invader Zim. My own characters and this story are the only things I possess. Oh well…
Purple quivered. His eyes were fixed on the words written down in the entry log before him. It was because of him. Mek died because of him, because of what he was.
"Mek, why didn't you tell me…" The words were fragile and weak. It had taken him a long time to come to terms with the fact that Mek had left him. He was able to find peace for a while, until Tallest Silu approached him one day with a sullen look on his face. "I'm sorry, Len…your brother's dead."
As a young adult, Purple found himself wondering why the world was turning against him. He just couldn't understand why those things happed to him. In those times, he believed Mek had no reason to go.
But now, now everything was starting to make sense in an odd and sick way. Purple thought that maybe he would have been better off if he never discovered this.
-
It was the spring season on Irk. The days were long and the nights were warm. Len looked out his window. Two years had gone by since he arrived at the academy. He never received any word from his brother.
He sighed. He wasn't getting anywhere with his current homework. He just wasn't in the mood to think about physics. It had turned out that he was a very bright young Irken even though he had never received this kind of education before. Irkens were part of the few races in the galaxy whose young were capable of highly intellectual thought and training, but Len was excelling at his work. The instructors in the science department found this quite exciting. Len, however, found his interests aimed more towards Irken history. He enjoyed getting assignments on the language, stories, and legends the Ancients left behind. He was beginning to think it wasn't so bad there after all.
There was a knock on his door. He stared out the window, ignoring the gesture, but the door opened anyway. He turned to glare at the person who had invaded his privacy, then smiled when he saw who it was.
"Hi Len," said the young girl who entered. Her name was Garnet. She was really the only friend Len had made since he came there.
"Hello," Len responded. "What are you doing here? I thought you had a class today?"
Garnet smiled. "It was cancelled."
Len grinned as he cocked an eyebrow. He knew she was lying. She always wringed her hands behind her back when she fibbed, just like she was doing now. Len decided to play along with her.
"Why did you come here?"
"I was bored. I came to see what you were doing." Her ruby eyes glittered. "It's almost lunch you know. Do you wanna get a head start?"
Len nodded with a quick "sure," and got up from his desk. He followed Garnet out into the hall. Len had grown a lot in the past two years. He was surprised to see that he was taller than some of the older kids.
Garnet walked alongside Len. She was only slightly shorter than him. He was glad to know her. She had been there longer than he and was able to show him the grounds. Mostly she provided him with company which Len was glad to have. He felt much better when she was around.
As they walked down the hallway to the mess hall, Len saw a group of older Irkens coming in the opposite direction. They were talking excitedly amongst themselves.
"Did you hear what the professor was talking about?" one of them said to the others.
"Ya, I mean, Tallest Silu coming here? That'll be great! He's probably checking out who would make good officers to work in the palace and stuff."
The Tallest? Len thought. That would be interesting. He had never met any important officials before, much less the Tallest himself. Len felt a small tinge of excitement swell up in his stomach and a grin tugged at the corner of his mouth.
-
Purple watched the stars float by outside the Massive. They were really beautiful things when you made yourself forget they were giant balls of gas. The Tallest looked down at the information log that rested in his hands. It was like opening a door he had long been searching for. He had always thought he was originally born to be just another normal Irken, someone who could be expendable. But no, he came from something so much more than that. He was descended from another Tallest, Tallest Indigo. Silu had known. He knew it when he first laid eyes on the orphan child. Len would determine the empire survived.
That's why Mek went away. Korus needed Len's blood and Mek thought he could take his place.
Korus. Purple's eyes narrowed at the name. His antennae pointed back in a disturbed position. Korus was the leader of the Tulok, a fierce warrior race and mortal enemies of the Irken Empire. In fact, they didn't take much liking to anybody. Though at the present, the Tulok were living in a remote area of the galaxy, barely able to sustain themselves. Their species was coming dangerously close to extinction.
Years ago, Korus blamed his race's sudden fall on the Irkens, who had received rights to a new mining planet from the Sirian Empire. Korus had attempted to steal the planet away from the Irkens, resulting in war. The Tulok were no match for the Irken fleet and were chased into the outskirts of the galaxy.
Before he was forced to flee, Korus cursed Tallest Indigo, proclaiming that the great revival of the Tulok would come with the blood of Indigo's youngest child, bringing the downfall of the Irken Empire.
Korus had returned with a small attack fleet and threatened to turn Irk's possessions against the empire if the child was not brought to him. According to Tallest Silu, Mek thought he could convince Korus that Indigo's youngest was still born and therefore Mek was his only offspring. Korus must have believed it because he vanished soon after Mek had surrendered himself. Tallest Silu noted that since Mek was not the right one, his blood had caused the curse to "backfire" and remain unfulfilled, sending the Tulok into another severe wave of depression and suffering.
Purple understood now that he was that child, the Dartak, as Silu had called him. What bothered him was that Korus was still out there. Rumors had been heard that he was slowly building up forces again. Purple felt a shiver go up his spine. If Korus ever found out that he existed, things would not end well for the violet Tallest.
