The party was still going as planned, just with quite a few more unexpected, Irken guests. Captain Rose was allowing everyone to celebrate out in the open, the humans on the campus seemed convinced that this was all some over-the-top event put on by the science department and were completely unphased by the curious Irkens running around. Voel had initially been surprised at the Captain's willingness to let the new arrivals run amok, but she mentioned something about wanting to keep the Syndicate base clean and as he watched three smallers climb up on one another to try and steal snacks from one of the young humans, resulting in spilling food all over Earth's grass, he was starting to see her point.

"There are a lot of Irkens here..." Voel blinked, surprised to hear Zim speaking directly to him. He looked down, the smaller was watching a few (what looked to be Irken accountants) clinging to the Kryptonian medic who was placing a four leafed plant atop his Halloween Tree, not bothered at all by the extra weight.

"It doesn't look like they brought any military Irkens..." Voel replied, surveying the group. It was quite a few to be sure, but they were all cooks, cleaners, mathematicians, sales-Irkens, and the like. There didn't seem to be a medic, security, PAK-tech, elite, or even engineer in the lot.

"But they came." Zim pointed out.

"No, they did." Voel was quick to agree, he didn't mean to sound negative, but knowing what was awaiting them on Irk had him worried. "This is definitely better than having just us."

"Especially if you count Therron," Zim added, "he's like subtracting an Irken." Voel actually laughed. Zim grinned a bit, antennae perking up at the response. "I knew they would come if we got the message out! It was a good plan!"

"It was." Voel nodded. "And it was a good speech you gave. Therron usually does the talking between the two of us but he has never been the best at..." he trailed off trying to find the right words as he took a sip of weirdly sweet Earth drink.

"Not being an asshole?" Zim offered. Voel nearly spat out his drink.

"I mean yeah that sums it up."

They stood together quietly for a moment; Zim was watching Tenn and Zeke who had combined forces and made a costume where Zeke was the head and Tenn was the body. She would pick Zeke up and toss him at nearby Irkens making them scurry away in fear only to excitedly realize it was all a joke. This Holiday may make it back to Irk if things went well.

"Hey Zim," Voel looked down at the former Invader who was looking around excitedly. "Do you ever miss-"

"Oh hey Sizz-Lorr is cooking!" Zim cut him off, most likely not having heard him speaking. With all if the excitement of Irkens running around, combined with the heavy footsteps of the humans who were obliviously enjoying the fun, Zim was probably having trouble hearing in general.

"He is, isn't he..." Voel looked over, seeing the large Irken with his ship open and a little grill out back. The Syndicate, Irkens, and even some humans were lined up getting food.

"I haven't had real Irken cooking since the Massive!" Zim was clearly excited.

"Well, we could get some if you want." Voel wasn't going to lie, he missed Irken food too. Human food hurt his mouth a lot of the time.

"Yeah! It looks like Skoodge saved me a spot in line!" Zim waved to Skoodge who was beckoning him over. Voel made a face but tried to hide it behind the mask of Rodan.

"Of course he did." Voel cleared his throat. "Well I need to talk to Sizz-Lorr anyway, so I may just go to the front. If you don't want to wait, I can ask him to whip something up for you."

"Ohhhhh yes! I will ask Skoodge!" Zim hurried to the conqueror of Blorch (who hadn't even tried that hard on a costume- in Voel's opinion) and the former leader of Irk realized he would be getting food for all three of them. It wasn't what he wanted- at all- but he still did want to talk to Skoodge in regards to CB. So... it might not be the worst idea in the world to be nicer to him. So Voel removed the helmet sauntering past the Irkens in line who excitedly bowed as he walked by (the humans just looked annoyed), and approached Sizz-Lorr at the counter. The hulking Irken turned, seeing his former leader before him and nearly dropped the food in surprise.

"My Tallest! How can I help?" The chef bowed his head respectfully.

"What brought you out this way? And do you have news of Irk? Our communication is limited." Voel hoped there would be some news of home. Since they had last talked to Vero, they had little knowledge of how Irk was holding up.

"Zim wants two of the special!" Zim had popped up beside Voel again, of course dragging Skoodge along with him.

"And three of your special." Voel added (he was hungry too).

"Yes my Tallest, right away." Sizz-Lorr began to cook. "We came when we got your message, but there is a lot happening on Irk. There has been a call for all off-world Irkens to return for a mandatory reassigning."

That was not good.

"And you ignored the call?"

"We all did." Sizz-Lorr assured him. "Even before we got your message things had been a little strange on Foodcortia." Voel lifted an antenna, curiously.

"Really?" This was the first news of home he had been able to find. Sure Foodcortia wasn't Irk- but it was Irken. "Why don't you tell me about it?"

It had been a typical day at Shloogorgh's Flavor Monster. Nik and Nel had been fighting in the back since the shift began, Glorch and Vox were helping keep orders flowing, and shift-manager Dav was running the register while Gloo was on her break. Ever since the assassination of the Tallests, things had been a little... tense in Foodcortia. The Frylord himself was in the back, working on security measures to protect his staff from a Syndicate murder spree. They had only just re-opened after closing for a full day to mourn the Tallests. Patrons were lined up out the door, from what Dav had reported. Times like this, Sizz-Lorr almost wanted to get Zim back- but recalling all of the damages the defect had done- it wasn't worth the effort. He had learned that lesson.

"Frylord, Sir..." Dav poked his head into the office. He was a scrawny, blue-eyed Irken with faint facial spotting. He was taller than most of the other employees which was how he got his managerial position- but he was still only up to Sizz-Lorr's shoulder.

"Come in, Dav." Sizz-Lorr knew that the interruption had to be for a good reason. Dav was not one to cause a disturbance. He was a hard worker, took his job very seriously (an actual employee, not a prisoner).

"There is an Irken woman here to see you Sir... she... she is very insistent." Dav was looking a bit as if he were in shock.

"This is our busy time and we're short staffed, did you tell her that?" It was a pain and a half to go see every Irken who wanted to lodge a complaint because they didn't get enough fries or their larvae were too wriggly, or they didn't get served fast enough. If Sizz-Lorr answered to every complaint, he would never get work done. That was the whole reason he had promoted Dav.

"Y... yes sir, but um..." Dav seemed uncharacteristically tongue tied. "I think it's the Chief of Agenda."

"Excuse me?" Sizz-Lorr stared blankly at his underling. He straightened his antennae- there was no way he had heard Dav correctly.

"I mean... I think that's who it is. It looks like her, but I've only ever seen her on monitors." Dav had his head bowed just slightly.

"I'll go see who it really is." Sizz-Lorr got to his feet, passing Dav who followed behind rather timidly as the Frylord made his way to the front of the restaurant. His deep-set purple eyes widened as they fell upon the slender, tall, and graceful figure standing to the side, away from the rowdy, hungry masses that were filling the lobby. She was, in a sense, the epitome of Irken grace. Even in a crowded room full of drooling, hungry aliens from all over the universe, she looked as if she were at the most exclusive of galas. She approached the counter, shoving the oversized Lorchunian out of her way with a gloved hand and immediately holding the same hand out to a smaller Irken who wiped it off for her. She looked Sizz-Lorr up and down. The Fry Lord was about her height, he bowed his head, removing his hat out of respect. "Chief of Agenda Symm," he spoke cautiously, still in disbelief, "what brings you here in such trying times?"

"Frylord, you are being summoned." Her dark, brown eyes looked down at the bowed cook with mild interest.

"Summoned, my Chief?" He repeated, a tad confounded.

"Indeed. This is a glorious day for your..." she gestured at Shloogorgh's with a graceful flick of her wrist "... establishment..." she finished her statement with less-than-stellar enthusiasm. Sizz-Lorr could not blame her, an Irken of that status most likely dined on hand cooked meals provided by the Massive's top quality chefs. Sizz-Lorr was proud if his restaurant, true, but he understood that they were not elite dining. "You have been selected to cater the Tallest Initiation Ceremony at the request of Rising Tallest Vero."

"Seriously?" Sizz-Lorr blinked. He can't have just heard that sweet, feminine voice correctly.

"Trust me," she snapped and a small sheet was placed on his counter by one of her smaller staff, she leaned on the sheet, refusing to touch the actual countertop. "I would not be here if I wasn't dead serious." Her long, curled antennae arched slightly as she spoke. Sizz-Lorr was stricken, dumbfounded by what was transpiring.

"I would be thrilled." He bowed more deeply than before. To be chosen to serve at the Initiation of the Tallest was the highest honor bestowed to an Irken eatery. It was usually a luxury reserved for only the finest in dining. He had no idea why Rising Tallest Vero had picked him, other than the fact that, as an Elite, that Irken had frequented his eatery many, many times. In fact, one time Sizz-Loor had to send Ris out to deliver Vero a massive order of food in the dead of night. (At least it had been night in Foodcortia.) Perhaps this was Vero's way of thanking him.

"Of course you are, anyone would be." Those narrowed, brown eyes scanned him up and down, as if analyzing him. Even in the unflatteringly pallid lighting if Shloogorgh's, the blue and gold painting around her eyes was glittering. "You know," she rose back up to her full height, the small Irkens around her gathered up the little sheet on which she had been leaning, and folded it neatly into a clear bag. "Maybe I misjudged our Rising Tallest for his choice in dining. This place is an absolute dive, don't get me wrong," she was turning to leave, stopping to look back over at him. "But you're taller than I was expecting." And with that she glided toward the exit. Irken patrons on Foodcortia (most likely attracted by seeing such a high up Irken and her entourage, scrambled over each other to get the door for her.) Sizz-Lorr watched her go, only brought out of his thoughts as one of her shorter staff members cleared her throat.

"Frylord, sir," this Irken was on the taller side, though not nearly so tall as Symm. "You are expected to only bring your necessary staff. You report to the Massive in six cycles, come prepared to make enough food to satisfy the new Tallests and their staff."

"That... that isn't a lot of time to get ready." Sizz-Lorr was immediately brought back to reality. "I'll have to close down or bring in the staff off-duty to run this place, and there is the matter of transport."

"Transport for you, your staff, and your equipment is provided." The Irken handed him red button. "Pressing this will beam up everything and everyone in your current room, so only press it when you are ready. As for this place, I suggest closing it for the time being. What you make by keeping it open will be nothing compared to what you will be making serving our new, future Tallests."

The Irken woman was right, the pay for serving the Initiation would blow a years' worth of profits out of the water. "DAV!" Sizz-Lorr whirled around nearly crashing into his manager. "Oh good, you're here. Gather our top cooks and prep-workers! We are heading to the Massive! Have Nel close us down. I need to pack!"

And pack he did. He went through all if his past orders, trying to figure out what foods Vero liked the most based on his previous visits to Shloogorgh's. It was easier said than done, however, as it seemed Vero had tried just about every menu item at least once. That put him at a disadvantage, but it was better to over pack and over prepare than to risk the Tallest running out of food. So he just gathered everything in his storage and got his cooks all together in the room with his portable equipment. He pressed the button and they were taken to the Massive. (He had made it with time to spare!)

He was met by Elite guards, those that personally served the Tallests and they showed him where he would be cooking. Sizz-Lorr and his cooks had never really seen the Massive up close and had to take a moment to drink in the sheer power of the vessel. Towering ceilings, floors of glimmering metal, wires running through the walls humming with raw energy, all around surrounded by the best that Irk had to offer- best Navigators, best Medics, best Cleaners, best Security... it was a mystery: seeing all of these top-notch Irkens, how did those Syndicate Monsters slip in and murder Tallests Red and Purple?

Sizz-Lorr was properly set up, food was beginning to cook, his staff had finally shaken themselves of the awe of the Massive and were hard at work. He was in the middle of refining his menu when he heard voices, the door opened and again Symm was before him.

"Wiggle your antennae in respect for your Rising Tallests: Xia and Vero." Her voice filled the room, commanding attention in the way his own voice would during the foodening.

"Nice, you got Sizz-Lorr." Vero strolled in looking as if he had just woken up, Xia stood beside him, tall and well put together. There was a rumor that these two were related somehow to Tallest Red, and as Xia's square, crimson eyes narrowed as she surveyed the food, and her upper lip curled into a scowl, Sizz-Lorr could see how these rumors had been started.

"Really Vero? This is what you want to eat?" She looked far from pleased.

"You got to pick tonight's decor; I got to pick the food."

"You can have any of our master chefs on the Massive prepare you a feast of the rarest meats in the universe... and you order fast food."

"Fuck you. I like fast food." Vero took one of the samples from his plate and popped it in his mouth. "You're jus' ah foo' snob." He replied as he chewed on the rather large meat patty he had shoved in his mouth.

"I am not a food snob." Xia looked thoroughly disgusted as she wiped flecks of food from her cheek. "And close your moth you disgusting Blortian Rat."

"Tryyyyy some~" Vero picked up another sample and began trying to actively shove it in his companion's mouth. Xia had had just about enough as she grabbed him by his outstretched arm and flipped him over her shoulder, onto the ground, being sure to step on him as she walked past to look at the rest of the food.

"Is this all you have?" She didn't sound impressed.

"Was there something you wished for us to add, Rising Tallest Xia?" Sizz-Lorr bowed his head as the Irken woman scanned over the array of food he had set forth. She finally chose to eat a small sample of Sizz-Lorr's take on a classic, very traditional Irken dish only served at the finest of occasions. She blinked, surprised as she swallowed her food.

"This. More of this. It is very good, shockingly." She looked him up and down, very clearly sizing him up. "You are planning to dress nicer tonight, I assume?"

"Oh um..." he had not been, "yes, or course."

"Excellent, then begrudgingly I will approve this menu. Come along Vero!" She stepped back over Vero who was still lying on the floor blindly grabbing food from the table above him and eating it.

"Okay." He stood back up, brushing himself off. "Hey, Xixi-"

"Don't call me that Vero," her response was very sharp.

"Yeah, kay." He didn't seem to take her threatening tone seriously which was surprising given how she had just thrown him. "Do you think there really is a video of Tallest Red and Purple still alive?" Xia straightened up instantly grabbing her future co-ruler by the shoulders and covering his mouth, dragging him out of the room.

Sizz-Lorr hated to admit it but his curiosity was peaked. Video? The Tallests alive? It sounded like a bad Zeke article, in his mind, but some of his younger employees were into that Zeke stuff.

"Back to work everyone. " True or not, though, it was really none of his business. His only real concern should be serving the new Tallests a meal they would not soon forget. He could hear a bit of whispering, stirred up by Vero's comment, but he let it slide. So long as everyone was hard at work, it didn't matter what was said.

As time passed and the Initiation drew ever closer, he noticed his employees grouping up, talking in hushed whispers. This was the issue with the younger Irkens, they still had not fully accepted their coding and would let themselves be distracted by petty gossip. Sizz-Lorr walked over, pulling apart Nel and Max who had been huddled together looking at something on a screen. He thought he could hear Zim's voice- but he chalked it up to a stress-induced hallucination. "Break it up, you both have work to finish." Max, he expected this from, but Nel was usually more hard working.

"Sir?" Nel spoke, her voice sounded unsure. "You may need to see this video. Zeke posted it-"

"I'll look later." Sizz-Lorr didn't actually give a fuck about Zeke but he would watch to make his employees happy. The only videos he actually enjoyed were the funny animal ones.

"This is important!" Max tried to argue but Sizz-Lor easily lifted the tiny, blue eyed Irken by his uniform and dropped him back in front of his station.

"Later."

"It doesn't matter," he heard Nik in the background speaking in a hushed voice. "It's been taken down everywhere." This was not Sizz-Lorr's business and he still had a feast to prepare.

Soon the time of the Tallest's Initiation was upon them. Sizz-Lorr attempted to obey the orders of Rising Tallest Xia and dress up his employees a little more. He had everyone (himself included) wear tiny bowties at the center neck of their uniform. It was the best he could do under such short notice. He was arranging the last bit of food when Symm waltzed in, followed by several members of the Irken media. Sizz-Lorr tried his best to step aside as she addressed the crowd. "The official ceremony with the Control Brains will be on Irk proper, of course, but due to the severity of the situation," the way she spoke had every eye on her, "we are doing the formal broadcast while still on the Massive. We'd love to leave the Tallest promotion to the Massive's Control Brain, but law dictates there must be at least three present for a Tallest to be coded. With two Tallests- well the only place we'll find that many is Irk. But for right now the Irken masses need a leader- or two as the case may be. And I, Symm, will remain Secretary of Agenda, your connection to your new Tallests."

"What do you have to say in regards to accusations that you make appointments difficult on purpose so that you don't have to let anyone back?" One of the Irken reporters held a microphone forward. Symm simply smiled.

"I'm just following orders, most times. Maybe things will be different with new Tallests. Tallest Purple had a way of making meetings difficult."

"Madam Chief! Madam Chief! Do you have any comment on the video of Tallest Red and Purple, still alive, that was allegedly leaked by Zeke?" The reporters were clambering over one another in an effort to get good images of her.

"I'm afraid there is no official comment at this time. Now please, talk of that sort of thing will be forbidden. This ceremony is sacred- it will not be tarnished with hearsay. If you will all step aside," she placed a delicate hand to the side of her cheek, "I've received word that Dae has boarded the Massive." At once a hush fell over the room. Symm walked back toward the doors, the Irkens parting like water around her as she waved her arm, the doors sliding open at her command. The reporters meandered over toward Sizz-Lorr and his cooks, but were ushered away (food was for the Tallest first- then others could eat). Through the parted doors, walked in an Irken of pale white (even her antennae lacked color), clad in robes the color of the moons of Irk. Her head was adorned with elegant silvery ropes of metal. Her pale blue eyes and face hidden behind a sheer veil. She was tall, though not as much as Sizz-Lorr or Symm, she was still looming. "Mothra Elite Dae," it was quiet enough you could hear a crumb drop, "we are honored to have you aboard."

"The honor is mine." Her voice was calm, serene. Sizz-Lorr had only heard of Dae, one of the few Mothra Elite known by name. She lived in the Temples of Mothra deep within the wilds of Irk. Mothra's chosen were extremely reclusive, never venturing into the city. So, to see one, was something even an Irken of Sizz-Lorr's age had not born witness to. "When you are ready, I will begin the Tallest Ceremony." As she moved toward the center of the room, Sizz-Lorr could see sheer fabric draped across the back of her snow-colored outfit, giving the illusion of wings.

"Fetch our Rising Tallests." Symm instructed one of her many staff and they hurried away, returning shortly with the Rising Tallest in tow. They walked through the crowd, Xia with her head held high taking the lead with Vero strolling along behind her. Both approached Dae with heads bowed. All cameras were on the future leaders of Irk.

"Xia and Vero, sadness has befallen our beloved planet with the untimely deaths of our late Tallests: Red and Purple." Dae spoke, her voice resonating through the room. "However, in this time of darkness, we need you to be our light- like Mothra guided our forefathers through the freezing recesses of space- you must guide our people through this time of trial. Do you accept your duties? Do you promise to serve our planet and our people? Do you promise to bring glory onto Irk?"

"We do." The two spoke in perfect unison. It seemed as if even Vero with his lackadaisical attitude was taking the ceremony seriously.

"We need you now more than ever, children of Irk. May you stand tall and guide us to prosperity." Dae placed a hand on each of their shoulders. No one moved, no one dared even twitch an antenna as Dae knelt before the two tall Irkens. "Rise my Tallests. Shine your light across this universe. We need you now more than ever. Be strong as Ghidora, fight with the righteous fury of Rodan, and may Mothra protect you both."

"Thank you." Again, they spoke together, slowly standing as the crowd began to kneel. Sizz-Lorr quickly followed suit (he was not going to be the only one standing).

"And now, our Tallests will chose their new armor and their new titles." Symm took the forefront again. Sizz-Lorr wasn't sure if he could stand or stay kneeling. However, just as he was considering standing up, Dae approached the table, standing beside the cooks. He could see on the faces of his employees that none of them knew what to do in the presence of a Mothra Elite. So... they just stayed kneeling. "My Tallests, have you come to your decision."

"Yes, I shall be All Mighty Tallest X!" Xia stook tall, striking a stance as if readying herself for combat. "It shall be a name the Syndicate will learn to fear as we hunt them down for revenge. I shall wear the armor that represents our people- I shall wear the color of Irk. I choose to wear the green armor and represent all of the Irkens who have fallen to Syndicate trickery-"

"Uh XiXi," The air in the room shifted very suddenly to one of unease as Xia's speech was cut off by none-other than her co-ruler. "You can't do that, it's illegal."

"I'm sorry, what?" Xia's voice was dangerously soft, her antennae straight back, eyes narrowed and teeth bared looking more like the late Tallest Red than ever before.

"You can't pick green armor." Vero continued. "It's illegal."

"Why the fuck would green armor be illegal!?" It was clear Xia was trying to keep her voice down but there were microphones everywhere, picking up on every word.

"Well..." Vero fumbled for his reader, "right here in the Irken legal code 28 V11 c it says: And I hereby outlaw green as a choice for clothing color. I mean, we're already green am I right? Of course, I'm right- and you can't answer that anyway because you're a book. But yeah, no more green clothing, it just looks tacky. Wear something more vibrant! It's not that hard people!" As he finished, Xia was simply staring at him looking more annoyed.

"You made that up! There's no way it says all that!" She snatched the reader away from Vero, crimson eyes scanning the text. "Holy shit..."

"So, sorry Tallest X, you gotta go with a different color." Vero snatched his reader back.

"But we're Tallest now! Can't we just unmake that stupid law!?"

"This is just ceremonial, we're not officially Tallests yet, and anyway I feel like there's probably a whole process to un-making this law."

"Ugh. Fine." She turned back to Sym. "Gold. I'll be gold then." Her eyes shot back to her cohort. "Unless that's illegal too!?"

"Not unless you're a 'winter' but I don't know what that means so I think you're good." Vero gave her a thumbs up as he scrolled through his reader. There was a moment of silence as Vero just continued idly reading his screen when, finally, Symm cleared her throat. Vero blinked. "Ah, right. Well, I'm going to pick All Mighty Tallest V because it's on theme with Xia's whole thing, and I'll pick blue for my armor, like a dark blue, because I like dark blue."

"Thank you for your stirring speech." Xia's bitterness was evident as she forced a compliment through gritted teeth.

"What can I say, we were cloned from the DNA of All Mighty Tallest Red, we're not speakers." He just shrugged her off. Dae walked back toward the center as the new suits of armor were dropped down from a compartment in the ceiling, glittering and shining in all their glory. Dae went to each new suit of Tallest armor and applied a very special band that stretched from shoulder to shoulder on each of the suits.

"Then with Mothra's blessing, I welcome All Mighty Talletsts X and V."

The cheer from the crowd was almost deafening as Vero and Xia waved, soaking in the glory of their newfound title. Sizz-Lorr tried to stand with the cheering, but sitting on his knees for such a long period and in such an awkward position had made him a little stiff. Tallest Vero looked over, seemingly noticing his plight. Vero strolled over kneeling to help Sizz-Lorr to his feet. As he did so, he leaned close to the side of Sizz-Lorr's head.

"Take your staff and run as far away as you can. The video is real." It was a little hard to hear in the throes of celebration- but the words were unmistakable. Sizz-Lorr felt his blood turn to ice as Vero got him to his feet and turned back waving and smiling at the crowd.

Voel blinked. "So our video did make it to the Irken channels. I hate him, but Zeke is actually good at his job and that's frustrating."

"I can't believe Xia was going to wear green!" At some point during the retelling, Therron had come upon the group. "It's a good thing I made that law to stop her. That would have been an absolute disaster!"

"So you just ran?" Great now Skoodge was here too.

"Hey are you guys going to get your food or what!?" A human in the line made Voel realize that the line to Sizz-Lorr's little pop-up Shloogorgh's Flavor Monster was now wrapping around the block. "We've been waiting forever!"

"Just a second!" Voel shot back.

"IT'S BEEN LIKE A THOUSAND SECONDS!" The human retorted.

"We packed up and fled after the ceremony. You don't just ignore a command like that." Sizz-Lorr replied quickly.

"You made the right choice. But that doesn't give us much on Irk itself." Voel frowned.

"Well then," Zim clapped his hands together definitively. Voel had to admire how much the defect was taking charge in this time of crisis. "We'll just need to get in touch with Vero again!"