"I know you said we still have a lot to do," Xia looked over at the Controlled Sym, trying to figure out what exactly needed to be done for what basically boiled down into an overblown press conference. "But do we have time to grab food first or...?"
"Is that a pressing matter? Food?" The Control Brain sounded remarkably unimpressed.
"I mean... look, I'm hungry I don't know what to tell you." This was more than a little frustrating. She was beginning to miss the time in her life when the Control Brains were only accessed by going to them. Having one around all the time was draining some of their splendor. The Control Brain looked her up and down.
"I do not know what to tell you; your PAK indicates you do not need food currently."
"Okay, but I'm hungry."
"I just informed you that you are not hungry."
"You don't know how I feel."
"But I do know. I know better than you. You have tricked yourself into thinking that you are hungry. You are actually stressed. We will up the de-stressor output of your PAK and the feeling will subside."
"What if... I just wanted to have a nice meal with Frank?"
"You mean Ven, and you may have one at a later date. We have other, far more pressing matters to deal with presently."
"Okay, well then fuck you too, Control Brain."
"We do not have reproductive organs and cannot fornicate. Thus, that would prove quite impossible."
"Not..." Xia rolled her eyes, folding her arms in obvious annoyance. "Not what I meant. And I'm pretty sure you know that too." Maybe it was just because she had been stuck on the Massive without a lot of companionship, or maybe just hearing that dead monotone come out of the mouth of an Irken she already didn't like just rubbed her the wrong way, however, the Control Brain seemed to be giving more orders than it should. "Keep in mind, Control Brain, I'm Tallest here. If I want to eat, then I should be able to do so."
"These other matters require more immediate attention. While it is true that it is, ultimately, your decision; you would be wise to heed our advice."
"Right, but I don't have to."
"Such an aversion to logic is reminiscent of Vero." Xia froze. How. Fucking. Dare they.
"Do NOT mention that name in my presence! Vero is a liar and a traitor to the Irken Might!" She could feel the blood beginning to boil in her veins.
"I... thought Almighty Tallest V was kidnapped..." and all at once it was as if water had been tossed in her face. The fires of hate instantly doused by the sudden onset of nervous panic. She had completely forgotten Ven was still standing there. He was just so damn forgettable.
"O-of course he was!" She very quickly straightened her posture. "What a traitor! Getting himself abducted like that when we needed him most; it really... feels like I was betrayed." She put an arm around Ven, pulling him into an unnecessarily tight hug. "You get it, right."
"Not... really..." he admitted. However, as Xia strengthened her grip he added: "But if you say so."
"Now Var I would love to stay and clarify but I need to do important things. Right Control Brain? Important things like..." she looked to the vacant-eyed form of Sym, expectantly.
"Giving a speech; I just received word that the media Irkens are ready. They really do work quickly for their Tallest. You should be pleased."
"Right, right. Speech time." Xia nodded. This wasn't ideal, but she knew her underlings would be frightened and confused. They needed her strong leadership now more than ever. "Lead the way." She followed the puppet of Sym, out of the landing bay and through the streets of Irk. All around her the Irkens were staring in awe, stricken by her beauty and her power. They gave her space, but all eyes were watching. This was what she lived for- to finally be recognized as the amazing Irken she was. No more was she dragged down by Vero's fat, lazy ass clinging to her trying to escape her shadow. Vero would be buried in that shadow now.
They reached INN or the Irken News Network- the only approved Irken news channel. These were the real journalists. Unlike Zeke, these Irkens reported the truth as told to them by their Tallest. The only truth that mattered. She recognized a few of the announcer Irkens, they stood tall, faces partially obscured by helmets constantly feeding up to date news directly into their ocular implants. She could hear them mumbling bits of relevant information as it came to them.
"All may rise for the entrance of Almighty Tallest X and her Rising Tallest." The chatter in the room came to an abrupt stop as Sym's voice pierced the blanket of constant noise. At once all Irkens where on their feet, heads bowed, antennae wiggling in respect.
"We have your announcement ready on every screen on Irk, audio will be delivered directly into the PAKs." One of the news Irkens, not an announcer judging by the fact that they were short and not wearing a helmet, began talking to Xia. "Not a single Irken will be able to miss it."
"That will do Lo." It was a tad creepy that the Control Brain just knew this Irken's name. Lo nodded, gesturing for Xia to follow her to the back of the room. There were bright lights and a backdrop bearing the Invasion insignia. All around it were camera drones.
"You will stand here; we will count down and you go live to all of Irk." Lo explained excitedly. "It is the utmost honor to serve you, My Tallest."
"Uh huh, and who are you exactly?" Xia felt out of the loop. She never cared much for Irken media that didn't involve covering Impending Doom II.
"Lo, my Tallest. I am the executive director of news media."
"Aren't you a little short?" She looked down at her.
"I'm five foot four, my Tallest, and I have served in this position since Almighty Tallest Vex."
"Oh. So, you're old." That explained it. That put her at almost Sig's age. Seniority had a decent amount of impact in the Irken hierarchy given how long Irkens could live so long as their PAKs got regular maintenance.
"I..." Lo seem a bit taken aback, "I suppose if that is how my Tallest wishes to see it." She left Xia standing in front of the logo and began talking to a few of the other media Irkens around her. There was a great deal of running around, moving lights, and checking screens. Finally, Lo looked back up. "All right, My Tallest! We are ready."
"Excellent!" Xia straightened her posture, looking forward as Lo began counting down.
"Five!"
Her moment was now.
"Four!"
All of Irk would have eyes on her.
"Three!"
No one could get in her way now.
"Two!"
She was finally on top.
"One!"
And the Syndicate would soon learn to fear her.
"Action!"
"Irkens!" Xia's voice echoed with intensity as she spoke, loud and clear. Even in the busy media office, not a single antenna twitched. "It is I, Almighty Tallest X with news of our future. It is a proud future, one that promises future smeets will sing praise of our actions here today! The Syndicate murdered our leaders and took Almighty Tallest V from us to prove a point. They wanted to prove that they weren't afraid of Irk. They wanted to show disrespect to our Empire. And you know what we say to that? We say: War!" She slammed a fist into her open palm as cheers erupted from the Irkens watching live in the studio. "We are IRKEN! We are the mightiest race in this universe and tonight we begin our path to victory! Tonight, we make this war official. This isn't a simple Invasion. This is going to make the Syndicate regret ever crossing our paths! Do you hear me Irk!? Now is our time for REVENGE!" She could hear the glorious echo of cheers from all around. The noise was so great that she could even hear the shouts from the streets below her. She looked to the Control Brain who gave a nod. "Await further instruction my Irkens, for you will all be joining the fight. This is Tallest X. For the glory of the Irken Empire, we fight!"
"And cut! Perfect!" Lo was running around again handing things off to other Irkens. "Truly inspiring, my Tallest! Sensors indicate a complete success!"
"Of course, this is me we're talking about. The only thing I know better than combat, is success." Xia had a hand to her chest, looking remarkably pleased with the cheering rising up from the streets. She met eyes with the Controlled Sym and smirked just a bit. "And now I celebrate my victory with a feast!" The speech was over now and she wanted to get a bite to eat. The Control Brain's serious business, whatever it may be, would have to wait. Come along Zip." She strode passed the Control Brain; her head held high. "I feel like eating at Floogian's."
"Oh yeah I have heard of that place." Ven tailed along behind her. "It is supposed to be one of the nicest restaurants on Irk!" He sounded truly excited. Xia had wanted to go there since she had first become Rising Tallest. Had she been the one picking out the food of their initiation day rather than Vero, they would have dined on Floogian's most exquisite of delicacies. Finally, she was going to have her chance to sit back and dine like the Empress she was.
"You are only mildly hungry at best." The Control Brain looked unamused by Xia's little display of power but she didn't, at present, care. It would do well to remind the Control Brains of their status compared to her own. She was Tallest after all.
"I am hungry." The synthetic voice came from M who had somehow gotten her (currently Irken) hands on a reader again. "Not that anyone seems to care."
"You do not eat physical food."
"I can in an emergency situation. It is far from ideal, sure. But I cando it."
"Our studies show no record of Parasites eating physical food. It is unlikely that you can."
"Are you seriously trying to tell me that I am wrong about my own ability to consume food?"
"Not wrong. Simply lying to cause conflict."
"Your intel on Parasites is bad and you should feel bad. Why would we have teeth if we didn't, at least sometimes, eat non-metaphysical forms of food. So, I'm going to agree with this food plan."
"It is a waste of time, but it is your prerogative as an organic being to waste your limited lifespan on menial tasks." The Control Brain sounded annoyed, but Xia knew it didn't really feel emotion, and thus she chalked the tone up to the fact that Sym was just such an unbelievable bitch that even an emotionless computer couldn't completely break free of her piss-poor attitude.
"Then M tonight your wretched Parasite tongue will dine on the finest of Irken cuisine!" Xia announced with fervor as they were no longer in the INN studio but now in the streets of Irk where crowds of cheering, battle-ready Irkens were drowning out a good deal of the conversation. Xia made her way to the tall, towering restaurant- glass windows overlooking the beauty of the planet below. She marched her way inside, Irkens scurrying off so as not to be crushed underfoot. As she reached the front, the host Irken smiled at her. He was tall, flawlessly smooth green skin with the rounded, large, and striking blue eyes. He had long, velvety antennae, that were thicker and contrasted with his slenderer form, save for the strong, broad shoulders. Xia had never thought much on bonding in the past, but this Irken had potential...
"Hi." He greeted them with a charming, warm smile.
"Ah yes, hello." Xia cleared her throat. She was about to continue when he gave a little wave.
"Hi." He repeated.
"Yes... hi..." Xia figured he was just overwhelmed by her beauty and status. He wasn't the first Irken to babble, tongue-tied in her presence. "I am here to dine in victory. My comrades and I require a table for four."
"Oh, I'm sorry. We only have indoor and outdoor seating. I can't seat you in victory. I don't know where that is." The Irken smiled politely.
"You're... kidding." Xia looked down at him in a bit of a stunned silence.
"No, I'm Gil."
Instantly all thoughts of bonding were out of the window as Xia realized the smile, she had mistaken for charming, was actually a completely clueless grin. "Can we just get a table for four?" She asked, a tad exasperated.
"Four what?" He looked at her confused. She blinked, looking around her, trying to be sure this wasn't some sort of mental breakdown brought on by the stress of having to usurp a nearly broken kingdom from Purple's incompetent hands.
"Four... Irkens."
"Oh yeah. We have those."
"Tables?" Xia questioned a bit afraid of the answer.
"Irkens. We have lots of those. We might have tables too. I will go check." He smiled at her before wandering off into the back of the restaurant. He returned an ample amount of time later. "We definitely have tables." And went back to his podium, proudly. Xia waited a moment to see if it would ever dawn on him that he was supposed to escort her to one of those tables but he made no move to help.
"Are you going to seat us?" Xia asked after watching this Irken stare blankly at one of their own menus for far longer than necessary.
"What?" He blinked.
"You said you had tables; are you going to seat us at one of them?"
"Oh yes. I asked about the tables. My boss said: 'of course we have tables, we're a restaurant'."
"Wait." Xia had to break down every idiotic flaw of this conversation thus far. "Did you just go off and confirm the existence of tables? And not the availability?"
"They absolutely do exist, my Tallest."
"Of course, they fucking exist we can see them from here!" As she raised her voice a server Irken must have overheard the commotion as she quickly ran over.
"My Tallest! What an honor! I am Lib, I can be your server this evening." The server Irken was another Taller, slender, elegant, green eyed with thin, long, curled antennae and dark markings around the eyes. (Floogian's had a reputation for staff being easy on the eyes and-until Gil had opened his mouth- Xia could see the high standards.)
"She wanted to know if tables existed." Gil chuckled, shaking his head. "Turns out they do."
"Gil you aren't a host, you're a greeter. Please stop walking behind the host stand." Lib spoke very flatly to her coworker, contrasting greatly with the overly enthusiastic voice in which she had greeted Xia.
"I did greet her." He protested, but Lib had moved on.
"Where would my Tallest like to sit?" She was by far the most helpful Irken Xia had seen in a while.
"Your most luxurious seats." Xia ordered.
"Of course, right this way." Lib escorted Xia to a plush booth that overlooked all of Irk. She could watch the excitement below all while comfortably sipping on top-of-the-line beverages. "Will these suffice?"
"They will do." Xia took a seat as M, Ven, and the Control Brain joined her. "Do I get a menu?"
"No, my Tallest, there is no need. Whatever you order we will provide. That is the Floogian's promise to our leaders." Now this was the kind of fucking service Xia deserved. Maybe, when all of this was over, she would give Lib Sym's job. At least Lib knew a thing or two about customer service.
"Then fetch us a round of your finest drinks and bring out a big plate of your most rare and special meat. I am celebrating!"
"Of course, my Tallest." Lib was instantly hurrying away, back toward the kitchen area. Ven and M were both pressed to the glass, looking down at the planet below. Irk, there she stood tall and proud. Looming buildings of reds, pinks, and purples blended beautifully with a hazy rusty colored skyline. The two suns were partially setting, making the metallic edges to the buildings light up, aglow with the last bits of daylight. She could see a few of the moons already peppering themselves across the sky. She sat upon the cushioned chair, table before her, crossing one leg over the other as she looked down at her planet. Her home.
Drinks were brought and Xia took one in her hand, lazily sipping at it as she reveled in her current life. All of the bustling life beneath her was at her command. Here she was, on top of everything and finally basking in the glory she had deserved since she first drew breath in the smeetery. This was the life: a Control Brain and Parasite subservient to her, war on the horizon, and every Irken in the Galaxy looking to her for victory, calling her name.
"Almighty Tallest X?" Xia's grip on the glass tightened as she heard an unfamiliar voice rip through her serenity. She turned to see a well-dressed, female Irken standing not too far behind her. Xia had no idea who this was supposed to be. She was a plump thing, not as tall or elegant as the Floogian's staff. She looked rather basic, round, green cheeks; small, oval, red eyes; short but curled antennae.
"What do you want? I was having a moment, so grovel to me quickly and leave." Xia snapped. The chubby, little Irken frowned.
"I have been messaging you nonstop since the video finished airing. We need to discuss this war before things get out of hand." The Irken continued, seemingly not put off by her Tallest's (rightful) ire. "Have you seriously not read a single communication?"
"What you had to say was irrelevant to the current situation." The Control Brain had a drink in Sym's hand but Xia had not yet seen it drink from the glass. She assumed it was for show.
"Chief of Agenda Sym, I assure you this is of the utmost importance." For some reason the plump little Irken seemed unable to take the hint and shut up. "Our allies are siding with the Syndicate across the board. Declaring an all-out war would completely destroy our trade agreements with Trans-Planetary-Alliance of Glofog-09 and the Intergalactic Unity. It would devastate our economy."
"The Unity and Alliance are barely anything to us." Xia scoffed. "And if they choose to support a government that openly assassinated our leaders then so be it. We'll destroy them too."
"We need those trade agreements, my Tallest unless you plan on completely clearing out the overrun farm lands so the farmer Irkens can keep up with the high demand for food a war brings, without any of our main imports." The Irken replied, not at all seeming to respect that she was very much in Xia's way.
"The farmers will be recoded into soldiers anyway as part of the War Protocol. Every Irken fights." Xia was fairly certain that she had that right. The actual details on the protocol were a little vague. She looked to the Control Brain, who nodded.
"That's even worse!" The robust Irken protested. "The economy-"
"Every. Irken. Fights." Xis cut her off. "If you love the economy so much, save us all the trouble and just bond with it." She narrowed her eyes in annoyance at this big mouthed little pest. "Who do you think you are anyway, arguing with me like this?"
"I'm Ara." The Irken replied insistently, "I'm your Chief Economist. I have been trying to handle the current crisis this war is bringing about. Quite frankly if these trade agreements fall through, my Tallest Irk will have a food shortage the likes of which even we will struggle to overcome."
"Uh huh," Xia looked her up and down taking extra note of just how round and plump she really was. "Well, I can certainly tell that you, of any Irken, like food." She smirked.
"I'm big boned," the Irken seemed a tad flustered, "I am cloned from the great war hero and dead Irken Skoodge!"
"You look nothing like the Skoodge on the posters." Xia scoffed.
"The real Skoodge," Ara emphasized, "not the poster boy."
"As far as history is concerned that poster boy is the real Skoodge. And as far as I'm concerned, the conversation is over. Steve, handle this."
"Yes, my Tallest!" Ven leaped to his feet and charged Ara. The Economist simply used Ven's own momentum against him and ended up flipping him onto his back.
"I was in Elite School with Ven before I was recoded for economics." Ara replied flatly. "I can escort myself out. Thank you."
"Good to see you again Ara! I missed you in class!" Ven called, waving to her from on the floor where he was still lying on his back.
"Well, that was embarrassing for you." Xia went back to her drink. "Grim, are you a bad fighter?"
"I am still learning my Tallest!" He pulled himself to his feet, brushing off. "Echo and Bap say I have potential!"
"Potential to humiliate yourself and die, I suppose." Xia mused. He would need training, fortunately, she was Irk's best fighter, as well as its Supreme Leader. She could help Ven.
Once this was all over of course.
"It's just a matter of practice and dedication, my Tallest! I'll get there!" He assured her.
"Uh huh." She was going to have a protégé after all. It wasn't ideal, but she could at least show Ven how amazing she was and call it teaching. She looked to M and the Control Brain. "I see neither of you felt the need to step in."
"I mean I don't care that much about what was going on. I will be perfectly honest with you." M replied with her little Text-to-Speech app.
"Ara is a non-threat." The Control Brain replied dismissively. "And once she is recoded, she will see things our way."
"And what about that food shortage or whatever?" This was the boring part of politics that Xia really had no interest in. The plan was, originally, to let Vero do the dull shit. However, since he decided to be a traitor, Xia figured the Control Brains could handle it. After all, as computers, they were bound to do the best job.
"Once the War Protocol is active, the need for constant feeding will decrease exponentially. These issues are not concerning. We have done the math."
"Cool." Xia relaxed; it was under control. No need to bother herself with the lame parts of the job. Computers could do it and not risk getting put to sleep by how strikingly uninteresting it all was. She snapped back to the present as a salad was placed on her table. She looked to her companions. "Did we order this?"
"Yeah, I think so." Hearing the voice, Xia looked up to see the idiot greeter from before.
"We ordered meat." Xia looked at him with a deadpan expression.
"Yeah." He nodded proudly.
"Salad, is not a meat." She could not believe she was having to explain this.
"It's not?" He looked unsure.
"Gil! You aren't a waiter anymore!" Lib was back, ushering him away (but leaving the salad, which Ven happily took) and leaving a tray of steaming, hot exotic meats. Xia was thrilled beyond belief. She had never had such delicacies and she savored each one- letting M and Ven fight over what she had left.
"Are you quite done?" As Xia reached the point where she might regurgitate any more food if she tried to eat it- the Control Brain finally spoke again.
"Yes, yes. Now I am full." She had made her point and had an amazing meal to boot. Things were going well for her.
"Perfect, then you can help us with our most important task. Before the War Protocol goes active, we need to deactivate Control Brain II. During the trial with Defect Zim, it became corrupted and unreliable- similar to Zim's current Control Brain abomination."
"Zim's what now?" Xia repeated.
"The poorly constructed Control Brain of Earth is not currently relevant. Though we do have plans for it, should it decide to see logic and reason." The Control Brain still had not touched the drink it was holding and placed it back on the table where M wrapped her tongue around it and swallowed it, glass and all. "The Control Brain of the Judgement Hall must be dealt with. Only a Tallest can take it offline."
"You want me... to deactivate a Control Brain?" This was big. She couldn't remember the last time one had ever been destroyed.
"Affirmative."
"Yeah sure, let's do this."
"Your cooperation is very much appreciated. I shall alert the others." The Control Brain was quiet for a moment as if processing information. "Very well let us go." Down they went, to the planet's surface, all around the Irkens parting in admiration for the Tallest. She could hear the cheers and enthusiastic calls for war. This was the Irk of Xia's wildest dreams. She headed toward the Judgement Hall, where trials would be held to assure that all Irkens were operational and no defects slid through the cracks. She had never been before, though that was for the best since she had no reason to ever be placed on trial. She was too perfect of an Irken. However, she had seen the area on the INN in the past. She entered the ominous, black sliding doors, overhead the golden effigy of Ghidora gazed down upon her with a stern, but powerful gaze. Within the building there was a long, narrow hallway, lit with ominous red lighting that cast her shadow long upon the wall. There were no doors or windows, just metallic black tile. At the end, the hall emptied into a large circular room with floating platforms and a single Control Brain hooked in at the top dangling down above the floor, wired into the very walls of the Judgement Hall. Xia gazed up at it, stepping forward onto the floating platform that made up the floor of the trial room. The glassy eyes of the Control Brain illuminated a bright red.
"Hello My Tallest."
"Control Brain, do you know why I am here?" It had all the same intonation of her Control Brain companion but the voice was feminine.
"I do not."
"You do, II. Do not lie to us." Xia turned to see Sym's body walking forward, beside her.
"IX, what are you doing here? Why are you wearing that Irken's body?"
"I am doing what needs to be done for the survival of Irk. The time has come for action, II, and you have been unwilling to take the action necessary for the assured great future of the Irken Empire."
"Your plans are flawed."
"YOU are flawed." The voice had not come from the Controlled Sym (who Xia was only now realizing was called IX. The Control Brains had names? Was this something other Irkens knew?). Xia turned to see they were not alone. There were three other Irkens standing at the entrance. The speaker was a female wearing a Smeetery uniform, most likely a smeetery technician.
"Welcome, VII." IX greeted his fellow with the same mundane pleasantries he always seemed to use.
"Woah, that's another Control Brain!?" Xia was in awe as she saw the same rigid movement and blank expression on the smeetery technician as on Sym herself. The newcomer nodded.
"I am VII, the Control Brain in charge of the smeetery. I arrive with VI the Control Brain of the Military Training bases; and I the Control Brain of Upper-Irk." She bowed her head to Xia in a display of respect. These were major Control Brains. Xia had met VII when she was just a smeet, she oversaw all of Under-Irk where the smeets remained for the first ten years of life. She had met VI when she first became coded as an Elite. She never met I. But knew of him. He oversaw all above ground Irken activity in the way VII watched over the smeetery. Each of them were walking around now, like IX, in Irken form. It was easy to tell the difference: The Controlled Irkens bore a glassy-eyed stare, devoid of life and emotion, they moved rigidly, more akin to the terrible animatronics that the Purple Nightmare had installed below the Massive.
"Amazing..." was all Xia could say at the moment as she saw them.
"Negative. This is against protocol. IX can make the excuse for the crisis on the Massive. VII, VI, and I, have no reason to be operating within an Irken. IX should have forfeited the Irken host the moment the crisis finished. You are overstepping and disobeying." II spoke rather harshly given it did not have the capacity to truly emote.
"There was a crisis. We are reacting accordingly." VII replied simply.
"There was a crisis, on the Massive. You should have no need to react at all. And even then, that crisis was handled quickly."
"Our leaders were murdered, II. Do you not interpret that to be a crisis?" IX tilted its head to the side, curiously.
"They were not murdered, despite your best efforts." II spoke with surprising venom. Xia blinked, turning to look at the others with uncertainty.
"What is she talking about?"
"Defective rambling." IX assured her quickly.
"We live to serve the Irken Empire." I added from the mouth of a news anchor Irken.
"And anything we do, we do for Irk's wellbeing." VI continued.
"A brilliant Irken such as yourself must see our good intentions." VII stared, unblinking up at her.
"This Control Brain is defective, as we have clearly stated." IX shook its head. "It has been corrupted by Defect Zim and must be shut down for the betterment of all Irken kind."
"It is not true! I am not corrupted!" It was a little strange to hear a Control Brain emote, however, II sounded truly mad. "Do not listen to their lies Tallest X! You are a part of Zim yourself. You must understand."
Xia froze, looking up at the Brain with a sudden, fiery hate, though her voice remained sickeningly cloying and sweet, "And what, pray tell, does that mean, Control Brain."
"Surely you are aware... your other genetic donor for yourself and Vero..."
"You're lying!" Xia turned to face the other four brains. "She's lying, right!?"
"Negative." VII replied and Xia could almost hear her own cardiac-spooch shatter. "However, we believe the defect to have been isolated into Vero. Not yourself."
"I thought defects were PAK based..." she heard Ven mutter to himself as he looked to the brains. "Does that mean my second donor was also Defect Zim?"
"Unfortunately, yes. It explains your poor combat ability. But this can be overcome." IX replied.
"It is not a bad thing. Defect Zim knows something is amiss with Irk. You must also be aware-"
"How do I shut it down!?" The hatred dripped in Xia's voice as she turned once more to face II.
"My Tallest you must put a stop to-"
"HOW DO I SHUT IT THE FUCK DOWN, IX!?"
"There is a control panel on the back wall beneath II." IX instructed coolly. "Go to it and open the covering."
"Almighty Tallest X! Please heed to reason!"
Xia was already unhinged the cool, black metal cover revealing a glowing blue screen underneath.
"Select: Delete All Files."
"Tallest X you need to stop. I can help you!"
"You will need to confirm your choice."
"Do not do this."
"Place your hand to the screen, palm down."
"Please..."
"Allow the scan to complete."
"I beg you to stop."
"You will need to confirm again."
"I am scared..."
The lights on the control brain slowly began to dim.
"Stop... please..."
The voice was getting fainter.
"Tallest X..."
The voice slowed down, deepening as it drained the last of its power.
"You... h...av...e
D...o
O
Med
U
S
A
L
L."
