OKie dokie if you havent read the tags by now...idk what to tell you. This chapter contains mentions of child abuse and plans for murder. Dont like that, dont read it. This chapter is short because the next one is gonna be long and I didnt wanna make 1 huge mega chapter. Enjoy!
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Mai paced back and forth, pulling on her antenna trying to think of a way out of this. She can call and confront Red, he doesn't have the weapon yet. She could report this to the control brains, she could run. She overall needed to do what was best for Zim, but she didn't know what was best!
"Why would he do this? What do I do? I..I can't report him, he'll be executed! What the hell is he thinking?!" She yelled, moving back and forth. She occasionally looked at the little window on the monitor that had her view of Zim still asleep. It made her calm a little knowing he was safe
"I honestly don't know, but then again the tallest have always been reckless. Like when they flew themselves into a Florpus. It took my team 5 months to get them out with a specialized magnetic ray! Maybe if you talk to him he will realize how stupid this is. You and the control brains are the only ones he listens to, after all" Koi thought out loud. She knew both Tallest were pretty unreasonable, Purple was reckless and stubborn, over emotional and gets destructive when he's bored. Red was just plain evil, quiet, cold and impulsive when he was angry. His temper was especially short. They were a pretty dangerous duo
"I can try…If he doesn't listen I can always threaten to tell the control brains. He'd listen to that at least, he's not that stupid" She hoped. "I'm gonna call him, I'll let you know how it goes" She said. Koi nodded before the call ended and she started another one
Calling the Tallest…
"What is it? This better be important if you're calling twice today. Do you know how busy we-" Red started, annoyed. He sat next to Purple, who was eating snacks. Mai abruptly cut him off
"I think the fact that you're coming to Earth to wipe my existence IS important, especially when there is a smeet here! I thought I raised you better!" She said, unable to help the tears that pricked her eyes and the lump she got in her throat. She really was so disappointed in him
Red looked like a deer in headlights. Purple spit out his soda
"YOU WHAT? YOU SAID WE WERE TURNING TO GO TO THE WATER PARK PLANET!" Purple screamed. Every soldier in the control room stopped what they were doing to look up at them
"Well you wouldn't let me turn the ship if it wasn't for something fun!"
"You bribed me with the waterpark so you could go destroy Mai?
"And Zim! Come on, we can't let him come back here!" He tried reasoning with Purple
"Ok, I don't care for Zim either but without Mai the smeeteries will fall apart! We've already had like 10 reports from them since she left!"
"Pfft, so what? We can just start taking smeet early like Miyuki if we need more soldiers"
"No you will not! Not if I have anything to say about it!" Mai cut in "I'm recording this call, either leave us alone or I send this to the brains" Red gave a little laugh
"Yeah? You wouldn't do that. I know you can't bear to have someone else's blood on your hands" He said smugly, giving her a smirk
"I'd kill you myself to protect my smeet" She said, not letting the pain from his words show
"Threatening a Tallest? That's punishable by death. I can disconnect your archaic PAK right now and then you won't be able to send the brains anything" He said, pulling up his tablet. Purple pulled it from his hands
"No! Red, stop this! Who the hell are you? You're not my Red '' Purple said ready to cry. How could he do this all behind his back? How could he do this to the person who raised them? "If you go through with this I'll tell the brains myself!" Oh shit, he hadn't thought of that…He glared at him for a long time before finally speaking up
"Turn the ship back on course" He growled. He really didn't have much of a choice, did he? Mai gave a sigh of relief
"I'm really disappointed in you, Red. Were gonna have a talk when I get back" She said calmly, or at least trying to be calm. Her cardiac spooch was pounding in her chest
"Whatever" He hung up on her. Whatever, she didn't care. As long as her and Zim was safe
"Computer, keep track of the Massive's flight plan and if it changes, let me know immediately"
"Yes ma'am" It replied obediently. She nodded and sent a message to Koi that everything was fine before going up the elevator. She really needed some rest after all of that
She went into the room, Zim was slightly snoring. She laid down next to him, wrapping her arm around him. He instantly clung to her instinctively. She pet his head till she fell asleep
[Back on the Massive]
Red hung up on Mai, looking over to Purple and holding his hand out
"Gimme my tablet"
"No. I don't trust you" He clung the tablet to his chest. Red growled, stomping off like a kid. Purple jumped up, going after him "W-Wait! Wait for me" He hurried after him following closely behind him into the hallway
"Pur, you know if you follow me to our room I'm gonna beat your ass" He said bluntly. He was leaving so he didn't hit him
"I know, but there are more tablets in the room and I'm not gonna let you get yourself killed" He knew what was gonna happen, but he didnt want anything to happen to Mai. He respected her more then he respected himself
They eventually made it to their shared room and Red started to take off his armor while Purple walked around the room grabbing all the tablets
"I'm not a kid, I don't need babysitting" Red grumbled
"Well you're acting like one" Purple said, he was still hurt
"Don't push me you little shit" He growled "You care so much about her then why don't you go be her smeet again? You obviously get your cock wet being treated like one-"
"Wha…You're disgusting…" He was shocked that he said something like that "Just cause I have respect for my Mother Tallest?"
"No, because you chose her over me. Go be with her, I don't want anything to do with you anymore" He said, flopping on the bed and rolling so his back was to him
"Red…." Purple said softly, taking a step towards him. He was so easily manipulated. He dropped the tablets and walked to the bed, sitting next to him "Red, please look at me…" He laid next to him, wrapping his arm over Red's middle "Please, I love you…"
"What did I tell you about that word? You're obviously defective" He said cruelly, pulling away from him. Purple was about to reach for him again but decided not to. He couldn't help but cry, he's never had Red treat him like this before, it scared him.
He curled up and cried till he fell asleep
[Back on Earth]
Mai sprung awake the next morning to the base's alarms blaring. She looked around, her heart dropping when Zim wasn't there
"ZIM?!" She screamed, jumping out of bed and running out, PAK legs out and ready to shoot anything that moved
"Good morni-AH!" Zim turned to her and freaked when he saw the PAK lasers aimed at him. He pulled out his own PAK legs ready in defense. He almost fell off the chair he was standing on, which was pushed right up against the stove. A piece of…something in a pan smoking, which had set off the alarms
Mai immediately relaxed, letting her PAK legs retract into her back. This let Zim do the same. She sighed
"Zim, what are you doing?! You scared me half to death!" She didn't sound too angry, because she wasn't. She was mostly just annoyed. Zim smiled brightly at her
"Zim is making breakfast!" He said proudly. He normally just ordered food, never really cooked but it seemed fairly easy. He had done well with all of her lessons so far so had woken up early and decided to practice. Suddenly the black rock looking thing in the pan was on fire. Mai pinched the space between her eyes
"Computer, extinguish the fire please…" She said just done before the day even started. A tube came down from the ceiling blasting the stove with fire retardant
"NO! You ruined it!" He screamed freaking out, hopping from foot to foot as he watched his creation get ruined and could do nothing about it
"Zim it was a black rock. You couldn't eat it anyways. What were you even making?" She asked completely baffled at how he managed this
"Toast." He said simply
"...Why were you making toast in a pan? You put it in the toaster"
"The toaster is only for the waffles" He tried to explain "I don't trust them made with the waffle maker because Gir puts soap in it that way" Mai just looked at him, speechless
"Puts what? You know what? It doesn't matter" She picked him up off the chair he stood on and carried him to the room, sitting him on the bed "I guess we still have more work to do on living skills…for right now you gotta get dressed. We will eat at Dib's" She said, pulling his onesie off and tossing it to the ground before grabbing new clothes. She got the most covering outfit she could find for him and brought it over to dress him up
"Really?!" He said excitedly, kicking his feet off the edge of the bed. He frowned when he saw what she brought. "Hey, I don't want pants!" He complained
"It's either pants or we don't go" She said sternly, starting to dress him up. It was some black sweat pants and pink long sleeved shirt, pretty similar to his invader uniform. She didn't know how much she could trust Dib yet and would rather he dress more covered.
Zim huffed but decided he'd rather see Dib, letting her dress him. By now he was used to being dressed by her
"And sweetie, I um…talked to the tallest. I'm not sure what we're gonna do, honestly. We might need to go to another planet for a while" He looked at her confused
"Why? Is it a mission for Zim?" Mai perked up at that
"Yes! They might need us for something on another planet. I don't know when or where, but we might need to go somewhere else"
"Wonderful, Zim hopes we can go to Vort! They have such amazing scientific and engineering labs!" Zim said hopefully
"But they are enemies of Irk" She thought for a moment…that might actually work. "We'll see, don't get your hopes up too much"
"And will the Dib come?" He asked sadly, looking up with big innocent eyes. Mai was starting to get the feeling that Zim's attachment to Dib was a little more than platonic..
"I don't know honey, let's go talk to them about it" She smiled, picking him up off the bed and taking him to the large mirror by the bed. She grabbed some pink bows off the dresser and clipped them onto the base of his antennas ``There, I like those" Zim looked at himself in the mirror, perking his antenna
"Hmm…yes, Zim likes them too. But no one will see them under the wig" He said confused.
"Trust me, they will" She winked, giving him his disguise to put on himself and walking them to Dib's house
When they go there Membrane was the one to open the door for them. He was surprised to say the least that she actually came
"Hey cutie" She cooed, standing on her tiptoes and pulling his coat collar down enough to kiss him on the cheek before walking by him into the house, Zim sitting on her hip. She sat down on the couch and sat Zim next to her "Where's Dib? I'd rather talk about this first"
The professor rubbed the back of his neck guiltily
"Um…I dont think he'd want to talk. It hasn't been a good morning…" He said softly. Mai and Zim looked at him curiously
"Nonsense, the Dib needs to talk so Zim can take him to Vort" Zim declared, jumping off the couch and walking towards the stairs. The Professor looked at Mai confused but also worried
"What happened?" Mai said seriously. The Professor jumped at the question
"W-What? Well…I just…I-" Tears started pouring from his eyes before he even registered that he was crying, still stuttering to find his words. He took his goggles off to rub his eyes which were puffy and red, obviously from having cried earlier
She stood up and hugged him tight before helping him over to the couch to sit down
"Oh sweetie, what's going on?" She asked worriedly, holding his hand tight. She didn't have time to answer since a loud crash and screaming was heard outside
"ZIM? WHAT THE HELL? NO! LEAVE- AH! NOO!" Dib was heard screaming shortly before Zim came down the stairs, Dib struggling all tangled up in wires from his PAK
Zim abruptly dropped Dib on the couch facing opposite to Mai and his father. Dib immediately jumped up, sitting up on the couch
"ZIM! WHAT THE FUCK?" He yelled as Zim sat next to him
"Oh hush human! We need to talk. But first, what happened to your face?" Zim asked, leaning over him on the couch. He grabbed his face, examining it
Dib's face and body was covered in scratches and bruises. He pushed Zims hand away, looking over at his dad who was crying into his hands
"Why don't you ask him?" He said, his voice dripping with venom. Everyone looked at Membrane now
"James…You didn't.." Mai whispered
"I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO DO! I-I've tried being nice..I've tried grounding him, I follow everything the parenting books say! But nothing has worked! First it was these delusions, t-then it was acts of violence, and now hes acting out sexually?! I don't know what to do with him but being conventional isn't working!" He cried, completely lost "Usually I just ignore it, I work and ignore him but now his behavior is hurting others! Hurting our relationship! I can't take it anymore!" Hes screaming now, unable to contain his pure frustration with the situation
"That's no reason to hit him! He's your smeet!" Mai was fuming. He looked her in the eyes before looking away shamefully
"I-I know…I..I'm so sorry, son" He said looking up at Dib, who averted his gaze
"Blah blah what's the big deal? Dib has taken much bigger injuries from Zim before and he was fine. Can we talk about Vort now?" Zim said annoyed, pulling a square little bandaid like patch out of his PAK before sticking it over a bruise on Dib's cheek "There, you're fine!"
"Zim-" Mai gave him that mom glare that made him shut up and sit down. There was silence for a bit until Dib broke the silence
"I hate you…As soon as I turn 18 I'm leaving and never talking to you again" Dib said coldly before standing up to leave, but then fell back on the couch "Augh..Ow.." He said clutching his head
"Oh ya, that's a side effect of the patches, but they seem to be working!" He noticed Dibs' bruises were already fading. Everyone glared at him so he got quiet again. Tough crowd..
"Dib please, I'm sorry…I feel terrible, just tell me what to do" The professor cried, wanting to fix this. He had been crying all day already
"Wanna know what to do? Leave me the fuck alone!" He yelled
"Dib, please…" Mai tried to say before Dib cut her off
"Shut up, this is your fault! My life was perfectly fine being an outcast, ever since you came here everythings gone to shit! Even Zim is weird!" He yelled at her
"Dib look I'm sorry for accusing you, I didn't know what happened and I shouldn't have assumed your intentions. It's not my fault though for what your dad does, but I do know that he's trying his best" She said softly. Dib was taken aback by how soft she spoke to him
"Well his best is shit" Dib said bitterly
"Maybe it is, and you have the right to be mad at him, but he does love you and he's trying to learn to be better" Dib glared at the floor.
"She's right, Dib. I've been neglecting you guys, coping by working all the time because I was so depressed after your mother died…but I want to make things right, I want to try. Please, can we just forget all this and start over?" Dib just continued glaring at his feet
"I-I guess…" Dib whispered. His dad really had been seeming to make an effort lately, even if it wasn't for him, he still craved his approval
"Oh science thank you! I promise I'll do better! Starting by trying to learn more about you and your interests!" He held his hands together excitedly
"Oh yeah? I doubt that.." Dib said slightly amused
"No really! I believe in aliens now! And I'm sorry for saying you were insane, you were right!" He said completely in disbelief himself that he even said it. They were words he never thought he'd say.
"Well, Mai was in my room without her disguise yelling at me and you didn't shoot her, so I mean I kinda figured that. But you mean you're actually ok with ghost hunts and bigfeets?"
"Well um…I'm open minded to it!" He decided with a nod
"Wow, ok I'm impressed. I guess I get it though…" He knew he was a disappointment so he was used to his father not caring much about him, but actually hitting him crossed a line. He could kind of understand with the circumstances, but it didn't make him feel any better about what happened
"And again Dib, I'm really sorry for accusing you…I didn't know what really happened, I just wanted to protect Zim. He's so little…" She said softly, feeling terrible that he was subjected to that under her watch. Dibs curiosity was peaked a bit
"Hey, I've always wondered how old he really is. I've tried asking but he doesn't even seem to know-" Dib asked, hoping to finally get some answers at to how ages work on Irk
"Of course I know my age, stinky!" Zim yelled, huffing. Mai pulled him into her lap, shushing him
"He means how old you are compared to humans. Hm, It's not exact, but I can give an estimate. When smeet are hatched they are immediately programmed with the whole of Irken knowledge, as well as the ability to talk. They don't know how to use their bodies yet though, so things like balance, using the bathroom and such all need to be taught. So, I'd say Irken ages 0-100 are about on the level of human 3 year olds. 100-200 years are about on the level of human 5-7, since bodily functions are usually mastered so smeet start to learn social skills and academics. They grow the fastest at this stage. For Zim, he was taken right when he was 300, now he's 378 sooo…about 10?" She hoped that was accurate
"That explains a lot, I guess. But why would they let a 7 year old go into the military? Thats kinda stupid…I mean, no one thought that something like this would happen?" He asked, completely amazed that Irken were so dumb
"Um, we don't normally let smeet his age into the military, you need to be at least 1,000 to do so, but we had a Tallest, Tallest Miyuki. She made an order for smeet to be sent to make more troops for the upcoming invasions…" She wasn't very proud of her people and the decisions they made
"THAT'S why everyone in the academy was so much taller!" Zim said in realization, finally understanding the situation
"That's terrible that they would do that…I can't even imagine…" Dib started, horrified at the discovery. No wonder Zim was insane, that would drive him insane too
"Hopefully now you understand why I was so upset that you did…those things to him. Irken dont even become sexually active until at soonest 500, I'm guessing his parts only work because his PAK had to be reassigned as an adult to go in the military"
"I-I was just trying to get data about your species! I would never…I mean- I didn't mean to do all that!" He said, trying to defend himself "I didn't know!"
"I know, Dib. You were just doing your research. I can't have you guys doing that stuff again though. We don't know what it might do to him" She said looking down at him. If he went into a premature heat she'd have no way to get him hormone suppressants in time to stop it, and she didn't want that. It would be very painful without a mate
"Yeah, I promise. No more" He nodded
"Good. Now go play, your dad and I need to talk" She said, looking at him
"What! But we were gonna talk about taking the Dib to Vort!" Zim whined looking up at her
"We are, but you guys don't need to be here for it. It's adult stuff" Zim and Dib looked at eachother, deciding if it was worth it before nodding and getting up to go find something to do "Stay where I can see you!" She yelled out to them as they ran outside. She sat on the other couch with the Professor so they could look at them through the window as they played in the front yard
"So, what's Vort?" He said, making Mai laugh
"A planet, I don't know if we should go. Our leaders went behind my back and were trying to destroy the Earth, us included. I don't know if it's really safe anymore. They said they wouldn't try anything else and I have a tracker on where their ship is, but I'm just worried…maybe Irk isn't a safe place for him. Maybe I should take him somewhere safe" She sighed to herself. She really didn't know what could happen if they went back if the tallest would try something again
"Hm. On Earth we remove corrupt dictators from office. I'm guessing you don't have that choice?" He asked hopefully
"Nope, in our society whoever is the tallest Irken is considered a God" The professor looked at her confused
"Um…how is that…that doesn't make any sense.." He said, not really understanding the concept
"I know…and right now our planet is being run by 2 unstable and stupid Irken. One of them is pretty sweet and kind of has some common sense while the other one is just plain cruel. They both run based on emotion instead of logic" She sighed. Red might try to kill her and her smeet if given the chance, she didn't trust him anywhere near Zim now
"Wow…That's terrible. Sounds like the only option is to kill them" The professor said bluntly
"What? James! You can't just kill a tallest!" She said, at which Zim poked his head in. She hadn't noticed the boys standing right by the door listening
"Sure you can! I've killed 2 already!" Zim said out of nowhere completely nonchalant about it
"Wha-...Zim! Don't go lying like that, now what do you need?" Mai said getting angry with him. He was really annoying her today
"I'm hungry. And Zim doesn't lie! Remember the energy eating blob that killed the tallest Spork and Miyuki? That was Zim's blob!" He said proudly "I'm great at making stuff, huh?" He chuckled, walking over to the kitchen
"...T-That was YOU?" Mai yelled "Tallest Miyuki was probably the best Tallest to ever live, despite the whole sending smeet to war thing, and you got her eaten by a blob?" She was outraged, it made more sense now why he was exiled. This wasn't in his file though, so does the other tallest not know?
"Yeahh…I miss her, she was really nice" He said feeling a little sad now. Suddenly memories of her invaded his mind, long forgotten memories when he was a smeet resurfacing as he thought back to her. She was so kind to him, when no one else was…
Suddenly he dropped to his knees, unable to hold his weight as a flood of memories flashed before his eyes. All the abuse he suffered, and she was always there to save him
"I-I killed Miyuki.." He cried into his hands, finally processing the extent of what he had done. This is why he never liked to think about the past, why he kept the memories far to the back of his mind, they were too painful
Mai went over and picked him up, letting him cry on her shoulder
"Shhh…It's ok, get it all out…" She whispered to him as he sobbed. Dib and the Professor just watched, not knowing what was going on. He seemed so proud of himself a second ago? They both assumed it was from being pushed into war at such a young age. Zim had never acted like this before though, Dib thought
Mai noticed everyone staring and remembered what Zim had said when he came in
"Hey, let's start some breakfast. That should make you feel better-" She tried to cheer him up, bouncing him a little since she knew he liked that. He just kept sobbing. She looked at the Membranes with a look that said 'gimme a minute'. They both nodded, understanding and going to the kitchen. No better way for Dib and his father to start off their new relationship than with a father-son activity, right?
She took Zim to the couch and sat with him still clinging to her chest. He's been crying his little heart out a little too long for comfort as she was starting to worry his PAK would start to overheat. For once she didn't know what to do, she's never had a smeet this old have such bad episodes. Should she just do the same as when the 0-100 year old smeets cry nonstop?
She figured it was worth a try at least. She tried to cradle him in her arms but he kept clinging to her, trying to hide his face in her shoulder. She just needed his face for 5 seconds…
He was older but it really felt like she was handling a under 100 year old, as rare as that was. So she did what she normally did in this situation, pull his claws off her one by one and hold both his hands so she could hold him away from her long enough for a PAK leg to come out a shove a pacifier in his mouth
His eyes went wide at the sudden intrusion, taking a moment to come out of his thoughts and process what just happened. He looked at her upset before he instinctually began to suck on it
She pulled him back into her, letting him hide his face all he wanted now that he seemed to be calming down. She put a hand on his PAK, it was hot, but not enough to worry and was quickly cooling. His PAK overheated very easily during these episodes he had, she wondered if something was wrong with the PAK or if the things that happened were truly so terrible that it made it overload so easily just thinking about it. She'd have to check into that later
"Zim, are you ok?" She whispered. She felt a little nod against her chest "Good. Good boy, you're getting better-" No he wasn't, he seemed to be getting worse with these episodes but she just wanted to reassure him
"You wanna eat now?" She asked him. Again she got a nod. Good enough, she took him to the kitchen to sit down. She tried to pull him off but he held tightly. She sighed and just sat with him in her lap, hiding his face until the food got here
Membrane set down a plate of pancakes in front of them
"Enjoy" He smiled
"Thank you-" She smiled back, feeling Zim pulling his face away to examine the food just as Dib sat at the table
As soon as Dib noticed the pacifier in Zim's mouth he began to crack up but immediately tried to cover it as he got a death glare from Mai. He tried to pass if off as a cough, Zim looking at him oddly. Zim pulled it out of his mouth and set it on the table
"Are you dying again, Dib thing?" Zim asked as he poured just about the whole bottle of syrup over his pancakes
"Uh, no no it's just a tickle" Dib tried to play it off, still feeling Mais heated gaze on him
"Oh yeah, Zim hates those" He said before starting to eat. The Professor sat down next to Dib, noticing the pacifier on the table but deciding not to say anything about it
"Sorry for my terrible cooking, Foodio is broken at the moment" He said a little nervous to have others eat his food. Mai ate off the same plate as Zim, her eyes lighting up as she took a bite
"Are you serious? This is amazing!" She praised, going in and eating more
"That's because I helped" Dib snickered. Membrane laughed at that, glad his son was actually seeming to try again with him. It's been so long since they sat down together to eat like this. Then Dib remembered "Hey, where's Gaz?" Dib asked
"Oh she texted me she's gonna be at her friends house for a while. I think she's had enough of me" He joked, eating his food. Dib, always full of questions spoke up
"So, how did the whole alien reveal thing go?" He asked, genuinely curious if his dad fought her at all. Mai the professor looked at eachother blushing. They knew they couldn't tell the whole story…
"Um…I really like your dad so I decided to do it and he of course felt bad for never believing you…other then that he took it well" The professor nodded, liking that answer
"Wait, he knows were aliens? Now I can finally take off this ITCHY disguise!" Zim said theatrically before throwing his wig and contacts to the floor, his antenna springing up with the little bows still on them. Dib just stared, some of this stuff he found funny while some was just down right adorable. Zim looked so cute with the bows on his antenna
"Yes, Zim. The bows look really good on you~" She cooed
"I know, everything looks good on Zim" He smiled, finally feeling better after that whole episode. He quickly forgot it just like everything else
"So what's this Vort Zim keeps talking about?" Dib spoke up again
"Oh, it's a planet in Irken controlled space. We're thinking of going there or somewhere else, but Zim really likes their technological advances. They have a great school system so I might just go for it, it they take us. Zim wants you to go with, I think you'd like the schools too" She tried to make it seem like a casual thing
"Oh yeah, why do you want to kill the Tallest though?" Zim asked, remembering the bit of conversation he heard before he interrupted. Mai looked shocked that he remembered
"I-I don't! He suggested it!" She pointed at James who was just eating, caught off guard by the finger pointing at him. He had a mouthful of food
"Well- I mean you say they're a totalitarian society and that's why you don't want to go back, why not help yourself and all the other Irken by forcing them to get new leaders? Some who are hopefully less terrible?" He said casually. Mai sighed, she didnt like talking about possible murder over breakfast
"Well I mean yeah but if anyone knows it was us? We'd all be killed!" She said getting frustrated with him "It's easier to just move somewhere else!"
"I can make another blob to do it!" Zim said, excited to maybe get to make something for the mission
"NO! Zim, eat your food! We're not killing anyone!" She said losing her cool. Everyone shut up and ate, taking their plates to the sink.
The boys settled on playing video games in the living room since Gaz wasn't here and James and Mai sat on the couch watching them play. She was actually starting to think about it now, if she were to go through with this she knew who would be next appointed as Tallest. He was smart and would make a wonderful leader, she had raised him in the smeetery and was there when his final height was decided. If she went through with this, Irk would be in much better hands
She thought of all the friends she made, some who work closely to the Tallest. She could easily use them to construct a plan, to cover up their tracks….
Why was she thinking of this? She helped raise Red and Purple, she truly cared about them, she couldn't kill them!
But they've killed so many, what were 2 lives in place of millions they would no doubt take before their natural deaths? She needed to really think this through before making a decision. The professor was right, her, her smeet and everyone under Irken rule wasn't safe as long as they were in charge
"HAHA! I WIN!" Zim cheered
"WHAT?! NO YOU CHEATED!" Dib yelled at him
"What? Never! The Dib thing just stinks!" Zim stuck his tongue out at him.
Dib grit his teeth before jumping on him, them both falling off the couch as they wrestled. It looked like an unfair fight just because Zim was so much smaller then Dib, but he was obviously stronger. They both pinned eachother down, throwing punches, kicking and scratching
"BOYS!" Mai yelled, going to separate them. James just sat there on the couch sipping his tea
"Just leave them, they always do that" He said as she tried separating them, getting scratched in the process as she tried prying Zim off of Dib
"What?! No! Zim, stop!" She yelled, falling back as Zims claws let go of Dib. She fell on her butt, Zim in her arms "You both! Time out, now!"
"BUT HE STARTED IT!" Zim flailed in her arms trying to get free. He didn't know what a 'time out' was but it didn't sound good!
"I don't care! Dib, go sit in the kitchen. Zim, come here" She held him as she stood up, grabbing a chair and facing it against the wall in the living room. She sat him down, he looked up at her confused "You're gonna sit here for 10 minutes"
"Oh…ok, that's not so bad" Zim said, looking down at his feet and kicking them in the air. At least it wasn't a spanking
Dib went and sat at the kitchen table with a huff, he was quite familiar with this by now but hadn't had one in a long time. He was too old for it! He grumbled and just messed with his hair
Mai sat back on the couch with a sigh
"Wow, you handled that well.." The Professor said in amazement
"It's my job" She laid back on the couch exhausted. She took this moment to turn off her disguise, seeing it wasnt really necessary "Thanks for the help" She said sarcastically
"Well they're just being boys, boys like to be rough. At least that's what my dad always said-" He thought out loud. That was always what his dad told him when he came home from school all beat up. Of course it was never a game, though
"Your human concepts of gender baffle me. On Irk, males and females are just identities, not personality traits" She said bluntly. Humans really seemed to take things to the extreme here when it comes to gender
They sat in silence for a while until Mai announced their time was up and could come out now, letting them play again after apologizing. They stayed a few hours more before Mai decided it was time to take Zim home. She wanted to think more about the proposal James had made
She decided to let Zim play upstairs while she went to the base to call Koi, of course having a camera on him so she can monitor. She went down to the lab to open a transmission
"Mai hey! How did everything go? You said it was fine but like, what happened?" Mai explained the whole conversation she had with the tallests in detail. Koi was surprised to say the least "Wow, Purple stood up for you? That's awesome!"
"Yeah but I still don't feel safe going back, especially not with Zim…I was thinking of moving us to another planet-"
"But the empire needs you! What about the smeeteries?" Koi was shocked Mai was considering leaving, she was a vital part of Irk
"Yeah, that's why I thought of something else…I know it's a little crazy, but It might work and it would help everyone" She said a little nervous to share the idea
"What is it?"
"Well…..I know the next Irken in line to be Tallest, he'd be a much better leader and if I could get away with…you know?"
"With murder?" Koi said bluntly "Are you crazy? You'd be found out and put on trial!"
"I know I know but think of all the potential lives it would save! And then Zim can go back and live a normal life! Even if I get found out…Yes the smeetery might fall apart, but I trust the girls I have trained. They are excellent Mother Tallests. I just want everyone to be safe…"
"...just, really think this through. I don't want you to be hurt, I don't really care about the Tallests. I agree that they've killed too many, they start unnecessary wars and put their people at risk. It's not a safe place for smeet. Please just think this through"
"I will, I haven't decided what to do yet but I'll keep you posted. Thank you for worrying about me, dear. By far out of the billions of smeet I've raised, you're the one i'm most proud of" Koi blushed, getting flustered
"T-Thank you..Call me whenever"
"I will dear, goodnight" She smiled. She really loved her like one of her own. Well, she loved all her smeet equally, but if she had to choose Koi had to be her favorite
She looked at the monitor. Zim was just sitting on the floor doing a puzzle. Nice, she decided to go back up. Maybe spending some time with him would give her some much needed time to think about her decision
Before she got to the elevator though she got a text message. It was from the Professor
"You know we still never went on that date" She smiled, he was so sweet. She typed back
"Pick me up tomorrow at 8 and bring Dib, I have the perfect babysitter" She smiled before turning the phone off and going up to the 1st floor
The plan could wait, she's got a sexy human to play with
