The penultimate chapter, everyone! Just one more and we're done!

Lost

Chapter 19- The Escape

Everything was a blur. She couldn't clearly see anything, only shadows. Something was definitely going on, however. She thought she heard silent screaming, plus the ground was shaking every few seconds. Was it an earthquake? She couldn't really tell.

There was this shadow above her, speaking in whispers and pressing something against her shoulder. Speaking of which, it felt wet and sticky, as if something was pouring out of it. It was uncomfortable. This shape looked familiar, but she couldn't remember. Who was he? Why was he crying? Perhaps she'd ask later. Right now all she wanted was to sleep.

Red could have sworn history had just repeated itself. Just instead of Miyuki being devoured alive by the blob creature, he saw Lena shoot herself in the shoulder with Iraa's gun and fall to the floor limply. What both cases had in common was that he was helpless. Completely and utterly helpless, unable to stop it from happening.

All his attention focused solely on Lena even as chaos erupted around him. He went straight to her side even as Zim's maniacal laughter broke through the air and a whole pack of mendigoes broke through the walls and into the hangar, roaring and devouring whatever was in front of them, no matter if it was a Hothian or Skoodge or Larb. Even as Fury came upon Iraa and tore at his neck with his long claws, drowning the agonizing scream in his shredded throat.

"Lena, can you hear me?! It's me, it's Red!" He cried, shaking her frantically while pressing his own hand against the wound. "Don't close your eyes, Lena! Please don't!"

Her antenna twitched. Her lovely cyan eyes stared up at him, but their previous shine was gone. They looked confused and empty. Trails of pink blood ran down her lower lip and out of her mouth.

"All fear the almighty Zim!"

"What on Irk are those things?!"

"Mastah, can we keep them?"

"This is so good, a mutant wendigo! Hey, alien-scum, out of the way, you're blocking the camera!"

"Everyone, get on the ship, NOW!"

Red didn't need to ask twice. He took Lena in his arms and carried her into the lounge, followed soon by the rest of the Invaders, Zim, and Dib. The ship momentarily shook as it started the lift-off, almost sending him off balance. "Lizards, Lena is hurt! Which way is the infirmary?!"

"Follow me…" Foxtrot managed to get on his feet and led him into the mini-elevator that took them to the Ibris's main corridor and from there walked towards the infirmary. Blue was curled up on top of one of the tables, and Ilk was snuggled against him, both seemingly asleep and wearing oxygen masks.

Red would have thrown a fit upon finding them like that, but instead placed Lena unto the other metal table, where her wounds were scanned by the Ibris's AI. Without her PAK properly working the wound wouldn't heal on its own and it seemed like she had already lost lots of blood.

"Diagnostic?" Foxtrot asked.

"Severe plasma burns on the outer skin, and it went all the way inside. No internal organs were damaged, but she lost too much blood."

"What can we do about it?!" Red jumped and looked down. Zim, Skoodge, and Bob had followed them here? Guess they really cared about Lena. Maybe they also wanted to check up on Ilk.

"She needs a blood transfusion. Before you ask what that is, it means we need someone to donate blood to put into her-" The ship shook again. "Sorry, turbulence." Red couldn't help but feel a bit offended. They might not use those healing methods anymore, but that doesn't mean Irkens didn't know what a simple blood transfusion was, right?

Bob and Skoodge tore part of their uniforms. "Just leave us enough to make it back home!" The latter said.

"It's not that simple. She has a very rare blood type, Positive ZK. I don't know much about Irken blood types, so I'm not sure about how rare it is among your species, but the point is the donor has to be of the same blood type or her body might reject it."

"Then use mine!" Red cried, holding out his arm. "I'm Positive ZK, I'm compatible!" He ignored the shocked glances from the trio of smaller ones. "What are you three looking at?! Off with you!"

"Actually you might want to keep them around. The Irken hatchling needs a transfusion too."

"What?!"

"From the result of her scans, I can tell she had a big injury and you forced her body to regenerate the missing flesh and tissue through a means other than the reggel, not to mention she also lost a lot of blood. This, plus the lack of clean air, caused her to weaken considerably; she doesn't have enough blood in her body to carry the oxygen I tried to give her."

Damn it. "I'm her father, can you give her my blood?!"

"What part of needing to be the same blood type didn't you understand? Hers is a bit more common, negative Z, but-"

Suddenly Zim jumped unto the table, standing on top of Blue's head, and pulling his sleeve up. "I'm negative Z! Use the blood of Zim to save the Ilk-smeet!"

Red went pale. Oh, no! No, no, no! There was no way he'd contaminate Ilk's pureblood with Zim's defective DNA, desperate as he might be. He turned to the other two smaller ones, who stared at Zim in awe. "You two! What's your blood type?!"

"Positive BK."

"Negative D."

Flirk it! "Then go take blood samples from the others-!"

"There's no time for that, Irken, she needs the oxygen and the blood now!"

Red bit his lip. Whatever did he do to deserve this?! He glanced at Ilk, then at Zim. Finally, he sighed gravely. "Fine, just do it quickly!" He glared at Skoodge and Bob. "Okay, now off with you!"

Foxtrot shifted and tapped his claw. "I'm... going to make sure the ship is working at its optimum efficiency."

"You know I can hear you, don't you?"

"Just don't touch anything, Irken, okay?"

With that Foxtrot stalked out of the infirmary, followed by Bob and Skoodge. "Okay, that was weird."

"No one asked your opinion."

"You should be nicer, considering I'm the one who's about to put a needle in your arm."

Red sighed. "Just hurry before she loses any more blood!" He stretched out his arm again just as a long robotic arm with a syringe was lowered down. Zim similarly gulped as another needle was lowered to his own arm, but was doing his best to keep a confident face.

Hang on, girls.

"For the ancestors' sake, what now?!"

The emergency lights bathed everything in a bright orange shade, accompanied by a loud siren. Those who could move made their way to the bridge. Masouri and Foxtrot, who caught up from the infirmary, stubbornly refused any help to get there, instead leaning unto the walls to keep themselves on their feet. On the other hand, Tallest Purple had to lean unto both Larb and Stink to properly move with his injured leg. Getting off the goddamn planet was the priority.

The consoles were beeping and a few screens were flashing with sobrekt characters. Purple had a bad feeling about them. Of all the 600 written languages downloaded into his PAK, Sobrekt was not amongst them. The glass, however, was cloudy because of the cold atmosphere the higher the Ibris flew. "Status report!" he cried.

"Looks like this planet is giving us a parting gift: there's a third-category blizzard outside, limiting visibility, plus there seems to be some… extra weight."

Purple furrowed his brow. Extra weight? "Put on the camera feed in the cargo hold." Nothing.

"Do as he says, computer," Foxtrot ordered.

"Okay, who are you and what did you do with Foxtrot?"

"Computer!"

The cloudy screen was replaced by the image of one of the security cameras in the cargo hold. They saw none other than Fury and GIR playing cards with the pack of mendigoes. Judging by the scowl on the beasts' faces and the innocent grin on GIR's face, the latter was probably winning.

"What the-? How the Irk did those things get in here?!"

Foxtrot and Masouri looked like they were about to cry. "That robot would make such a good indokani…" the latter whispered.

"Okay, you two, get back on track! Computer, what options do you suggest?"

"I'd recommend landing and waiting till it passes, but I'm not sure for how long the coating on the power core will last."

"The other one?"

"We try and leave the atmosphere blindly. I'd have no problem with that if it weren't for the freezing cold damaging the engine plus the electromagnetic waves coming from the sun, which could cause a malfunction even with the Hothian metal."

Purple turned to Masouri. "Lizard, would you mind if I took charge from here?"

Masouri looked so sick he didn't really seem to mind he did. "Whatever, Your Tallest. Computer, do as he says, and be sure to translate the writing." How did he know he couldn't read sobrekt?! This was embarrassing.

That embarrassing moment aside, Purple barked orders at the Invaders to take positions around the console while the Dib-hyooman was put in charge of the systems. He might be inferior, but he certainly was good with alien technology. The red lights subsided for the time being, but the ship would tremble and shake every now and then. The indokuro hatchling lost his footing a few times and ended up clinging to Purple's leg, inadvertently tearing part of his robe with his sharp claws. The personality interface was surprisingly helpful by translating all characters into Irken letters despite its often snarky comments.

"Stink, prepare the hyperdrive and locate the coordinates of the Massive's current position. Tenn, keep an eye on the systems to make sure they are in top form! Big-headed kid, make sure we don't blow up!"

"Yes, My Tallest!"

"Would it kill you to say please?! And my head is not big!"

"Going through the stratosphere!"

"How long will that take?! I want to get off this rock ASAP!"

"Just a little longer."

Another violent temblor. The window was almost frozen by then. Bob was knocked backward and fell unto Foxtrot, sending both against the wall. Purple would have laughed, but his gaze was locked unto the glass. He might be lacking in certain areas Red was an expert at, but he had been an expert pilot, the best of his generation back on the day. It was perhaps the only skill he still kept in practice nowadays.

A few minutes later the clouds were replaced with the dark, starry vacuum of space. "Are the coordinates ready?!"

"Yes, My Tallest! The Massive is located near Foodcourtia!"

How blissfully convenient. "Set those coordinates and enter hyperspace!" In a few seconds, the blackness of space momentarily became long streams of light as the Ibris went into light speed, leaving the doomed planet behind.

"Systems coming back online."

The Irkens (and Dib) cheered happily. Even Masouri joined in in spite of his current condition, resulting in him collapsing prematurely. Purple sighed in deep relief. "And the long-distance communications?"

"That too."

"Should I hail the Massive, my Tallest?"

Purple glanced down at the hatchling, who was purring against his injured leg, then at Masouri and Foxtrot's sleeping forms. The Sobrekt were vulnerable and they had them at their mercy. It'd be like taking a piece of candy from a smeet, and it would be a nice way to make them pay for all the stuff he went through these days. After a long moment of silence, he said. "Nah, I think they can survive without me for a little bit longer. Besides, right now all I want is to have a snack as it should be." Purple grinned. "In fact, I'm in such a good mood that when we get to Foodcourtia you can all have snacks on Bob's treat. Now go bring me some proper food before I change my mind."

Bob muttered under Foxtrot's weight as he watched his fellow Irkens dash for the kitchen.

Blood donation was perhaps the most bizarre process he had gone through. Maybe because he had never taken part in one before or because Irkens were far beyond this rudimentary practice. Not to mention he was the Almighty Tallest, there was no way his precious blood would be wasted on a shorter Irken. And yet here he was, watching his pink blood flow through a thin, long tube and into Lena's arm. To make things worse, Ilk was going through a similar process with Zim, Zim of all fucking people, as the donor.

He was certain he'd never hear the end of it from Pur when he found out. But frankly, right now he didn't care. All he wanted was to make sure both his girls would survive. He still had to repay Lena for her kindness and patience, and what a better way to do that than save her life? She had done so many times for him and Ilk already, after all.

"I think you'll want to know we've entered hyperspace."

Red sighed in deep relief. Thank Irk. "Destination?"

"Foodcourtia. Your Armada seems to have gathered there. The other Irken about your height decided not to call them yet."

Zim almost went pale. "Do you think we could go somewhere else, computer? Zim is not very fond of that place."

"How long till we get there?"

"Half an hour."

Red looked at Lena's sedated face, then glanced at Ilk... "And how long till they…?"

"Not long. Ten minutes, at best. You could go eat something meanwhile: no offense, but you look famished."

"Take that back, computer! Nobody insults my Almighty Tallest's superior body shape!"

Red ignored the following argument between Zim and the AI and kept his gaze on top of Lena. The wound had been stitched and gazed the old-fashioned way. It would leave a scar on her. Many males would find any mark on a female unappealing, but not him. Especially not on Lena. His eyes ran down her body and toward her delicately long, thin and exposed legs. His hand found its way to her face to stroke her cheek. It felt warmer than a few minutes ago.

She really had an uncanny resemblance to Miyuki.

His growling stomach reminded him he hadn't had a decent meal these past days. "Zim, keep an eye on Ilk and Lena." Zim saluted with a goofy grin. With that taken care of, he made his way to the kitchen through directions given by the AI.

To his surprise he ran into none other than Captain himself: the Sobrekt looked like he was faring better, but he still looked exhausted. He was munching on a piece of dried meat of some sorts. "How are they?" He asked with visible concern.

"Didn't the nosy interface you have for an AI tell you?" Red muttered as he walked over to the famous Foodinator and made some doughnuts for himself.

"I can hear you."

Captain chuckled. "Nah, it respects the confidentiality thing."

"They still haven't awoken, for your information, but they are recovering. I had to donate about half a liter of my precious blood, but for her frankly, I don't mind. The only problem is that my poor Ilk needed a transfusion too, and the only person here with her same blood type was Zim."

"And what's the problem?"

"Ilk's pure tallest DNA is ruined, that's the problem!"

The sobrekt rolled his eyes and took a sip of his hot cocrok. It felt so good to have a hot drink after days of being in the bitter cold climate.

"Hey, Captain?"

"What is it?"

Red almost regretted calling him. His Irken pride was actually screaming at him for what he was going to do, but he took a deep breath and pushed those thoughts away. He might be a jerk, but he wasn't ungrateful. "T-Thank… T-Sav…" his tongue knotted. Damn it.

"What?"

"Don't pressure me, lizard!" Finally, Red smacked himself. "Thank you for saving my life! There, I said it! Happy?!" His cheeks felt hot. He was pretty certain he was blushing.

Captain only blinked. Seconds later he burst into laughter. "Haha-I wish I had a camera! Ha! Computer, did you… haha… did you record this?"

"It's in the security feed."

"Hehe, wait until… hey, Irken, don't take it like that!" Red had gone straight to the coffee machine, punched the buttons, grabbed his drink and stomped his way towards the doorway. "Computer!" The door slammed closed.

"What? Are you going to make fun of me in private? Or are you going to turn our arguments into a reality show?" Red hissed without looking at Captain.

"You're going to tell me you haven't done the same thing on any of your subjects?"

"It's different!"

Captain shrugged. "If you say so," another sip of cocrok. "So, What are you going to do about the doc?"

Red perked up his antenna. "What do you mean?"

"Come on, Irken, it's pretty evident that you're head over heels for her! And it bothers you that she's still mad at you."

Oh, how he hated when he did that. "I guess I'll just keep apologizing and try to convince her not to leave-"

"That's not going to work, Irken. I told you before, words mean nothing to a hurt woman, and if you try to outright force her to forgive you it's going to push her further away."

Red crossed his arms. "What do you suggest, then?"

"Well, you can start by being honest with her and letting her express herself, women love that. Be yourself instead of trying to put the 'in better than you, deal with it' thing."

"That's the way I am."

"I'd recommend giving her the severed head of a creature you hunted by yourself."

Red frowned at the ceiling. "Who invited you to this conversation?!"

"I don't think that will work on a female Irken, computer, but thanks." Captain said.

"Other much more common… presents include a bunch of flowers and a box of candy, those are very effective to appeal to a female."

"How is giving her a bunch of dead reproductive plant organs going to help me?"

"It's not the gift itself, irken, it's the intention behind it. Besides, remember what I said about the armored stekogs; be perseverant even if she sends you down a tube at first."

"Down a tube?"

"You really need to get out more."

There was a knock on the door as a nasal voice yelled at the computer to open up. The AI complied. Tenn, Larb, and Stink walked in and saluted when they noted Red was there. "How's everything going up there?"

"Everything's under control, My Tallest. Tallest Purple asked that we get him some celebratory snacks while we get to Foodcourtia."

"Speaking of which," Red glared at Captain. "Why did you have to take that planet?!"

Captain blinked. "Well…" he laughed sheepishly. "Don't take it personally, but that was not precisely a strategic move. The Shuryo targeted it because he knows it's Irk's largest snacking planet and that the Massive constantly goes there for your snack refills every few moons."

"Well, thanks to that little move I had to break a promise to Ilk, which in turn led to this whole chain of events! If you had taken another planet, none of this would have ever happened!"

"Speaking of the Irken-hatchling, she's starting to awaken, in case you're interested."

Red instantly abandoned the argument and left the kitchen, coffee in one hand and bag of doughnuts in the other. As he went back into the infirmary, he found Ilk had sat up and was currently in a friendly conversation with Zim. "Ah, my Tallest! Zim was about to go fetch you! Ilk-smeet is awake thanks to my superior blood!"

Red's eye twitched momentarily. Wonderful. First life-indebted to Captain, and now to Zim! Grin and bear it for now, Red. Just a little longer and he'd send Zim back to the little mudball in the farthest reaches of the galaxy and forget this ever happened. Besides, he just mentioned he was not ungrateful, even if the person that donated blood to Ilk was the last person he'd ever want. "Ilk, are you okay? How are you feeling?" He said, quickly changing the subject.

"I'm still a bit drowsy, but I'm okay, dad…" Ilk whispered.

Blue lifted his head. "So we're finally out?"

"Yes. In about half an hour we should be arriving at Foodcourtia." Red noted the kryvtor was still curled up around Ilk. "Would you mind moving? I don't like the proximity you currently have with my smeet."

"Dad…"

"No, no, that's okay." Blue carefully shifted and got off the table. "I was going to check up on Fury, anyway."

"Zim will accompany you, Blue-beast. I have to make sure GIR is still in one piece."

"Hey, dad, do you mind if I go up and catch up with Uncle Pur?"

Red had the feeling they were actually looking for excuses to leave him alone with Lena so they'd have some time alone when she awoke. He was thankful for it. "It's okay, sweetheart. I think they're going to do a snacking party up there, and I'm pretty sure you won't want to miss it." he grinned.

"Snacks? Out of my way!"

Red couldn't help but chuckle fondly as Ilk jumped off the table and rushed out of the infirmary as if nothing had happened, followed by Blue and Zim. She was so much like him in so many things even if they did have their differences.

He took a seat next to Lena and silently ate, though he made sure to save some donuts for her. He had the feeling she'd be hungry when she woke up. Now that she was out of danger she looked even more serene as she slept. Red found himself stroking her cheek again just to feel the warmth. As he did so he felt a strange sensation in his squeedly spooch his PAK could not get rid of; it wasn't unpleasant, on the contrary, it was akin to the fluttering parasites inside one's stomach thing…

Love is a… debated topic for the Irkens. There weren't exactly laws against it, but it was considered a distraction and many abandoned the practice in favor of focusing solely on serving the Empire. Plus love could be used against people, as Red had learned as he used the sentiment against the conquered species or those who crossed him, threatening to take what they loved the most away should they not comply. Resuming, most Irkens thought love made you weak.

Red used to have that mentality on his elite days, but then when he least expected it the sentiment struck him out of the blue as he found himself falling in love with Miyuki. Then when he lost her he felt so empty and hurt he silently vowed he'd never fall for it again, not wanting to go through the same pain ever again. But it seemed as if the universe had a sort of conspiracy against him. Years later Ilk came to his life, and he found himself with a different, but equally strong, form of love. And now Lena, who not only reminded him of Miyuki but who also filled that empty, painful hole her death left him.

No point in denying the obvious. He loved her. He loved Lena.

Unknowingly, Red had leaned in closer to her, bringing his face close to her. His hand was tenderly stroking her cheek as one of his antennae tentatively stretched forward towards hers just as his forehead pressed against hers...

It was so quiet. Well, almost. There was the familiar beeping sound she'd heard thousands of times in an infirmary or a clinic. The unmistakable sound of a machine signaling vital signs. Where was she? Ouch. Her shoulder was aching and her legs were cold. Why were they cold?

Then she felt something different. A tingling, pleasant sensation in one of her antenna. Who was touching it? Reluctantly, she started opening her eyes only to quickly regret it as she was momentarily blinded by bright light. In spite of all, she managed to see a familiar shadow on top of her. It took her a few more seconds for her ocular orbs to adjust to the brightness. She had to blink a few more times to get a better look. "My Tallest…?"

"Lena! Are you okay? How are you feeling?"

Lena was about to respond when she noted he was literally on top of her, causing her to blush deeply. Damn it. "Umm… Well, I'd feel better if you weren't so close to my face…"

"Oh." He seemed to realize what she meant and pulled back. "Sorry."

"What happened-ouch!" Lena brought her hand to her shoulder.

"Try not to move much, the stitches on your shoulder are still fresh."

"Stitches..? My shoulder…?" Wait, it was all coming back. Iraa holding her as a hostage, then she pulled the trigger on his gun herself so he'd lose the only leverage he had, everything after that was a blur. "Where are we?"

"On the Ibris, on our way to Foodcourtia," Red said with notable relief. "Hopefully we can get a decent meal for once after having had to rely on meat for days."

"So it's over?"

"Yeah."

Lena noticed part of Red's arm had been bandaged. "What happened to your arm?"

"That…" He rubbed the bandages. "You lost lots of blood. You needed a transfusion, but you have a very rare blood type… Which is coincidentally the same as mine."

Lena stared at him agape. Had he…? Did this mean he had…? Sharing a snack with her was one thing, but sharing his blood? And to save her life nonetheless. "M-My Tallest, I don't know what to say…"

"Then don't. Let me…" he sighed. "We need to talk, Lena."

Oh, right. She was supposed to be mad at him. But he had saved her life by sharing his blood, which might be worth millions of monies. The least she could do was listening to what he had to say. "Okay." She said.

"Want a doughnut?" Red awkwardly held out the donuts he had saved for her. He momentarily felt like an idiot, but she silently accepted the bag. Okay, remember what Captain said, be yourself. He took a deep breath. "Lena, I… I know you probably don't believe me when I tell you how sorry I am, but it's the truth. I didn't mean what I said back there, I was upset and I took it out on you…" another sigh. "I don't blame you for hating me right now…"

"I don't hate you, My Tallest," Lena said, putting the remaining donuts aside. She averted her gaze uncomfortably upon remembering the harsh words. "I'm just very hurt and disappointed in you. I was just trying to get you to calm down because you were not thinking clearly and I was afraid you'd start a fight with Blue in your injured state. You broke your hand when you tried to punch Captain, what do you think would have happened if you picked a fight with a kryvtor?"

"And regarding Ilk, I was worried because I care about her, not only as a medic but also as a friend. She needed somebody to hear her out because she didn't feel she could open up to you, she was afraid of your reaction," Lena frowned, "And I have to say she was right."

"I know," Red sighed sadly, averting his gaze in shame. "At least I do now," with notable courage he met Lena's gaze again. "Lena… The one thing I meant was when I said I wanted you with me. And not only as a doctor, but I also want you as my life-partner. I..." He gently lifted a hand before Lena could speak. "Please let me finish. Ever since you arrived you started filling an emptiness inside of me I didn't know I had ever since… Ever since I lost someone dear to me… "

"Tallest Miyuki, right?"

"What?"

"When the mendigo injured you and you went delirious, you called me 'Miyuki'."

He did? Oh, shit. How embarrassing. Red bit his lip. "Y-Yeah. Tallest Miyuki and I were very close back before she…" He couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence. "I do admit, the first time I saw you, you reminded me of her…" He was getting off track. "Lena, I know I hurt you, and I'm aware simple words might not be enough to prove to you that I'm being honest. But if you'd give me a chance, I'd like to show you how much you mean to me… How much I love you, Lena. That's why I'm asking you… begging you, please don't leave the Massive. Don't leave me." Tentatively he held her hands. "You're not just a lowly medical drone, Lena. You're even more than that."

Lena stared at him in utter shock. Was this a dream? Was she still unconscious? Or hallucinating? It couldn't be… He couldn't be saying… But his eyes, those pleading eyes, said otherwise. She had seen a fire behind those crimson orbs, a fire that attracted her like a moth being attracted by light. Yet she had also witnessed a great capability of tenderness and concern.

To Red's irritation, at that moment the ship cut him off. "How very cute."

"Don't you have anything better to do?!"

"Just wanted to let you know the rest have decided to throw a sort of party in the bridge, just in case you're interesting. Oh, a message from Tallest Purple: we got cinnamon rolls."

Given the jolly atmosphere, it was hard to believe that the two groups in the bridge had been at each other's throats a few days ago. Everybody was deep in conversations, snacking or simply lounging around. Red, in particular, was enjoying a good batch of freshly-baked cinnamon rolls straight from the Foodinator. It felt so good to have actual snacks!

"So that thing imprinted on him?" Captain glanced at Purple in disbelief.

"Sad but true," Foxtrot shrugged.

"Can't we do something about it?"

"Unfortunately, once an indokuro bonds with the first thing it sees, it's for life." Blue tossed a dry piece of meat towards Fury.

Foxtrot chuckled. "The committee is so going to like this."

Meanwhile, the hatchling was confusedly looking around at the Irkens as they tried to give him a name. Clearly, he had no idea of what they were doing other than parroting different words he did not understand. Ilk couldn't blame them, though, so far all their ideas consisted of snack names before switching with something more fitting, such as Ripper or Fang, but he merely lay his head down on uncle Pur's foot and fell asleep.

"How about Fido?"

"That's a dog name."

"Deathkiller!"

"Or you could name him Zim!" Zim grinned, ignoring the annoyed glances he received in return.

"Terrible idea," Dib muttered.

"SILENCE!"

"And here I thought Red and Captain were like an old couple…" Purple muttered, taking a bite of his cinnamon roll.

"They're the bestest of friends!"

Both Zim and Dib glared at GIR and yelled simultaneously. "He's not my friend!" They returned the glares at each other.

"How dare you copy Zim?!"

"I didn't copy you, you are the one who copied me!"

"You're lying!"

Ilk quickly changed the topic. "So, how do we know the hatchling has 'picked' a name?"

"He will look at the person who named him and respond to it afterward."

"How long until we get to Foodcourtia?"

"Computer-"

"We should be coming out of hyperspace in three, two, one-" A sudden temblor sent whoever wasn't sitting to the ground just as the Ibris left hyperspace.

"What on Irk?!"

"Err… My Tallest, you'll want to see this."

The space around Foodcourtia was an authentic battlefield. Ships from both the Irken and Sobrekt armadas flew by shooting pink and green lasers. Both the Massive and the Tyrannus were smoking. Red and Purple stared at the scene agape while Captain smacked his forehead, cursing in sobrekt.

"How about we call them before there aren't any armadas left?"

"Captain, for the first time we agree on something."

Next chapter: The Sobrekt and the Irkens part ways, not without solving their personal issues.