Prisoner of War

I don't get it

AN – I really don't. :D

He must have dozed off, because the next thing he remembered was a blinding light and a pair of frenzied purple eyes hovering over his head. He jolted and found himself unable to move. Long, strong fingers lay claim to his arms and held Dib still. Dib started to panic when a familiar voice came to him.

"Dib, come on."

That eerie voice would (and should) have made him feel even more panicked, but instead he relaxed enough to let the other pull him off the bed. Dib stumbled for a moment but quickly caught himself. He didn't expect to be pulled away so quickly, but hurried to catch his feet up. Purple rushed him out the door where Red was standing boredly before a big screen. Dib tried to catch a glimpse of the screen, fearing what all this chaos was about, but before he got a good look at it, he was yanked away, closer to Red. Purple held Dib in front of himself and gave a huge smile to Red, who was watching Dib curiously. Dib glanced around, not sure what was happening, and only soft sounds, of a distant battle maybe, floated between them. After a very long, awkward pause, Red held out a hand and pointed at the two.

"I don't get it."

Purple sighed heavily behind him, and his hands grew heavy on Dib's shoulders.

"Look, his head, that planet?"

Dib looked back at Purple, who was pointing at the screen behind Red. Red's eyes narrowed and one eyebrow rose.

"I still don't get it."

Purple sighed again and framed Dib's head with his long fingers.

"His head, it's just like that-"

"My Tallest, a transmission from General Var is coming in."

Purple looked up and straightened, and Red turned to face the screen. The screen had fazed to a black screen before Dib could see what had been on before. A calm faced, yet quietly disgruntled Irken appeared on the screen. In the distance, Dib could see small dots flying past the insides of his ship. He was well decorated, and upon seeing his leaders, he instantly saluted.

"Greetings, my Tallest. The purge goes well."

"Then why are you contacting us, General?"

It was probably the first time Dib had heard Red speak in a respectful voice this whole time, but it didn't really surprise him. Red hadn't really ever been rude either, it was just that every time he had heard the leader speak thus far, it was directed angrily at him. The general nodded promptly and explained.

"It seems that they've made a few unauthorized alliances with various groups. The Resisity happens to be their closest ally at the moment."

Red sighed and rubbed his head.

"The Resisty are nothing to be worried about."

"But Sir, they–"

Purple chimed in, obviously hardly giving a damn about the whole situation.

"A rebel group with such a stupid name couldn't possibly have the capabilities to cause the Empire any real damage."

"They've already destroyed team Beta."

Purple's eyes popped open, and Red took the reigns.

"They haven't largely affected the other groups, correct?"

"False, actually, my Tallest. They've practically demolished the Pheta sector, and they're beginning to breech Delson's segment."

Red didn't miss a beat nor show sign of concern.

"Send in team Alpha."

"But Sir–"

"I don't want to hear it. Alpha will wipe the floor with those fools."

"But what if–"

"There is no 'if'. They will obliterate that planet's defenses and the Resisty, or each one that comes back will be tried for treason against the Empire and executed before an audience of their peers."

The General, obviously unsettled by the order, snapped up into an uneasy attention and saluted. He fought not to stammer in his words.

"Y-yes, my Tallest. The order will be given immediately."

Red turned, hardly giving a care and only an ounce of frustration sat on his face.

"See to it, General."

He emphasized the other's rank as though in warning. Before the screen faded, Purple pointed at Red.

"You know, he might be right."

"He hasn't said anything to be right with."

"I know, but he was concerned with sending in Alpha. If they got through Beta, how is Alpha supposed to do any better?"

Red glared at him, but before he could say anything, Purple waved a hand and continued.

"I know I know, made up of old invaders and all, but Beta's not that much weaker, and they have more guys on hand. Maybe we should move in the main ship and start the sweep."

Red narrowed his eyes, more in thought now then frustration, and shrugged.

"Could be a trap. Their main operations are still functional, so they could still use cruiser lasers and potentially cause problems for us."

Purple shrugged off-handedly giving Red the burden of the decision and looking back to the screen. Red mimicked the other's actions and point at the screen.

"Send a squadron of Alpha down onto the planet's surface. We need sabotage, and they'll do nicely. The rest of them need to move in on their defenses, and blow stuff up. Meanwhile we'll move the Massive into position, but we won't make ourselves known until we hear word from the squadron planet-broad."

The general saluted proudly.

"Yes, my Almighty Tallest!"

He abruptly clicked off the transmission, and Red looked boredly back at Purple.

"What would the Empire do without us?"

"Hopefully we'll never know."

Red grinned off-handedly and nodded boredly. He waved vaguely to the pilots, who instantly began clicking away at the consoles. A shift of gravity caught Dib off-guard, but stability almost instantaneously resumed. Dib looked up at the two leaders curiously, but both just hovered there staring at the screen. They were bored off their asses, it was impossible to think otherwise. Dib rose an eyebrow and held out a hand. With the movement, Purple boredly looked back at Dib, and rose an eyebrow. He instantly snapped up and whipped around.

"Oh yeah!"

He whizzed behind Dib, putting his hands on Dib's shoulders again and looking at Red, the same huge grin sitting on his face. Red looked back and stared at the other.

"Get it yet?"

Red shook his head and rubbed his temples.

"No, Pur, I don't get it. You're sense of humor is totally whack."

"Wiggity whack?"

Red stared at him blankly.

"…what?"

"You mean fo shizzle, right?"

Red gave him a dead glare.

"Why the Hell do I put up with you?"

Purple grinned and lifted away from Dib, who turned and looked up at the leader.

"Because you like me."

"No, because it's illegal for me to kill you."

"Oh yeah. Well, same thing."

Red turned back to the screen and waved vaguely toward Purple and Dib.

"Take him back to the room."

"But you never got the joke."

"I bet you didn't even have a joke to begin with."

"I did too."

Red turned his head back and sent a glare to his counterpart.

"Just get him out of here. He'll just be in the way."

The screen before Red phased from the dark screen to a chaotic, glowing mess. Ships sat as little dots in the void of space that surrounded a large, luminous planet. They were battling, small beams and flickers of deadly light speckling the field between the feuding ships. It was just as vicious and deadly as all those sci-fi movies Dib used to watch. And yet the leaders were hardly even paying it attention. A guard came forward and dragged Dib off, and Purple hovered to stand beside the other, the chaos sitting so nicely on the screen reflecting in their emotionless, glassy eyes. Dib couldn't even say anything, and only one thought came to mind.

How…?

The guard threw him in and the door hissed violently shut. Dib glared up at the unseen guard, but quickly jumped up to the wall and began feeling around for a switch. His hand graced over a sensor that flicked on the lights, and he instantly whipped around to find some means of escape. He'd be damned if he didn't at least try to break free of his captors, and he sure as Hell wasn't about to leave Zim unchecked back on Earth. He followed along the bottom edges of the walls, knocking against the metal occasionally incase there was some secret passageway. He came near one of the beds, and he knelt down and crawled under. His fingers traced the nook between the wall and floor until he hit a small vent. A grin exploded over his face as his fingers attacked the metal, and finally popped it open. The movement caused something small to slide across the ground, and he looked down at the small shiny object.

Tenderly, he picked it up and started to study it for a moment before the door whizzed open. He sucked in a quick breath and quickly squeezed through the vent before he was noticed. He slipped into a small void, but he didn't take the time to figure out his place. He crawled away and further into the abyssal maze of the ventilation system. Soon, distant, echoing clinks and booms resonated through the vents, and he fought to move faster. The sounds grew, louder and louder, bearing down on him and consuming his every sense. Suddenly, his knee hit a grate and jarred it loose, causing Dib to fall through and onto the ground. He winced and pushed himself up quickly. The room was a chilling dark blue, and before him stood another Irken, frozen in place by surprise. Their magenta eyes seemed familiar, but before Dib could say anything, the Irken started yelling out to unseen comrades.

"In here! The intruder is in here!"

Eyes shot open wide with the words, and he scrambled to his feet. He charged forward, running blindly through the room, twisting past wires and processors of every and all kinds, when he suddenly slammed into a strong body. He fell back but quickly snapped his eyes up to see cold, near black eyes staring heatedly at him. They were glassy, almost dead against the darkness of the room, but it wasn't much taller then him. Dib was about to turn and run away when the dark eyes softened considerably. He paused, uncertain but curious nonetheless, when a rough voice spoke.

"You're the, the human."

"Y…yes…"

"A being of cognizance?"

He didn't understand the question, but nodded warily nonetheless. A grin washed over the stranger's face as he stepped forward, allowing light to wash over him. A horrid scar was all too obvious across his face, even in the dim lights of the room, and stretched over the majority of his face. He certainly didn't have the clean complexion that he had seen on every Irken thus far, but before Dib could get a better look at him, a quick hand snatched his arm and yanked him closer. The other glared coldly and spoke.

"Could you learn how to program our alien technology?"

Dib gave a questioning look and fought a little against the strong hand on his arm.

"I'm sure I could, but I'm–"

"Perfect. This way."

The stranger unleashed Dib's arm and retreated, leaving Dib watching him in confusion. The dark eyes looked back, glaring impatiently.

"I said come on."

"Why should I trust you?"

"What?"

Dib folded his arms.

"Why should I trust you? I mean, who–"

"I'm not trying to catch you for them."

"So? I don't even know what race you are, and there's no way I'm–"

"Look."

He walked forward and glared straight into his eyes.

"I'm getting you off this ship. Is that enough for you?"

Dib glared, obviously not trusting the other's intention. The dark eyes narrowed fiercely when a loud clank resounded against the walls. Shouts followed shortly, and the stranger grabbed Dib's arm again.

"We have to get out of here."

He hurriedly pulled Dib away and towards a well. He pulled open a chute and pointed inside.

"Hurry."

Dib jumped in, and the stranger quickly followed. The long metallic shoot plopped them on hard on pieces of broken machinery, which knocked Dib's glasses from his face. He squeaked and started feeling around the garbage, hurrying to find his glasses. That was the last thing he needed, but the stranger suddenly grabbed him by the collar and pulled him to his feet.

"Come on."

Dib squirmed in the other's grasp and pointed vaguely at the ground.

"My glasses, I need my glasses."

"Weak."

Without a second thought, the stranger unleashed Dib and turned to a wall. Dib fell to the ground again looking desperately for his glasses. He couldn't see a damn thing without them, and he wasn't about to face the entire empire without them. A door opened, and Dib snapped up his head, sending a heated glare towards the silhouetted figure in the doorway.

"Hey! I need to find my glasses!"

"You won't need glasses if the Empire catches you. Come on."

The figure disappeared and Dib jumped forward. He stumbled to the door and looked about frantically until he caught sight of the dark figure retreating down the hall. He ran to catch up, and when he finally did, the stranger didn't even glance back to see if he was all right. He sent a dark glare at the back of the fuzzy head because of it.

"You could be a little nicer, you know."

"No, I couldn't. Being 'nice' has nothing to do with getting you off this ship."

"Well, you could at least give me a name or something."

"We don't need names to survive, and we're still in enemy territory."

Dib raised an eyebrow, when suddenly the other shouted.

"Seha keh!"

He viciously reached out and threw Dib onto the floor. Dib yelled and covered his head, preparing for the worst. One second, two seconds, five, ten passed and nothing but the dead silence of the hall sat around them. He tenderly lifted his head to see, yet no obvious threat loomed around them. Granted, everything was blurred and he probably wouldn't be able to see a threat coming, but he looked to the stranger, who still lay upon the ground, eyes tightly closed and hands clasping over his head. Dib raised an eyebrow.

"…uh…"

"Shh…"

Dib stayed quiet, listening intently, and yet still, nothing happened. He was about to say something when a high-pitched buzz rang out above their heads. It was just barely graced the plane of existence, but his teeth grew exceptionally sensitive and the hairs on the back of his neck rose. After a moment, it faded, and the stranger relaxed.

"That was too close. Why do they want you so badly?"

Dib sat up and weakly shrugged. The stranger turned and started leading away once more. He paused by a corner, waiting for a moment and Dib slowed to stop behind him.

"Why are you helping me?"

"We need you."

Dib raised an eyebrow, but before he could ask any questions, the other turned and grabbed him roughly by the arm. He hurried down the hall further until they reached an intersection. The blurred stranger paused and peered down each passageway carefully. Dib slowed to a stop behind him, rubbing his eyes absentmindedly.

"Who needs me, anyway?"

The other barely glanced over his shoulder and turned to watch the hall again.

"That's not important right now."

"To me it is."

He turned his head to give Dib a dead look. He sighed and turned completely to Dib.

"Look, it is in your best interests to have patience, unless you want the Empire to throw you in their dark dungeons that ooze the juice of the living from the ceilings and walls and have the guards repeatedly beat you, torture you, bend you to their every desire and otherwise dilute your existence to mere flesh and bone. Understand?"

Dib narrowed his eyes, about to respond when red lights started blinking. The stranger whipped around.

"Shit. Come on."

He snatched Dib's arm and whipped around the corner. They ran down the hall just as soldiers appeared ahead of them. He cursed under his breath and turned around, kicking open a door they had just passed. He rushed in, the sounds of the soldiers footsteps growing louder by the second. He whipped around and slammed the door shut, pressing his back against the metal. Dib fought to silence his rushing breaths, while the other stood still as death against the door. Footsteps rushed by, beating and clanking furiously against the synthetic ground as they hurried past. They faded as quickly as they had come, and with a few moments of silence, the other relaxed. Dib lifted away from the wall and looked at him. The stranger messed off-handedly with his gloves, completely ignoring Dib and showing no sign of interest, so Dib held out a hand.

"I'm Dib."

He continued adjusting his glove as though nothing had been spoken. He sighed angrily and sent a glare at him.

"I said I didn't want your name."

"So?"

The other stilled in his adjustments, and a mysterious look sat on his dark face. He sighed and reached into his coat, pulling out a pair of glasses that hardly even glinted against the dark. He tossed them towards Dib and continued pulling at strings and adjusting buttons. His voice rumbled out aloofly.

"Turk."

The glasses hit him square in the chest, and he twitched and caught them tenderly. He blew on the glass and repositioned them, checking to make sure they were actually his.

"Turk, huh?"

"Yes, surprising."

"No, I was just…"

The other gave him a side-ways glare that showed he didn't care, and upon seeing it, Dib quieted. He sighed and looked around, not really seeing anything in the darkness but still hoping to see something. Turk lifted away from the wall suddenly and waved vaguely at Dib to get his attention.

"We have to keep moving."

He turned and led Dib down the hall, weaving quietly through undecipherable walls of metal and wire. Voices echoed softly and the two came to a stop at a corner and listened.

"I haven't heard anything about an alien, Sir. What does he look like again, my Tallest?"

The voice was professional and sharp, teeth tightly cutting every word he spoke. Dib leaned, trying to see the figures that spoke yet unable to see past Turk, who wisely kept the other behind.

"Well, he's got a big head. And huge eyes and a spiky thing coming off his head."

Dib's heart nearly jumped into his throat and he froze. He didn't even hear or comprehend the words, but he didn't need to. That cold, eerie voice was all too familiar to him already, and its singsong quality chilled him to the bone. Turk narrowed his eyes, peering carefully around the corner with deadly, seething eyes. He hissed under his breath.

"Tallest…"

Dib looked at him, confused and uncertain, when Turk snapped to look back at him.

"One of them at least."

He looked strangely familiar, or at least, his overall build did anyway. Dib raised an eyebrow, eyes still not used to the new darkness, and Turk turned back around to watch the scene as the voices continued humming softly. His eyes narrowed further as the two listened.

"If we catch sight of him, Sir, we'll return him promptly."

"Good, and of the intruder?"

"Status still unknown, Sir, but we've got every sentry watching and every soldier hunting."

"Then it shouldn't be long. Make sure the computer rooms are well watched and guarded, and don't forget about vents."

A soft click of leather contact and a sharp salute given.

"Yes my Almighty Tallest."

Footsteps softly retreated and a door hissed open and shut. Turk tensed, and looked back at Dib, giving the human a maniacal look.

"The Empire won't see what hit it."

He slipped around the corner suddenly, and Dib rushed ahead. He stopped by the edge and watched as Turk slipped along the wall towards Purple, whose attention was focused on a small computer screen before him. Dib tensed, watching the mysterious figure draw closer and closer. He held out a hand, and only a furious glint told Dib what lay in his hand. Fingers grasped anxiously upon the corner as he watched the assassin draw closer, closer, and still the Tallest beeped away at the console, unknowing and unaware. Dib shook his head softly, eyes wide, longing, fearful. Then, he attacked, arms wide, blade furious, eyes maniacal with a joyous light.

"No!"

Dib's voice shot out, though he instantly recoiled when he realized what he did. Purple's antennae tensed, and his eyes snapped back to see dark eyes and an even darker blade falling directly onto him. He turned, pulling back and turning to face his attacker. Turk landed hard, hands meeting the ground to rebound in a quick move, and he lunged forward. Metallic limbs shot out, slashing at the air and stabbing furiously at the ground as the Tallest shot up and landed behind the attacker. Turk skid to a stop and whipped around, eyes narrowed to deadly slits as the Tallest pointed.

"You!"

Turk grinned, and brandished a large cylinder, metallic and evil in design. Violet eyes snapped open as an explosion of electricity and flames sliced through the air, tearing at the machinery around. Purple dove to Dib's corner, slamming into him heavily and unexpectedly. Tumbling for a moment, Purple's hard fingers tightened painfully against Dib's arms as the leader held him in place. Eyes refocused upon one another, surprise sitting in both, and Purple grinned.

"Dibby!"

An explosion made both shield their faces, and when they lowered their arms, Turk stood as a dark shadow amidst burning rubble. He aimed and a cruel grin slid onto his face. Purple threw Dib to the side and dove towards the opposite wall just as another explosion of hissing bullets and explosions tore through the air. Dib screamed and covered his head, fires licking at his flesh and summoning timid beads of sweat to the surface. The attack suddenly stopped, and the sounds of struggle ricocheted off the walls. Dib whipped around to see the two clasped in battle. He sat up and watched as limbs thrashed and voices screeched against the walls.

Turk slammed Purple onto the ground, holding him shakily yet confidently as he lifted a blade high, prepared for its fall. Within a second, a mechanical arm shot out and dove deeply into the attacker's stable shoulder. He gasped and looked at the wound, surprise sitting deadly in his eyes. He dropped the blade and tenderly reached over to the tense machine sticking from his flesh. He clasped it and quickly removed it without a second thought. Purple pushed himself away, yet he showed no sign of haste as before. The dark eyes, cold and lifeless now, looked up from the blood sitting in his palm, and he fell onto the ground.

Without missing a beat, Purple stood and brought out a communication device from his pak. A screen phased into existence and the co-tallest appeared. Anger eroded to concern, but before he could speak, Purple looked away and explained.

"I ran into the intruder you guys are trippin' over. An assassin, if that's supposed to be surprising."

His eyes were almost frantic, yet strangely calm. Adrenaline still coursed through his veins, and he nervously wiped stray flecks of blood from his armor as the other spoke.

"Well, are you alright?"

"Yes, he's subdued."

"You didn't kill him?"

Purple gave an unnaturally hard glare to his co-tallest, which made the other recoil slightly, more in realization then fear.

"We need to find out how he got in, and why the hell he's here. We can't do that if he's dead."

"Even you could probably guess why he's here. I'm sure he's just working for some stupid rebel group or something."

Violet eyes closed softly, coolly, and he turned more completely to the screen. Red's confidence faltered at the move and he watched the other intently.

"…Pur? What's wrong?"

His eyes carefully opened, staring at the flame-lit ground before him.

"That's the problem. I can't guess who he works for."

Red narrowed a suspicious eye.

"What do you mean? Don't tell me he messed up your pak."

"No."

The word was soft, extremely distant, even for him. Red raised an eyebrow, showing a great deal of concern now, not only for his co-tallest but also for the meaning behind his actions.

"Pur?"

"Red, the intruder, the one who attacked me."

He was taking his time, and that was enough for Red to shift uncomfortably.

"Out with it, Pur."

"He's Irken."

Red eyes snapped wide, and silence roared like a tsunami into the void.

–

AN – Irken work solely for the Empire, or are immediately terminated. Hence the zomg. Anyhoo, that was a long chapter. I had it 'done' for a while, but I just didn't feel like posting it. I reread it recently and thought I should change things up, and did, and I like it now. :D It's a big chapter too, and more like what I want to write about as opposed to the first few chapters xO Turk randomly popped into my head because he looked cool, so I added him in xD There might be fanart for him on my deviantart account, check it if you're bored. Same username as here xO

Oh, quick question. Would you guys like it if I drew coverart for each chapter? I might do it anyway, but if people want to see what I see, then I'd be biting at the bit a bit more.