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A Question To Invader Johnny: DO YOU EVER SLEEP?! You are always the first to review (which I adore to no end. :D) no matter what the time is! If I upload at five in the morning, two in the afternoon, whenever! I'm kinda impressed, actually. ;P

I WISH I COULD SEND YOU ALL LOVE COOKIES! Seriously, I really would, the reviews and favorites just mean so much to me! That would be a little creepy though to send you all some cookies. Then again, you are Invader Zim fans, creepy really isn't new for any of you… ;P

A little thing on the "romance" in my story. If you guys have your slash/straight/whatever-romantic-interest goggles on, you'll notice that I have a lot of different couples in this story. I do not support just one Invader Zim couple; I enjoy all of them, straight or not. Any couple is possible in this story, which means that it's just not one certain couple, but many. So, put on your goggles and enjoy if that's your kinda of thing. :D If not, I don't know, go eat a donut or something.

This chapter is VERY out of character, you guys. VERY. Fair warning, I usually try to keep it in character a little bit, but this chapter is a lot more emotional and getting to the real point. The out of character helps get to the main action though. ;P

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One More Day

…

(One Week Later, Planet Irk, Tallest Red)

…

"I'm worried."

"He's just doing what he has to do, Gig. You don't understand. This is how interrogation goes; Tallest Red has to do what he has to do."

Commander Sic whispered over to Advisor Gig, both of them frowning deeply at the sight that was unfolding before them. Gig narrowed her lime green eyes, curled antennas almost laying flat against her head as she heard Tallest Red raise his voice at some of the invaders before him. When she saw her Tallest raise his hand along with his voice that kept getting deeper, she visibly flinched, knowing what was going to come next. Her eyes closed at the same time the loud, sickening sound was heard, ignoring the cry of both pain and shock from the Irken that had just taken the blow. Just today Tallest Red had smacked twenty-three invaders for not giving him the information he sought out to find. He had smacked five of them twice in a row for letting any tears go down their face after his first hit.

And when she heard another cry and the sound of a body hitting the metal ground the number was now six.

"He shouldn't be doing this. This isn't the way. We're his citizens, his people, and his followers. We are the Empire."

"He has too, Gig. It's been over ten days since Tallest Purple has been taken and there has been no sign of him. We haven't been able to retrieve any information from the Control Brains and Irk is a complete disaster right now. No new smeets have been born and Red believes that there are, at least, a hundred of them that will now be dead. We barley have source of power in all of our cities and everyone is tense. Tallest Red has been pulling in all of the invaders and soldiers, so we barley have any of our people left in the galaxy."

"But… Commander-"

"Damnit, Gig! This is what he needs to do! We need to find our other Tallest; some enemy could be torturing him right now! You know how close the Tallests were!"

"That doesn't mean that we should be acting like we're completely insane! We're…"

The advisor turned her head sideways to try and block out the screams that were filling the air, automatically reaching outwards to grab Commander Sic's hand. He pulled her closer to him so their shoulders would be touching, pushing their arms backwards so he could hide the fact that they were holding hands. Tallest Red would count that as weakness. He didn't like weakness. Weakness brought pain and suffering for both the Irken showing weakness and their family.

"By Tallest Spork, don't you get it? We're like sitting smeets now. If any planet wants to come and take revenge on us they can. Tallest Red is so absorbed with finding Tallest Purple that he has completely forgotten about his own citizens. Commander, I'm not only worried. I'm…"

When there was a cracking echo she trembled, the Commander never turning his head away from the scene. It was his job to watch what the Tallest did to his men. It was one of the worst sights he had ever seen his entire life. To see the enemy kill and hurt his men brought rage and disgust. But to watch as the enemy that was also your Tallest pull your men apart and hurt them was… Was hopeless. He had to watch, damnit, he had to! He didn't agree with it, but what else could he do?

Tallest Red wouldn't just kill him; he would kill his mate if the Tallest ever found out who his lover was.

"Oh, Sic, I'm scared. I'm so scared."

"So am I. But… By Irk, Gig, we have to do this. We have to. It's our job… It's our job. Keep our hands hidden, don't let him see us holding hands. You know Tallest Red. No affection. No weakness. He's almost done, open your eyes for he thinks that you've been watching the entire time."

"Commander Sic!"

"Yes, my Tallest!"

The muscular Irken instantly went into an attention position, having to let go of Gig's hand in order to salute his Tallest. Tallest Red had his back towards them, using a white cloth to wipe dark purple liquid from his hands. The blood from the invader he had just beaten for not giving him the answers he wanted about Purple. Commander Sic let his gray eyes glance at the invader that was trying to push himself up on wobbly arms, head tilted away from the other Irkens so they wouldn't see his tears. It was Invader Slacks, he had conquered planet Boodie Nen, and had been one of the best invaders he had ever seen. To see him trembling on his knees like that was devastating.

It was like watching your own smeet get beat by an academy bully that you couldn't touch.

In one day, Commander Sic had just watched twenty-four of his smeets get beaten till they could barley move.

"How many invaders has it been?"

"Twenty-four."

"How many are left?"

"Two. There had been twenty-six invaders on Irk the day Tallest Purple had been taken. Every single Voot Cruiser belonging to the invaders we are… 'Seeing' today already had their courses set in for the planets they were assigned to take over. None of them even has access to their Voot Cruisers the day Tallest Purple had been taken."

The Commander didn't even need to utter the rest of the sentence he was thinking of because all of the Irkens in the room other than Slacks already knew what he wanted to say.

'Please, stop beating them like this. None of them could have even done this crime. You're not helping out any way by beating my men. Have you forgotten that they are your men, too? Have you forgotten that all of us are your citizens? Your people? Your followers?'

"No, but they could have plotted with another Irken about stealing Tallest Purple. What needs done will be done, Commander. Have you looked into the people around the headquarters at the time?"

"Yes, sir. I have already dealt with them the way you wanted me too. They also have no information about Tallest Purple and have in great detail told me what they were doing at the time. We have footage to prove that those around at the time had been innocent."

"Innocent. What a stupid word. Fine. You have one more day left, Commander, to find out where Purple is and who took him."

"My Tallest, is there not a way to discuss this-"

"No. There isn't. One more day until I put Plan Dust into action. You better hurry, Commander."

"Yes, my Tallest. I will keep going over the footage of when Tallest Purple had been taken and call back in everyone that had been at the headquarters that day. We have men working every where, from trying to gain the information from the Control Brains to trying to reactivate the birthing smeet facilities. We're trying, Tallest Red."

"Yeah? Well, your trying isn't good enough. One more day, Commander, one more. If you don't figure it out where Purple could possibly be, then the beginning of Plan Dust will be put into action."

"Yes, my Tallest!"

He saluted his Tallest once more, the black mask over his mouth hiding the fact that he was frowning deeply about the news he was just given. He needed to figure out a way to find Tallest Purple very soon or everything was going to fall to pieces. Tallest Red didn't even realize just how badly Plan Dust would affect the entire Irken Empire, whether they were tall or not. The Tallest was only going to start the beginning of Plan Dust if he didn't find the location of where tallest purple was. What would he do though when Red put the entire plan into action?

What would the entire Irken Empire do?

"Advisor Gig, send in the next invader."

"Yes, sir."

She replied meekly, antennas flat as she bowed her head at her Tallest in order for him to not see the tears forming in her eyes. If he saw her cry he would go after her or worse, Commander Sic. She swiftly turned on her heel and hurried out the room, only Sic noticing that she moved her hand upwards to wipe the tears off her cheeks. A few moments later she was holding the door open for another invader, closing it as soon as he strolled through the door. The invader looked rather shocked when she pressed a certain code into the door panel that locked it more than five times. The invader whipped his head around towards the Commander and Tallest, the expression of dread on his face telling them that he knew something was terribly wrong.

It was none other than Invader Flobee; he had conquered the rock people of Rokenticano. He had been such a funny cadet during training, he always found a way to make others smile when he didn't do it much himself.

"Invader, do you know why you're here?"

"No, my Tallest. Did I do something wrong?"

"Possibly, depending on the information that you give. Invader, you are about to go through an interrogation. If I believe you are hiding something dealing with Tallest Purple and his current location, you will be severely punished."

It was Sic this time that sought out for Gig's hand, the twenty-fifth time starting to become too much for him. Gray eyes watched the scene in despair, not being able to do anything for his invaders. Confusion may have been tinting the area around them, but the air was thick with fear. The Commander could only gaze onwards when the blows began, flexing his muscles and gripping Gig's hand tighter to remind himself of what would happen if he tried to step into the situation. Flobee took the blows like a true soldier, never letting a single tear fall, but the hope was no longer in his eyes.

Was Tallest Red going to do this till all of Sic's invaders were out of hope?

Was he going to do this till his smeets were broken down into pieces?

Everything was falling apart and he could do nothing about it.

…

(Few Hours Later, Irk, Control Brains Headquarters)

…

"We've been trying for days, my Tallest, but it's impossible. Whatever happened to the Control Brains did a bigger damage than any of us expected."

"Can you gather the data though?"

Tallest Red cried out over the commotion going on, workers yelling and broken pieces of the building being thrown around every where. Tallest Red was on the top floor at the Control Brains Headquarters, or rather, what was left of the top floor of the headquarters. Security team and other muscular Irkens were still trying to move all of the broken building pieces out of the way to get to the Control Brains. If they had been allowed to use drills and other tools they would have been done with this over a week ago. Scientists had said that if they use tools they may accidentally damage the Brains more than wanted. At this rate though, it seemed like the Brains were damaged enough on their own that it wouldn't even mattered if they used tools or not.

"Not without the Control Brains, no. And even if we do get them it's unlikely that we'll be able to retrieve the information from them. With how much the fire burned up and the building ceiling falling directly on top of the Control Brains, I'll be surprised if there's anything left of them."

"Irk is counting on you though! We don't have power on most of the planet! There isn't another power source strong enough to supply our planet! Connection to other planets isn't working, we're running out of food supply, transportation can no longer be accessed, and many other things are no longer working! Is there nothing you can do?!"

"I'm sorry, my Tallest, but there's nothing we can do! This is out of our hands!"

A snarl overtook the features of the Tallest, hissing in rage at rather short, bug eyed Irken before him.

"Then you have failed your mission! You better figure out a way to get that information today or else!"

Before the bug eyed Irken could even retort back the Tallest was already gone, leaving him to stand there with just a clipboard, lost hope, and sounds blaring that no longer meant a thing to him.

…

(Couple Hours Later, Irk, Security Chamber)

…

"Sir, you don't understand, this unit is impossible to find."

"How?! Isn't there a tracking device on it or something?"

"Indeed, I had placed on into it, but we made the unit too smart. It… Well; it took out the tracking device."

The Tallest groaned obnoxiously, throwing his head back into the chair that was behind him, fingers gripping the area between his eyes. Someone must have been pulling his antenna right now. This unit was so intelligent that it had taken its' own tracking device out in order for no one to follow where it went. That was impressive, no doubt, but also another thing to go onto his list of things that needed done. Everything was a complete disaster and nothing seemed like it was going to get fixed anytime soon.

"Have any idea where the unit could be?"

"Well… You told us to create the AIR Unit for Tallest Purple and that's exactly what we had done. There's no doubt in my mind that the unit is looking for Tallest Purple right now. The main mission of that unit is to protect and serve Tallest Purple any way it can."

"So, you're telling me…"

Keep calm, keep calm…

"That this unit, the Advance Infiltrator Unit, is missing and you have no way to track it. You only created one of them and since the Control Brains are down you have no way of bringing up the blueprint holograms to make anymore. This unit may have Tallest Purple within his grasp right now, but you can't find the location of where it's at because you made it too intelligent?"

"N-N-Now, my Tallest Red, we can always-"

"Fix this? Yeah, you can fix this, can't you, moron? You should have found out where Tallest Purple was days ago and he should have been brought back by now! None of the searches have worked out! We have thousands of invaders searching through all the planets Irk has control of and we still haven't found a single clue! You can't even find the ship that had taken Purple! You are a disgrace to the Irken Empire!"

"What? No! It's not like-"

"Yeah, it is like that! You have failed your mission! You better figure out where that stupid unit is and find the location of where Tallest Purple is today! If you don't, you better hope that you can out run me!"

"But… My… My…"

The Tallest left the stuttering, little Irken by himself, slamming the door behind his hovering form. The little Irken pulled himself into a ball, closing his blue eyes to try and relax himself. Everything was in ruins and not a single Irken could do anything about it.

…

(Hours Later, Irk, The Smeet Hatcheries)

…

"We don't have enough time to figure out how to save them. There seems to be no solution to finding a way to birth the smeets on our own. They're dying, my Tallest. Hundreds of them are already dead within their tubes."

"What?! But- How?"

"Their bodies are just shutting down. They were not activated on time."

"This tube, this one right here… You said that the activation date hasn't passed yet, the smeet was supposed to be hatched today! There's even a smile on the front of the tube! Doesn't that mean the smeet is alright?! Open the tube!"

"My Tallest, we can't open it."

"Do it!"

"You don't understand! A smeet can not be hatched like-No! Tallest Red! STOP!"

The cry from the Lieutenant of the Science depart went unheard by the Tallest.

Red had pulled broken one of the tube tops with his bare fist, glass and metal shattering and ripping through his hand as soon as he made contact. He had almost forgotten about the amazing strength that an Irken was capable of having. Green liquid that the smeet was confined in began pouring out onto the floor, pooling around the feet of the hovering Tallest. He grit his teeth as his other hand grasped the bleeding one, he had also forgotten how painful it was to hit something. Especially glass and metal. His red eyes glanced away from his stinging hand, his own dark purple blood no longer a real matter when he caught the horror before his eyes.

Within the glass tube there laid the light green body of a smeet, curled up into a ball that seemed to be sleeping peacefully in the liquid that was left over in the tube. Tallest Red knew better though than to believe that the smeet was sleeping. The smeet was dead. Just another one in the hundreds of them that were dead. With a shaky hand the Tallest slipped it right through the opening in the tube, reaching over to touch the smeet. A scientist reached his hand outwards to stop his Tallest, but the Lieutenant swiftly grabbed his hand, and with a shook of his head both knew to let the Tallest do what he wanted.

Red's dark purple blood accidentally got onto the face of the smeet, no longer caring for his own wounds at this point. The tips of his fingers brushed up against the curled antennas of the little smeet, this smeet having rather long eyelashes and dark green skin. This smeet… It would have been female if it lived. His hand gently brushed against the smooth cheek, the Tallest biting the insides of his own cheeks to hold back his cries. His fingers stopped directly at its- Her closed eyes, pondering to himself for a few moments if he dared to do what he wanted to do. After a few moments of silent arguing he finally pushed one of her eyelids upwards, throat tightening up at the eye color the smeet had.

She had the same shade of red eyes that he did.

She had his eyes.

Eyes of the Tallest that didn't save her.

"Get out. Just… Get out. You have failed your mission."

The group of Irken scientists left without a single word, leaving Tallest Red to himself with the smeet facility. He slipped his other hand in tube, gently slipping both two-fingered hands underneath the small body of the little smeet. Very slowly he pulled her out of the tube, making sure that none of the shards of glass or broken metal even touched her soft skin. After pulling her out all the way and resting her in his arms, he now simply stared at her, so many emotions crashing through him that he couldn't figure out what he felt. Was he anger? Was he feeling despair? Did he just want to curl up in a corner and cry or did he just want to take all his rage out on a Service Drone? What did he want?

… Hope.

He wanted some hope; the thing he knew that he would never receive.

"You wouldn't understand, and why would you? You're dead. One of the many smeets that have died over the past few days, because I have failed you. It is not the scientists fault, nor the security team, not even any shorter Irkens fault- It is mine. All mine. And yet, it is also their fault! They are the ones who have failed both Purple and I! They aren't even trying to save their own planet! They are the ones who have failed us! But why am I saying us though? You're dead!

And you know what? At this time… I can't help but be jealous that you're the one that's dead. I have to be here. Here is this planet called Irk, a planet that has only a little bit of power left and is running out of food supplies. Here is where we have one leader missing because someone took him from me! Here is the area to go to for utter chaos and destruction! Here is where you have no idea how to tell your ally from your enemy apart! The Control Brains, the source of our everything, was destroyed here! My own citizens had turned against me and taken my best friend away from me! They have turned their backs to their own Empire!

And you know what else? They'll regret ever doing this! All of them! They'll regret betraying me and their own planet! It is them that have failed, not me! My own invaders are the ones that had captured Purple and taken him! I can't do everything on my own! The only thing I should… Need to do is find Purple to make sure he's alright! I just need to start being on my own and let them figure out problems for themselves! Because if they won't try to save you, then they definitely won't try to save me! We don't need the Control Brains; I can be a power source for you! I'll still try to save you no matter what they say! Because if I can't save you… If I can't save you…"

The emotional turmoil was turning everything into a gray haze. A loud ripping sound was heard- Why was he ripping part of the bottom of his robes off?! His body slipped into a kneeling position, hands patting down the fabric, now laying something soft against the warm, smooth fabric. The smeet, he was putting the smeet down on top of the cloth on the ground! But why? What was he thinking? What was he doing? He bolted from the area that the smeet was laying in, going into the darkness that was by the corner.

The lock to a small device connected to the wall was pulled off with no effort, reviling a panel before the eyes of the Tallest. The logic part of Red remembered that this panel could control the machines working the smeet facility, but without the Control Brains there would be no power. Power. Yes, power! He could be the power! Frantically, the Tallest opened a slot from within his Pak, a hand behind his back trying to find a- Yes! A wire that could connect! He could be a form of a power source! There was a hole in the panel that he may be able to… It connects! The wire fit perfectly into the outlet! This may work! They didn't need the Control Brains! The Irkens themselves could power up their own planet!

Skilled fingers pressed hundreds of buttons in a matter of seconds, never pulling his red eyes away form the smeet. From the ceiling, two mechanical arms reached downwards towards the smeet, a Pak within the grasp of one of the arms. The sound of drilling was the only sound that was heard, after holes had been placed into her back the Pak fit nicely into the open wounds. Red tried to not let a smile cross his face when the other arm zapped the smeet directly on the head, supposedly powering up the pak and activating the smeet. The arms disappeared back upwards into the darkness of the ceiling, the wire connecting to the panel being pulled out as the Tallest stumbled towards the smeet.

The smeet was still in the position he had left her on the cloth.

She was still dead.

He couldn't even save one smeet's life with his own power, Irk needed the Control Brains.

"… No one can save you."

Before he could let the tears fall like he so desperately wanted them to an obnoxious, ear-piercing beeping sound was heard. Sorrow was immediately crushed under the weight of rage, Red slamming his hand against the side of his belt. When he had done this action it had stopped the beeping, because the beeping had not been random, it had been an alarm. An entire day has officially passed. No one had figured out any solutions to any of the problems in the day that had just passed. Everything was still the same as it has been the passed couple of days. No power, no trust, no hope, and no Purple. It was still the same.

Fine.

It was time to see if Commander Sic had the location or invader that he needed.

Red tilted his wrist to the side, pressing the button on the communicator that would be a talking device between Sic and him.

"Commander Sic."

"Yes, My Tallest?"

"It has been exactly a day since my warning to you. Have you found the location of where Tallest Purple is and who has taken him?"

"My Tallest-"

"Answer me, Sic."

"… No, my Tallest, nothing is known of where Tallest Purple is or the invader that has him."

"You have failed your mission."

"Tallest Red-!"

"Begin Plan Dust."

Red had caught off the transmission before Commander Sic could say another word. His eyes left his wrist back towards the smeet that was still on the ground, snuggled against the cloth on the floor. The Tallest hissed when he caught on to the fact that he was still stumbling, he hadn't realized that he had given so much energy that his hovering belt was no longer working. He grit his teeth as he kneeled down to get by the side of the smeet, ignoring the sickness bubbling up in his squeedily spooch and the amount of pain he was now in for trying his little failed experiment. With a flicker of his wrist the fabric was now wrapped around the smeet, he was trying to keep it around her like a blanket. But why? She was cold and dead.

Just like how he felt.

"Be glad that I don't have to say the usual- "Welcome to life, Irken child. Report for duty." – To you. This isn't the time to be apart of the Irken race."

Without another word he pushed himself off the freezing floor, eyes tightly shut to try and block out the walls that seemed to have been looming around him. He hurried towards the elevator to get out of the hatchery that now felt like an underground graveyard. Burning rage and bitter angry was now pumping through his blood stream and he wanted to stay that way. It was better than misery and sorrow… Anything was better at the moment than the misery and sorrow his mind wanted him to suffer with. Metal doors slammed shut behind him, the elevator taking him away from the horrid place.

If the Tallest had opened his eyes he would have seen one of the most beautiful sights that would have been a blessing during his time of need. If he had just waited a few more moments in the facility maybe, just maybe, he would have found that shed of hope he desperately needed. Though the smeet was still lying in the position she had been left in she had done something that was a miracle. If she had done this before Tallest Red perhaps he would have finally let himself cry, not in sorrow though, but in joy. She had done something that most did billions of times in their lifetime and usually never think about it once. It wasn't anything unique or rare, but it was that bit of a spark that could light up hope.

She breathed.

…To Be Continued…

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Not as long as the last chapter, but this chapter is a big help to get me to the main point. :P

So, please review! Tell me what was liked/disliked, all that jazz!

I hope you all have a fantastic day! :D

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