Author's Note: SURPRISE! HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVE EVERYONE!
And to those who don't celebrate: HAPPY SUNDAY!
Special thanks to my sister for doing a proof-read.
I HOPE Y'ALL ENJOY A FUN HOLIDAY CHAPTER!
"Tallest's log, 24th of Polus, AKA: Mothmas Eve. I am once again being held hostage by the fake Tallest and his merry band of brain-dead morons. I have attempted escape on many occasions; however, the Abomination and defective Control Brain have somehow managed to outwit every attempt I have made. Still, it is Mothmas Eve... perhaps... there is still hope for a miracle. The gods will smile upon me on this, a sacred night, and deliver me from my eternal torment. Seeing as how I have done literally nothing to deserve to suffer like this."
"Oh come on Xixi! It's not torture if it's fun; isn't that like your slogan?" Vero's voice caused her to physically cringe. (To be fair, he had that effect on most Irkens). She sighed, lowering the reader she was dictating into as Vero attempted to put an arm around her.
"First of all: touch me, and I will take your head off again." He immediately stopped moving. "Secondly:" She sat up in the plush chair in which she had been contentedly lying, lazing about before the False Tallest came barreling in with the chaotic mob that he attempted to call a family unit. (Things were better when there were no family units on Irk. Subjecting the population to these bonding activities was clearly a violation of all sorts of rights.) "Torture is only fun if I'm the one doing the torturing. We talk about this every day."
Vero gave a small shrug. "I don't think it's literally every day, Almighty Drama Queen." It was astounding how he could do so little and still have Xia this upset. The smeetery had very clearly created him with the sole purpose of dragging her down. He was her personal burden.
"That's it," Xia sighed as she hopped up off of her comfortable seat. "Trey, fetch me a weapon so that I may disembowel Vero."
"I am not supposed to bring you weapons after last time..." Ven spoke up, sounding slightly timid. Good. He should be afraid. She was his superior and the Tallest. (Sure, technically she wasn't coded as Tallest anymore- but that was the fault of the defective Control Brains and therefore didn't count.)
"It's fine. I give you permission," Xia assured him.
"Don't do it, Ven," Ara spoke up, not even looking up from what she was reading. "You don't have to listen to her. She's not the Tallest."
Xia really didn't like Ara. Vero was still the worst, certainly, but Ara was slowly trying to replace him as the most useless, worthless excuse for an Irken that the Control Brains had let exist. She was still ranked behind the False Tallest and fucking Therron, but she might have surpassed Voel with her constant undermining. "I am the true Tallest. If I wasn't, how could I be recording a Tallest's Log?"
"Anyone can say 'Tallest's Log before recording a personal diary entry. That doesn't make it true."
"I wasn't just saying the words- Mothra be praised, Ara, you clearly can't understand the subtle nuances of the Tallest's Log because you were never Tallest."
"Can't we try and get along?" Ven seemed distressed. Xia wasn't sure why. Perhaps he was coming to the slow realization that he too was trapped in this constant cycle of torment. "It's Mothmas Eve..."
"Another sacred Irken Holiday tainted by the Defect and his mad regime." Xia sighed, it was clear she wasn't getting her hands on a weapon. And honestly? Vero was now less annoying than Ara. And she didn't need a weapon to take on Ara. (Not that she needed one for Vero either- but it was simply a matter of saving time. She had better ways of spending her holiday than in hand-to-hand combat with such an annoying Irken.)
"You're just mad because you're not getting anything from Godzilla-Clause this year. Taking over Irk puts you on the Naughty List for at least ten years. Them's the rules, Sis. I don't make 'em. I just follow 'em. I'm like the Sym of Mothmas."
"There is so much stupid that just tumbled out of your mouth that I am going to have to break it down into bullet points." Xia took a deep breath. "Point one: there is no such thing as Godzilla-Clause. Point two: I would never ever be on the Naughty List because I have never done anything wrong in my entire life." She ignored what sounded suspiciously like a scoff from Ara. "Three: You have no way of knowing the supposed rules because no one trusts you with important things. Four: you are nothing like Sym except for the fact that you both are annoying and take sadistic pleasure in hindering progress. And finally, point five: my name... is Xia NOT Sis."
"I know your name, silly." Vero was not addressing her other points, probably because his feeble mind couldn't calculate a response to the raw facts of the situation. "Sis is simply an abbreviation for sister which is your relationship to me in a family unit."
"Irkens do not have Family units, despite what the Defect is trying to accomplish. Therefore, my point still stands."
"Why do you deny me Xixi?"
"I'm not talking to you anymore. Rik, tell Vero to shut up." Xia took her reader back out, trying her best to ignore the chaos around her. She heard Ven very quietly speak to Vero.
"U-um Xia doesn't want to talk to you..."
"Aw dang." Vero was clearly distraught- and why wouldn't he be? He had lost the privilege of talking to the single most interesting Irken in the room. However, her decision was final.
"You are all requested in the Family Room." The voice came from one of the many speakers that lined the walls of the Massive. (Xia refused to call it Massive Mark 2 Electric Boogaloo). The hologram of the deceitful, defective Control Brain materialized in the doorway. Ara, Ven, and Vero all instantly got to their feet because they were incapable of individual thought and simply blindly followed the orders of anything remotely Irken shaped that barked orders in their direction. (And honestly? CB was hardly Irken shaped at all. His choice to have too many fingers, hair instead of antennae, and a face with a nose was honestly a little disgusting. But everyone just... ignored it because Xia was clearly the only one with working brain cells on this entire ship.) She continued looking at her reader, making a point of ignoring the command. "You as well, Xia."
"Go fuck yourself, CB."
"The Tallest has requested all of his family."
"I am the Tallest, and I requested no such thing."
"Suit yourself." That was suspiciously easy. "But I am going to leave GIR in here."
"Oh no you d-" she started to protest, but he was already walking away. While she REALLY didn't want to give CB the satisfaction of winning, she was NOT about to be left in a room with GIR. She could hear his scream echoing down the hallway like a warning siren, growing louder as he drew closer.
Nope.
No way.
Xia wanted to prove a point by ignoring the request- but not that badly. Someone on this ship had to stay sane, and it had to be her. (Clearly no one else was qualified. Tenn and Skoodge had been tainted by the infectious insanity that had been spreading through Irk more quickly than a particularly spicy Zeke article, and she long ago had given up on Dead-Tallest Red, his death had scrambled his brain.)
"You have changed your mind."
"I am simply going to observe what the Defect is doing in case it poses more trouble for Irk."
"You mean: what the Almighty Tallest is doing."
"I know what I said."
"Just because they are intentional doesn't make the words any less incorrect."
"Don't you have something important to be doing, Control Brain? It is Mothmas Eve. Surely there is some sort of traditional protocol that you need to be overseeing? Oh wait!" She feigned an unconvincing look of surprise. "I forgot! You wouldn't know if there are or aren't because you aren't actually Irken and all our traditions were BLOWN UP because a bunch of dead Irkens had a bitch-fit about being made irrelevant."
"... This is my first Mothmas."
"Because you are from some back-water dingy planet that wasn't even worth conquering. You. Are. Not. Irken." The Irken calendar was complicated, meaning that despite CB having been alive for many of his petty Earth-years, he had technically not seen a full Irken year. Not that it was super easy to keep track. The Tallests had an uncanny amount if say on the Irken calendar to a point where a holiday could sometimes go missing for years at a time simply because the current Tallest wasn't a fan. Xia enjoyed this during her Reign, however, now she found it to be rather aggravating. Zim seemed to be a big fan of the Irken holidays; it was as if he crammed every single one of them into a single year. Didn't Irkens get tired of celebrating? She knew that she was getting woefully exhausted from all the merriment- that's what the others called it- in Xia's mind it was more like: overly loud debauchery.
"It is not my first Mothmas." There was no hologram for the female voice on the speakers. II was the opposite of CB in that regard as she seemed to just be happy in whatever electronic device she was currently inhabiting and did not need to walk around with some creepy looking avatar. It was one of the few things she did that Xia approved of.
"You were in the Judgement Hall; how much can you possibly know about Mothmas?" Xia learned from the Mothra Festival Debacle that II had incredibly limited knowledge of things that weren't the Irken Justice System- and if Xia wanted a lecture on the Irken Legal Code, she would go to Sym because Sym was an actual Irken and therefore couldn't follow Xia into a locked room.
"..." II was silent for a moment before admitting: "She has a point."
"Even if she does, you should not acknowledge it because it will only feed into her ego."
"I can hear you both." Xia glared at the hologram of CB. Yes, between the two, she was certain she liked II more.
They finally entered the Family Room as the new regime called it- it was actually just a conference room they had gutted out and added a bunch of plush seating and a TV to. Since Irkens really didn't have family, Xia found this whole thing to be trite. She was already in a bad mood so seeing that the Massive had now been invaded by humans of all things was making her day even worse than it already was. It wasn't just Zim's little human smeet he kept as a pet either. The large, ugly pet with the huge head had arrived, with his bond mate and genetic doners, and the scary girl with whom he shared half his DNA. (Of all the humans, the one called Gazline was the most respectable. She had a solid knowledge of weapons and combat. But Xia was not going to lower herself to socialize with humans.)
"I brought everyone."
"Excellent work CB!" Zim was wearing some sort of star on top of his head. "This is a very important Mothmas, as you are all very aware!" It was astounding how Zim thought anyone, especially Xia, would be listening to his mad ramblings.
"It is my first Mothmas."
"Mine too!" The fleshy smeet pet Zim was fostering spoke up. Xia took a step further away from it in case it tried to touch her.
"It ALSO happens to fall on the same day as Earth Christmas this year! SO I, your amazing leader Zim, have decided to invite the least smelly humans over as a show of goodwill! And to teach Gavin about his human heritage." Zim gestured to Gavin who was sitting on the floor.
"And this had nothing to do with the fact that you missed Dib." Voel smirked.
"SILENCE GENERAL!"
"I missed you too, Zim."
"SILENCE DIB HUMAN! Zim was trying to offer you sanctuary since you ruined Earth Christmas."
"Am I ever going to hear that story?" Lor looked over curiously.
"Not if I can help it, no." Dib looked away, a little flustered. "And most of that was on Zim anyway. He was trying to enslave Earth. He didn't even like Christmas. He was a real Scrooge."
Zim blinked. "No. Zim is Zim. AFTER ALL OUR YEARS OF FRIENDSHIP CAN YOU NOT TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ZIM AND SKOODGE!?"
"What!?" Dib looked taken aback, but perhaps he was simply recovering from all the constant yelling that plagued any room with Zim in it. "No Scrooge, like someone who hates Christmas."
"Skoodge doesn't hate Christmas!" Zim looked even more appalled. He turned quickly to Skoodge who was sitting on one of the many plush cushions, a mug in his hands. "DO YOU!?"
"I have no real opinion on it." He gave a bit of a shrug. "Other than that it kind of feels like a watered down Mothmas. Except that I don't think your Santa has atomic breath."
"No he has robotic Bison." Zim corrected.
"That's Cowboy Santa. Completely different entity." Dib quickly interrupted.
"That's right! Cowboy Santa delivers rations and weapons to the good little children to fight the robot threat- current robots aside of course!" The scientist responsible for Dib's existence was almost as loud as Zim. "Regular Santa can't even deliver perfectly reasonable requests to young, eager scientific minds just trying to better their craft!" The way his voice wavered it almost sounded as if his eyes were watering behind the goggles. His bond mate gingerly placed her hand on his knee.
"It will be okay A chuisle mo chroí."
"You know how I get this time of year." Dr. Membrane put his head on the red headed woman's shoulder as she stroked his hair. "Knowing he's still out there!"
"We'll get him. I promise."
"What does any of this have to do with Skoodge!?" Zim was still confused, which seemed to be a permanent state of being for the False Tallest, so it wasn't as if Xia was surprised.
"SCROOGE." Dib spoke louder. "I said SCROOGE! WITH AN R. NOT SKOODGE."
"Do we know a Scrooge?" Therron looked expectantly at Voel. Voel shrugged.
"It sounds like an Irken name, so probably."
"There is a Scrooge that works in accounting." CB must have checked the files on the various Irkens.
"And he HATES CHRISTMAS!?" Zim gasped.
"Damn, I thought he was nice..." Vero shook his head.
"Not Irken Scrooge! It's a character from a book on Earth." Dib looked tired. Xia didn't blame him. Talking to anyone on this ship, aside from herself, was exhausting. "Ebenezer Scrooge was an old man who hated Christmas. Zim, you know this. You've seen a Christmas Carol! I know you have because after you did you tried to haunt me for like two weeks claiming to be the Ghost of Christmas: Coming Soon and if I didn't give you my dad's lab codes I was going to die of sonic-lice."
"Zim does not remember this..." Zim squinted suspiciously at Dib.
"Wait, I thought Halloween had ghosts." Great, all this jabbering had confused the Kryptonian now too. "Are all your holidays haunted?"
"What? No."
"It's true, they are. Zim distinctly remembers many a human getting possessed by the Holiday Spirit. Irkens are lucky that we do not have haunted holidays. Or ghosts at all. I don't think. I suppose technically Skoodge, Voel, and Therron are all ghosts because they did die, but we don't count them." Zim nodded knowingly.
"Don't you start with that whole being dead thing." Voel gave Zim a look. "We are still dealing with it even after the update."
Zim blinked. "I thought we fixed that."
"It takes a while to update all of Irk, there are only two Control Brains." II replied pointedly.
"We are doing our best."
"We are working on getting you more, but it has been complicated, there are many great nuances to your construction that Zim must painstakingly recreate and-"
"He doesn't remember how he did it." Xia had finally reached her limit when it came to Zim's utter stupidity so she interrupted.
"Not true!" Zim's antennae flattened as he gave her an annoyed look. "Zim remembers perfectly! Zim has notes!"
"They are good notes." Of course CB would defend the Defect. They were cut from the same cloth.
"They are probably just some stupid doodle and a half assed message like: make a crazy Control Brain."
"... that is not close at all."
"Sweet Ghidora I'm right, aren't I!?" She let out a laugh. The downside of CB choosing to use an avatar was that he had a face with a very readable expression.
"Lay off him Xia; making a Control Brain is a super involved task." Voel had some nerve thinking Xia cared about his opinion on anything.
"Yeah Xia!" She cringed just hearing the grating voice of Therron, drilling its way into her skull like an incurable migraine. "Where's your Mothmas spirit!?"
"Mothmas is a smeet holiday created by VII to scare smeets into behaving." Xia snorted. "The fact that all of you are adults and are trying to celebrate is honestly kind of sad." Sure she was wishing for her own Mothmas miracle- but that was less true belief in a silly holiday, and more a passing hope that Mothra, should she be out there, could spare Xia from her eternal torment.
"That is not true, Mothmas was created prior to VII."
"Oh look everyone! II is a Mothmas expert!" Xia clapped her hands together. "Even though she definitely wasn't earlier! Hilarious how things change!"
"I do not claim to be an expert. I am simply correcting your misinformation."
"Xia sounds like she is on her way to get haunted by Dib's Christmas ghosts." Vero had absolutely no idea what he was talking about- as per usual- yet still felt entitled to speak.
"They aren't my ghosts. It's a popular story on Earth where a guy hates Christmas and then three ghosts show him his past, present, and future, and then he loves Christmas."
"So if you don't like Christmas, you get haunted?" Lor never understood any holiday, so Xia wasn't sure why he was even trying. Human holidays were stupid and pointless to begin with, and now they had one to piggy-back off the superior Irken version. They even had similar names. "That seems kinda harsh... like... has your dad ever been haunted?"
"NONSENSE!" The human known as Professor Membrane was the only one Xia had met that seemed to enjoy randomly screaming as much as Zim. It made him slightly more irritating than the other humans, to be sure. "I don't hate Christmas! My vendetta is with Santa and Santa alone! I still give my human employees time off and bonuses! And I have done the same for my Syndicate Employees even though to them, it is a regular weekday!"
"Yeah Halloween took off really quickly on Capital Planet, but Christmas is slowly getting attention. At least the Syndicate on Earth seem to like it." Dib gave a shrug.
"Am I going to get haunted if I don't celebrate Christmas properly?" The smeet Zim had abducted from his base on Earth looked truly concerned.
"Probably." Xia snorted. She didn't actually believe it, but it was fun to make the little smeet nervous.
"Don't listen to Xia-" Voel began, but Zim cut him off.
"Just in case we have brought you humans to teach you. That way, we make sure, you don't get haunted by the Holiday Spirits."
"That's a good idea." Lor looked worried.
"Christmas. Isn't. Haunted!" Dib was getting frustrated, that much was evident, but Xia couldn't be bothered to care about his feelings.
"Yes yes, Zim knows this- but just in case!" He picked up Gavin, who was starting to be as tall as Zim, and put him on his shoulder. "Zim will make sure to avoid getting you haunted."
Xia was fed up, completely. Any longer in this room, and it would become a crime scene. She had never bothered to sit, knowing her tolerance for this sort of bullshit was low at best. So she simply headed back toward the exit.
"Where do you think you're going? It's Mothmas Eve." Voel's voice somehow pierced the inane banter around her. "You should be with your family."
"No one over the age of 35 cares about Mothmas. Irkens don't have families. And I am going to bed."
"But we don't have to sleep..." Voel was giving her a look that was supposed to be stern, she assumed, but instead he just appeared to be dead on the inside (which he probably was).
"I would rather be unconscious than have to deal with you lot any longer."
No one stopped her, not that they could. It seemed as if she had finally managed to escape today's torment. It was giving her a headache, despite the pain relievers her PAK supplied. Every moment with the crowd drained her energy. She needed to recharge after such an interaction. Smallers really were like Parasites, just sucking the life out of her. While it was unlikely that being in Zim's presence caused hallucinations, judging by the behavior of once respected Irkens such as Skoodge and Tenn, the possibility couldn't entirely be ruled out. Xia hooked her PAK into the wall to charge the drained battery. She sat on her comfiest cushion, locking the door to her room (the Control Brains could unlock it if they wanted, but II wouldn't dream of disturbing her, and Voel and Skoodge had gotten onto CB about that exact behavior). Slowly, she felt herself start to relax. All her troubles were melting away, the soft whirring of her PAK lulling her to sleep.
"OOOOOOOOOO"
A metallic sounding wail shook her from her slumber. Xia blinked; the room was dark, a light was on in the hall, and her door was open because of course CB couldn't be trusted after all. She could see a shadow clad in what appeared to be chains, stretched long across the wall.
"SPOOOOOOOOKY SOOOOOOOUNDS".
There was that voice again. Xia could see the shadow drawing closer. She unhooked her PAK from the wall taking a defensive stance as she could hear the metal of the chains clinking on the tile of the hallway. The figure approached the doorway.
"MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
Xia's defensive stance instantly dropped. The metal clink echoing through the hall had been the sound of SIR feet scurrying toward her. What she had thought were chains. Were links in a chain of oblong meats.
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSE."
And what Xia thought were wails, were simply the screams of a SIR too dumb to exist.
"What do you want?" Xia's interactions with the SIR had always been minimal to nonexistent, and that was a conscious choice on her part. She could only assume CB had opened the door and dropped off GIR as some sort of petty revenge. A real Control Brain would be above such pettiness, however Xia didn't expect much from one of Zim's mangled abominations.
"IMMA EAT YOUR PUDDING BECAUSE YOU WERE BAAAAAAAAAD. BAD IRKENS GET NO SOUP FROM GODZILLA-CLAUSE."
"Godzilla-Clause doesn't give out soup he gives out candy and lasers." She folded her arms looking back down at him.
"THREE BED SHEETS GONNA COME STEAL YOUR BRAIN. YOU GOTTA PLAY OR YOU GET NO MOOSE MONKIES AND SOCKS. YOU ARE A BAD TURKEY AND CAN NEVER BE THE TREEEEEEEE. THE SHEETS ARE GONNA FIX YA!" He was screaming a series of meaningless words at her, stopping only long enough to munch loudly on the sausages around his neck.
"CB, get rid of GIR."
"I DID A GOOD JOB. NO SAUSAGE FOR YOU. MOOOOOOOOOOONGOOOOOOOOOSE AWAAAAAAAAY!" CB didn't need to do anything, it seemed, as GIR shoved the rest of the sausages into his mouth and bolted back out of the door. It slid shut behind him leaving Xia once again alone. It looked as if her PAK hadn't really charged at all, or maybe, more realistically, GIR had physically drained her by trying to hold a conversation. She went back to the door, making sure it really was locked this time, and plugged her PAK into the wall once more.
It took longer this time, GIR's grating voice was still ringing in her skull. All she wanted to do was relax. It was such a tiring job being the competent one on the ship. Clearly her leaving to nap allowed for utter chaos to Reign Supreme in her absence.
"Wake up."
At some point she must have fallen asleep because the next thing Xia knew, she awoke to a voice uncomfortably close to her. She jumped backward, teeth bared, antennae back. Standing, or well, floating above her was a familiar figure of all white, the red tendrils emerging from her back, draped over her arms. Seven red eyes stared down at Xia, crimson lips curled into a smirk, long white hair floating as if unaffected by the pull of gravity. "M!?" Xia's aggressive stance didn't alter. "How did you get in here!?"
"I am not really here. Or maybe I am?" That certainly sounded vague enough to be the real M. "I am one of the three spirits you were warned about."
"Spirits? What? What spirits!?"
"The Spirits of Mothmas, GIR was supposed to..." M trailed off, crimson eyes reading Xia's expression.
"You see the problem now?"
"To be fair I don't know much about any of the robots. I met them like... twice? Once? They left no impact on me."
"Didn't GIR like explode you at the Mothra Festival that one time?" Xia hadn't been there, she had been too busy being cheered on at the Tournament. But she remembered hearing the story secondhand from Vero. Though, given the source, that information might have been wrong.
"I can neither confirm nor deny that story."
"Ugh, nevermind, it isn't important. How are you even here, M?" She felt the need to reiterate the question as M had provided no answers. (Really Xia had MORE questions now, but she knew it was a waste to interrogate M.) "And why can I understand you? This is a terrible change, by the way, I liked it better when you had to use a reader to communicate. I could turn that off."
"Like I said, I might not be here at all. There is a chance that all of this is some sort of strange fabrication made by your PAK. But for the purpose of this conversation, just know that I am not just M, I am the ghost of Mothmas Past."
"The... what?" Xia gave her a deadpan stare. What was M blathering on about now?
"The Ghost of Mothmas Past. Come with me, Xia. I am going to show you a Mothmas of the past; you can't always have been this way: isolated, lonesome, and bitchy."
"Look who's talking? You are literally the worst. You betrayed me." She glowered at the real-or-possibly-not-real M. "Yeah, I know about that. I heard everything from Zim. He tells the story all. The. Time. It's a terrible story, and it's not consistent, but one thing that never changes is that your ass betrayed me!"
"How do you know that's true if Zim is an unreliable source?"
"Because you are about as reliable as GIR and only slightly more tolerable."
"That is hurtful."
"You don't even really exist, maybe. And if you do, I don't care about your opinion."
"We should do this whole... visit to the past thing because I may be a delusion, or a dream, but I am getting really fed up with your attitude." Without waiting for a response, the red tendrils on M's back spread out, wrapping around Xia before she could react. It only lasted a moment before Xia managed to fight her way free of the slimy grip.
"Don't ever touch me again." Xia pulled herself up to her full height, pushing M forcefully away from her. "Or you will be choking on those tentacles."
"They're called: Red Arms."
"I. Don't. Care." Xia turned to walk off, only to find that she was no longer in her room. She was standing in the Mess Hall of the Academy on Graduatia. There were Irkens happily eating food, talking amongst themselves. She could see the white and silver decorations, the paintings of the Moon, and the small alters all made for Mothmas. She didn't really know why they were here. There was nothing important at the Academy.
"I can't believe you ate that whole thing." She heard her own voice speaking.
"I had to, it was a dare. My honor was challenged." And that was definitely Vero. She craned her head to see herself and Vero, first years at the Academy judging by their uniforms. They must have come from combat training because they still had the inactive handle for their weapons strapped to their backs. Even at such a young age they both towered over the rest of the Irkens in the Mess Hall. They were both holding trays, deeply engrossed in conversation- well, Vero looked engrossed. Xia could only read boredom in her own expression.
"No one challenged anything! You don't have honor to defend, and it wasn't even a dare in the first place! Thrax just said that he had never seen so many chips before. It wasn't even addressed to you! He was just making a mundane comment!" Xia didn't recall this exact incident very clearly, but judging by her past-self's analysis, it sounded like one of the many times Vero would make an absolute ass of himself. She wanted to warn her younger self of the horrible path ahead.
"But I proved him wrong, didn't I? And that's what's important."
"Look at you: young, bright eyes, full of hope..." she could feel cold, spindly fingers on her arm, despite the layers of fabric from her bodysuit. M was trying to drape herself over Xia's back. She quickly shrugged her away.
"I hadn't met Therron yet. There was still hope in the world."
"But look at you and Vero, getting along... teasing, spending time together. It was you two as a pair against all the rest of the Academy. Isn't that what Mothmas is about?"
"Who knows?" Xia threw up her arms in a dramatic shrug. "It might fucking be! But You don't know because you're not an Irken, you're a Parasite. Irkens don't know because the Control Brains monitored that information. And even I don't know, despite my amazing well of knowledge, because I don't bother with stupid holidays like Mothmas."
"You didn't always think it was stupid..." M gestured toward the young Xia who was still too naive to realize that her conversations with Vero could lead nowhere good.
"Are you really going to eat your dinner on top of that giant bag of chips? There is no way you're still hungry." Young Xia looked rightfully disgusted by her counterpart.
"You don't know me. I could be super hungry." Vero's response drew a simultaneous eye-roll from both Xias. "I have a high metabolism."
"All this food won't make you taller. You know that, right?" Xia was proud to see her younger self not accepting any of Vero's half-assed explanations. "It is just going to make you too sick to go to Smee's Mothmas party tonight."
"I don't see why you want to go to a Mothmas party when you could set out small scale cities made of food for Godzilla-Clause to destroy." It was astounding to see how Vero had maintained such a constant level of stupidity throughout his life. Despite this memory clearly being years ago, Xia could very much hear him saying this exact thing today.
"There's no such thing as Godzilla-Clause." Young Xia had no idea how many times she would be cursed to repeat that exact sentence. "But if you want to stay in your room, it will honestly save me the trouble of pretending I don't know you."
"Pretty sure everyone knows we're same-tube." Vero made a vague gesture at the room around him. "I mean..."
"Are you going or not, Vero?" Even past Xia had no time for Vero's snarky comments. Xia felt bad for her past self. She was still so full of potential; the weight of trying to save Irk from the current regime was not on her shoulders. She still had a wonderful reign as Tallest ahead of her that would be talked about for generations.
"I'm going, but only because there is gonna be good food. I heard Smee knows someone who knows a cook for Floogians." Of course Vero was only in it for the food. This was all rather generic as far as Xia's memories were concerned; why M had picked this exact one was confusing. Though, that party was starting to stir up a bit of memory in her.
"See? You and your brother are going to a Mothmas Party. It sounds like you weren't always so against celebration, family, and fun." While not actively touching her this time, Xia could feel M's presence hovering behind her.
"There were no real family units at this time, and if you were listening, which honestly sounds like a lot to ask from you, you would notice that past me doesn't seem to want Vero there. Which is valid."
"I think a part of you did want him to go. You were looked up to, sure, but you didn't have many friends from the sound of it. Perhaps you wanted Vero there so you wouldn't feel as isolated."
"Actually I was incredibly popular; I had lots of friends; and I recall being adored. And if this is the party I am thinking of... Vero honestly should have stayed his lazy ass home, because he was an absolute nightmare at this thing."
"Let's find out, shall we?"
"Don't you touch me again, M, or I swear to Ghidora I will-" before Xia could finish the red, scarf-like appendages had grown large enough to wrap around her. It only took a moment for them to recede, but Xia's PAK legs were out now. "I am not fucking playing, M."
"And I may or may not be the real M anyway." M seemed less threatened and more bemused which only made Xia more angry.
"You were amazing today, Xia!" The sounds of compliments and awe drew her focus away from M as she saw that she was in one of the Elite dorms. It had been all decorated for Mothmas, with beautiful silver and white streamers and white moth-shaped balloons. There was even a replica of Godzilla-Clause standing protectively beside one of the alters. Past Xia was standing, surrounded by a circle of her peers, all hanging onto every word she said. It made her cardiac spooch feel warm seeing all the adoration.
"I know," past Xia was enjoying herself, though Xia wanted very much to urge her former self to drink it in as much as she could before Irk goes gnider-shit insane in only twenty or so short years. "Sig tries to make these exercises difficult, but there really is nothing I can't do."
"Are you going to be in the Mothra Festival tournament next time we have it? I bet you would win!" Another one of her classmates spoke up.
"You are loving this, aren't you?"
"Shhh," Xia didn't bother moving M this time as the Parasite leaned her elbow across Xia's shoulder. She was, of course, having to float to accomplish this due to Xia's superior height. "Let my classmates speak their truth."
"I am finally old enough to enter, so probably." Past Xia was starting to walk toward the snack table, her little crowd following her like smeets follow the robot arm in the underground. "Though it hardly seems fair to the other combatants."
"Awe, it's not about winning; it's about celebrating." Xia cringed hearing Vero's terrible analysis of a holiday he clearly didn't understand. He was standing at the snack table- unsurpringly- and yet hadn't just brought past Xia snacks out of a sense of obligation. Which was disappointing, but also, so in character for Vero, Xia couldn't be surprised.
"You are only saying that because we both know I'm going to destroy you in it." Past Xia accurately assessed the situation.
"I win, you know. I remember my first tournament entry, and I won. Vero didn't even enter. He was too intimidated. " Xia informed M. "Can we visit that memory?"
"That is the Mothra Festival and not Mothmas; it's not on theme, so... no. I am going to say no."
"It's a way better memory than this." Xia was pretty sure she remembered this party now. It wasn't really a memory she wanted to revisit.
"You don't stand a chance against Xia, it's true." One of the other students laughed. "She beats you all the time in training."
"I don't really want to do the tournament. Tallest Red judges it, and he is weirdly harsh on me and Xia in particular. "
"I wouldn't call him harsh at least... not on me." Xia's past self let out a little laugh. "I get nothing but praised in the reports he sends. But I mean..." she made a show of looking Vero up and down. "I can see why we might have different experiences."
"Harsh." Vero laughed, he never seemed that bothered by Xia's critiques, which was annoying to say the least. It made it nearly impossible for him to improve.
"It's true." Past Xia countered as she turned to go back to her spot. One of the smallers acting as a catering drone for the Elite party ran by, carrying a punch bowl almost the size of her whole body. Xia winced knowing exactly what was coming. Her past self turned too quickly and the service drone crashed directly into her. That brightly colored punch splashed all over Xia's very nice white and silver Mothmas party outfit. It had been brand new.
"I... I..." the Smaller stumbled back, she had to only be three feet tall at the largest. Her round red eyes were wide as she stared at Xia. "I am so, SO sorry!"
"Are you fucking kidding me!?" Xia's past self was, rightfully, fuming. That had been a nice outfit! She reached to the hilt of her weapon (never leave the room without it). "This was brand new!"
"I-I can p-pay for a new one!" The smaller was scurrying back.
"A table drone does not make enough monies to buy something like this!" There was a soft hum as Xia activated her weapon, the red plasma forming the shape of an ax blade. The smaller screamed, curling into a ball on the floor
"Please don't hurt me! It's Mothmas!"
"And THIS was my Mothmas outfit!" Xia raised the weapon up and then froze as a suddenly she had punch dripping over her antennae, down her face and head. She slowly turned her head to see Vero, his punch glass upside-down over her.
"There. Be mad at me. I did it too." Vero's eyes were narrowed. He was smiling, but as Xia looked back on it now, it looked less goofy than his usual expression. Why was it that Vero took nothing seriously when it was important like: school, training, or becoming number one. But in this... this stupid, humiliating action, he looked so damn proud.
It was such a short moment. It happened so quickly, even for Xia who knew what came next. In a fluid motion, the ax blade swung and Vero's smirking face fell to the ground. The body stood for a moment before the PAK leaped into action, searching for the missing head. But Xia wasn't done. She picked the head up off the ground, walking straight out of the dorm to the Elite training fields. She reeled back and threw the head over the fence.
It was funny, Xia had remembered the cheers of her classmates as she threw the head, but watching it back, everyone was oddly... quiet.
"Right," past Xia looked at the startled faces around her. "This is a party, isn't it!? Let's celebrate! It's Mothmas!"
There was a low murmur in the onlookers before they started hesitantly following Xia back inside as Vero's body searched wildly for his head.
"Hmmm," M was hovering close behind her, "so you were always a bitch."
"I don't know what you were expecting." Xia crossed her arms over her chest as they were left standing in the field as Vero's body was searching for his head.
"Neither do I, but I have a bit of a new respect for you, if I'm being honest."
"As much as I love compliments, I don't want them from the likes of you."
"You love me."
"I barely tolerate you."
"Don't be like that." She could hear the cracking of bones behind her that signaled M was shifting forms. For a moment all she saw was red and then Xia was back in her room, M sitting on one of the cushions, legs crossed, pale arms wide and relaxed behind her, the scarf like appendages wrapped loosely around her waist like some sort of belt. "I, for one, had fun."
"I didn't." Xia was surprised to find her PAK still plugged into the wall when they returned- as if they had never left at all. But the fact that M was still lingering around like a persistent cough, was frustrating. "And I am not sure what it was you were trying to show me."
"Your past love of Mothmas, maybe. Or your past love of decapitation? I think the message was clear."
"I didn't love Mothmas; I loved parties. Though I do still love decapitation, you do have me on that one."
"We have that in common."
"That information actually makes me like them less."
"Awe you'll hurt my feelings." M was giving her a toothy grin. Those crimson lips curled into a smile wide enough to display the rows of needle-like teeth. The seven red eyes never stopped watching Xia.
"You don't have feelings, M; you eat them. There's a difference."
"You are in such a mood today."
"Probably because all I want to do is sleep and everyone. Keeps. Bothering Me!"
"Fine, if you're going to be like that, I'll leave. I made my point anyway." M crossed her arms over her chest, her lips puckering into a little pout as she slunk into her chair.
"What point!?" Xia threw up her arms in exasperation. "About decapitation!? About parties!?" She put her face in her hands as she took a deep breath, trying to stop herself from wrecking her room by starting a fight with M. "I don't know what point you were trying... to..." as she lowered her hands, she realized... M was gone. "...make?" She finished almost confused. Xia blinked.
M was gone. That was definitely a plus. But she doubted that she would have peace for long. M had mentioned something about three spirits. She was confident that no one could be as annoying as M.
As she relaxed back into her chair once more, she tried to take solace in that fact. After all, who could be worse than M?
"It is time to get up now."
Xia was rarely, if ever, wrong about anything. She would blame her lack of forethought on her fatigue because she really, really just wanted to recharge and yet for some Mothra forsaken reason, she was being harassed by either delusions or actual beings. It was hard to tell. Whatever was happening, it had caused a small lack in Judgement for Xia who had initially thought no one could be worse than M. However, as she looked up into the dull brown eyes of the Irken sitting beside her, she felt her irritation already rising.
"Sym, what the fuck do you want?"
"I am the ghost of Mothmas Present."
"So you give gifts? Like Godzilla-Clause? I would rather see Godzilla-Clause. At least he would be twenty stories tall and have Atomic Breath."
"That's a different type of Present. This is Present as in the current time. The Present."
"Well that is highly disappointing." Xia narrowed her eyes.
"I too am disappointed to be here." Sym assured her.
"You are the lucky one! You get to spend time with me! I am the unfortunate one who is stuck with you!" She couldn't believe that Sym couldn't see the unfairness in this situation. "So let's just get this stupid thing over with. And not to pit you against M, but, her story had a decapitation in it. So..." she gestured to Sym who just gave her a blank look.
"Right." Sym looked like the regular Sym, dressed in blues and golds, wearing her ornate headdress. She even had her little reader clutched in her hands, ready to take notes, most likely. It had been too long since Sym had been with a competent Irken, Xia assumed she would be desperately making notes for Zim to make him slightly less miserable as Tallest. "Take my hand, and I can show you the current Mothmas."
"Yeah I am not going to do that." To make a point, Xia folded her arms. Sym sighed and simply snapped her fingers.
"Be that way." In an instant they were sitting back in the room Xia had stormed out of previously. Now Zim was wrapped in garland, as well as having the star on his head. Sparkling balls were hanging from the garland that seemed precariously placed, threatening to fall off every time he shifted. CB, Vero, Ara, Gavin, and Ven were all trying to add more to him without any of the colorful balls breaking.
"This was easier when I was the Christmas Tree, there was more room." Vero was focused as he tried to put a gold ball on Zim's right arm as Zim was moving it, gesticulating wildly as he ranted.
"Earth customs dictate that the Tallest is the Tree, Vero." Zim scoffed.
"No it doesn't." Dib called from the couch where he was sitting, mug in one hand, other arm wrapped around the shoulders of his bond mate beside him.
"Silence, smelly Dib. I know all about Earth customs, I lived there for MANY YEARS!"
"I was born there."
"I said SILENCE."
"Really I am not missing much, it seems." Xia still had her arms crossed as she glared down at the absolutely stupid scene in front of her.
"This is the spirit of Mothmas, togetherness. You are missing that." Sym was standing behind her, for once, not looking at a screen, but rather at the scene before her.
"No one remembers the spirit of Mothmas, it was lost when the Control Brains exploded, just like the rest of our holidays."
"No, the Spirit of Mothmas was lost long before. It was a holiday to celebrate Irken unity, the Control Brains never fully understood it..." Sym sounded surprisingly serious. Xia turned to gave her an incredulous look. She cleared her throat before adding "...or so I am lead to believe."
"Lead to believe by whom exactly?" Xia widened one eye, lifting one of her antennae.
"Keep watching." Sym tried to direct Xia's attention back to the scene before her.
"Do you think Xia's okay?" Ven looked over to Vero, as if that fat headed idiot would have any idea how Xia felt.
"She'll be fine once the Mothmas presents get delivered." Vero assured him.
"By Godzilla-Clause, right?" Gavin looked excited.
"Of course." Vero patted his head.
"Do you think I was a good enough Irken to get gifts this year? I don't want to get atomized by his atomic breath..." Gavin was really not doing well at whatever the decoration game they were playing was. He didn't have a PAK to better calculate the physics of the situation.
"Of course you were! Gavin is the smeet of Almighty Tallest Zim! That makes him one of the greatest, best Irkens to ever exist!" Zim made another grand gesture causing CB and Ara to try and catch the colorful decorations that went flying.
"Father please stand still."
"Zim is VERY STILL! YOU ARE JUST NOT AS GOOD AT DECORATING A TREE THIS MAGNIFICENT!"
"It's just... Xia says I'm not an Irken. She says I'm a pet..." Gavin took one of the ornaments that CB had caught, holding it in his hand.
"Nonsense! Zim told you! You are a smeet where it matters!" Zim patted Gavin on the head, giving the human a face full of garland. "In your cardiac spooch!"
"Xia also tells me I am not Irken enough, and I am a Control Brain."
"See?" Zim gestured to CB, "and nothing is more Irken than that! Xia is just being moody because she isn't Tallest anymore!"
"And the point of all this is...?" Xia looked at Sym.
"You... you hear the way they are speaking about you, right?" Sym blinked at her.
"Yes, and? It sounds like a bunch of coping to me? Base-smeet and the Abomination aren't Irken. I'm not wrong."
"I like Xia." It was just like her former Rising Tallest to stick up for her. Xia almost felt a smile coming on as Ven defended her.
"You like everyone." Ara retorted. Stupid Ara. Clearly Ven didn't like her. He was probably only hanging around her to report all these stupid festivities she was missing, back to Xia later.
"Xia is... harsh... but she's still my sister." Vero's defense of her was... unexpected. "I think she will warm up to you guys. It just takes her a while. She hasn't even warmed up to me yet, and I've known her for like twenty years."
"Vero, you're older than twenty. Like... way older." Voel and Skoodge were both also wearing the ridiculous garland, though they did not have the star or ornaments.
"The point still stands. It just takes time with Xia." Vero gave a shrug.
"She did try to kill you guys; you remember that right?" The fact that Dib thought he had any right to even have an opinion on the matter absolutely shocked Xia.
"That's not new for her," Vero laughed.
"And honestly that happens! I have tried to kill people before for sillier reasons! But not since college!" Professor Membrane's response seemed to make Dib freeze in place.
"Oh, I remember that." The one called Moira looked to Professor Membrane and they both started laughing.
"Seriously guys, what the fuck?" Dib seemed to want an explanation, but neither human seemed willing to elaborate.
"I can understand being fed up with every fucking person on your planet," Gazline's eyes were glued to the screen of the handheld console in her hands. "But Xia's a fucking bitch."
"This may be! But she is Zim's smeet!" Zim announced from the ground. "And despite the fact that she tried to murder us all, we still like her more than Tak!"
"No, I like Tak more." Dib answered a bit too quickly. Xia was just trying to figure out who the fuck Tak was. Had she met a Tak? Was that the Navigator that made the good cookies?
"You are wrong about so many things, and that is one of them." Zim shook his head causing CB to try and stabilize the star on his head.
"You really hold a grudge." Skoodge mused. "Tak literally helped save Irk."
Ah so this Tak was involved in Zim's weird rebel group. Perfect. Now Xia knew she didn't like Tak. Not that she was agreeing with Zim. His reasons for hating Tak were probably stupid. Xia had good reasons for hating Tak.
"Tak barely helped." Zim countered.
"No, she did a lot." Dib took a sip from the cup in his hand.
"Was there a point to this Sym?" Xia tapped her foot. "Because all I learned was that I now hate an Irken called Tak."
"Really? That is all you got out of the situation? Nothing about your words and how they affect those around you?" Sym looked slightly annoyed, but that was just her default expression, if Xia was being honest. She kind of missed the possessed version of Sym. At least IX was better company.
"I like that they listen to what I say." Xia had learned that much. She was distracted as the doors flew open, and in wandered the two foot nothing Irken that seemed to constantly be tailing Zim, lying to the public on his behalf to try and make the mad Irken at least somewhat palatable to the Irken populace.
"Almighty Tallest! There you are!" Xia's interactions with Zeke were limited, and she was pleased to keep it that way so the fact that they weren't leaving yet was irritating. "I have great news! Now that smeets are living above ground, Mothmas has become increasingly popular! We are selling more Mothmas decorations this year than the previous four Mothmas celebrations combined!"
"That is going to be great for the economy." Ara's stupid obsession with the economy seemed to still be a thing. So no Mothmas miracle yet.
"Family units really have taken off..." Skoodge looked impressed, but Xia long ago realized it didn't take much to impress him.
"I got the idea from seeing how much more tolerable the Dib human was whenever his genetic donor and human sister were around." Zim explained. In Xia's opinion, alone or together, the humans were all pretty awful.
"Is that a compliment?" Dib looked unsure.
"I will take it as one!" The genetic donor clapped his robotic hands together loudly beneath the gloves. "We are inspirational!"
"The Irkens are loving it. I am already working on a big Mothmas story. I have interviews with the public that are gonna warm the squeedly-spooches of even the harshest Irkens."
"So Xia?" Therron piped up. To Xia's horror, everyone laughed.
"Where is she anyway? I was hoping to get a picture of everyone together for the article." Zeke scanned the room, as if he didn't immediately realize her absence because the room lacked its usual sense of structure and order.
"Sulking." She was appalled by CB's analysis of the situation. She was not sulking. She was being held mentally hostage by supposed ghosts taking the forms of the worst individuals she had ever met.
"We will have to take it later when she is up. Zim wants to have all his smeets! It is important on Mothmas!"
"Mothmas Eve, technically." Zeke pointed out. There were very few Irkens smaller than Zim, but somehow the False Tallest was being corrected by one of the few Irkens that he dwarfed. Xia was embarrassed for him.
"Eh, time is irrelevant on the Massive Mark Two: Electric Boogaloo." Zim waved off the correction.
"Also you do have control over holidays now, which is only a slightly scary thought." Therron replied, some sort of brightly colored drink in hand. "I try not to think about it, or I will fall into some sort of existential dread."
Xia felt her squeedly-spooch churn. "Is this what you wanted me to see, Sym? Because I am rather disgusted."
"I want to believe it is at your own prior actions, but I have too much common sense and not enough faith to assume that is the actual case." Sym's voice was… just… so entirely deadpan; that and her lack of cameo in the current scene led Xia to believe that this might actually be the real Sym, meaning that was the real M earlier, meaning Xia owed M a punch in the face.
"You made me see that I agree with Therron on something." Xia replied, feeling her blood curdling just from the way the words tasted on her tongue.
"Yeah, I am not paid enough for this." Sym sighed, snapping her fingers and the image vanished.
"So you are the real Sym then." Xia smirked as she sat back, once again on her cushion, PAK plugged into the wall.
"Not that it matters. The real Sym isn't paid enough for this either." She had her eyes narrowed judgmentally. Xia really didn't appreciate her attitude. But she took some comfort in knowing that outside of maybe Vero or Zim, there wasn't anyone worse than Sym for her to be forced to hang around. "So whether I am real or not seems irrelevant."
"Sym gets paid too much for just being a glorified secretary, if you ask me." Xia scoffed.
"Chief of Agenda is NOT a glorified secretary." Sym's voice never wavered from her perfect monotone, but Xia could tell she was pissed. Good. If Xia had to suffer, so did everyone else.
"You were better when you were IX."
"I could say the same about you."
Xia's antennae flattened at the response. When IX had controlled her, it had been out of a moment of pure desperation. Sym was better as a puppet and IX knew it. That was why he had taken her as his primary form. The only reason he had tried to control Xia was because he was desperate to preserve Irk.
"HOW DARE YOU-" Xia began to approach but in the blink of an eye, Sym was gone. Perhaps it had been a delusion after all. The real Sym would NEVER say such things to her face. The real Sym was a pain, but she knew her fucking place.
It took even longer for Xia to calm down; the nerve- the fucking nerve of Sym, real or not, to even think she could say such a thing to her.
Eventually, Xia was able to relax again, though she knew it wouldn't be for long. It felt like she had just entered a tranquil state of meditation when the room became uncomfortably cold. That was strange in and of itself. Irken bodysuits were temperature regulated, and compared to many planets, Irk was considered cold as is. Irkens were nearly immune to low temperatures, so the fact that Xia felt chilled made her uncomfortable before she ever opened her eyes.
Finally, she cracked an eye open.
There was a tall, looming figure over her–an Irken, from the looks of it–thin faced with a blank expression. They had the hood of a flowing cloak pulled up over their face; Xia could barely make out the shape of the jaw, but she could see bulging, glowing red lights beneath the hood. They reminded her of...
"IX...? Is that you...? Are you one of the spirits...?"
"..."
No answer. Instead, he simply lifted a clawed hand, pointing forward. Xia got to her feet, Looking to where the wall of her room once stood. The wall was gone, instead, there was a long, dark hallway. She could see Irkens scurrying down the hall, weapons drawn. Xia walked forward to follow them. The halls were dark; she could only see the low red emergency lighting dimly illuminating the hall. The clinking of PAK legs on metal reverberated around her before suddenly stopping. Xia saw them up ahead, both saluting. Before them stood... CB?
The Abomination looked... different... more professional. The blue hair had turned darker, the bright blue lights had gone back to the red she had seen during their first meeting. She did prefer the red, it was far more Irken.
"Control Brain," the Irkens were speaking, not using the silly acronym that he usually used for a name, but rather... his whole title. Usually, Xia would comment about how poorly the name suited him... but... honestly, the way he was standing, the almost blank expression on his face, the shift in color... it almost suited him. "The rest of the rebellion has been apprehended with extreme prejudice. No one has escaped."
"Good work. The Almighty Tallest will be pleased with your success." The way he moved, it was less fluid, more rigid than before.
Had... Xia finally won?
"Is this my future, IX?" Xia looked at the cloaked figure. For the first time on Mothmas, Xia felt excitement. IX did not reply, he simply continued to point forward. Xia looked to see a hall lined with Elites, with the top of the line, best-of-the-best, Irken combatants. This was the exact thing she was striving for. Like a well oiled machine each Irken saluted as CB walked past them. Xia kept her pace to give the illusion they were saluting her. They would probably be doing so, if they could actually see her.
"Control Brain," Xia was stunned to see none other than Sym, her blue and gold uniform had been replaced with...
"Elite armor!?" Xia looked to the shadowy form of IX who continued to stare silently ahead. "Sym went back to being an Elite!?" She was no longer wasting her time sitting behind a desk being a pain in the ass to any Irken trying to to actually accomplish things in a broken government!
"Yes Sym?"
"The Syndicate send their condolences in regard to Almighty Tallest Zim, however, they have found our current... Regime to be too harsh."
"Send Ven for negotiation."
"They have concerns-"
"The Tallest does not have time for them at present. They negotiate with Ven, or no one."
"Of course, Control Brain." No hesitation, no whining about the Irken Legal Code... this was the sort of obedience Xia deserved. Perhaps this would restore her Mothmas spirit. Assuming it was Mothmas... it was hard to say. There were no decorations. There was nothing to indicate that it was the holiday except for the fact that that it had been the running theme of Xia's night.
"It's perfect..." Xia was in awe of her own triumphs as Sym took her hurried leave. "Irk has finally shaken free of Zim and his stupid ideas!"
"..." IX turned to look at her, the red lights under his hood seemed to be staring at her. Despite the excitement filling her cardiac spooch, Xia felt a tad bit unsettled. He wasn't talking and IX wasn't exactly known for being quiet. And the way his expression never seemed to change...
"Take the Rebel leader to the Tallest. They are to forgo the Judgement Hall. Direct orders."
"Of course, Control Brains." The Irkens scurried away.
"I guess no matter how perfect a regime, there are Irkens who have problems with it." Xia scoffed. "But this... this is the future I have been trying to make. It's better than your stupid War Protocol, no offense, IX, I'm just being honest."
Still silence from the figure beside her.
"Maybe you were the one holding me back!"
"..."
"Wow IX, do you ever shut up?" She shot him an annoyed look.
"..."
"Is this because I insulted your plan? It wasn't that bad. I just think we could have made it better if you were open to suggestions, is all."
IX pointed ahead again. Xia blinked. They were standing in the Tallest's chambers. There was almost no decoration, just the same red lighting. There was a Tallest Emblem on a clear red glass on the opposing wall. It cast the emblem, smile and all, on the floor where Xia and IX were standing. CB stood on one side; on the other stood Ven. Xia almost didn't recognize him. He was much older, tall. One of his eyes was missing. She looked behind her; at the door was Ara, one of her antennae had been cut, and she was dressed in Elite armor, weapon in hand. And... Xia squinted... was that Zim's pet human?
He looked much older. He was tall; it seemed he had a PAK now. There were scars and hair on his face. It looked a little similar to Dib, but the skin was darker, the eyes more almond shaped, the hair more well kept, and of course the head was much more reasonably sized.
Why had Xia thought to keep that thing around? Was it some kind of entertainment for her? The doors opened. She saw Tenn along with a purple eyed female Irken come in escorting...
No.
...
NO.
"I WILL NOT BE KEPT DOWN!" Xia saw herself, hands cuffed, looking worse for wear as she was held steadfast between the two Elites.
SHE was the prisoner!?
"The Tallest wished to see you personally."
So then...
"He can rot." The past Xia spat on CB who did not even flinch away
"Who is Tallest!?" Xia grabbed IX, the cloak felt cold in her grip, less like fabric and more like smoke. She could hear footsteps, the Tallest emblem in the back of the room split open revealing a door- that was new- and out strode the Almighty Tallest. The armor was blue, but so blue it was almost black. As he walked forward, Xia thought she was going to be sick.
There was no way...
"I didn't want to do this Xia." His voice was surprisingly cold. She almost didn't recognize the way it sounded. "But you forced my hand."
Vero...
"I did what I had to do for Irk!" The prisoner version of Xia still had vitriol in her voice, but her situation was slowly starting to dawn on her.
"Funny," the smirk on Vero's face was void of any humor, "I could say the same thing." He activated his weapon, raising it above her PAK.
"IX!" Xia tightened her grip on him. "This can't be my future! I can't lose to VERO!" He made no move aside from the turning of his head to look at her as she clung to him. "Is there a way to change it!? Is there still time!?" She stared up into the cold, unfeeling gaze of the red lights under the hood.
Still IX made no sound.
"Talk to me! Fucking tell me there is a way to change this! The future can't be set in stone! Not like this!"
IX was still just staring at her. Xia felt something squirming against her arms. Her eyes widened as she saw wires stemming from IX's body. They were wrapping up her arms, slithering toward her shoulder. She began to struggle against the creeping wires as they slowly drew her in. The red light drawing ever closer until it completely consumed her vision. She couldn't move for just a moment before the red cleared from her sights.
She blinked.
She was back in her room, PAK still plugged in.
Had it all been a dream after all? Her cardiac spooch was racing, her PAK going into overdrive to try and calm her shot nerves. Xia unhooked her PAK from the wall and shakily got to her feet. She was still haunted by the future she had seen. Most likely it was some sort of dream... but...
She ran to the door seeing a Navigator holding some paperwork walking by. "You!" She called out, trying to not let her voice shake. "What day is it!?"
"The twenty fifth?"
"Is it Mothmas Day!?"
"... yes?" The Navigator seemed confused, but Xia felt infinitely lighter. There was still time! The future she had seen wasn't completely set.
"Wonderful!" Xia immediately ran to the stupidly named 'Family Room' to see a Zim clad in ornaments and garland now with half eaten strands of popcorn wrapped around him. Skoodge was fixing the star on Zim's head so it would be more centered.
"I am just saying," Zim was deep in conversation, "I had a talk with Scrooge in accounting and he didn't know ANYTHING about Christmas."
"Just as Dib suspected." CB nodded, knowingly.
"Zim gave him some required reading. That will fix him better than any haunting." The decisiveness in Zim's voice would usually bother Xia. But, perhaps, it was a Mothmas miracle after all. She didn't care!
"For the last time: That is a HUMAN from a STORY! That is not some poor accounting Irken that you're probably harassing!" Even the large headed human had no effect on her.
"The point still stands. It's important for him to know about Christmas." Zim seemed unphased.
"WHY, THOUGH!?" Dib threw up his hands in defeat.
"AHEM!" Everyone looked surprised to see Xia rushing in, especially because she was almost… smiling? "You're all still here!"
"Yeah, I mean it has been more than twelve hours since you left, so I am also kind of surprised we haven't left." Skoodge was looking her up and down, eyes narrowed. Xia knew he was trying to get a read on her, but it didn't matter.
"There are too many festivities for us to stop now."
"CB!" Xia grabbed the robotic body by the shoulders, lifting it up in the air to get a better look. "You still have your hideous blue hair and clashing lights!"
"So it would seem..." CB tilted his head uncertainly as he was held aloft like some sort if trophy. "Also, please note that my hair and lights are roughly the same color, and therefore do not clash."
"You stupid, idiot Control Brain! They clash with the general Irken Aesthetic!" She put him back down, running to Ven. She grabbed his face in her hands, squishing his cheeks together. "And Dal! Your face is normal! You have two eyes!"
"Yes Xia, we all do. But thank you!" Ven was looking to the others for help but they were simply getting blank looks. Xia released his face, grabbing Gavin off of the floor where he had been playing and spinning him around.
"And ugly human baby pet!"
"Gavin, Xia; he has a name." Voel interrupted, but Xia ignored him.
"You are still small and hideous instead of large and atrocious!"
"Dad says I'm cute."
"And you're still believing all Defect Zim's lies! This is perfect! I'm not too late!" She tossed Gavin up in the air, and a very concerned Voel dove in to catch him as she spun around the room.
"Xia, don't throw your brother! He's fragile!"
"Are you having some kind of psychotic break, Xia?" Lor was getting to his feet, medical bag in hand.
"And the horrible, worthless Syndicate! You're still here too!" Xia clapped her hands together.
"Yeah... there's a lot to unpack in that sentence..."
"She sounds like herself..." Dib looked skeptical. "At least... the insults do."
"I had the most horrible experience! I had to come warn you! Vero is evil!"
"Ah dang, I am?" Vero blinked. "Well, that's definitely a plot twist."
"I saw a wonderful future where CB was a competent Control Brain! Zim was murdered! And I killed him! Sym was an Elite! Irk was back to being fully militaristic! But VERO was Tallest! And it. Was. Awful!" Xia grabbed Ven again, shaking him for emphasis.
"Xia don't kill Zim. Don't kill anyone." Voel had his head in his hands.
"No, no, don't worry, Voel! I've seen the error of my ways! I have learned my lesson!" Xia dropped Ven again to run over to Voel, leaning down to get in his face as he was sitting down.
"Oh?" Voel scooted back away from her.
"I can't kill Zim!" Xia practically shouted in his face.
"That's... good. We don't want you to kill Zim." Voel looked incredibly uncomfortable as Xia continued to invade his personal space.
"No! No! This isn't about Zim at all! It's about Vero!" She pushed away from Voel, going to Vero who was drinking from his cup, watching in confusion.
"Aw, you think I'm important?" He looked pleased as Xia grabbed him by the shoulders.
"Oh, yes, yes. I see everything so clearly now!" The incident with the smallers, the way he was constantly hovering in every story the spirits showed her… the message was loud and clear.
"Are we having–like– a moment?"
"Yes." Xia's hands tightened on him. "Now, give me a hug."
"I'm immediately suspicious." Vero laughed nervously. Xia pulled him in with her arms as her PAK legs sprang forth, making a dive for his head.
"No, not again- the stitches never quite hold it on right!" Vero tried to squirm away.
"No, no, no, no!" Skoodge and Voel both tried to pull Xia off of Vero.
"I CAN'T LET THE FUTURE I SAW COME TO PASS!" Xia scrambled against the other two. "IN THE SPIRIT OF MOTHMAS I MUST DESTROY HIM!"
"I like that you're feeling the Mothmas Spirit," Vero shot finger guns in her direction, his head lolling on his shoulders as some of the stitching had successfully popped off (at least Xia had been quasi-successful).
"What future!? Xia, what are you talking about!?" Voel finally managed to pull her completely off.
"I saw the spirits of Mothmas! Just like the lesser Earth counterparts that the human was talking about! It's HIS fault!" Xia gestured aggressively at Dib. "He HAUNTED our HOLIDAY!"
"What? Ho... how would you even think I went about doing that?" Dib looked more annoyed than anything else, but the Kryptonian took a protective stance in front of him.
"I don't know HOW you did it! Your stupid HUMAN powers!"
"Just because Dib is a little bit spooky doesn't mean he can haunt your holidays!" Lor shot back defensively.
"I WANNA BE HAUNTED!"
"No GIR, being with you is already a curse." Zim assured the SIR as he ran around the room, arms up in the air.
"YAAAAAAAAY!"
"NO! YOU told us the haunted Christmas story and then I have a visit ghosts!? THAT IS TOO UNLIKELY! YOU DID SOMETHING TO MOTHMAS!"
"Oh no." II's voice was almost too soft to hear over the chaos. "Do you think we had anything to do with this?"
"Negative. I am certain everything is fine, and we are blameless."
Xia's antennae flattened and she bared her teeth, whipping around to look at CB (as II had no body to actually glared upon). "What the FUCK did you two do!?"
"Nothing. We are perfect."
"I wanted to understand the haunted Earth holiday. So CB obtained a copy from his Earth files to share with me."
"That doesn't sound like they did anything wrong, Xia." Skoodge remarked dryly.
"See? We are blameless." CB retorted, a bit too defensively in Xia's always correct opinion.
"Well..."
"II, SHHHH."
"I mean..."
"You mean: II mean," Zim corrected.
"I MEDIAN AND MODE!" GIR assured everyone.
"Everyone just shut up and let II speak!" Xia shouted, her nerves still shot from being haunted. "Now, II, what did CB do wrong?"
"That is a big assumption-"
"SHUT UP, ABOMINATION!" Xia spat.
"CB made a brief error when sharing the story and accidentally downloaded it directly into the Collective-"
"So it's YOUR fault!" Xia grabbed CB this time. "You haunted our holiday!"
"What? No. It was a very minor miscalculation. It should have had no effect."
"Don't lie to me you juryrigged piece of antiquated hardware!" She pressed her forehead against the helmet.
"Negative. CB is correct. It should have just been junk data, easily filtered out by your PAK."
"Don't you defend him II!" Xia's PAK legs aimed toward CB.
"Oh wait, maybe it was my fault!" The jovial voice of Pressor Membrane shattered through Xia's rage. She turned slowly to look at him, he was examining a small device in his hands.
"What...?" Xia dropped CB back on the ground, turning to look at the cyborg professor with his large reflective goggles.
"Your silly dream may have been my doing!" He laughed dismissively. "Sorry, Zim's angry green daughter!"
"I like that it is not my fault, but I am confused about how it is yours." CB got to his feet.
"I made a dream machine to help my boy child and his crippling insomnia. This was before he was married to the medical space-doctor! I still bring it out around the holidays because he gets overly excited." The professor showed the small device in his hand.
"I am not excited about gifts or anything, I just really want to catch Krampus for scientific reasons." Dib spoke up to defend himself.
"Junior, no. Then Krampus will also take out a restraining order on you. You know how the Easter Bunny feels." Moira sighed, shaking her head.
"That was once!" Dib protested.
"It was twice, actually!" Professor Membrane chuckled, "and what a court hearing it was! ANYWAY!" He held the device aloft. "I brought this in case my son was getting any ideas about Krampus or Godzilla-Clause this year!"
"Godzilla-Clause is 20 stories tall- twenty five, with the hat- and has atomic breath." Skoodge remarked dryly. "As impressive as Dib is, I don't think he stands a chance."
"I would find a way." Dib folded his arms over his chest, slinking onto his cushion as his bondmate finally sat back beside him.
"He's also not real- reminding everyone of that- but can the ugly human PLEASE get to the fucking point!" Xia gestured back at the lab coat clad mad scientist.
"Right, right," the professor chuckled to himself. "I didn't expect us to be awake for eighteen straight hours, so I didn't check the settings! It was supposed to be set to delightful dreams of sugar plums! But silly me! It got switched to: nightmares and existential dread about the future- holiday edition! Must have hit a wrong button in the luggage!"
"Why is that a setting!?" Xia and Dib both had the same concern, which did not improve Xia's mood any.
"Why not?" The professor seemed genuinely confused by the ire he was receiving.
"I dreamed I was a dinosaur." Gavin piped up.
"You are probably too young to be affected." The professor gave him a pat on his head.
"So... it wasn't real... that future..." relief washed over her like a wave. She felt cooler, the fire rising inside her was quelled...
For a moment.
"I still need to kill Vero on principle."
"What? No!" Vero jumped back as Xia charged at him. Voel and Skoodge once again jumped in to hold her back, as Vero's head was still re-attaching. Vero knocked into Therron who crashed into Ven. Therron's drink hit the ground.
"Why I NEVER-" Therron went to attack Xia being held back by Ven.
"Careful not to disturb your Almighty Tree!" Zim commanded as CB picked him up to avoid the brawl forming.
"This is the Christmas spirit! Fighting with your family!" Professor Membrane gave a satisfied look to the Irkens before jumping to his feet. "AND HERE COMES THE PROFESSOR WITH THE STEEL CHAIR!"
"Kick their respective asses, my darling!" Moira clapped her hands, carefully, so as not to spill her drink as she sat back, observing the fighting.
"Where did he even get a steel chair?" Dib was at a loss. "Zim... sorry about all of this. I know we were supposed to have a nice holiday but it seems my family is incapable of such a thing."
"Nonsense! This is what Mothmas is about! Probably."
"It might be." II agreed.
"Sure. That sounds plausible." CB kneeled down a bit so Zim could pick up Gavin away from the fight. CB was now holding Zim, who was holding Gavin. "This seems like a good first Mothmas."
"It is the best one Zim has ever had! Because it is Zim's first Mothmas as Tallest. So it is clearly the best." Zim confirmed.
"Why am I always getting decapitated on Mothmas!?" Vero was still trying to scramble away from Xia.
"Tradition!" Zim assured him.
"Zim, no!" Voel gave him a look.
"THAT is a Mothmas tradition that might make this stupid holiday worth celebrating!" Xia was not giving up.
Gavin blinked, surveying the room, Irkens and humans fighting, some watching the chaos, the Kryptonian getting his medical supplies out of his bag. There was garland, tinsel, and ornaments strewn about the room. The large window to the outside had the stars whizzing past like snowflakes in a dark blizzard. Gavin fixed the star on his dad's head, giving him a hug.
"Mothra bless us, every one."
Author's Note: I had a GREAT time writing this. There is still more on the horizon, I think. Though if there is anything you are particularly interested in seeing, story wise, please let me know! I really have MISSED writing for these characters. T_T. It felt Good to be back!