Episode 13: Universal War?
Episode Summary: Word of Zim's true heritage has ignited a spark of rebellion among the enslaved planets of the Irken Empire, but will their dreams be crushed once they have learned he has given up on his race?
Author's Note: Thank you for reading and please review!
Yours Truly, RoxieDivine
Episode 13: Universal War? (Part 1)
(Somewhere deep in the vast of Space…)
Time…
She once thought it was on her side, but now she cursed it!
For it was the power of time that had divided her people so immensely.
The Irken Ancient known as Miz was the eldest Irken Amon that was still living to this day, and in her 932 years of living she had watch her once great empire crumble into the dark void of doom it was now known for. For almost 200 years now she has watched her people destroy one world after another, leaving nothing but despair in their wake.
Naturally, she feels responsible for their actions, so when refugees started begging her and the other Ancients for help; she could not refuse them. So, she and her fellow Ancients set up a refugee camp on a large Asteroid that floated aimlessly in the vastest part of space.
Oh, how she wish she could alter the hands of time, but sadly she held no such power; her people would not stop, they knew no such thing as reason.
Yes, all hope was surely lost…
"Miz my dear you look positively awful." A voice whispered behind her.
Miz turned to see one of her dearest friends, it was another Amon female, Miha was six foot two with deep purple eyes, and long curled antennas.
"Miha surely even you can see the doom that are children have caused." Miz sighed knowing full and well that Miha would say something wise, yet hopeful about their future. And if the old Female was being truthful she'd admit she was secretly hopeful that Miha would indeed do just that.
Fortunately, Miha did not disappoint her oldest friend. "I know times are hard, but I still believe that good will come from this. Even the darkest voids of doom have some source of light within them." Miha told her.
"Well I wish that good you speak of would come quicker!" Miz snapped proudly, her dark pink eyes blazed with wounded pride.
"Your Grace."
Miz turned to see a rather small Vort standing respectfully in her presence, she smiles. "Lard Nar it has been some time since you have graced us with your presence."
"I know you are very busy taking in the new wave of refugees, but I bring news of great importance, I must speak to the six of you at once!" Lard Nar spoke with much haste.
"Is everything well?" Miha asked.
"It is more than well." Lard Nar rasped. "We may finally have a means to end this war."
"You sound so certain." Came a voice.
The group turns to see three more Amons have approached them.
The Tallest is Razor, he is the eldest male among the six Ancients (reaching a height of six foot three), and at the moment his large red eyes were full of suspicion; no Razor was never known to trust easily.
Tulu, the youngest of the males took a more welcoming approach. "Now Razor we must greet our Allies with respect, or we may soon become our children." The young blue-eyed Amon reminded him.
Razor seems to roll his eyes in annoyance but nods his agreement none the less. "Very well I suppose it won't hurt to hear what he has to say."
"What do you think Mucoid?" Tulu asked.
The second eldest male, Mucoid was never known to answer swiftly. He was quiet, and always over thought everything; but he was also known for being wise beyond his years. "I think we should listen, who knows perhaps it is the news we've been waiting for." He looks to Miha as he speaks.
"Very well then, Miha go fetch Smoots so we may discuss this in private." Miz ordered.
Miha obeyed, Smoots was the youngest of all the Ancients, at the meek age of 233 the young female was known for her yearning for excitement, and adventure. Miha knew that the young one was probably standing watch at the old look out post, waiting for any sign of the threat! The threat being their children coming to finish off what was left of the worlds they had conquered. Miha climbed the rocky asteroid ground up to the lookout post, which stood on the tallest point of the rock that they had long ago got used to calling home.
"Smoots we are in need of you." Miha exclaimed to the young female sitting upon the ground.
Smoots stood up at once, the young female was always known for her energy, which was probably why she was given a name that meant Joyous Spirit. "Than what are we waiting for? Time is wasting!" she exclaimed.
Miha smiled, Smoots high spirts always made her mood brighten up; she just had that effect on people.
"What is it about anyway?" Smoots went on as they made their way down from the peak, and towards the Meeting Hall.
"Not sure, Lard Nar has requested an audience with us all." Miha stated.
"Then it must be news of the outside world." Smoots concluded out loud as they entered the Meeting Hall. The hall in question wasn't really a structure at all, just a hole in the asteroid that resembled a cave.
The other four Ancients were waiting for them each sitting around a round table of stone. Lard Nar stood before them, waiting nervously.
"Smoots how kind of you to join us." Razor said rather sarcastically. "Did you find any enemy threats up there today?"
"No, and I am thankful for it." Smoots answered.
Razor smiled, "Aren't we all?" he asked.
"Alright now that we are all here." Miz said cutting their conversation short. "Lard Nar please tell us what is there to know?"
"My grace, I know you do not wish to discuss your children, but I come with grave news." Lard Nar's voice was almost a whisper, and for good reason he knew what the Amons before him were capable of if tempered. Sure, they were a peaceful group, but Amons were known to be beastly, even in their time.
"Go on." Miz said her pink eyes glowing with fury.
Lard Nar gulped before speaking once more. "It's the Tallest I have word from Goalit, that Red and Purple have murdered all the worthy Smeets."
Silence…
It was never a good sign.
"You have proof of these crimes?" it was Tulu who spoke first.
"Yes." Lard Nar assured them, holding up a disc.
Smoots took the disc and loaded it into the massive computer before them, what they saw was just horrible. "All those pour souls." She whispered. "They didn't even get to start living."
"They are clearly out of control!" Razor screamed his temper flaring to dangerous heights; the beast was obviously trying to get out. "We must eliminate them all!"
"Eliminate them!" Miha screamed. "We cannot!"
"These Tallest, Red and Purple have gone rogue, and they have led the collective into darkness." Razor argued.
"Sir please." Lard Nar begged. "The collective has no idea of this crime."
"Then how do you know of it?" Razor challenged.
"Goalit, he got the information from a cadet who stumbled upon the scene. She is the one who made the disc, the Tallest have no idea she has witnessed this." Lard Nar explained.
"I see." Miz finally spoke. "So why tell us? Uh? What does this female Irken hope to gain by informing us?"
"As you may already know the Tallest have recently enslaved a very valuable planet known as Earth." Lard Nar began to explain. "They had gain knowledge of this planet through one of their Invaders: Invader Zim."
"And this Invader has something to do with this?" Smoots asked. "How?"
"Zim was never treated very well by the other Irkens, and after he was sentenced to death for relations with a human girl, he escaped and begun a resistance with the earthlings against the Tallest, and the collective as a whole." Lard Nar went on.
"Again, why should we care?" Razor snapped. "They have proven to us long ago that they no longer want our help, nor do they value our opinion!"
"You should care." Lard Nar snapped. "Because Zim is an Amon!"
"That's impossible, he was an invader." Miha pointed out.
"Well according to the files Goalit provided me, Zim stepped down at the age of 14 because he believed he had stopped growing. However, it turns out he was just a really late bloomer." Lard Nar explained as he handed Smoots another disc. Goalit had managed to supply him with it when he had given him the proof of Tak's discovery.
Smoots placed the new disc into the computer and Zim's life history shows up on the screen.
"Razor the brains used our DNA to clone him." Miz said almost surprised.
"Well that explains what took him so long." Tulu teased, "Miz took forever to reach her final stage."
"Yes, what was it? 150 years I think." Razor agreed with a chuckle, his mood seemed to have calmed down now, and for good reason. "If what you say is true." Razor whispered. "Then perhaps our people can finally start over again."
"According to the female cadet, Zim wants the Irken race to return to a simpler time, when Amons and Shews stood as equals, were war was a terrible idea that no one would think of." Lard Nar went on.
"So, he wants to go back to his roots, this is good." Miz agreed. "This is exactly what our children need, a fresh start in the right direction."
"Well there is one slip up." Lard Nar spoke up.
"Go on." Razor urged.
"From what Tak reports he appears to still be struggling with the final change." Lard Nar informed him. Her notes on Zim had been added to the disc of Zim's history before Goalit had given it to him.
"That is an easy fix." Miz assured him. "You see in all reality the longer the change takes the more likely the Amon will survive."
"Yes, if it comes too quickly the body doesn't have time to adapt and the young Amon dies." Smoots agreed.
"So how do we fix it?" Lard Nar asked.
"We don't rush it!" Mucoid finally spoke. "He is progressing at a good pace why ruin it now by stressing him to move faster for our sake?"
"Mucoid is right, Zim is our only option; rushing him could ruin our last hope of peace across the stars." Miha agreed.
"Then we do nothing?" Lard Nar asked.
"No, we will ready ourselves for war, as much as I hate it some of our children may not want to change." Miz stated with a sigh.
"And Zim?" Lard Nar asked.
"He will come to us when he's ready." Miz assured him. "In the meantime, tell this Goalit I want him to make contact with Zim. He is to gain his trust and see that he is progressing at a healthy rate, he is to report to me about everything."
"Very well I will let him know." Lard Nar said with a bow.
"Then go we must waste no time!" Razor exclaimed. "We must be ready when Zim comes."
Lard Nar rushes off at his command.
"Smoots ready the able for war!" Miz ordered. "It is time we took responsibility for our children and correct them once and for all!"
"Yes Miz." Smoots gets up at once to follow the command to her fullest.
The rest of the Ancient follow her lead, knowing there is not a moment to lose…
For their final opportunity for redeeming the Irken race was upon them, and they could not afford to fail them again.
(Back with Joseph…)
Joseph shook his head at the sight of their new home. "God I hate it when Mark is Right!" He exclaimed.
"Wow a rundown apartment." Josh laughed sarcastically. "I hate to see what the cadets got!"
Joseph rolled his eyes. "Probably a slap on the wrist!" he retorted as the two began to climb the stairs of the apartment building in search of their room.
Apartment number 221
They had found it easy enough, and to their dismay when they opened the door they were greeted with one wide room with paper thin walls. There was a small gas stove along the far wall, above it stood some cabinets, beside it a small counter with a sink.
On the wall to their left was a couch, with a small TV and on the wall to their right was a refrigerator, and deep freeze with a door beside it.
"It's probably the bathroom." Josh said as he walked over to it, he opened the door and sure enough it was indeed the bathroom. Josh took in the small toilet, the even smaller sink, and the shower and groaned in dismay. "Home Sweet Home." He joked.
Joseph just growled; Josh grimaced his brother had been acting like this since this morning.
To say Joseph was bitter was an understatement. This was perhaps the lowest of blows he had ever received from his people. Not even a lowly rat deserved to live in these conditions.
"It's fine." Josh assured him. "We can make this work."
"We don't even have beds!" Joseph screamed. "Where are we going to sleep? That couch will barely fit one person!"
Josh knew he was right, but he was determined to stay positive for both their sakes. "I know Rach has some blow up mattresses. We'll borrow those, and we can get some sheets with our rations and hang them up to make separate rooms." He assured him. "We can make this work."
"Maybe I don't want to make this work!" Joseph suddenly snapped.
"Zim!" Josh whispered. His brother's eyes were doing that glowing red thing again, and unfortunately Josh had left the book on the subject at the dome.
"Oh, don't start with me worm!" Joseph growled. "I can't believe I actually thought this could work."
"What are you saying?" Josh asked.
"I actually thought I could save both the humans and my people." Joseph scoffed. "What a joke, of course it wouldn't work out."
"It's okay Zim." Josh assured him. "We can still save them."
"That's just it…" Joseph whispered, his eyes still glowing blood red. "I no longer want to…"
He wasn't entirely sure that he had heard him right…
'Did Zim just say that he didn't want to save his people anymore?' Josh was stunned. "You can't be serious!"
"I am!" Joseph hissed. "Don't look at me like that! They don't deserve to be saved!"
"Zim…" Josh whispered. "You don't mean that."
"Oh, come on just look at what they've done!" Joseph snapped. "To you, to each other; it's sickening!"
"That's what this is about?" Josh was amazed. "You're angry about what happened!"
"Are you saying I shouldn't be?" Joseph hissed.
"No, it's just…" Josh trailed off. "They're just kids Zim."
"No, there are monsters; they all are, and I want nothing more to do with them!" Joseph growled once more.
"But…" Josh began.
"This conversation is over!" Joseph snapped.
And that was the end of it!
Just like that Zim had disowned his own people.
'I have to tell Tak!' he was shocked that Tak was the first person that came to his mind, but he figured it made since Tak was Irken. 'She has to know, especially if my suspicions about Zim are true.'
'If he is an Amon he could change the Irken race for the better!'
"I'm going to go take a shower." Josh finally said, he waited for his brother to acknowledge him, but he didn't.
Joseph just sat on the couch, scowling!
'This is bad!' Josh realized as he raced into the bathroom and locked the door. 'If Zim loses his temper again!' his memory Immediately went back to that Time Zim had attack Mark in the dome, and how days later Zim had attacked him as well. 'If Zim lost his temper like that with one of the cadets, or our teachers than we're finished!'
'I have to tell Tak hopefully she will know what to do!' And with that final thought he reached for his communicator and dialed her number.
He could only hope she'd be able to help…
-To Be Continue