Episode 14- Prison Uprising!

Episode Summary– As Purple's death caused Red to slowly slip further into darkness the Renegades and their allies prepare for their final move.

Disclaimers: I Do Not Own Invader Zim

Author's Notes: And we are back with another exciting part of Invader Zim Renegades! Thank you all for all your comments and dedication to this series.

Hope you guys enjoy!

Yours Truly, RoxieDivine :)

Episode 14: Prison Uprising! (Part 1)

(Back with Kazar…)

[Two weeks after The Death of Tallest Purple.]

He knew that the longer he stayed, the more likely he would die…

THEY ALL DID!

However, it couldn't be helped.

Kazar couldn't help the obvious shiver that ran down his spine as an animal like growl echoed through out th halls of the now abandoned palace.

Well, mostly abandoned, all that remained was Kazar, Reed, Squab, Dalk, Sleerb, Flog, and Nerb. These seven ex-fleet commanders were all that stayed in these dangerous corridors. Why, might You ask? It wasn't because they wanted to, no Kazar would love nothing better then to leave, leaving ensured his survival.

However, leaving would also put the rest of the planet at risk. These seven Amons were all that stood in between the citizens of Zec and their enraged Ruler! Yes, they were here to contain Red! A task that was for the most part easy.

The Berserker Amon, had now lost all sense of reason, his last order has been to set up a blockade around the Planet. Of course, all the troops from all the nearby Irken ruled planets answered the call; leaving their post. Which only allowed the now abandoned worlds to be scooped up by the new Tallers; Zim and Razor.

It was an utter mess, because even though Red was now mindless and incompetent none of them had the Authority to override his orders. The Brains, would not allow it! Only the approved Tallers could use an override, and they could not access the Brains.

Red had ordered that all Brains on the abandoned worlds to be destroyed so Zim would have nothing! And the Seven remaining Amons within the castle were not strong enough to deal with Red themselves, so that only left the Tallers to finish what they started.

The only problem was now a blockade as massive as the entire solar system stood in their way. To make matters worse, since most of the soldiers were in the blockade, only drones and cadets remained on Zec. Which meant the seven were really the only ones that could keep Red's wrath at bay.

"This is madness!" Squab hissed in a low whisper; fearful his voice would arouse unwanted attention from the beast that was currently stalking the halls.

"Going to get ourselves killed we are." Dalk agreed, his spear was aimed low, but ready to be pulled up to protect him at any minute. He would prefer a gun, but the soldiers had taken all those, another one of Red's crazy orders before he completely lost it.

No doubt he did this so the remaining Amons would have a harder time subduing him. Oh, it was obvious to Red now that they were all out to get him. Why wouldn't they be? The Ancients had given the Tallers their blessing for all to see! He was the one who was not wanted!

Still, until Red was removed The Brains would only take orders from him no matter how sane they were. This reason alone was exactly why it was up to other Amons to weed out the unstable ones!

"Not if we keep a cool head and stick together." Kazar advised. Or course, they all still listened to him, even though they technically still held no power of their own. Kazar was no longer General Of the Armada. Still, they followed his lead, Why? Because a demotion did not suddenly eliminate centuries worth of experience.

That and no one else among them had the guts!

Sleerb fletched as a shadow darts by across a darken corridor to his left. "I think I see something." He said. Still, the spears hang low, to raise them would be to challenge Red. Something none of them wanted to do.

"It's probably just our Tallest." Kazar said, trying to sound reassured. "It has to be, those Imposters could not get past the blockade." Of course, the imposters were what they were calling the Tallers. It was important for their survival for Red to believe the weapons were there for his protection. That the seven of them remained here to protect him from those who wish to destroy everything their Tallest had stood for.

This was why the weapons remained pointing low, and unthreatening, to keep Red oblivious to their true objective. They were not containing him, but protecting him!

The ruse had been working well so far, for the most part.

Red would accuse them of treason from time to time in his less berserker moments, but all in all he never attacked.

"My Tallest are you in need of anything?" Reed asked. "A meal perhaps?"

No answer…

"Perhaps he just wants to stretch his legs." Flog said hopefully.

"Then we'd be best to stay out of his way." Nerb pointed out.

The seven continue their patrol.

The uneventful silence was expected, and had become the new norm. Red would usually feast off the pile of snacks they laid out for them, or if a drone hiding within these walls were so unlucky enough to be spotted by Red he would make a quick meal of them.

But otherwise, the seven spent their days marching in formation up and down the empty halls.

It was a bleak and mind numbing reality, and with every passing day it got worse and worse.

They were running out of time, sooner or later the seven's numbers would start to dwindle.

Kazar did his best not to think about that even though it wasn't easy.

He had to have faith in his new Tallers to deliver them from this hell, and they would!

He was sure of it; his only hope, was that he would survive to see it!

(Back with Jamie…)

She knew this was crazy…

Heck it was a miracle they hadn't been caught already!

Jamie risked taking a peak out of the programing chamber once more and was relieved to see that the coast was still clear. They had been reprograming the human prisoners back to normal for two weeks now, and so far everything was running smoothly. With no Irken guards besides Bec and Tak their progress was swift. To make things easier Cho and the others really did seem to think that the program was flawless.

They never checked on them to see if they were doing what they were supposed to. Kathy and Mary had been released from observation about a week before and Megan had yet to check on them again. They really did think that no one could beat this program.

You would think they would, after all even other Irkens could be "Flawed", and yet they had the at most faith in their fellow Irken Worshipers. Still progress was not as quick as Jamie would have liked. Surely Zim would find a way through the blockade soon, and no doubt Dib and the others were close to figuring out a way here on Zec. They had to quicken their pace, the prison was an ideal place for the Renegades to regroup and prepare their assault on the palace.

"We must hurry." Jamie insisted.

"We can't move any faster." Jacob told her. "Not only is it physically impossible, but Cho may start to suspect something if we start acting nervous." He reasoned.

"This is insanity." Mary said as she returned through the door. She had just returned from outside the prison. Now that most of the Irken soldiers were out defending Earth in the blockade the Worshipers had no choice but to go out and get their own supplies for themselves and the prisoners. Of course, there was the Spy drones, but they were too busy keeping the humans on Earth's surface under lock down.

Several had tried to charge out of their homes, and some even lost their lives in the process. Mary knew life could not keep going on this way…at least not for much longer.

"If we keep at this pace we should be done in another two weeks." Crystal predicted as they finished another human. This one was a young woman, and like the other's the reprograming process made her very tiered. Again, Cho and the others were not alarmed to hear this; apparently the reprograming was very tiresome on the mind.

"It has to be." Megan explained several days earlier. "The whole point of reprograming is because it wears off after a while. This is why the new program is stronger then the one before, and automatically updates over time."

Suddenly Freddy pops his head in. "Just wanted to let you guys know that chow will be done soon."

Chow, it was the term for meals in the prison. Freddy always came five minutes before ever meal to inform them.

Jacob looks at the clock. "Wow as punctual as ever." He joked.

"You guys sure are moving fast." Freddy noted. He looks over the books and sees that they are nearly halfway done. "Why the rush."

"If we take our time the program might fully wear off of the ones we haven't got to." Kathy reasoned, not missing a beat.

They had all rehearsed this answer several times.

"They might rise up and try to take the prison, we are low on guards."

Freddy seemed to nod at this. "It is an ideal time for it." He agreed, looking around nervously at the prisoners who were still waiting in line. Most of them looked blankly ahead, they were like zombies, mindless and emotionless.

It is now that Crystal and the others fully understand why Jacob was helping them. The Prisoners were not like the Worshipers. They were void of all sense of emotion, they were nothing but empty shells that worked the line, and fueled their bodies when told, and only resting when told.

At least the worshipers could carry a conversation.

"Not to worry." Jamie assured Fred. "We are moving at a fast pace; In fact, we are expecting to be done in no more than two more weeks."

"Excellent." Cho said as she joined them. It was obvious to everyone that she was the one who was in charge. "I had feared we would be too slow without the help of our fellow Irken guards, but you all have kept up a valiant effort."

"It is to be expected." Jamie reasoned. "This is how our Irken overloads require it to be."

"And they will be please to hear my report." Cho assured her. "It has pleased Tallest Red that he is able to have as many soldiers out their in the blockade as possible."

"I am glad they are." Crystal admitted. "Surely the traitor can not get through that many ships."

Of course, Zim was the traitor, but no one was allowed to use his name, to even mention him was now an insult to the memory of Tallest Purple.

Cho looks murderous for a moment, but gets it under control. "He will pay for what he has done." She vowed.

"Relax." Jamie assured her, taking her hands in hers. "This can't last much longer. Soon He will make a mistake as Defects do and everything will be back the way it was."

Cho seems calmed by her words. "You're right we have nothing to fear. Tallest Red will fix everything." With those words she clapped her hands and all of the Prisoners who had not been programed yet started to march to the dining hall.

"It's time to take a break for now." Freddy said. "We will pick back up after Chow."

Jamie nodded her agreement as Jacob helped the young woman who was just programed to the observation room.

Kathy and Mary take other reprogramed individuals as well and follow him out.

"We have finished seven since this morning." She told Cho as they stated to make their way to the dining hall. Crystal walks beside her quietly.

"Move any faster and we'll be ahead of schedule." Freddy chimed.

Jamie forced a smile, even though his joke sounds hollow, the joy and laughter was fake compared to that of real emotion.

"Are you suggesting that we could do better then our fellow Irken soldiers?" Crystal asked. "Surely we can not compare to the real thing."

Cho nodded. "Yes that is impossible."

"Yes." Freddy agreed. "But it would make Tallest Red very happy if we completed this task as swiftly as possible."

"They are ticking time bombs for the enemy to use once they get here." Megan agreed as they joined her at their table in the dining hall. Caleb and David were already sitting with her, eating their midday meal. That was another thing that had changed for them. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner were not approved words, and the others had to be careful not to use them.

Instead, it was Morning, Midday, and Evening Meals. These were proper and approved terms, and several other words were banned from being used. The Irkens felt such words as Awesome or Cool allowed too much individual expression and usually led to faster deprograming.

"We are moving at the expected speed." Cho assured them. "None of the prisoners will snap out of it long enough to form a plan."

Jamie smiled at her words; the enemy truly was oblivious. They had no idea that several humans were already plotting against them. All those that had been freed from the Programming were in the observation room. And as Jamie and Crystal kept the enemy busy out here the others schooled the freed prisoners on how to pass off as one of the other programed inmates.

Soon they would get the green light just as Mary and Kathy had done and would move back in with the rest of the prisoners as more came in to be deprogramed. This cycle would continue until everyone was free. In as little as 14 days the prisoners would over run the prison, where they would outnumber the enemy 100 to five!

Yes, the Irken Worshipers days were numbered, soon this prison and even the city of Zec would belong to the Renegades.

It was only a matter of time.

(Back with Zim…)

It had taken him a lot longer to get used to it then what he would have liked.

Taller Zim growled as he struggled unsuccessfully with his fork, before finally giving up and throwing it down. This was unacceptable, as a soldier he should have been pass this by now.

Taller Razor stiffened a laugh as he picked up the fork from where it had fallen expertly and held it out for his partner.

"You just love rubbing it in my face don't you?" Zim growled as he made no move to take the fork.

"Come now, surely you are not going to let some utensil out due you." Razor said, looking more encouraging now.

"It's pointless." Zim whined, despite himself. "It's been two weeks and I am no better at this then I was on day one."

"You couldn't even pick up the fork on day one." Gaz reminded him as she sat down beside him.

The refugees and the Amons were just getting back from their combat training. Today they were practicing dog fights for space battle. Not a single one of them were really pilots, in fact Lard Nar was the only one with experience; besides Zim. Who at the moment was just as bad as some of the Refugees.

Gaz of course was a natural, and it was very apparent that she would be one of the fleet commanders.

Naturally, Diaz would also command a fleet, however said fleets would small and many of the "pilots" had little to no experience. However, Zim was not worried, all they had to do was keep the enemy fleets busy, and form a hole in the blockade, allowing Zim, Razor and a chosen few to slip though and land on Zec. Of course, said group was already predetermined, Gaz, Diaz and the Amons would all land on Zec while Lard Nar assumed command of the rest of the refugees. His job would perhaps be the most challenging; for he had to ensure that all the soldiers in the blockade stayed busy, leaving very few of the enemy (If any) to follow Zim and the others to Zec.

Still, they needed a place to land safely and regroup with the others. As much as he's like to go straight for Red and get it over with he knew once he got to Zec the entire Irken Army, regardless of Lard Nar's efforts would make it down to Zec. Even if that meant taking the fight with Lard Nar down there with them.

"How is our luck with communications?" He asked Gaz hopefully.

"Bubcus." Gaz admitted. Ever since the message Zim and Razor had gave to Earth about Purple; the ship that Gaz and Diaz had came on had been blocked from receiving or sending out any kind of signal.

"Red must have blocked the signal somehow." Razor said thoughtfully. "There must be something on the ship that gives him the remote access."

"We've dismantled everything.'' Gaz reasoned. "If we take the ship apart anymore it will no longer be operational, and we don't have any ships to spare, we need this one in the fleet with the rest of them."

Razor knew she was right, still it would be nice to communicate with Zim's forces who were already on Earth so they could coordinate an attack. "Perhaps you can make a device that will be able to detect the problem." He said to Zim hopefully.

Zim finally decides to snatch the fork from him, and only just barely manages to keep a hold of it. Irk, he honestly thought having one less finger wouldn't be this hard. "It won't be easy." He admitted. "There are at least 37 possible things it could be and creating one device that can detect them all will be next to impossible."

"Does he always complain this much?" Razor teased openly.

"Yeah you get use to it." Gaz said with a sly smile.

Zim looks from one to the other as if not sure which one he wants to lash out at, finally he decides. "Well, I don't see you doing anything!" He snaps at Razor.

Of course, he would choose him, apparently lashing out at the Earthy female was a death sentence.

Razor snickered slightly and that is when Miz decides to join them.

"When do you think we will be ready to move out." Miz asked.

"Razor thinks we can find the jamming device faster if we build a device to detect it." Zim informed her.

"Have there been any luck in using the Brains on the abandoned worlds?" Miz asked.

Razor shakes his heads. "Our children were not stupid; they may have left us with worlds to reclaim and prisoners to free, but they took all the brains out of the computers, and left not a single ship, or even a piece of a weapon behind."

Miz sighed openly. "They are willing give up everything they already have for this one planet." She spoke gravely, and rightfully so. If they would give up so much then how much more would they find disposable in the hopes of keeping Earth?

Zim knew the answer was anything but good. "We can't let the lack of easy answers deter us." He told them. "We are making our own ships and weapons out of what ever piece of scrap metal we can find."

Razor nodded. "It's slow going, but we are confident that with the help of our new numbers Lard Nar will have a full fleet of ships ready for the attack."

"Then all we need is a way of communications." She looked to Zim and smiled.

The ex-Invader was currently concentrating on fork once more, he finally managed to stab a piece of the food that was before him and brought it to his lips triumphantly.

"Well, it's about time." Gaz teased. "I was beginning to think I was going to have to feed you…again."

Zim gives her a dangerous smile, one that warns her that she is swimming through dangerous waters.

Gaz returns the gestured with a look of her own.

The two stayed locked in this silent battle for several minutes before Zim, admits defeat by looking to Miz.

"I am confident we will find the problem." He assured her.

"He lets you win to easily." Razor teased. The two Tallers had now been together long enough to have formed a sort of friendship, one that Gaz saw was much like Purple's and Red's, only less destructive.

"That's because he knows better." Gaz growled.

Zim smiles, he really is glad that she is here, he was beginning to wonder if they would ever be like this again. Still, he wasn't sure how much longer it would last. With every passing day their permanent separating got closer and closer.

His smile fades slightly, and Gaz knowns what it is he is thinking about. Honestly, she doesn't see it as a big deal. She had no problem with having a long distant relationship with her family or even going back and forth between Zim and them as she saw fit. She knew Zim's fears were that the Earth Authorities would want to keep all Irkens as far away from Earth as possible, but that didn't mean she wouldn't be free to come and go as she pleased.

Why did they have to choose?

Surely they could make this work.

It wasn't that Zim didn't want to make it work, he did; but he also knew that freeing Earth would not be the end of this war. There were other worlds that Irk still had in it's clutches, some who would not want to bow to the Zim, even if Red was defeated.

Was it really fair to make her wait until he got everything back to the way it was. All planets back to it's rightful owners, all refugees in a stable and secure life. It could take decades to clean up and reverse all the damage that Irk had caused to the Universe.

Was it really fair to keep Gaz waiting that long, following him around like a lost puppy while he scrambled to put the universe back in order?

No, it wasn't, but Zim knew that Gaz would have her way regardless. So, he tried his best to embrace the happy moments. To bask in the fact that she was here now. Yes, that's all that mattered, the here and now, tomorrow was just another thing that would have to wait.

To Be Continued