Welcome back once again, mates! The invasion continues and we're getting closer to the grand finale!

Chapter 26: Kidnapping

Dib and Zim were flying on their way to Virginia to meet up with the others, with Zim wearing his jetpack and Dib riding GIR, shooting any enemies they came by. Zim looked to see a group of kids being chased by a Megadoomer and took the time to shoot it in its left knee, causing it to collapse. It then sat back up, gripped its knee, and began moaning in pain.

"Ssss… OWW! Ssss… OWW! Ssss… OWW!" Zim flew by it again and blew it up completely.

Eventually, everyone (except for Eva and Kade, who were flying back to their treehouse, as well as Ava, Kweeb, and Marine) were all together and fighting the invaders on the streets of Gallagher. Hoagie and Ace were in airplanes, taking out enemies from the air, with the help of several KND troops on jetpacks.

The team seemed to be on a winning streak, but that streak ended when the Star Wolf team finally landed on Earth and began attacking the ground troops. "QUICK! Get that snake!" ordered one of the KND air troops. Jake heard this and started to fire missiles at the troops from his tail, taking them out.

"HA HA HA! You kids ain't no birds!" Jake shouted. He then heard a scream from above and, before he knew it, Numbuh 363 had landed on his head and covered his eyes. After a while of shaking, the demon snake shook him off. "I'm about hungry for some beaver right now, but I guess a mutated beaver will have to do!" Jake exclaimed as he shot at Harvey, his mouth wide open, but was then held back when Lee threw his yo-yo and wrapped around the snake's head.

"NOT COOL!" Lee exclaimed as he, Sonya, and Paddy tried to hold the large snake back. Jake then rapidly spun around and flung the children in Harvey's direction.

"Stupid brats! EAT THIS!" Jake yelled as he fired his machine-tail-gun at the four.

"GET BEHIND ME!" Harvey ordered as he took off his helmet and used it as a shield against the gun, the bullets flying off in all other directions as a result, taking out other enemies. Harvey slowly lowered the shield after the bullets stopped firing. Jake realized he was finally out of ammo. He then pointed the gun at himself to look inside, and before he knew it, a raccoon shot out of the gun and began scratching at his face. The Sector W team laughed for a few minutes before Jake finally shook it off of him.

"Grrr! I'm gonna send you snotty kids to the coldest, darkest part of the Underworld!"

This caught Sonya's attention. "Darkest… part of the UNDERWORLD?!" Her demon self was coming on.

Jake backed up a bit. "H-Hey, wait a minute, I-" but he was silenced when Sonya leaped onto the snake's face. Her team shielded their eyes when Sonya began her infliction of great pain upon the rattlesnake's form. When the beatings had stopped, they opened their eyes to see Jake tied like a bow and Sonya standing on top in a victorious fashion.

"You know, sometimes I forget how scary she can be." Paddy said.

"Well, at least it serves to our advantage." Harvey replied. "Now, come on! We have to take these guys out!" They ran off to fight more aliens.

Rachel was trying to fight all the aliens without her staff, which was still up on Moonbase. Wolf looked over to her, then looked over to Jake tied up. "Leon, go help Jake. Panther and I will deal with Rachel!" Leon did as told and went to Jake's aid, while Wolf and Panther ran over to fight Rachel.

Wolf tried to grab Rachel with both arms at once, but she ducked, grabbed them, and threw him a short distance. Panther tried to do the same, but Rachel ducked and slide-kicked him, grabbing his tail and spinning and throwing him afterwards.

Rachel panted. "Getting weak?"

"No, but you are!" Wolf replied as he recovered. Rachel turned to see Leon and the untied Jake coming her way. The rattlesnake gnashed his fangs at her, but she swiftly avoided.

"Not so tough without your staff!" Jake said.

"Who needs it?" she retorted. After a few more dodges, Wolf and Panther ran up and tackled her to the ground.

"Alright, now what did you do with the Star?" Wolf demanded.

"SHOVE IT UP YOUR NOSE!" she yelled.

Wolf growled. "Fine! Then you're coming with us!" He and Panther hauled her and began to tie her up, afterwards duct-taping her mouth. "Come on! Let's get to the Tallest!"

Harvey and his team were happily fighting off more aliens. "HA HA HA! You can't beat me! I'm the future of KND!" he exclaimed. He then turned to see his sister tied up and being thrown into Wolf's ship. Wolf hopped in after her as Harvey gasped. "SIS!" He ran over to try and help her as the ships lifted off the ground. He successfully leaped onto Wolf's ship as they all took off.

"HARVEY!" Sonya shouted, watching him be carried off by the Wolfen.

Harvey was struggling to climb his way up the speeding ship, but was hanging on tight. Rachel glanced over with a shocked look to her little brother climbing up from the side. Harvey jumped on Wolf's windshield and started banging the glass. "Let my sister go!" he demanded.

"Gah, stupid little kid! Get off my Wolfen!" Wolf began to do several barrel rolls, trying to shake Harvey off, but the Sector W leader held on tight, desperate to rescue his sister. "Man, you're desperate, aren't you? Fine! If I can't shake you off, then outer space will!" The Wolfens began to exit Earth's atmosphere. Harvey began to choke with no air, being so far above the Earth, and finally fell off the ship.

"HARVEY!" Rachel screamed through her tape.

Harvey screamed as he was falling fast down to Earth to his doom. His screaming soon stopped when he found himself caught inside Luvbi's ship. "Pleasant thing to hath a guardian angel when thou needest her the most, is it not?" Luvbi said.

Harvey then recovered and stared at Luvbi in the eyes. "Uhhh… hey."

Luvbi stared back. "…Hesu."

"What?"

"Means 'Hello.'"

"…I'm Harvey."

"Luvbi ist my name."

Back on the surface, Numbuh 1 continued to shoot off incoming Irkens, with the help of Dib, Zim, and GIR. "Score 5 more for Planet Earth!" Numbuh 1 exclaimed.

"NUMBUH 1!" Sonya shouted, running over to him with her friends. "Those guys kidnapped Numbuh 362!"

"WHAT?"

"They're on their way to their flagship right now!"

Nigel, Dib, and Zim exchanged glances. "I think it's time we end all this." Nigel said.

"Yes… It's time I settled my score with the Tallest." Zim replied.

The Massive

The Tallest, along with many Irkens, gathered in the audience room, with the Tallest and their robots up on stage. "That's right, children! Once it's all done, the Kids Next Door will fall, and you'll finally be able to bask in glorious adulthood!" Red exclaimed as the Irkens cheered.

"Now, we just have to wait for Star Wolf to get back with that Star!" Purple followed. As if on cue, the Star Wolf team came running in with Rachel wrapped up by Rattlesnake Jake. They made it up on stage as Jake held Rachel up to the Tallest.

"Well, well, well." Red said. "If it isn't Rachel T. McKenzie. Supreme Leader of all Earth KND. So nice to have you in our ship."

"Like I had a choice!"

"Well, now that you're here, we need to ask: what's the 'T' stand for?" Purple asked.

"None of your business, now let me go!" she shot back, trying to shake away from Jake.

"Not so fast." Red replied. "We want answers: where did you hide the Star?"

"Like I'll ever tell you, Bug-eyes!"

Red looked angrily as Rattlesnake Jake flung her upside-down and got in her face. "Listen, you! You better tell us where that Star is or I'm gonna turn you into macaroni and McKenzie!"

"Go to Hell, Slitherface!"

"Where do ya think I ssspawned from?"

"Hold on, Jake." Red said. "We don't need to-"

Jake immediately shot in his face. "YOU DO YER THING AND I'LL DO MINE!" He then turned back to Rachel and began to squeeze her tight. "That's right! Look at me! I want to sssee the life leave your eyesss!" Rachel's face began to turn more blue.

"DROP HER, JAKE!" At this, everyone turned to see Nigel, Dib, Zim, and GIR standing in the doorway on the other side of the audience room.

Jake immediately loosened his grip on Rachel as Red spoke, "Well, look who finally decided to show up."

"It's Number 1." Purple followed tauntingly.

"Right on schedule."

"Ah, but who's this?" Purple asked, looking at Zim. "Well, what do you know! Zim's back!"

"Any reason why Tak said you were fighting off her soldiers?" Red asked.

"You lied to me!" Zim shot back.

"Look who's finally catching on. Took you long enough!" Red retorted. "But what did you expect? You were a failure as an invader and always were! You should've expected all of us to mock you behind your back!"

"I may have been a lousy invader, but that doesn't mean I don't have the screedily spooch to deal with you!"

"Same here!" Nigel replied as they all readied for battle.

"We'll take you down easy!" Dib exclaimed.

"Oh, how brave of you all." Red replied. "But are you really sure you want to be doing that? When we have THIS!" He gestured over to Jake, who was once again strangling Rachel.

"Rachel!" Nigel exclaimed.

"If you want her to live, then you'll tell us where the Star is!"

Nigel hesitated, but slowly lowered his weapon. He reached into his pocket and held up the Star Necklace. Jake immediately shot up, grabbed it, and tossed it to Red. He then tossed Rachel over to Nigel.

"Pleasure doing business with you." Red said as he held the necklace in front of his face.

"Are you okay, Rachel?" Nigel asked.

"Yeah… I'm fine." she answered, gasping for air. "But how could you just give them the necklace?"

"I had to save you somehow. And besides, the other Stars are still safe!"

"That's where you're wrong, Nigel." They all turned to see Ava standing in the doorway.

"Ava? What are you-" Nigel said as Ava approached the stage.

She made it up to the Tallest and pulled out the other six Stars, which were shrunken to fit in her arms. "I brought the rest of the Stars just like you asked."

"Excellent." replied Red, taking them. "You've been a good spy, Ava!"

"Ava… you've been spying for the Tallest?" Nigel asked.

She sighed. "Yes, I have. Now they should be keeping their end of the deal. Release Planet Glomour from your rule, now!" she demanded.

"Ah, my dear. We'll be happy to oblige." replied Purple. "As soon as we use the Stars to turn all kids in the universe to adults! ARREST THEM!"

They were all ambushed and handcuffed by SIRbots. "Hey! You tricked me!" Ava yelled.

"Stupid kid! You really thought we would free your home planet?" Red said.

"Yeah, you got stabbed harder than…than…uh, I can't think of anything." Cubot said.

"Well, that's ironic." Orbot replied.

"Take them to the prison hold!" Purple ordered as the team was dragged off.

"So sorry this had to happen, Ava." Panther said to her.

"Finally!" Red exclaimed. "Now that all the Stars are together, we can finally power our Age-Changing Cannon! Orbot and Cubot: put them in the machine!" The robots took the Stars and drifted off.

"Yeah, yeah, you finally got your Stars." Wolf said. "Just give us our gold and we'll be heading off."

"Yeah… slight problem with that." Red said as he pushed a button, making a giant magnet lower from the ceiling and pull in their weapons (as well as Rattlesnake Jake by his tail).

"Hey! What are you doing?" Wolf asked as he, Leon, and Panther were ambushed and handcuffed by SIRbots.

"Sorry, Wolf, but there are two things in this universe we adults can't stand: snot-nosed brats and outlaws. And part of the perfect adult-filled world means no outlaws, either. Lock them up." Red ordered.

"You'll regret this!" Wolf exclaimed as he and the rest of his team were dragged off.

"Sticks and stones, Wolf. Sticks and stones."

Prison hold

Nigel, Rachel, Zim, GIR, Ava, Dib, along with Star Wolf, had been locked in the Massive's prison hold. The mariachi band was standing in one cell, playing sad prison music. "How did we end up in here, anyway?" the band leader asked.

Star Wolf was beating at the barriers keeping them in, trying to break through. "When I get out of here, those Tallest will regret the day they messed with Star Wolf!" Wolf vowed.

Meanwhile, Nigel and Rachel were sitting in their cell with their backs against the wall. "Rachel…"

"Yeah?"

"I…I'm sorry."

"Nigel, it isn't your fault we got captured."

"No, not that. I'm sorry for leaving you behind. You and everyone else, you were my friends and you were all really important to me. But I chose the Kids Next Door over you. I know I cared about the Kids Next Door, but… I should've cared about you more. And the worst part is, I was never even helping the Kids Next Door!"

"Nigel, it's okay. You were just doing what you thought was important. And besides, you're here now! That's all that matters."

Nigel smiled. "Thanks. Still… if I could have one wish, it would be to set things right. …" He then looked over to Ava sitting in the corner, burying her face in her lap. "Ava, are you okay?" he asked, walking over.

She looked up. "I'm sorry I got us in this mess, Nigel. I never should've trusted the Tallest."

He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, you were just trying to save your planet. You don't have to be sad!"

"I…I guess. But I still do. My planet was already struggling before the Irkens showed up; now I might've put them in more danger."

"We're going to stop them, Ava! Count on it!"

"Awww. Isn't that sweet?" GIR asked, watching them from the other cell.

"Quit wasting time, GIR! It's only a matter of time before the Tallest fire that cannon!" Zim yelled.

"There has to be some way out of here!" Dib said.

"It's times like this I wish I had a Wisp." Nigel said. "Right now, just about any Wisp would do. Well, except for Hover."

"But a Shrink Wisp would help, right?" a familiar voice asked. They crawled over to the cell's barrier, seeing Kweeb smirking proudly. "Or something similar."

"Kweeb!" Ava beamed.

One of Kweeb's M.I.C.R.O.B.E.S. came over. He hopped on as the robot stretched taller and taller, allowing him to enter the terminal next to their cell. He climbed in, and after a few minutes shooting the wires, the barrier of their cell disabled. Nigel, Rachel, and Ava walked out.

Nigel drew out his blaster and began shooting the other terminals, releasing Dib, Zim, GIR, and Star Wolf.

"YEAH!" exclaimed Dib. "Let's go kick some tall butt!"

"Some piece of cheese you have there." Jake hissed as he slithered by them.

"I'm not on the menu!" Kweeb cowered.

"Don't worry. I'm saving my appetite for the Tallest."

"Hold on, guys. Just let me open these other cells." Nigel said as he shot the terminals for the other cells. Inside were what looked like adult Irkens.

"The cell's open! We're saved!" exclaimed a male Irken.

"Quick! Let's get out of here!" yelled a female.

"Who are you guys?" Nigel asked.

"We're the adult Irkens. The good ones, anyway. The Tallest locked us in here for being too nice to our children."

"We never liked the Tallest. They want our children to act like grown-ups and fight in wars, but we don't think so. We just want them to act like children. We don't want them to have to worry about adult things until they're grown-up."

"We just want them to be free."

"Those guys need to be taught a lesson." Nigel said, punching his palm.

"Right. Listen, you all find a way off this ship!" Rachel ordered. "We'll help out your children!"

"But how?"

"Oh, don't worry. I have a plan. Now go!" The adult Irkens left the room and ran down a hallway.

The others left the room as well and ran down the other hallway. They were ambushed by a swarm of SIRbots. "Ugh! If it's not one thing, it's another!" Nigel said.

"We'll distract them! You guys go take out the Tallest!" Wolf ordered.

"I'll see you later, Ava." Panther said.

"Uhhh, okay, Panther. Thanks." With that, the team continued running through the ship, while Star Wolf took care of the SIRbots.

"The audience room should be just up ahead!" Zim said. "If you've got a plan, Rachel, you better do it quick before they fire that Age-Changing Cannon!"

"Even if we don't make it, we can just beat the Tallest and reverse the cannon's effects, can't we?" Nigel asked.

"It's not that. After I let Rachel go, I sort of did something to their cannon's core. It's something that'll stop the cannon, but it may result in this whole place blowing up!"

"If that's the case, then we better stop them fast!" exclaimed Rachel.

Audience room

Orbot and Cubot rolled in through the side doors up on stage. At this point, Invader Tak and FIR were on stage with the Tallest as well. "Sirs: the Stars are in place. The cannon's ready to fire." Orbot reported.

"Excellent." replied Red. "Now, let's find a spot on Earth to test it. Computer: lock onto Virginia!"

"Understood. Locking cannon onto Virginia now." The screen showed a picture of Earth and a cursor locking onto Virginia. A small pedestal with a red button on it then rose from the stage in front of the Tallest.

Red and Purple approached it. "WHO WANTS US TO PUSH THIS BUTTON?" Red shouted.

"WE DO!" the Irkens cheered.

"Okay!" replied Purple as he raised his finger over it. "Then let's-"

"NO!" Everyone turned to the other side door to see Nigel and his team run up on stage. Rachel ran to the front and faced the audience. "Listen up, everybody! You have to stop listening to the Tallest! I mean, do you actually like doing what they make you do? Do you actually LIKE fighting in wars and getting yourselves killed all for the sake of making everyone a little more mature?"

This resulted in murmuring in the audience. The Tallest exchanged worried looks.

"That's right!" Rachel continued. "Children your age deserve to be free! All this meaningless fighting and invading isn't going to help anyone! It's going to get yourselves killed and it's going to destroy everyone else, and as a result, NO ONE will get to experience adulthood! The Tallest don't care about YOU or ANYONE else, all they want is to rule the universe, even if they have to trick kids into doing it! Do you hear what I'm saying? The Kids Next Door aren't your enemies! THEY ARE!" she pointed at the Tallest. "So, rise up and fight, Irken children! RISE UP AND FIGHT!"

The Irken children bore hesitant expressions. The Almighty Tallest burst into laughter at Rachel's failed attempt. "Ah, you stupid little girl!" Purple said.

"Did you really think you could change the children?" Red asked. "THEY know their place! THEY know that all children are incompetent and only adults know what's best! Face it, girl! You may have power over your brats, but not ours. IRKENS: ATTACK THEM!"

The Irkens exchanged very thoughtful, contemplative glances. They aimed their weapons at the Tallest.

"H-Hey! What are you-?" Red said as all the guns were pointed at them. They looked to the side to see Tak was aiming at them as well.

"Looks like your reign is over." Zim smirked.

"HOORAY FOR US!" GIR exclaimed.

"Nice going, Rachel!" Nigel congratulated.

Red growled in anger. "Think you're all clever, eh? Well, TRY THIS!" He slammed his hand on the red button.

"NO!" the team screamed.

Outside, the front part of the Massive opened, revealing the Agifyer Cannon. As the cannon aimed down at Earth and prepared to fire, it began to crackle, spark, and blow up.

Inside, everyone could feel the whole place shake. "WHAT? What's happening?" Red cried.

"Warning! Warning! Cannon malfunction! Massive self-destruct imminent! Evacuate all personnel!" At this, the Irken children began to scream and run out of the room.

"Come on! Let's go!" Red exclaimed as he and Purple grabbed their robots and flew out of the room.

"HEY!" shouted Zim as he tried to run after them, but was held back by Nigel.

"Forget about them! We have to get back to the hangar!"

"I know a shortcut!" Tak said. "Follow me!" She hopped onto FIR and flew off. Zim then activated his jetpack, grabbed Dib, who grabbed Ava, and flew after, while Nigel got on GIR, grabbed Rachel, and flew afterwards.

With the Tallest

The Tallest and their robots had made it to another room of the Massive. "How can this happen?" Red exclaimed. "Nigel Uno's ruined everything!"

"Why are you surprised?" Cubot asked. "He's been foiling yo' plans ever since he got here! I can't remember a plan he didn't stop!"

"What are you talking about? He hasn't stopped all of them!" Purple replied.

"Oh, yeah? Name one!"

"Uhhh…" They both looked mindlessly.

"Wow! Way to pay attention there!" Orbot said, whacking Cubot in the back. At the whack, Cubot spun his head and made a beeping sound.

"HEY! MY VOICE IS BACK! THANKS, BUDDY!" Cubot exclaimed in a high-pitched voice.

"Hmm. So, that's why we changed his chip." Purple figured.

"Forget about that! It's time to finish Nigel Uno AND Zim once and for all! Wait until they get a load of THIS baby!" Both Tallest laughed as they turned to a giant SIRbot.