The Fallen Invader

Chapter 20: The Fallen Tallest

"C'mon, let me go with you guys! Please?"

"Louie, no."

After we landed and Zim undid the shrink ray, I had already decided that Louie would stay behind in the Voot, since he DID sneak aboard, and he had absolutely no experience dealing with Irkens.

"But Mip's my best friend, I have to help her!" He argued.

"Let him come, Dib. I don't want that kid unsupervised in my ship. There's no telling what he could do." Zim stated, glaring at Louie.

So, due to Zim's trust issues, we were forced to take him with us. My main concern was how I would possibly explain the situation to his father if something were to happen. Mr. Veil already didn't like me after the Parent-Teacher Night incident. And I doubted he would believe me if I told him his son was attacked by aliens on another planet.

We got some strange looks, since most Irkens were unfamiliar with the human race, but none of them approached us. My guess is that Gaz and I automatically earned their respect based on our heights alone.

Among all the Irkens I didn't recognize, I saw a familiar face come running towards us.

And then Zim punched him. "SKOODGE! Why didn't you tell us they sent Tak!?"

After recovering, Skoodge folded his arms. "Well, how was I supposed to know you knew each other? It's hard to stay in the loop if you never contact me. Now, come on!"

Skoodge led the way to a large building that I could only assume was the home of the Tallest. It looked like a palace of sorts, but all futuristic and alieny.

"It's been eerily quiet. I heard a lot of screaming earlier, but it's stopped now. No one's come out." He explained.

I took a deep breath. There was no telling what I would see in there, but I knew I wouldn't like it.

I counted to three in my head, then ripped the doors open. We all burst in, and were faced with something none of us expected to see.

"Who are you? What is the meaning of this?"

What stood before us was definitely Mip. Her face, her voice, they were all the same. But she had the body of a Tallest.

"Mip, don't worry, it's us." I stepped forward, slowly lowering my weapon.

"Dib, don't!" Zim ordered as quietly as possible.

Mip glanced to the side, noticing Zim, and before I knew it, metallic spider legs burst out of her PAK and she charged at him.

"YOU!" She screamed, slamming him into a wall. "How dare you set foot here after all you've done? It's your fault that I died in the first place!"

Zim chuckled nervously. "Oh... hey, Almighty Tallest Miyuki. Long time no see! Um... could you get out of Mip's body?"

"You've done irreparable damage to the Irken Empire. And those idiots they got to replace me, they weren't much better! Now it's up to me to attempt to fix what you've done. I haven't decided on a proper execution method for you yet, so until then, you can rot in the dungeon. Control Brains! Seize the traitors and their hideous alien allies."

Before we could fight back, we were all thrown in the dungeon.

"Zim, what the heck was that!?" Gaz asked.

"Yeah, and who's Miyuki?" I added.

Zim sighed and turned away from us. After a moment of silence, Skoodge spoke up.

"She was the Tallest when Zim and I were in training, but she died a long time ago. No one knows for sure what happened to her."

Zim released a shaky breath. I heard Mip, or Miyuki, rather, mention that he was responsible for her death. Did that mean...?