The Fallen Invader

Chapter 21: The Fallen Invader

Escaping the dungeon was surprisingly easy.

You see, when I went over to Zim's base after Mip was abducted, I didn't know the extent of what he and Gaz were working on with GIR. By "upgrades," they meant turning him into a remote control fighting machine.

GIR is still himself when the controller's turned off, but as soon as it's switched on, whoever has the controller can make him do whatever they want. There are a lot of implications about this that concern me, but I didn't have time to be worried.

Of course, Gaz had to be the one to use the controller. Turning GIR into a battle bot was probably her idea in the first place.

With Gaz in command, the little robot completely demolished the prison bars in front of him, and we were free to put our plan into action.

We sent Tak to the dump to find Mip's PAK, Louie with her because I was trying to avoid endangering the kid, and Skoodge to watch over Louie because I don't trust Tak.

The rest of us made our way back to the main hall where Mip was. As for our plan, we didn't really have one. We just needed to stall for time until the others returned with the PAK. Figured I'd just let her beat up Red and Purple for a while.

I thought for sure this time I'd be prepared to see her in Tallest armor, but no, it was still a shocker. It made me wonder how tall she would get when she reached maturity, since she was so tiny when I first found her. Then again, knowing her DNA came directly from a former Tallest, her sudden growth spurt made sense.

When she finally noticed us, I was paralyzed for a second by her cold glare. I just had to keep reminding myself that this wasn't the Mip I knew, and this whole nightmare would be over soon.

"Why are you back?" She growled. "Why don't you worthless creatures know when to give up!?"

"Escaping was their idea." Zim stated, pointing at Red and Purple.

"No, no it wasn't! It was Di-!"

Before he could finish speaking, Mip grabbed Red by the throat. "It's time to accept reality. You were never meant to be the Tallest, neither of you were! I should've still been here all along..."

At that, she dropped Red, and turned her attention back to Zim.

"And just like that, every single thing that's ever gone wrong with this Empire leads back to you! Are you aware that to this day, we're still repairing all the damages you caused? And that's not just on Irk, every planet we've claimed that you've set foot on ends up in ruin!"

She started moving towards Zim, and I stepped in front of him.

"Mip, stop this. This isn't you, you have no idea what you're talking about."

The young Irken glared down at me from her enhanced height. "You don't know anything about me, Dib."

Before I could do anything, she swiped her claws across my chest, and I doubled over in pain. Then, the memories came flooding back.

[I]"Irken claws are venomous. You're... going to die..."

"No... Not again..."

Zim rushed to my side. "It's fine, just fight through it. The implant should still be working, it just needs to filter the venom out." He explained, trying to force me to stand up.

"No, don't rush it, don't rush it. Just... cover me for now."

At that, Gaz stepped forward, controller in hand. I was too weak to do anything. All I could do was hope she wouldn't do anything too drastic.

"We'll, you heard him, boys! C'mon!" She shouted.

Red and Purple joined her and Zim in their defensive stance in front of me. It still amazes me that a pair of space tyrants fear her enough to do as she says. I never really got why everyone was so terrified of Gaz. Maybe it's because I grew up with her?

Anyway, the fight began, with Zim and Gaz mostly trying to deflect Mip's attacks and avoiding actually hurting her. Red and Purple didn't care, though, and just straight up attacked her. Not that it mattered, though, the four of them combined were no match for her.

"Haven't you had enough yet? How many times do I have to prove your own inferiority to you?"

Looking completely unamused, she snatched up Red and Purple. "Take them."

A pair of cables appeared from behind her and latched onto their PAKs, pulling them back to the Control Brains. "Wipe their PAKs. If they're aligned with Zim, they're too dangerous to be left alive. I'll take care of the defective myself."

She grabbed Zim, one hand on his body, the other on his PAK, and she started to slowly pull them apart.

"Oh, how far you've fallen, Invader Zim. And yet, you were never much to begin with. But just look at you now. Soft, weak, so deeply submerged in your own flawed existence that you've led yourself to believe that there's nothing wrong. Even the way you defy me is wrong. The old you killed me purely by accident, but now, when given the chance to do it with purpose, you refuse. And all for some pointless sentimentality for a being who no longer exists? A being who was never meant to be real in the first place? You are truly pathetic, Zim, and your precious humans are fools to have believed there was any worth to you. Consider this an act of mercy. Now you can finally stop falling."

Zim's eyes shut after the PAK was fully removed, and his body went limp. Miyuki dropped both him and the PAK on the ground before her, as if they were nothing. To her, they were nothing. Just another meaningless obstacle standing in the way of the Empire's progress. And now that obstacle has been passed, and she can continue on, without having to give a second thought to it ever again.

I forced myself to crawl to where Zim was lying. Though his PAK had been removed before, this time he truly looked as though he was really dead. His face was cold to the touch, and there wasn't a sign of movement.

The PAK started to light up, trying to reconnect to Zim's body, but Miyuki grabbed it and tossed it across the room. The lights quickly faded.

That was it. I was done. I stood up, tears welling in my eyes. Gaz walked up from behind me, placing a hand on my shoulder. My eyes immediately went to the controller in her hand, and I took it from her.

"Dib, no!"

I didn't listen. I couldn't.