It had been a few hours since they began their journey through the Massive, and they were finally getting close to their destination. They can already feel the air thinning and the temperature dropping as they hiked through the abyssal hallways of their vessel. There isn't much time left for them, and if they don't hurry, those things that got aboard will be the last thing they have to worry about. On their way to the escape pods, however, they have managed to find several Irkens of the way there. This might have offered the twin tallests more protection, but Red couldn't help but feel like this only made them a bigger target.
As their journey was gradually coming to a close, Red and a handful of others couldn't help but feel as if something was watching them. The guards reassured them that nothing was nearby, but that did nothing. Soon, the hallway eventually split into multiple paths, and no one knew which way to go. Everyone's devices went offline a long time ago, and no one ever made any physical blueprints of the massive, so they hardly knew where they were going.
"I'll check the left hallway," the leading guard commanded. "Two of you take the others. I'll meet you back here in 10 minutes."
The Irken in command and the two subordinates soon left the group behind to scout the three different pathways to the escape pods. As they waited, Purple commented something about the situation in his unusually calm demeanor.
"You know, there's a chance the pods might not be there." Purple stated while eating his 8th bag of donuts. Just where is he getting these from?
"What makes you say that?" Red asked nervously, hoping he was wrong.
"Well, think about it: if that thing is capable of reanimating the dead, don't you think there's a chance it might already know where the pods are?" Purple explained nonchalantly.
"M-Maybe, but if so, t-then why hasn't it found us yet?" Red asked, becoming increasingly worried by Purple's words.
"Who's to say it hasn't already?"
Red's heart dropped after hearing him say that. He remembered the sensation of eyes on him during this journey, and it turned him into even more of a nervous wreck. However, Red wasn't alone. The other Irkens apart of the group began to chatter amongst themselves, uncertain about the situation and Purple's words causing a slight panic. Then, out of the blue, something was banging against one of the panels of the metal walls. This made everyone jump and go into a panic as the guards did what they could to maintain order within the group and bring everyone to safety.
"Everyone, hide on one of the rooms farther back!" He commanded. "We will handle this!"
Before the group was even able to leave, the panel was knocked off and kicked tons of dust. Everyone was in a panic and started to hide behind the tallests out of fear. The guards readied their weapons and aimed at the opening before noticing who was hiding in the walls.
"My tallests!" It shouted. "It is Zim, and I have returned from my mission!"
The guards surrounding the tallests prepared their weapons and aimed at Zim, preparing to fire. Fortunately for the small Irken, Red commanded them to power down their weapons before firing.
"Stand down!" Red ordered. "Only fire if it's one of those... things."
When everyone finally calmed down and tension was finally released, Red began interrogating Zim without a second thought.
"How in Irk's name did you get in here without detection, Zim?" He questioned. "And why aren't you on Earth?"
"Zim was tracking the Armada from my base and saw everything falling apart," he answered. "When it was proven to not be a glitch, I came with haste!"
Red covered Zim's mouth after shouting his answer.
"Will you keep your voice down?" Red loudly whispered. "We are trying to find a way out, and we don't want to have any of those 'things' know we're here!"
He uncovered Zim's mouth and allowed to speak again just to see if he could understand their predicament.
"My apologies, my tallests," he answered, speaking normally.
Before Red could chastise Zim, he realized something. If he boarded recently, then his devices more than likely still work. If they do, then they could potentially call for help and warn the rest of the empire about the living planet.
"Wait, Zim, does communications in your ship still work?"
"I believe so. Why do you ask?"
"We need to alert Irk about what is happening so they can begin battle preparations. If we don't, the empire, and possibly the whole galaxy, might be in danger."
"What!? The Irken empire, in danger!?"
"What did I just say about keeping your voice down!?"
"Oh, my mistake, my tallest," Zim said apologetically, his antennas drooping down.
"Look, if you haven't noticed, we don't have much time here. I need you to return to your ship and send out the warning to the rest of the empire while everyone else tries to escape. I'll send a guard to accompany you in case you run into one of those things. Understand?"
Zim's antennas perked up as he stood straight and gave Red a salute.
"Understood my Tallest!" He exclaimed again. "I will not disappoint!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Zim crawled back into the wall and made his way back through the ventilation systems as one of the guards followed with a disgruntled sigh. Everyone knew how Zim was but knew he might be their only hope for them to have a fighting chance.
"He's not gonna last 5 minutes," one of the survivors of the group commented pessimistically.
As the group waited for the scouts to return, two of them eventually arrived, but one of them was falling behind. After a few minutes, he eventually popped up, but something was off. Upon first glance, he seemed normal since nothing of his appearance changed, but upon closer inspection, there was something missing behind his eyes. The only one to notice this was none other than Tallest Purple.
"What took you so long?" Red asked the last guard. "Find anythi-"
"He's infected," Purple interrupted fearfully
"What?"
"He's infected! Into the other tunnels. NOW!"
Purple dropped his donuts and dashed into one of the other tunnels before the final guard's began to change and mutate into a terrifying, abhorrent form in front of Red. It tried to attack him, but one of the guards discharged their firearms into the abomination, stunning it momentarily.
"Follow Tallest Purple," one of them shouted. "We'll handle this!"
Red took the time he had and left the scene as quickly as possible, following the group ahead into the dark corridors in front of him. The escape was close, but their freedom even closer.
YOU ARE READING
The Fall of an Empire (invader zim fanfic)
Science FictionThe Irken Armada came across a threat they never imagined they'd ever see. At first, it was seen as an everyday object that was blown out of proportion, but they soon realized just what it was that they messed with and how much is at stake.
