*Two week prior to the invasion*

Zims furious face was replaced by a black screen as he hung up. Red furiously redialed his call frequency, only for it to go to voicemail every time. For every time his calls are ignored his rage is fueled. Next to him Purpled is ordering their workers to try to break through Zim's firewalls to force the call to go through. It fails every time.

"How dare she defy us!" Red shouted as he smashed his fist against the consol. "And ignore our calls!?! We are the Tallest! Who does she think she is?"

"How could she just disobey like that?" Purpled wondered, barely acknowledging his workers reporting another failed attempt at forcefully patching through. "Whatever the reason, what are we going to do now, Red?"

"We're going to go get her ourselves." Red hissed angrily as he hovered up to the controls. He started typing in new coordinates for the ship to follow. Rage burned through the Tallest leader making those closest to him cower back in fear. No one ever tells him no, and was going to prove why. "If she won't come willingly, then we'll take her by force.

*Present day*

Zim parked his voot cruiser in the bay doors he was directed to. As he flew in he could see a small party waiting for him. He sighed heavily as he parked the space ship, taking his time shutting it down for probably the last time. As that thought crossed his mind he felt a pang of sadness. He knew his life would now be confined to this ship where he would produce smeets for the rest of his life. The thought alone nearly brought him to tears, but he refused to let them fall. He won't let the Tallest see him cry.

He let out another heavy sigh, steading himself before jumping out. He landed gracefully on his feet and held his head high as he walked forward. At the bottom of the ramp stood the Tallest along with a small entourage of high ranking officers. Zim took note of a particularly tall Irken. They were almost as tall as the Tallest, being just a few inches short. Though intrigued, Zim kept his focus on the Tallest.

Red and Purple stood at the front of the greeting party. Both watched as Zim approached, smug smiles on their faces. They had the air of someone who just won a battle around them. Zim stopped just feet from them, not wanting to get any closer. There was a brief pause as silence filled the ship docking bay.

"Zim." Red started, his smug smile stretching into a grin. "It is so nice of you to finally join us."

"Don't play that game." Zim all but hissed, glaring daggers at the two Tallest. "I am not here by choice and you know it. So do me a favor and let's skip the pleasantries."

"Aww, you're no fun." Purple pouted, though the smile never left his face. "I suggest you lighten up. You're going to be here for a very long time."

"Forever to be precise." Red chuckled darkly. He then stood aside and gestured for the tall Irken to move forward. "However, before we go any further I must introduce someone to you. This Ziezza, future Tallest."

"Greetings, Brood Mother Queen. I am Ziezza." The Irken, now identified as female by her voice, introduces herself. She has deep garnet eyes that nearly border black. Her antenne were straight, suggesting she was one of the younger Irken who never served under Tallest Miyuki. She had full lashes that curled slightly up at the ends. Her skin tone was a slightly darker green than Zims and dotted with darker green flecks under her eyes. Almost like human freckles. Her outfit was a standard pre-Tallest black with pink highlights.

"Hello, Ziezza. I am Zim." Zim introduced himself back to the pre-Tallest.

"Now that everyone's acquainted with each other let's get a move on." Red ordered. Both he and Purple took the lead at the front of the party. Zim walked just behind them with Ziezza at his side. Behind them was the rest of the entourage.

"Where are we heading?" Zim demanded. He may be here against his will, but he'd be damned if he was going to let those two walk all over him.

"We have a special room built just for Zim." Purpled told him.

"Indeed. Built near the center of the ship, where it will be the most protected." Red continued on, waving his hand in emphasis with what he was saying. "We have named it the Nesting Room. It is where you will be spending the majority of your time, Zim."

"A Nesting Room? I was under the impression I was heading back to Irk." Zim told them, confused.

"Of course not Zim." Purple laughed. "We read all about the Brood Mothers and how the Queen, that's you, is to mate with the Tallest, that's us."

"So it doesn't make much sense to send you back to Irk. Not when we would have to travel back and forth." Red shook his head.

Zim felt his skin crawl at the mere thought at what they were talking about. Right after that another, stronger pang of sadness stabbed him in his heart. This time his tears nearly spilled over, but he managed to push them back before anyone could see. Their words reminded him of what he and Dib had discussed at the start of his first heat. How his kind, sweet human would spend his next heat with him. Now it was never going to happen.

He was never going to see Dib again. He would never hold him tightly after a case. They would never kiss again in the base while they were supposed to be working on something. Nor would they have the chance to go to college together. Most of all, he would never see that look on Dibs face when they were talking, just the two of them. His deep brown eyes would almost glow, his mouth would stretch into that grin he had whenever he was really happy. Or the way his voice would raise just an octave when he became passionate about whatever it was they were talking about.

It was becoming harder for him to mask his emotions, but he held on. Eventually the party stopped in front of a large double door. On the doors, obviously written in Irken, was the words 'Nesting Room' in red and black. It didn't take a genoise for Zim to figure out where they were, but the Tallest believed it needed clarifying.

"This here is the Nesting Room." Purple said proudly, like he was the one to invent the concept.

"Really? You don't say?" Zim said in a snarky voice, not in any mood to continue dealing with them. He had crossed his arms in front of his chest, ready to be left alone.

"Watch it, Zim." Red warned as he opened the door. "You may enter." Red invited him inside the room.

The first thing one would notice upon entry is that the room was huge! Nearly twice the size of his base back on Earth with a tall ceiling. The very next thing would be the dozens of pre-built nests lining the walls and in the alcove built into the walls. There was a particularly large one built in the back center. Zim assumed it was meant for the Brood Mother Queen.

In the center of the room was a large open area with a short fence surrounding it. Inside of it was a box with what appeared to be various toys from different planets. On one side there was a small pile of blankets and pillows. On the other was a small shelf with a few tablets. The whole area was designed to be a sort of play area for the young smeets. At the far right hand corner was a cleansing area. It was partially blocked off by dividers to keep smeets out of it. On the right hand wall were several snack dispensers. Each one had its own range of snacks from salt to sweet, spicy to sour. All kinds made by the Irken Empire. Across from it on the left hand side was a large computer with multiple screens. It was extremely high grade, ment for high ranking individuals.

Finally, standing just a few yards in were two young female Irken. They had big smiles on their faces, with their hands clasped behind their backs. They were a bit taller than the average Irken, but not enough to give them high status. Both have skin a lighter shade green than Zims. One has bright yellow eyes with full long lashes and straight antenne. The other has softer baby blue eyes and curly antenne. Her lashes were a bit longer than normal, but nowhere near as long as her companions. Both were in an unfamiliar dark grey uniform that Zim had never seen before.

"Zim. These are your new nest maids we've handpicked for just you." Red told him, gesturing to the two Irkens who wiggled their antenne in salute. "We'll be leaving now so you and your new nest maids can get acquainted."

"Oh, and zim." Purple spoke up. "You should change out of that ridiculous earth uniform and into an Irken one. You don't live on that planet anymore."

With that they left Zim alone in the room. With the last comment said Zim could no longer control his tears. Just as the door sealed shut, all the tears he had sealed away came rushing forward. All the sorrow and pain he felt since his arm cuff went off less than an hour ago overcame him as he fell to his knees. His mind and body both sensing that his Nest Maid was nowhere near him reacted to his distress. His antenne vibrated like they did when he first sent out The Call to Tak months ago.

The closest two females were the ones right in front him. They picked up the signal the second it started. It sent a spark through them, making their antenne buzz and pulled them forward. Both the Irken females rushed forward to soothe their distressed Brood Mother. They tried their best, but for this there was nothing they could do.

So they slowly guided him to the largest nest. They laid him down gently in the bedding. They whispered comforting words and would rub their hands gently down his shoulders and backs while he cried his heart out. Hearing his cries of pain and sorrow would break anyone's heart into a million pieces. For them it was agony to hear his cries.

Yet they still dutifully attend their Brood Mother Queen. For two hours they stayed by his side as he let his pain out. For two hours they did everything they possibly could to bring him some comfort. After those two long hours his cries started to die down to sniffles. They gently continued to soothe him until those too went away.

When he was done Zim sat up in the nest, arms wrapped around his knees. For a few minutes he only looked down at his hands, not speaking. Eventually he looked up at his new Nest Maids. He took in their appearances before speaking to them.

"Thank you for comforting me. And for bringing me to the nest." He said as he gestured to said nest. Though to call it that would be an overstatement. It was thin, making it too hard. The material wasn't nearly soft enough and would be unpleasant to a smeets delicate skin. No doubt he would have much to change about this place.

"Of course, Brood Mother Queen." Yellow eyes said, head nodding in politeness.

"We are here to serve you and help you, Brood Mother Queen." Blue eyes added on, also nodding her head.

"There is no need for such formality. Please, just call me Zim." He said, a small smile starting to form on his face. "And what shall I call the two of you?"

"Oh! I forgot we have not been properly introduced." Yellow eyes giggled. "My name is Missiya. I go by Missy for short. I am former military and head of my own unit."

"And I am Kay. I'm former Medicine. I was fresh out of the Medicine Academy." Blue eyes, now known as Kay, told him.

"We were picked specifically because of our backgrounds. It was deemed we were best suited to help you in case of an emergency." Missy explained.

Zim smiled, already starting to like these new Nest Maids. They were kind and eager. With them he was hoping things wouldn't be so bad. At least he would have good company.

It's been a few days since Zim boarded The Massive. During that time Zim had noticed something odd about the other Irkens on board. Particularly their behavior towards him. They had been far more respectful to him than ever before. At first he chopped that up to his new tidal, but it didn't stop there.

Any requests he made were complied with far ahead of anything else. Even important tasks that needed to be done were put secondary to anything Zim requested. Even when he asked for softer blankets those were taken care of before running important documents through the computer. A couple of times when he had requested special items he was seen to before The Tallests were, even if they requested the same item.

It was a bit concerning to say the least. It had definitely caught Zims interest. Especially after a worker had been scolded for prioritizing Zim over The Tallest, then went and did the same thing over again. They were willing to get into trouble with The Tallests multiple times just to get Zim the thing he requested. That was completely unheard of in his society.

He thought about it for a long while, trying to understand. His information on his type was very limited. He knew he had some control over other Irks, but had presumed it was only to the Nest Maids. Though he was sure there's more to it than that. However his computer never brought up anything that would suggest otherwise.

That's when the thought occurred to Zim. As much as he hated to admit it, his bases' computer was lackluster. It was slow, lazy, and often missed information it had access to. Not to mention all of the information he didn't have access to. But he was now on The Massive. Now that he has access to a much better computer with a higher security clearance he was sure he could find more information.

With that new goal in mind he walked over to the computer located in the Nesting Room. He sat down at the computer and turned it on. Curious, Missy and Kay joined him at the computer desk. They sat down on either side of him, not interfering, just watching him type away. This computer was able to gather the same amount of information as his computer in a fraction of the time. The thing was it only gathered the same amount of information.

"That's not right." Zim muttered as he looked through the same paket briefing his own computer supplied. It was the same word for word, no differences. The computer supplied the same exact files he already had access too. Higher clearances always had more information.

He wasn't getting anywhere with these, so he decided to do some digging. First he decided to look through the historians online library. He found nothing of interest on the historians official page. Not even a hint, just the same things. Which means he'll have to do his own deep research.

So he decided to look back in time. He had the computer scan back to the time of the Brood Mothers 5,324 years ago. This took a little time for the computer to produce. The computer brought him to a special section of the Database. It was designed differently than he was used to so it took some time for him to figure out how to navigate it. It was almost similar to how the Earth's internet worked. You have to know what you are looking for on the internet to find it, but this was set up a bit more like files on a computer.

He started trying to scroll through some of the surface level information, but found great inconsistencies. One thing would talk about how Brood Mothers could use their antennae to send minor psychic waves to other Irken to influence them and command them. One would say this only worked on Nest Maids. One would say Tallests were naturally immune to this, then in the same column deny that Brood Mothers could even do it in the first place. Nothing agreed on anything. Though he was noticing that some of these files looked weird and inconsistent in their speech patterns as well.

He then tried to look deeper into the Database, however he found many things to be blocked. When he tried to look up the Brood Mothers psychic ability it was blocked. When he tried to look through the social structure of the past it was blocked. Anything that even hinted about Brood Mothers ability or the hierarchy of the planet was blocked. Zim tried to use the Tallest passcode to get through, but even that wouldn't work. He was starting to get frustrated, but kept looking.

He found something consistent that wasn't blocked. It was about a scientist and pre-tallest named Zakell. Shortly after the death of the Brood Mothers he was attacked in his lab by three Nest Maids. The fight ended in the death of all four Irkens and the burning down of the lab. He looked into Zakell a little bit and found he was the reason shy Zims society is the way it is. He was the inventor of the PAKs, cloning, genetic manipulation, and, most importantly, the creation of the Control Brains. He was the one to also create the DNA reserves.

He then looked through the articles of his lab. His surviving notes had been published for everyone to see. So he poured over those, trying to find what he could. A renowned scientist like him should have information on the Brood Mothers ability. Unfortunately there was much left. There were some pieces about packs and the Control Brains. Half of a personal journal was also recovered. Zim looked through it, not noticing anything of interest save for a couple of names repeated many times. Alleea, Tyera, and Ryna.

He figured these Irken were important to him in some way back when he was alive. He just has to figure out how. He tried to look them up by their names, but everything was blocked. Again he grew frustrated at all the blocked information. There was one thing that wasn't blocked, however. The genetic lineage.

To help figure out where young smeets will best fit the Control Brains keep track of a genetic lineage. To see who was cloned from who. What they did, what their relatives did. It was all for the good of the empire.

Zim looked through that, and luckily didn't have to look too far. By looking through it he was able to figure out who Alleea and Tyera were. Alleea was his sister, both born in the same clutch, who later became a Brood Mother Queen. Tyera was a previous Queen and the mother of Zakell and Alleea. Zim was surprised at this information, but started connecting some dots.

From what he knew of Nest Maids and what he could gather from the Database they were only aggressive when their Brood Mother, nest, or the smeets were in danger. If a Brood Mother was killed then her Nest Maids would go savage until they took down what killed her. Nest Maids attacking unprovoked were completely unheard of. Which means the three Nest Maids would have to have a reason to attack Zakell. A reason that was never found out.

From what he could have gathered from the journal he figured that Zakell and Alleea were close. Since Zakell created the Control Brains, was a renowned scientist, and a pre-tallest he would have access to the database's most delicate parts. He could control what was on it or what was blocked. He could set a password on information he didn't want others to know.

A strange feeling was coming over Zim. Like he was uncovering forbidden knowledge. He wasn't done yet though, so he kept pressing forward. He got a feeling about what the password would be. He returned to the blocked screen and typed in Alleea's name in the password box. To his surprise and delight the password worked. Everything that was previously blocked was now open. He had access to everything about the Brood Mothers and that time in history.

He started reading, his Nest Maids reading along silently next to him. With every new thing they learned they grew more and more shocked. Inconsistencies before were now corrected. They all became consistent.

He found secret information about Zakell's lab. Blueprints for a special PAK ment for Brood Mothers. They were different in that they would keep them docile to Tallest. The hidden components in all PAKs that would keep them submissive to the Tallest. His hidden notes on the disease that killed the Brood Mothers Dated before they were infected.

After looking through all of that he immediately switched over to information about the hierarchy. He had a feeling that everything they know right now is wrong. He had no idea how right he was about that. What he saw made all three of them gasp in surprise.

When the Brood Mothers lived they were the real rulers of the planet. The Tallest were their ambassadors and diplomats as Brood Mothers were often nest bound. The Queen was the head of state, followed closely by the rest of the Brood Mothers. Each Brood Mother would keep track of certain issues while the Queen would decide what would get done about each issue. She would need the support of the rest of the Brood Mothers however to do anything big. The Tallest would make sure these things were implemented and often brought back information to the Brood Mothers. By working together they kept a stable economy and a thriving society. It was a peaceful and prosperous time for everyone. It had been like this since the dawn of their civilization. It only ended when the Brood Mothers were killed by a disease that killed them all in one day.

As he read through this things started to make sense about himself. He suddenly understood all the things about him that made him different. He understood why he wanted to rule over the others. Why he could ignore the Tallests orders. Why he was able to unbanish himself the first time to become an invader. It all made sense to him now.

Zim stood up from the Computer, thinking. He paced around the room for the next hour. Behind him his Nest Maids spent that time further reading through the new information. Everything Zim had learned was racking around his head. Especially everything he learned about old Irken society. How peaceful it had been when everyone was happy. There were no predetermined fates for their people. There was art, music, and literature of all kinds being created.

Unlike how they are today. People spend their days doing jobs assigned to them. Such as being actual tables or training dummies for the military. They weren't even seen as living beings. Being treated as disposable tools meant only for the advancement of the Irken empire. Then when they no longer hald a use they were thrown away.

Just like he was.

Fury for his people washed over him, igniting a spark. A spark that quickly turned into a blazing fire. He knew he had to stop this endless cycle of needless destruction, pain, and the cruel treatment of his people. He has to restore things back to the way they were before the death of the Brood Mothers. He has to free them from the Control Brains.

But he knew he couldn't do it alone. He turned to his Nest Maids who had been watching him for the last ten minutes. He wasn't sure if this would work, but he hoped their bond was strong enough.

"Missy, Kay." Zim started, walking up to them. They stood up straighter to show they were listening. "You two have read the same things that I did. You know how things were before. How much better they were before."

"It did sound like it was better. Like everyone was happy." Missy nodded her head.

"Like they were really happy." Kay agreed.

"I want to make things like that. I want to free our people." Zim told them. "But I'm going to need your help. Can I count on the two of you?"

Missy and Kay both looked at each other then looked back at Zim, determination in their eyes. They stood up and saluted Zim.

"We'll help you in any way we can." Kay swore, nervous but determined.

"We'll fight by your side to free our people!" Missy added on, pride in her voice.

Zim looked at his Nest Maids, pride in his own heart. Though he had only known them for a few days they had gotten close. It was bound to happen as they spent all their time together. He learned so much about them. He knew them as the individuals that they were. He knew they would help not because their Brood Mother asked, but because that is who they are. Though they are only able to do so because Zims ability overrides their PAKs.

"I'm glad I have your guys' support. It means a lot." Zim told them honestly. "Now, we need to come up with a plan. We can't do anything without one. We're close to the control brains, so that's a bonus."

"It's too bad we don't have anyone else to help." Missy stated as she started to think.

"There will be a lot of guards between us." Kay added on. "I don't think they'll just let us walk in and do what we want to the Control Brains though."

"That's probably true." Zim agreed, nodding his head.

As they were trying to come up with a plan ZIm started to hear something. Judging by Missy and Kays' faces they heard it as well. It sounded like banging that had an echo to it. Like it was in the vents. It sounded above them for a moment before there was a sliding sound down one of the walls followed by a loud bang near the vent. There was a sound of a brief scuffle followed by silence.

Missy and Kay have taken up defensive positions in front of Zim. They carefully watched the vent, ready. There were a few bangs against the vent before the covering flew off. All three stood prepared for a fight. What came through the vent made Zim gasp in shock.

Chapter 12

Dib, Gaz, Gir, and Tak all watched as Zims voot cruiser took off, leaving them all behind. They watch as the Massive disappears out of the sky, taking all the attacking battlecruisers with it. The attack was over as fast as it began, leaving behind nothing but its wake of destruction and the deafening hush of loud silence. The kind where sirens blare, people scream, and buildings fall with thunderous crashes, yet nothing is heard by the ears. It becomes as much silence as it is sound. Like a bright white room, filled with blinding light, yet completely void by all other senses.

Dib is so wrapped up in his loud silence that he doesn't notice his father pull up. Gaz called him over to her while she tried to comfort a distraught Tak. The female alien was devastated, losing both her Brood Mother and her first friend. She stood shaking as she stared up at the spot where Zim had vanished, tears running down her cheeks. Gaz had tears in her eyes as well, though she never let on spill over.

She was doing her best to explain to her dad what just happened while keeping Tak grounded. The elder Membrane just listened, not daring to argue against anything. Not after what had just happened to his beloved city. As he listened he was recalling everything his son had told him over the years about Zim being an alien, and how he had brushed him off. He realised now that his son was right the whole time. But he never believed him, not once. Guilt wrapped itself around his heart as he looked over at his son.

Dib remained where he was at, not moving, not even twitching. Just staring up at the sky while silent tears steadily flowed down his face. In his arms out of his disguise Gir clung to his torso, also crying. Though really loudly. Yet Dib didn't react to it. He remained frozen in place, not moving. It wasn't until his father had put a hand on his that he looked anywhere but the sky.

Professor Membrane gently guided his son to the car while Gaz did the same with Tak. They all silently entered the car and drove to the Membrane house. They were just as quiet existing the car and entering the house, save for the few sniffles. They all sit around the family table, eyes averted from one other. Tak was too deep in her sorrows while Gaz was busy comforting her. Dib couldn't bear to look up and see the empty spot in his family. Professor Membrane, well, he just didn't know what to say. For once science could not help him.

They all sat like that for maybe an hour. For that hour Gaz felt her irritation build. It built and built until she finally had enough and snapped. She quickly got to her feet and glared angrily. "Oh, for fucks sake, are we really just going to sit here and do nothing? I mean, come on people! This is Zim we're talking about. He's never left us behind, not once! Not when we were attacked by that pack of Wendigos or when the Voot Cruiser crashed on Mars and we all had to squeeze together tight just to fit back in when he repaired it. He would never let any of us stay captured, are we really going to let him?!?"

"Gaz, honey-"

"No, we're not!" Dib said firmly, agreeing with his sister standing up too. "We're going to go after him. We're going to save him from those two idiotic so call rulers."

"Damn right we are!" Tak roared, standing up and slamming her fists on the table.

"What about you Gir, are you in?" Gaz asked the tiny robot.

"YAY!!!!! LET'S GO SAVE MY MASTER!!!!!!" The robot screamed loudly.

"Hell yea!" Dib shouted, getting energized.

"Kids! Hold on a moment." Professor Membrane stood up as well, one arm out in a placating gesture. "Is that really a good idea? Those extraterrestrials were very keen on obtaining Zim. They destroyed half the city and numerous others, while also taking out nearly the entire world military and there was nothing we could do to stop. They are powerful with technology well beyond our own. I know how much Zim means to all of you, really I do, but is it really a good idea to risk your lives to save her? She's not even a human."

Dib, Gaz, and Tak all turn to look at him. Various levels of shock, anger, and hurt show on all their faces. Though not on a single face was there surprise, each for a different reason. Tak had only known the man for a few months with limited interactions. Gaz, arguably the closest to him, knew he was only speaking out of logic. Something he had done his whole life. But for Dib, his fathers doubt alway hit on a deeper level. He had spent his whole life living with his fathers doubt with everything he did or believed in. Even with it being expressed over something different than him wanting to chase down a monster, he is still doubting what his son believes.

And Dib believes they should save Zim.

"Dad, I get where you're coming from, I really do, but you don't understand." Dib started. "Zim is one of us, he is part of our family. He would never leave one of us behind, no matter who took us. He doesn't care if we're human or Irken or whatever. He wouldn't even hesitate. We don't care either."

"And he's not the only Irken in this little family either." Tak said as she removed her disguise, revealing her true form to him. From what little of the Professors face they could see shock etched into his features. "Perhaps one's species is an important factor to you when it comes to family, but not so much to the four of us."

"Dad, Zim has been in our life for how long now? Six, seven years? Don't you think in that time we wouldn't have grown to care for and love him because of his species if that actually mattered to us?" Gaz asked, arms crossed. "We're getting him back, and I don't care who we have to go through to do it."

"Dad. He is one of us." Dib spok up again. "I've spent my whole life with you never believing in me. When he showed up he was the only one to believe in me the entire time growing up. But right now I am asking you to believe in me when I say this is the right thing to do. I need you to believe in me when I say we can figure this out in a way that won't put the Earth in further danger. I need you to believe in me this once."

"Oh, son." Professor Membrane whispered softly. He brought his hands up to rub his face before looking at the young adults sitting across from him. He was silent for a moment more before sighing. "Alright. The three of you are right, we can't leave Zim with them. So, son, daughter, Tak. Do you three have a plan?"

Dib gave his father a bright smile before turning back to the others. "Well, the first thing we got to figure out is how to reach them." He said thoughtfully.

"In order to do that we'd need a ship." Gaz said. "Can't we use the one in the garage? You know, Taks old ship." Tak perked up in surprise at the mention of her old ship.

"I would, but it won't let me fix it." Dib grumbled before turning to Tak. "Do you think you can get it to let us fix it?"

"Of course, it is my ship after all. I can't believe it was here this whole time." She said reproachfully. She shook her head annoyed. "We can use the parts from my new ship to repair it."

"Why can't we use your new one?" Dib asked, confused.

"I made it by hand here on Earth. It's not built for deep space or inter solar system travel. Not to mention it's not nearly fast enough to catch up." Tak explained to the group.

"Speaking of which, how can we catch up with Zim?" Gaz asked the big question. "We all saw how fast it disappeared. If your ship is anything like the Voot Cruiser we'll never be able to catch up."

"Well, for one Zims ship is a far out of date Voot Runner, while mine is an up to date Spittle Runner. Mine is much faster." Tak boasted proudly. "Second, after traveling this far off course of Impending Doom Two, and at the speed necessary to get here from the time Zim found out he's a Brood Mother, they must have used a lot of fuel to do so."

"Zim's a what?" Professor Membranes' question went unanswered.

"For a ship as large as the Massive there is only one refueling station close enough for them to go to. A place called Makers, run by a collection of various species." Tak informed them as she pushed a button on her wrist cuff. A 3D map lit up the room. Two spots were highlighted on it. "We're here." Tak pointed to the spot on the left before pointing to the other. "And they will be here in eighteen hours. If we can get my old ship up and running in the next twenty four hours, then follow this path here we can meet them at Makers in three. They'll be getting close to being fueled up by then, so it'll be close, but we can do it."

"Sounds solid, but what's the plan once we're there? We just waltz in, grab Zim, and leave?" Gaz rolled her eyes in disbelief.

"Not quite." Tak said as she brought up a blueprint of the ship. "There are multiple vent shafts that release toxic air and pollution into space. This helps keep the ship clean and maximizes space. I can cut into one of the vents near the surface of the ship, giving us a way in. Then we have two choices. We can wander the vents until we stumbled upon him or if we go down this shaft we can break into the Tallest quarters. Not only is it the only room in the whole ship that doesn't have a camera in it, their computer will have access to all information."

"So while you're in there you can delete Earth coordinates while you look up where Zim is." Dib finished her explanations, both impressed and interested.

"Exactly." Tak nodded her head.

"Then after words we can take Zim and flee in a different direction than Earth. Throw them off our trail before looping back here." Gaz added on as she pointed out a likely path. "That will be the tricky part and will take time to do."

"Yeah, we might be out there for a couple of weeks." Dib agreed with his sister. "So we'll need to stock up on supplies before we leave."

"Think more of a month." Tak corrected as she plotted out the course. She mostly followed Gaz's rute, but had to change it closer to the end before the loop back. "This area here is heavy with nebulas we can use as cover for our getaway."

"If you come around this way," Professor Membrane pointed at a spot halfway down the loop back' "you can use the gravitational pull of this giant star to slingshot back here, cutting down the time necessary to return by up to five days."

"Indeed, though, we should prepare just in case." Tak agreed as she edited the course.

"The question is, will we have the room? Taks ship is bigger than the Voot Cruiser, but not by much." Gaz pointed out as she jerked a thumb in the direction of the garage.

"With the modifications we'll add on we will have the room if we pack efficiently." Tak said thoughtfully as she started to run some numbers. She looked through them and nodded her head. "Yes, it will be tight, but we can make it work."

"Alright, we have a plan. Let's get started." Dib clapped his hands as he started walking away from the table. "I'll get the ship out of the garage."

"I'll design the final blueprints in here and bring them out when I'm done." Tak pulled up a blueprint of her ship to start making the adjustments. "Gaz, I will need you to retrieve my new ship from the base. I will remotely start it for you so you can bring it here."

"Alright, I'm on it." Gaz nodded and headed out.

"I will gather the tools and supplies needed. I should have some down in the basement." Professor Membrane said thoughtfully, heading down to said basement.

"Don't worry Zim." Each one of them said in unison as they got started on their tasks. "We're on our way."

Repairing and changing Taks Spittle Runner was challenging for the whole team. Even for the experienced scientist and engineer Professor Membrane and the super advanced alien Tak. Still, they managed to stay on track to get it functional again. It took them the full twenty four hours of nonstop work to do so. Every piece had to be checked and dubbed check for leaks or cracks. Every weld was tested for possible breakage.

Even with their rush to save their friend they had to be careful. All it would take to kill them is just one crack. Just one faulty part or broken seal. A mistake of any kind. Any of those could cause the ship to fall apart, break apart, or blow up. And in the emptiness of space a mistake is the last thing they need. So they use caution and extreme care when building the ship.

At the twenty two hour mark the ship is built. All that's left to do is refuel and fully stock it. Tak checked through the systems while the humans, Gir, and Mimi added the supplies. They were loading up everything in a section off part of the ship near the back. A wall blocked it off from the front with a narrow door connecting the two. Professor Membrane worried and fretted, concerned that they wouldn't have enough food or water for the trip.

"Dad." Gaz tried to calm her father down. "We're fine. We have plenty of food and water. You need to stop worrying. I mean, come on, you didn't worry this much when we went on our trip across the country."

"Well, to be fair, you were on the plant for your trip, no up in space thousands of miles away from me." Professor Membrane said crossing his arms across his chest. "If the four of you had gotten hurt or in trouble I could come get you. This, well, if you kids get hurt or in trouble I, I will never know. I may never see you two again."

"Dad." Gaz said softly as she wrapped her arms around him. "We'll be fine."

"Yeah, just trust us." Dib added as he two hugged his father.

Professor Membrane wrapped his arms around both of his children, saying goodbye yet again that month. Only this time for a lot long. And this time there was a chance they wouldn't come back. They all felt the unspoken truth. If they couldn't shake the Empire's ships then they can't go back to Earth. So the Professor held his children close to his heart as a few tears slipped from his eyes. Tak watched from the front of the ship, systems ready, but not daring to break up the small family.

"I love you two very much, and I believe in both of you. I always had." He said as he looked at both of his children.

"We love you to daddy." Gaz said, wiping a tear from her eye as she smiled up at him.

"Yea, we do." Dib nodded his head, fighting back tears of his own. "Don't worry about us. We'll be back before you know it."

"You better be. And you better have your little alien girlfriend with you." Professor Membrane said as he pulled back from the hug.

"Speaking of which, do you mind that I'm dating an alien?" Dib chuckled nervously, ducking his head and rubbing the back of his neck. That was one sentence he thought he never would have had to say to his father.

"Son, as long as you are happy I don't care who you date. Male, female, alien, human, I don't care." He chuckled lightly as he turned to his daughter. "The same goes for yours and Taks' relationship."

"Oh, you knew?" Gaz asked surprised and a little embarrassed.

"Honey, I raised you. I knew which team you batted for long before you did." This time he chuckled louder, shoulders shaking from the force. "Though I have to admit that the alien part was a bit of a surprise. Oh well, that comes with the territory of raising children I suppose."

"Thanks dad." Gaz said as she gave her father one more hug. "Alright, we'll see you in a month, give or take."

"See you then dad. Love you." Dib waved goodbye as he and his sister headed to the ship.

They climbed in and buckled into two of the three newly installed seats. Gir made himself comfortable on Dibs lap, humming happily to himself. Outside Professor Membrane and Mimi watched as they took off. The cat-like robot was left behind to both guard the base and because Tak feared he could be used against them. He was programmed to serve the empire above all else.

The two humans waved goodbye to their father while Tak got the ship ready to leave the atmosphere. Within moments they were pressed against their seats as the ship rocketed through the spheres. Once the ship broke through the exosphere the ship enabled the artificial gravity, allowing them all to walk freely on the ship. Not that there was much walk around on.

"Alright guys, next stop, Makers." Tak stated as she set course.

Just as Tak estimated it took nearly three full days to catch up with the ship and the Armada. To Tak the sight of the ship was nothing knew for she had seen it many times before. To the human siblings, however, the sight of the Massive left them in aww. From its impressive size to the weapons attached to it, not a single part didn't inspire a scientific kind of wonder in the humans.

As they drew near, just on the outside of the patrolling ships, Tak enabled the ships cloaking mechanisms. Normally it wouldn't be invisible to other Irken radars, however Professor Membrane had helped her adjust them to do just that. She was completely invisible to the other ships for a limited time. They had three hours before the batteries running the upgraded cloaking device overheated and it had to be turned off. If they didn't it would risk either exploding or burning through the ship.

So they had to act fast.

Tak expertly weaved through the traffic of other ships while Dib and Gaz kept watch on the radar for any ships coming up in the blindspots. Tak maneuvered the ship to the top side of the Massive and tucked it down in a cranny where it would be out of the way and hopefully out of sight if the camouflage failed. From there it would be a short walk between the ship and the nearest vent.

"Alright you two, stick close to me. My pack's atmosphere simulator bubble only stretches four feet from myself." Tak reminded them as she activated the bubble. Both siblings squished up close to her. Uncomfortable, but necessary. Gir thought it was a big cuddle party and clung to the back of Dibs head. Uncomfortable, completely unnecessary. Tak opened the ship's door, letting out all the oxygen into the dead of space.

The walk to the vent was extremely awkward as the two tall siblings tried to stay close enough to be in the protective buble without tripping or pushing the much shorter alien. When they approached the spot where the air duct was a layer just beneath the surface Tak used a laser to cut open a hole big enough for the humans to fit through. She picked up the chunk of metal, allowing the humans to drop down first. The air duct was sealed off at opening when not in use to remove polluted air, so it was both pressurised and had breathable air. Tak needed to use her bubble to keep the air inside or else it would throw them in the vastness of space and alert the ship to the breach.

Once both siblings and Gir were in she used her paks legs to lower herself down enough to still cover the hole. She carefully moved the piece of metal back into its original position so she could weld it back shut. Once she was sure that the weld would hold long enough for them to get Zim she turned off the bubbled. She opened up the map of the ship on her wrist cuff and led the way deeper in the vent.

She was able to walk hunched over just fine. Dib and Gaz on the other hand had to crawl along behind her. Gir sat on Dibs back, getting a kind of pony ride out of it. They had to be fast as they didn't know when the vent would be put to use again. Tak led them down the maze of vents for nearly half an hour before she stopped. She looked at her map before peering through the vent covering. She confirmed it was indeed the room belonging to The Tallest. She looked around the room one more time to check for any sign of movement before turning to her friends.

"I'm going to go down to that computer over there." Tak pointed to said computer on the left wall twenty feet from the vent. She continued talking in a low whisper. "Gaz, I need you to go down this vent until you come to a cross section. Take the left vent down until you see a vent cover. It should be over the hallway. I need you to watch over the hall and alert me if someone comes down the hall. They may be heading here. Now, you will only have a good view of Irken coming from the right side, but should be able to see any coming from the left sing two yards before they are at the door. Take this communicator." She handed Gaz a head piece and sent her on her way.

"What do I do?" Dib asked, mimicking Taks' tone.

"If someone comes through that door and I don't get back here in time I'm going to need you to be my eyes." Tak told him as they waited for Gaz to give the okay. "There are many blind spots in the room where I can take cover, but won't be able to see them."

"Got it." Dib nodded in understanding. He then turned to Gir. "We need to be very quiet, okay. We're on a secret mission, like spies."

"Ooooh. Okay. I be really quiet." Gir stage whispered and grinned widely.

Gazs voice came through Taks' arm cuff. "I'm in position. There is currently no activity, you're all clear."

"Copy that." Tak said into the cuff.

She nodded at Dib and opened the vent before dropping down. She landed without so much as a thud. She moved with the grace of a Leopard stalking in the night. Silent, deadly, and going completely unseen while never disturbing the environment. She turned on the computer and started her search for the information she needed. The Tallest had the best computer of the whole Empire. It could access information in a fraction of the time of any other. Finding and deleting the coordinates of Earth was both fast and easy. Once she was sure all traces of the coordinates were gone she switched over to finding her Brood Mother. That was a little trickier as she had to scroll through a list containing the names and functions of all the rooms.

She looked through it for nearly seven minutes before she found what she was looking for. She clicked on the box that said 'Nesting Room'. All the information regarding that room popped up. From inhabitants to location on the ship. Tak was writing down the information when Gaz's voice broke through her cuff again.

"Tak, the tallest are walking down the hall and have stopped in front of the door. They are talking with someone, but the conversions won't be long." Gaz warned her alien girlfriend.

"Already on it." She whispered into cuffs as she started backing out of everything she opened. She worked as fast as she could and got it done just in time for Gaz to warn her to hide.

Wasting no time she ducked down behind the loveseat facing the door that was placed next to the couch. She heard the door open and the two unmistakable voices of The Tallest filled the room. She looked up at Dib who stared down at her from the ceiling. He gestured for her to stay down while he watched their movements, waiting for an opportunity for her move.

"Uhg, so many reports on the fuel and the attack." Purple complained loudly as he sat down on the couch.

"If Zim had only listened to us and made her way to the Massive like we ordered her we would have to deal with these." Red said as he plopped down on the loveseat and leaned his head over the back.

He had his eyes closed or else he would have seen Dib in the vents. Just below his head, mear inched from his antenne, Tak sat perfectly still. She didn't dare breath, lest her breath blow across his antenne. Neither moved a muscle.

"How do you think she was able to do that?" Purple questioned his counterpart. "Aren't all Irken supposed to listen to us no matter what?"

"I don't know." Red said, raising his head to look at his more childish co-ruler. "There was always something off about Zim. Brood mother or not, I still think she's a defect."

Anger grew in both Taks and Dibs' chest as they listened to them talk about Zim in such a way. There was relife too when Red lifted his head, significantly reducing the chances of the two of them being spotted.

"Hold on, I'm getting a message." Purple said as he picked up his tablet. He read through it before letting out yet another groan. "There's a problem up on deck. Communication issues with the Dalgiona and the Anoinglad."

"Of course, right when we get a chance to sit down." Red muttered before standing back up. "Alright let's go deal with it."

"We really need to get someone to deal with these kinds of issues." Purple suggested just before the door closed behind him.

Tak waited, antenne perked until Gazs voice spoke over the cuff. "It's all clear. They're gone."

"Copy that. Head back to us, I have the location of Zim." Tak said as she stood up.

She took a running start before jumping up to vent. She grabbed Dibs outstretched hand and he pulled her up. She carefully put the vent back to where it was, making sure no one could tell it was opened. She then opened her map and typed in the Nesting Rooms room number. Its location popped up two floors down, near the center for the ship. Gaz returned to her group just as the location popped up.

"This is where we are heading." Tak showed them the map. "It's a bit of a distance, but we can make it there and back out before the timer runs out on the ship."

"This will be a piece of cake then." Dib said with a confident smile, getting excited at getting his boyfriend back.

"Don't be so sure." Tak warned him. "According to the computer there are two Irken with him at all times. Assigned Nest Maids."

"Assigned? Does that mean he wouldn't connect with them like he did with you?" Gaz asked her, brow raising in confusion.

"I don't know. There's not a lot I know about this." Tak admitted with a sigh. "So we need to be prepared for a fight just in case."

"Understood." Dib nodded his head along with his sister. "Lead the way, Tak."

It took another forty five minutes to navigate through vents. They had taken a wrong turn a couple of times, but quickly got back on track. The last part, the tricky part, was that the vent for the Nesting Room ended at the bottom of the floor. It was a nearly twenty foot drop from them to the entrance. Unfortunately no one told Dib that as he came up from the rear.

He bumped into his sister which caused her to push Tak. Tak started to fall down and grabbed the nearest thing she could, which happened to be Gazs shoulder. This caused her to pull the unsuspecting woman down with her. In an attempt to help them Dib grabbed his sister's ankles, but it was too late. The moment along with gravity started to pull the two females down. Now Dib was dragged down too. Gir jumped down with them, not understanding that was a terrible thing to do. He just thought it would be fun.

In an attempt to slow them all down, Dib pressed against the sides of the vents. It slowed them down enough to avoid any real injury. However, with the limited space and two bodies on top of her, Tak was being squished. She tried to push them off, but that proved to be a fruitless battle. So she turned to the vent cover instead. She banged on it twice before it opened and the three of them tumbled out to the ground.

Movement to their left alerted them to the fact that they weren't alone in the room. They quickly scrambled to their feet and turned to face the others. In the front were two unknown female Irken in battle stance, but behind them was the one they were looking for.

It was Zim.

Chapter 13

The two groups stared at each other for only a moment before Dib was already scrambling up to reach Zim. However, before he could get close Missy and Kay had stepped between him and their Brood Mother. Seeing the female Irkens aggressive stance made Dib halt for a second, getting ready to fight as well. Zim saw the fight that was about to happen and quickly spoke up to stop it.

"Missy! Kay! It's alright, they're my friends." Zim said in a rush as he moved to his two Nest Maids. He placed a hand on each of their shoulders to help calm them down. They looked up at him, uncertain. He gave them both a smile before turning to look at his human boyfriend. "Dib." He said softly.

It was almost surreal to Zim, seeing Dib again. Though they've only been apart for a few days, those days had felt like weeks. It's a funny thing to experience when you think you'll never see someone again. A short amount of time that under any other circumstance would be short seems to extend. Like how the distance between the light switch in your room and your bed seems so much longer when you turn the lights off at night. Then when you finally see your friend, lover, or family member so unexpectedly as this it can make it seem unreal. Like a dream you don't want to wake from, but fear you just might. That is what it felt like to both Dib and Zim.

"Zim." Dib said back just as softly as he approached the alien again. This time the two new Irken didn't move to interject. Dib pulled Zim into a tight hug that Zim joyfully returned. Tears of happiness ran down both their faces. Dib pulled back just enough to press his lips against Zims. Zim didn't even hesitate before pressing into it. They stayed in their embrace for a moment, soaking up eachothers presents, before pulling apart again. "God, I missed you Zim."

"Zim missed you too, Dib-boyfriend." Zim chuckled, a big grin spreading across his face. Zim then looked at the rest of the rescue part. His smile only got bigger when he saw who else was here. "Gaz, Tak, Gir!"

"It's about time you noticed us." Gaz chuckled as she pulled Zim into a hug of her own. Zim let go of Dib to hug the scary Human female.

He turned to Tak next to greet her. They hugged as well, an earth thing they had incorporated into their own habits even with each other. When they pulled back they did the Irken way of greeting a friend by briefly touching the tip of their antenna together. Friendships were rare on Irk, making the gesture a show of trust and concern for each other. One ment only for the closets of friends.

Next Zim turned his attention to the tiny robot that had clamped onto his leg in between the time he was hugging Gaz and Tak. Zim reached down and pulled the permanent three year old off his leg. Gir then threw himself at Zims chest, grabbing on like an octopus to the face. Zim wrapped his arms around his robot, never believing the day would come when he would be this happy to see his malfunctioning robot. The tiny robot let out a few sounds of glee as he snuggled deeper against Zim.

While Zim and Gir were having their moment of reunion, Tak turned to look at the two other female Irken. Instinct told her they were not to be fought with. Not because she was scared of them as she knew should easily beat two much younger Irken. It didn't take long for her to figure out why though. Zim had taken them on as his Nest Maids.

Though she was now certain they would not do anything, concern and perhaps slight jealousy made take a defensive, almost dominant stance. Her antenne stood up straight on her head as she looked at her two juniors. Missy and Kay quickly took notice of what Tak was doing. She was staking her claim as Head Nest Maid for zim. She is both their senior and was Zims Nest Maid for longer. It was her right to take the position of Head Nest Maid. Both Missy and Kay felt this and didn't put up a fight with their senior, instead folding their antenne back in a submissive gesture.

The interaction was fairly quick. Only Dib had noticed what happened, and though he was pretty sure of what happened, he didn't question it. He had far more important things to worry about right now. Like getting Zim off this ship and back to Earth. Little did he know, however, Zim had other plans instead.

"Okay, we have all our hellos worked out now. So let us get a move on." Dib said, tone betraying his rush. He wanted to get going as soon as possible.

"Go? Go where?" Zim questioned his human boyfriend.

"We're here to rescue you Zim." Dib explained. "We need to leave the Massive and go back home."

"What else do you think we are here?" Gaz rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"No, I can't." Zim shook his head, moving to hold Gir on his hip bone. Dib was about to speak, but Zim held up a hand to silence him before he could. Dib looked uncertain, but obliged. "While I would love to go back to Earth, I can't yet. During my time here I have learned many things about my type. I've learned secrets that have been buried for thousands of years that no one else knows about."

"What are you talking about?" Gaz asked, crossing her arms. "We learned everything about your type back on Earth."

"That's what I thought too." Zim nodded his head in partial agreement.

"Until?" Dib asked, his interest peaking.

"Until I came here and noticed a change in my people." Zim told them. When no one spoke up Zim took that as the opportunity to continue. "When I'm around my people they act differently. They were more willing to obey my orders and requests than they are for the tallest. They will fulfil my request a lot faster and before the tallest. Missy, Kay, and I all thought that was unusual. It didn't add up with everything we knew. So I did some digging.

"By using the much faster ship's computer that had more clearance I was able to dig around some more. I found a tone of unexplainable inconsistencies. Too many to be coincident or error of time. I mean, the speech pattern would shift in the middle of a sentence and then go back after a few more sentences. Then I found all these blocked files I couldn't get into, not even with the tallest pass-code. Which was a red flag."

"Wait, wait, wait." Tak held up her hand to stop him. "What do you mean you used the Tallest pass-code?"

"Oh, I had hacked into their systems years ago and found it. I had figured that one as great as Zim should also have access to it. How else do you think I was able to get information on so many things?" Zim asked his friend with a smirk.

"Fair enough. I'm just surprised." Tak stated as she gestured for him to continue.

"Then I found something that wasn't blocked. An Irken named Zakell who was the inventor of many important things along with being a pre-tallest. The Paks, the DNA reserve, and even the Control Brains amongst many other things. But most importantly I found out that he was attacked and killed by three Nest Maids right after the Fall of the Brood Mothers. The fight ended with his lab being burned down, destroying everything except for some notes.

"Within these notes I found the names of three other Irken; Alleea, Tyera, and Ryna. But once again everything on them was blocked, save for the genetic lineage. Alleea was his sister, born into the same clutch, who later became a Queen. Tyera was their mother, the former Queen before Alleea. Now, Alleea and Zakell were very close from what the notes said, and with Zakell being both a pre-tallest and the inventor of the Control Brains he would have access to everything. And he can limit access to anything."

"What does that have to do with their relationship?" Dib asked, clearly confused.

"Well, from my time with your family Dib, and seeing your relationship with your own sister, I figured he did the same as you. Remember what your password to your subscription to the Swollen Eyeball was?" Zim asked with a smirk, voice taking on a teasing tone.

Dib blushed slightly from embarrassment, his eyes briefly darted over to Gaz. Gaz looked back over, one brow raised. Dib's voice wavered as he spoke. "It was your full name. Gazlene Viviana. I used it for a few other things as well."

"You used my name as your password for your stupid cult?" Gaz asked, amused.

"It's not a cult." Dib grumbled as he crossed his arms.

"From what I've learned, past Irken society was a lot like Earths." Zim continued with his explanation. "So I had a hunch he would have used her name. And I was right. Once I figured out the password I had access to all the files. I learned everything about our species and our history. As I said, we were a lot like your species with a few key differences. For one we didn't have different countries, we all lived under the rule of The Brood Mothers and the Brood Mother Queen. The Tallest were ambassadors of sorts, they worked for the Brood Mothers. Each Brood Mother took care of a specific area of government and issues while the Queen made final decisions and came up with solutions."

"So you're saying this Irken, Zakell purposefully hid information about your people, enslaved them in a way with the Paks and Control Brains, and your species forgot over time?" Dib asked, a little skeptical.

"I know it sounds like a bit of a stretch, but I promise there is so much more to it." Zim stated, trying to get his human to understand. He looked at all three of his family members, hoping they would understand. "I will tell you all about it later, but right now I need to free my people. We're not supposed to be like this. To live our lives with the sole purpose of serving the tallest. We were meant to have families, make our own destinies, make better lives. I wasn't able to read everything about our species, but from what I did I could see that we were so happy back then. And I want to make our lives like that again. I need to free my people. Please tell me you understand."

"I understand." Dib said, a smile on his face as he looked at his alien. He really did understand. From the moment Zim came to Earth to the time he gave up trying to take it over Dib had wanted nothing more than to keep his people and planet safe. To keep them free from the rule of the Irken Empire. Of course he would understand now when Zim want's to do the exact same. "I understand and I want to help."

"Are you serious, Dib?" Gaz questioned, astonished at her brother's willingness to help. Not because she believed he wouldn't want to help Zim, but more due to the fact that they would have to take on the Irken Empire and they already had a plan. "What about our plan to go back home?"

"Gaz, we can take Zim and head home, hoping that we aren't followed by the Empire. Or we can put an end to their tyranny now once and for all." Dib had turned to face his sister, trying to get her to understand. "We can help save so many species who were enslaved by them. Including them! Come on Gaz, Zim would do it for us."

"Uhg! Fine." Gaz begrudgingly agreed, kicking at the floor. "It would kind of suck of us if we just let those two idotic so called leaders continue with their stupid plans. Especially if we were in a position to do something about it."

"And we are in a terrific position to do something about it." Tak confirmed as she pulled up a map of The Massive. She pointed to a spot on the map several halls down. "The Control Brains are not too far from here. If what Zim said about Zakell holds true about everything he did then we'll need to head there. It would be our best option to free our people."

"Because he would have used the PAKs." Dib added on, realisation dawning on him.

"Exactly." Zim confirmed, a pleased smile on his face that Dib was able to figure it out. "He used the PAKs, something that plugged into our brains and would forever be a part of us, to take control of us. It overridden the Brood Mothers on everyone but Nest Maids, giving full control over to the Tallest. Which Zakell was going to be."

"So you need to get into the control brains to shut it off." Gaz concluded, a thoughtful look on her face. "Do you know how to do that?"

"With enough time I can get in." Zim confirmed. "It'll be difficult though."

"So how do we all get there? The guards are not going to just let us walk in with two humans and an Irken they won't recognize." Missy questioned them, bringing a real issue to light. It is a very serious problem.

"We can keep going through the vents." Dib suggested, pointing to the vents they had come out of.

"That will only work half way." Tak said absently as she studied the outline of the vents on the map. "The Control Brains are the most secure place on The Massive. Not a single vent opens up into them nor do any of the walls surrounding them."

"We can still travel through them part of the way. However, once we leave we are sure to draw attention." Dib sighed heavily, pinching his brow in frustration.

"What? Afraid of a little fight, Dib?" Gaz taunted her brother, a mischievous smile on her face. He looked up and gave a lopsided smile back. It helped to break up the tension that grew in the room by a fraction.

"We're going to have to fight anyways once we reach the room the Control Brains are kept in. The alarms will go off the second we touch the doors." Missy informed us as she crossed her arms. "I could probably get us some low level guns. Though that could take a few hours to do."

"We don't have time." Gaz said, getting all of our attention.

"Oh, that's right!" Dib nodded his head, agreeing with his sister. He turned back to the rest of the group to explain. "We had modified the invisibility cloak on Taks ship to be invisible to even the other Irken ships."

"Unfortunately it has a drawback of only being able to stay on for three hours before the battery risks exploding." Tak added on as she pulled up another menu with a countdown on it. "According to this we only have about 55 minutes left. Give or take."

"So we need to get this mission going." Zim nodded his head as he switched the screen back to the map. "So you three and Gir will take these vents to right here, about five hallways from the control brains. Missy, Kay, and I will meet you at that spot and let you know if it is safe to exsite. From there we will run to these doors where I will hack our way inside. If we haven't been caught by then we will have precisely one minute and twelve seconds to prepare a form of defence while I start the hacking."

"Sounds like a plan." Dib nodded his head, a confident smile forming on his face. Everyone moved to their places, save for Dib and Zim. Dib had grabbed Zim by the hand to stop him for a moment. He leaned down and pressed a kiss against his alien's lips. He stayed like that for a moment, enjoying being close to Zim, before pulling back. He gently took Gir out of Zims arms. "See you soon, Zim."

"You too, Dib-boyfriend." Zim said softly, eyes half lidded. As much as he hated having to leave he knew he had to. He stood by his Nest Maids as he watched the rest of his family crawl back through the vents.

Once they were in, Zim motioned for Missy and Kay to follow him. They walked down the halls at a slightly faster than normal pace to get to the rondevu point on time. Zim tried to keep his nervousness at bay, knowing that it would be picked up by those around him. It was hard to do, however, since he knew the consequences for what he was about to do if it went wrong. Missy, Kay, and Tak will be reprogrammed as something terrible, such as a table drone. Gaz and Dib will be either executed or sent to slave labor for the rest of their lives. And Gir will be destroyed, ripped apart to be used for spare parts. That's assuming they weren't killed during the fight.

Along the walk there they passed by several guards. Zim did his best to keep his nervousness down, knowing that it would transfer through his antenne. Some of it escaped, if the looks and approaches from the others were anything to go by. He would try to brush them off, reassure them he was okay. His Nest Maids kept them from getting too close. Their protectiveness came into play here and made a good excuse to keep moving.

No one wants to be on the bad side of an angry Nest Maid.

Once they got to the rendezvous point Zim stopped by making it look like he was checking his wrist cuff. Kay looked up briefly to check if they were there. She saw Dib through the vents and flicked her antenna, showing she knew he was there. Miss, who was watching her, leaned over and whispered to Zim that everyone was in position. Zim nodded, waiting for the intersecting hallways to clear.

Once the hallways were clear Zim was quick to give the signal for them to jump down. There was a brief bang followed by the clanging sound of metal dropping on metal. Kay grabbed the vent cover the second it fell to move it out of the way. Next Tak, Dib, and Gaz dropped in quick succession. Gir clung on to the back of Dib, much like he did all those years ago when Tak first arrived. Now with the group together again they headed towards the Control Brains. They moved quickly, knowing the next patrol was going to be by soon.

They were only two halls down from the room when a patrol came around the corner. They instantly spotted Dib and Gaz, both being tall pinkish humanoids. The four guards drew their blaster, but alas, Tak was ready for them. She had used her blaster to knock back two of them. She had it set to stun for Zims sake. She then knocked the blasters out of their hands, just barely missing the fire from the blasters.

Shouting was heard from further down the corridors. Everyone turned to look down the hall where the voices were coming from. There was no doubt that the time for stealth was over. They now had to move fast.

"Dib! Gaz!" Tak shouted as she threw two of the dropped blasters to the siblings. "Turn the knob on the side clockwise. That'll shift from blast to stun. Remember, we don't want to kill anyone. We're trying to free them."

"Got it, stun, don't kill." Dib replied as twisted the nob.

"I make no promises." Gaz snorted, though she still turned the knob. They were already on the move again, just in time too.

"How far, Tak?" Zim shouted, narrowly dodging a blast from behind. The soldiers behind them weren't aiming for him specifically, he was just in the mist of the group.

"It's just down this hall and to the left!" Tak shouted, turning around to address Zim. In that second pause she took to turn a soldier had lined up a shot. Tack went flying back as a shot blasted her shoulder.

"Tak!" Gaz shouted, reaching down to pull Tak backup into a run.

"I'm fine." The female Irken hissed in pain as she clutched her shoulder. Her arm hung limply by her side, clearish-pink blood slowly trickled down. "I can't shoot anymore, but I can still fight."

"Are you sure?" Zim asked just as they reached the door for the Control Brains room. Zim started hacking the door, using the Tallest codes and passwords. It took a little rewiring, but Zim managed to get through. Once it opened the alarm sounded off from an unscheduled opening of the Control Brains room. Zim ran straight to the access panel.

"I'm a trained Invader, I can handle a blast wound." Tak said as she ushered everyone into the room. While Zim was hacking Kay was bandaging Taks shoulder with her first aid kit. "Dib, help me seal the door. It won't hold now that it's locking mechanics are damaged. Gaz, Missy, Kay! Bring those tables around Zim and set up some defences."

"Tak, they're getting through." Dib shouted as the sounds of bashing metal rang through the room.

"Already?" Tak said, the shock clear in her voice. "Zim, how are you on getting through the firewalls?"

"Zim is working on it!" Zim shouted. Truthfully, it was far more complex than he had anticipated. He was having difficulty getting through all the lines of code to find the access points. It was deep in, buried under years of updates and new coding.

"Shit! They're through!" Dib shouted as the first few started to pour in the room.

"Fall back Dib, I'll stay up front. Help the others protect Zim." Tak ordered. She couldn't shoot, but she sure could use her martial art skills she acquired on Earth and during her training as an Invader.

Dib and Gaz used the blasters to stun the soldiers from behind the tables. They each took one side of the long table to cover maximum distance and angles. Years of playing on her Game Slaves had made Gaz a natural. She didn't miss a single shot. Dib was a little behind Gaz, but made up for it with experience with fighting Irkens. He knew all the weak spots to aim for. All those years of fighting with Zim were paying off, just not in the way he expected when he was twelve.

Missy was up with the Humans, helping to throw back any soldiers who made it past the blast or Tak. She didn't get a chance to grab a blaster, though that didn't stop her from joining in the fight. Watching her for even a second showed that she was a natural in this field. The feroices edge of being a Nest Maid protecting her Brood Mother only made her a far more formidable enemy.

Tak was near the entrance, doing her best to fend off as many as she could. Her injury hindered her, but she was still a force to be reckoned with. Her throwing a slightly larger Irken into a group and knocking them down was proof of that. Still, she internally cursed everytime one had gotten past her, though her respect for Missy grew.

Kay had stayed near Zim, helping him with the code and deflecting stray blasts with a tray she found. If a single blast hit Zim somewhere important he wouldn't be able to hack the coding. If one hits the panel it could explode the whole area, potentially even the Control Brains. Luckily with her time as a Medic she had the reflexes of a Terrial Velix and could think on her feet faster than most on ground fleet commanders.

Gir, the delusional sweetheart he is, had no idea what was going on. He thought it was a giant game. So he would tackle, hug, and scream happily at each of the soldiers. This confused and stunned them for a moment, giving Tak a chance to get to them to throw them. By some miracle Gir kept managing to avoid being hit by cross fire.

While the team was busy with the seemingly endless supply of soldiers they didn't notice the arrive of three more.

Tallest Red and Purple, along with Pre-Tallest Ziezza, were on the Bridge when they heard the sound of the alarms going off. Red sighed heavily while Purple groaned. Both thought it was another false alarm for something stupid. Purple wasn't prepared for the scream of rage from Red once he looked up the problem. Both Purple and Ziezza turned their heads to look at him, shock widening their eyes. Ziezza turned to look at Purple, unsure of what's happening.

"Uh, Red?" Purple questioned his co-leader.

"Follow me." He hissed to the two others. "It's Zim. She's in the Control Brains room with her nest maids and a couple of humans. She's hacking them and undoing the coding Zakell implaced."

"Sir? What are you going to do?" Ziezza asked her Tallest. She had no idea what he was talking about. She didn't know who this Zakell was.

"I'm going to end this defect once and for all." Red growled lowly, death in his red eyes.

Both of the others followed him back to the Tallest Chamber. From there Red opened a hidden door Ziezza hadn't known was there. She looked to Purple, who didn't seem surprised by the sudden appearance of this door. She followed the other two through, dread filling her chest. She wasn't entirely sure what was about to happen, but something told her she wasn't going to like it.

When Red opened another door the sound of fighting was heard. Blaster fire mixed with shouts and thuds in an enclosed space made a sound equivalent to that of thunder in the midst of a raging storm. Red led the small group out onto the catwalk, a dark look on his face as he spotted Zim. His eyes narrowed as he looked down at the brood mother queen. He then pulled a long range blaster out of his Tallest robes. It was custom made, red with a few purple highlights. It was longer than normal blasters, but still shorter than a blaster rifle.

"Well, well, well." Red said, getting the attention of the team. They paused briefly to look up in shock at him, bewildered by his sudden appearance. Zims eyes widened, but he quickly turned back to the computer. "Zim. I should have known a defect like you would do something like this. And look, you found your human pets. That will make this so much more satisfying."

Red pulled up the gun to take aim at the brood mother queen, a wicked smile on his face. The team watched, horrified at the gun being trained on their friend and, in Dib's case, lover. They wanted to protect him, but on one could move as they were pinned down by the fire from the soldiers. Any attempt to move would give the soldier a chance to press forward.

Up on the catwalk Purple started to chuckle, delighted by the situation. He stood just behind Red, silently supporting his Co-ruler. The both watched with glee as Zim kept glancing back at them, knowing he can't do anything to stop them. From just outside the doorway Ziezza watched in horror. Inside she felt the unfamiliar and scary urge to attack the tallest for threatening her Brood Mother Queen. Yet something held her back, berating her for thinking such a thing.

"It's just a shame you won't get to watch them die, though I will take great joy in watching their faces as you die in front of them." Red snarled, laining up the shot.

Zims eyes widened in horror before shutting them in fear. He heard the sound of the blaster going off, bracing himself for the hit. Instead of feeling the burning pain of a blaster shot he heard the impact and scream of pain from someone else. He opened his eyes, looked down, and screamed in emotional pain and rage. At his feet Kay laid in a pool of her own blood as the blast had hit her in the side and PACK when she jumped in front of her Brood Mother Queen. She was still alive, but just barely. Zim dropped to his knees next to her, letting out a keen of pain. His antenne vibrated wildly, sending out the strongest distress signal ever.

Around him the soldiers stopped fighting, receiving the signal that blocked out the PACKs coding for just a moment. They looked at their Brood Mother Queen, pain and regret in their eyes. They hated seeing her pain, they wanted to fix this. Dib took the opportunity to reach Zim, though the second he reached him he heard shouting from above.

When Zim sent out the signal Ziezza picked up on it. It had broken the last of her willingness to continue to listen to the PACK. She charged forward at Red, trying to grapple the gun away from him. Though he still had a few inches on her, she had the element of surprise. She was also stronger from being far more active than the lazy leaders.

Down on the floor there was a still kind of confusion. Zim had taken Kay's head in his hands, tears steadily flowing down his face. She raised her hand to grip Zim's arm. Though weak she stared at her Brood Mother Queen with determined eyes. Zim looked at her, wanting to hear every word she had to say.

"Finnish the job, my Queen. They're distracted right now with that signal, you won't get another chance." She said, choking on the blood filling her lungs. She coughed a couple of times, trying to clear the blood.

"Kay, I-" Zim faltered.

"Just do it. Don't let this be a waste." She shoved at her Queen.

"I'll stay with her, Zim." Dib said, looking at Zim with tear glazed eyes. Though he only knew her for a hour max, he still felt his heart break at her death.

Zim hesitated for a second before darting back over to the console. He was almost completely through, he just needed a few more minutes.

Behind them a thud was heard as three bodies hit the ground. The fighting between Ziezza and the tallest had grown more vicious. It had gotten to the point where they had fallen over the side of the catwalk. They landed in a pile, Purple on the bottom with Ziezza on top. She recovered the quickest from the fall and immediately got back to fighting the blaster away from Red.

The still confused and stunned guards made moves in their direction before stopping. They were all split emotionally between wanting to aid their distressed Brood Mother Queen, help the Tallest,and help Ziezza stop the one who tried to kill their Brood Mother Queen, causing her distress. They were confused, which eliminated them from the fight. This allowed Tak to lean back against the wall, weak from blood loss. Gaz fought the urge to rush over and abandon her position. She was trusting her girlfriend's strength to be fine. Missy had darted over to Kay, standing guard over Dib and her fallen fellow Nest Maid.

Ziezza managed to throw the gun across the room, but got struck in the head by Red's fist. It knocked her back, allowing the tallest to regain their footing. Red snarled at her in rage, ready to kill her for betraying them. He took a step towards her when he heard a shout behind him. He turned to see Zim glaring angrily at him, one finger over a button.

"What do you want, Zim?" Red snapped, fed up with everything.

"I just wanted to see your face as you lose your Empire." Zim snarled, a smug smile on his face. He pressed the button, making the screen go red for a moment.

The Tallest weren't able to feel the change, but the rest of the Irken Empire did. Everywhere, everyone stopped what they were doing as they felt a wave go over them. At first there was a strong feeling of emptiness, like something in them had disappeared. Then it was replaced by a warm feeling of wholeness, care, completion, and even love. Their antenne vibrated for a moment, at last receiving the calls of their Queen. It lasted only a few seconds, but it was something that felt a lot longer.

Red growled, then laughed. He didn't feel it along with Purple, so they thought it failed. "That's cute, Zim." Red chuckled. "Now, soldiers, seize her!"

They expected them to move instantly to obey, but they didn't. They all just stood there, looking at Zim intensely. Purple looked at them, confused.

"Go on! You heard your Tallest!" Purple shouted at them while pointing at Zim.

Still they did not move. Zim smirked at the two. When he turned off the coding he felt his connection being restored to his people. Watching the soldiers not move only confirmed this. Zim knelt by Kay for the last time. She weakly smiled at her Queen.

"It worked, my Queen." She whispered softly. "I could feel it. A-and I feel so ho-onord to have d-d-died for you and our people. For them to be free."

"And I am honored to have had such a wonderful and brave Nest Maid and friend." Zim said softly, running one hand down her cheek. "Rest now, my friend."

She smiled one last time at her Queen before falling still. Her eyes shut as death took her. A tear from Zim fell on her cheek and ran down the side.

Zim stood up to full height. He glared at the Tallest, murder in his eyes. His teeth were bared in his anger and his antenne flattened. The tallest took a step back in fear, but were quickly knocked down by Ziezza. She had retrieved the blaster in the distraction and now had it pointed at his head. Both Gaz and Zim had taken up positions on either side of Zim now that there was no longer a threat from the soldiers. They had their blasters trained on the tallest. Tak had also moved by them, though stood just behind Gaz, Gir in her good arm.

"What are you doing!?!" Red snarled. "We are the Tallest! Why are you choosing to side with this defect?"

"That's because I'm not the defect, YOU ARE." Zim shouted at them, pointing his finger at the two. "During my investigation of the Brood Mothers I came across some interesting things. One being that you two are the genetic descendants of Zakell, the first defect. He couldn't hear the Brood Mothers like everyone else could. Just like how you can't now. The three of you only felt love for yourselves and were willing to allow harm to come to your people to feed your selfish wants. The two of you, like him, were willing to kill off the Brood Mothers, just to keep your power.

"Well not anymore!" Zim snarled as he walked forward. His head and antenne were held high, his eyes narrowed. "I am the rightful heir to the throne! The throne throne that is mine by blood! I am the rightful Irken Queen! And as Queen I strip the titles of Tallest from the two of you on the grounds of betraying your duty as leaders, for using and abusing the Irken Empire and her people, and for attempting to kill your Queen and eliminating the Brood Mothers!

"Guards." Zim said, turning to the soldiers. They all straightened, ready to serve their Queen and prove their loyalty to her. "Take these two to the prison cells."

"Yes, my Queen." They said simultaneously.

"Good. Also, take the injured to the medbay." He said pointing to those still knocked out on the ground and then Tak. He then turned to look at his fallen Nest Maid. "And have someone bring Kay to the morgue. We will have a proper funeral for her."

"All due respect, my Queen." Tak said getting Zims attention. "I would rather stay by you and the family. My PACK had taken care of most of my wound. So I'm fine."

Zim looked at her for a long moment before looking at her shoulder. The bleeding had stopped. "Alright, but you will allow a medic to see to your shoulder."

They watched as the guards grabbed the former tallest. They struggled for a moment, but the threat of blasters had them complying. As they passed by Zim they glared at the Queen, hatred in their eyes. Zim stared them down until they left the room. Only once they had left did Zim relax slightly.

Tired, he turned to Dib who opened his arms. Zim wasted no time in rushing into Dib's warm embrace. He sighed as he rested his head on Dib's shoulder. He needed to take a minute to just rest and Dib was always his favorite teddy bear. He stayed like that for a moment, regaining strength while Dib rubbed his hand up and down Zims back. It soothed the stressed Irken.

"I have so much to do." Zim whispered in dibs ear.

"You won't have to do it alone." Dib whispered back. "You know that, right."

"I do." Zim sighed again. They stayed like that for a moment more before Zim pulled back. The second he did he was met with an arme full of Gir. He smiled at his little robot, then looked up at his family. They all give him reassuring smiles, letting him know they were by his side. "Alright, let's head to the front. There's something Zim needs to do." He told them before turning to Ziezza, who hadn't moved in all this time. "And you, come with us."

"Yes my Queen." She said, following them out.

"What do you need to do? And how can we help?" Dib asked Zim.

"Well, for one, most of my people are going to be very confused about what just happened." Zim started, taking Dib's hand in his. Several guards followed closely behind, protecting their new Queen. "I'm not sure how to fix that yet."

"You should send a message to everyone. You should probably send it live." Dib suggested, smiling down at Zim. It's been a hectic day, filled with things he did not plan. It didn't matter to him though. He had Zim.

"That is a good idea. It will allow me to address everyone, or at least most of them. And-" Zim was interrupted by a loud boom. It put everyone on edge, especially right after that battle. "What the hell was that!?!" Zim shouted.

"Oh shit, we forgot about the ship!" Dib explained, slapping his hand over his eyes in exasperation.

"NO!" Tak shouted, furious and devastated. "I just got my ship back!"

"Damn, sorry Tak." Gaz said sympathetically, wrapping an arm around her girlfriend's shoulders. "That really sucks."

"Don't worry, Tak." Zim smiled at his friend. "I'll get you a new ship."

They entered the front of The Massive where the pilots, communicators, commanders, and navigators had stayed during the battle. Upon the arrival of Zim they all stood. They all knew who Zim was and instinct told them what he was. Despite this, Zim could still see the confusion in their eyes. He gave them calm, reassuring smiles to settle them as he took position at the front of the ship. Right where Red and Purple would have been.

"Greetings, workers and commanders of The Massive." Zim greeted them. "I'm sure many of you are confused right now. I would be too. But I will make things clear momentarily. I need someone to set up a live view message to everyone in the Empire. And I mean every single Irken you can contact. Right now."

"Yes, my Queen!" A female Irken said from a console to his left. In this console were three Irken, including the one who spoke. "We will have it up momentarily."

"Hey, Zim." Dib said, getting his lover's attention. He gently took Gir out of Zims arms. "I'm going to step back, but you got this."

"Of course Zim gots this." Zim said with a smirk. "I am the amazing Zim."

"Damn right you are." Dib chuckled before stepping back to stand by his sister.

"The message is ready to broadcast." The female Irken told Zim.

"Good. Start it." Zim said, looking straight ahead. She pressed a button and motioned at him. "Greetings, Irken Empire. Many of you don't know who I am, but all of you know what I am. I am Brood Mother Queen Zim, the new ruler of the Irken Empire. Ten minutes ago I had undone coding in the PAKs and Control Brains that was placed there by a traitor who had interest in only serving himself. In doing so I had released all of you from its unnatural influence that blocked out my call and enslaved you. You all are now free.

"While doing so I was attacked by the former Tallest Red and Purple. They had tried to take my life and that of my family. In fact, if it were not for the sacrifice of my dear Nest Maid Kay I would not be here. She gave her life to save mine. So for their tratorus actions, both before and after shutting off the coding, I have stripped them of their titles.

"In their place, former Pre-Tallest, now Tallest Ziezza will step forward as Queen's Administrator, Advisor, and Ambassador." Zim gestured for Ziezza to step forward to the screen. She was a bit nervous and shocked at the sudden step up in rank. "These were the original duties of the Tallest, amongst many others. I have chosen to give her the title as she had tried to protect me, even before I shut off the coding, when Red and Purple tried to kill me.

"With her and the rest of my family by my side," Zim gestured for them to step forward, to which they happily obliged. "I will build a better future for the Irken Empire. A future that I will be modeling after Earth. On that planet, the one I had called my home for the last seven years, I learned many things. Things I want to bring into my Empire. On Earth you can choose your own future, the paths you want to take. There is no pre-programing to be a table or canon fodder. You pick your own path. You also make friends and your own family, instead of being forced to only love your rulers. Earth is a lot like how our society was before, and I will bring that back.

"I promise I will send out a data packet later with more information about everything. Until then I am going to get started on making some amends in the Empire. I thank you for your time and long live the Irken Empire." Zim nodded to the female Irken, who then shut off the message.

The second it cut off everyone in the room cheered. They stood up, clapping and chanting Zims name. Zim let this go on for a minute, knowing they were excited for their new future. Once he believed it had gone on for long enough he held up a hand. They settled down immediately, ready and excited to receive their new orders from their Queen.

Zim was a little unsure and looked to his family for support. They all gave it to him in the form of nods and smiles. Dib even reached out to hold his hand again. "We're all right here behind you, Zim."

"Thank you." Zim smiled back at them. He turns back to the crew. "I need someone to go through the newly accessible information on the Brood Mothers. We'll probably need three or four, actually. There are a lot of inconsistencies that will need to be combed through. I only want the correct information to be placed in the data packet."

"Yes, my Queen." Another Irken, male this time, said as he got started typing away at his computer.

"Communications, open up a channel to earth." He told them as they got to work. "Commanders, I need repair teams at the ready. We're going back to Earth to repair the damage."

"Yes, My Queen." Another responded.

"Dib, can you help Communications with contacting your dad and Earth?" Zim asked his boyfriend. Dib nodded, pecked him on the cheek, and walked over to the three. "Gaz, can you get someone to bring up a medic for Tak?"

"Sure thing, Zim." Gaz nodded and went to talk with another Irken, Tak right by her.

"Missy, please make sure funeral arrangements are being seen to for Kay." Zim told his Nest Maid. She nodded and walked over to a nearby communication station. Zim then turned to Ziezza, who looked back at him expectantly. "Tallest Ziezza."

"Yes, my Queen?" She replied questionly.

"Thank you." Zim told the slightly taller female. "If you hadn't stepped in when you did, I wouldn't be here right now."

"Of course." She smiled at Zim. "Even before I knew what you were I could feel it was wrong to harm you. Truth be told, I didn't like all the warring and invading the former Tallest did. I'm glad you're looking for a peaceful future."

"It will be, if I have anything to say about it." Zim nodded his head. "Now, will you please set a course for Earth. Full speed ahead."

"As you wish, my Queen." She smiled widely. She turned and headed towards Navigation to give them the orders. Tak had trotted after her with coordinates she had previously deleted.

"My Queen." The female Irken from communications called out to him, getting his attention. "We have gained communication with Earth and a few of its leaders. They are waiting for you."

"Good, put them on. And have Professor Membrane up front." Zim told them. They nodded, doing so. In a second the image of the Professor and several world leaders popped up across the screen of The Massive. "Greetings, leaders of Earth and Professor Membrane."

"Hi Zim." The professor waved and Zim waved back out of habit.

"First, I am Brood Mother Queen Zim, ruler of the Irken Empire. I wish to apologize for the destruction of several Earth cities. The former leaders of the Irken Empire had done so to force me to leave Earth." Zim nodded his head apologetically. "As a token of my respect and show of how truly sorry I am for being the cause of such a thing happening I will be returning with the Armada to repair the cities destroyed and damaged.

"Unknown to all of you, save for the Professor, I was on Earth for the last seven years." This had got several shocked looks from the leaders. "It had become a home to me when I was banished by my former rulers. In that time I have grown to love my adoptive world and home. I don't want any more harm to come to this planet. So I would like to propose an alliance between our two worlds.

"To help solidify this arrangement and prove I'm serious about this alliance, my head Nest Maid and I will both be taking on permanent life mates from earth. Dib, say hi." Zim smiled at his boyfriend who happily hopped up next to him.

"See, I told you all he was an alien!" Dib shouted in a gloating manner, pointing at him.

"Yes, you were right son. We should have listened." Professor Membrane chuckled.

"Hey dad."

"Yes son?"

"Dib wrapped his arm around Zims shoulder, grin turning smug. "I finally caught me that alien."

Zim broke out laughing while the Professor chuckled. "Yes, yes you did son. I'm proud of you."

"So," One of the leaders said, getting the attention of everyone. "I, for one, am very excited about this alliance. Perhaps this should be something we discuss in detail when you arrive?"

"Of course. Expect my arrival in about a day or so." Zim nodded his head as he leaned against Dib. "In the meantime, I must say goodbye. I have a lot to do."

"Of course." Another said. "Until next time, Queen Zim."

One by one they all shut off, except for the Professor. "Zim."

"Yes, Professor Membrane?" Zim asked.

"I just want to say welcome to the family." He chuckled. "And please, send my love to Gaz."

"Will do, Professor." Zim laughed as well. He hung up and sighed heavily. He led Dib to the two chairs for the former Tallest and sat down. "So, what to do first? Any ideas, Dib?"

"How about freeing the aliens and worlds those two idiots captured?" Dib offered. He had sat down and pulled Zim into his lap. Zim nuzzled his neck, enjoying being in Dibs arms.

"I will definitely do that, though that will be a project for after getting the alliance with Earth." Zim agreed, nodding his head gently. "I also have to do so in a way that they won't start an uprising. The last thing I want is to send my people into another war right as I take control."

"I understand." Dib nodded, rubbing Zims arms in a soothing manner.

"You should try explaining things to them." Gaz suggested as she walked over. She could hear them from where she was with Tak and the medic. "I'm sure they'll understand that things are different now."

"I agree." Tak nodded her head. She had fresh bandages on her shoulder and looked a bit more alert. "We could offer an interplanetary alliance with them. That would help prevent another war."

"That's a great idea, Tak." Dib smiled at her. "Don't you think so, Zim?"

"Yea, that will work." Zim nodded his head, settling on the idea. It will take work, but he was sure he could do something like that. It would be in everyone's best interest. Zim then sighed heavily.

Dib noticed and looked at him concerned. "What's wrong?"

"Dib, you know how I'm the only Brood Mother, right?" Zim stated more than asked. He nodded, listening to his lover. "That means I have a duty to my people to produce smeets and possibly more Brood Mothers. I can't do that with you."

"I understand Zim." Dib siad, hugging his lover tightly. "And I don't care. I'll love any child that comes from you as my own."

Zim chuckled and cuddled up to Dib. "I love you."

"I love you too, Zim.

Prologue

*15 Years later*

"Mom! Dad! Tell Eerack to get out of my Nest!" A young female Irken screamed in frustration as she pointed to said nest. She was pretty by Irken standards, with antenne gracefully curled back and long lashes framing deep mulberry purple eyes. Her skin was a darker green than most with light green freckles dusting around her eyes and cheeks. The most noticeable thing about her was her tiny size.

"It's not your Nest yet!" The male Irken shouted back. This one was nearly twice her size and had lighter colored skin with more red magenta eyes. "You don't even know if you're actually a Brood Mother yet!"

"I've hit two of the milestones! I hatched small and I've remained small!" She argued back, crossing her arms in anger. "All I need to do is wait another year and I'll send out my call for my Nest Maids!"

"And then you'll wait another twenty until you're thirty five before picking a mate." Dib said dryly to his teenage daughter, who huffed in response. He had been attracted to the area by all the shouting, knowing it was his Mates' Zim's eldest daughter and fourth brood son fighting again over one of the vacants Nests. "Also, Eerack, get out of Tira's nest. You know she claimed it."

"But only Brood Mothers can claim Nests! And she's not one yet, or probably not at all." Eerack huffed, but got out anyway at his father command.

A lot had happened over the last 15 years since Zim gained control over the Irken Empire. The first thing he did after establishing an alliance with Earth was to free all the worlds and species the Empire had enslaved. They were all offered a spot on the new Intergalactic World Alliance, though some refused at first. They didn't trust the Irkens yet, and with good reason. However, after some time and they watched as Zim kept and fulfilled all his promises, they joined too. Now a strong alliance was formed across the galaxy with plans for extending to the next galaxy as well.

Instead of conquering worlds Zim had instead focused on terraforming uninhibited worlds. So far three have been nearly completely terriformed, with over a dozen more well on their way. Thanks to Professor Membrane as one of the leading the Intergalactic Scientists, extreme advancements have been made, leading to the increase in terraforming speed across all worlds.

Speaking of whom, right after Zim had returned to Earth to form the alliance he had offered Professor Membrane the spot as a lead scientist to allow him to stay close to his kids. Naturally he accepted, delighted to stay near his children while also advancing his research. The Professor quickly became popular amongst the other scientists and was considered Zims personal Advisor in the realm of science. He would often talk with Zim and be seen with him and the other Advisors.

He also was the one to help alter some of the PAKs to fit on his children, Dib and Gaz. Since it was the PAKs that gave the Irkens their near immortality, Zim was worried about his human family passing away from old age. Naturally, the PAKs were designed for Irken use only and would kill any other species attempting to wear it. So some adjustments had to be made to both PAK and humans. That's right, Zim had to infuse all three Membranes with a trace of Irken DNA to enable them to use the PAKs. Though nothing on the outside changed for the humas, they did become stronger and had a higher craving for snacks.

Speaking of the human siblings, they each had formed their own place amongst the IWA. While Tak had become the Leading Commander of the Armada, Gaz was her second in command, leading the Armada when Tak had to fulfill her duties as Head Nest Maid. Dib, on the other hand, spent his time a bit differently. In Irken society there is no king spot. Just the Queen, Brood Mothers, Tallest(s), and Pre-Teallest(s) in that order. So while being Zim's Mate gave him respect, it offered no authority or power. So Dib spent a third of his time with his dad in the labs, a third as Head of Intergalactic communications, and the last third by Zims side as an Advisor, same with Tak, Gaz, and Professor Membrane.

Still, the infusion of the DNA leads us to the next thing Zim had done in the last 15 years. As the only Brood Mother Zim technically had another Mate for which to produce smeets with. A rather smart Irken that worked in the Labs. Outside of the occasional breeding they had no interaction, much to Dibs relife. So Dib, like he promised all those years ago, accepted each and every smeet that came from Zim as his own. He loved them all very much and every single one of them saw him as their dad. Even the ones that were not his.

That's right, you read that correctly. Some of the smeets Zim produced were Dibs. Thanks to the addition of Irken DNA to his he was able to produce sperm compatible enough to have children. Dib had six children that were his by blood, but they were all his by heart. And truth be told, he loved having so many children. Zim had 78 smeets, including the six from Dib.

Traditionally, that is a rather low amount for 15 years, but Zim had a large Empire to run, Alliances to look after, a society to reshape, and an entire ship to run. He did all this without the support of the other Brood Mothers he was supposed to have. He didn't have time to carry, nurse, and raise brood after brood. For him, the best he could do was one a year, tops. Luckily he had changed the laws so smeets didn't get a PAK until they had reached maturation, sixteen by human years, meaning they grew faster than the smeets with PAKs. In the fifteen years he has had smeets he believes he has produced at least three furter Brood Mothers; Tira of his first brood, Katlin of his seventh, and Resquia of his twelfth. He won't know for certain, however, until they each matured.

"Are the smeets fighting again, my love?" Zim asked as he came up from behind Dib. He wrapped his arms around his Mates chest and rested his head on his back.

"Tira and Eerack again." Dib sighed. "He keeps saying she doesn't have a claim over a Nest because she's not a Brood Mother yet."

"Well, your Brood Mothers do get territorial of a spot before they mature." Tak piped in, holding three of the newly hatched smeets from Zims latest brood. "She'll probably be one. And I'm thinking you may of had a fourth as well."

"Oh?" Zim tilted his head.

"Tala, she isn't growing as fast as the others and she was small." Tak nodded her head down to the smallest smeet in her arms. "But I guess only time will tell."

"GET OUT! You're ruining it!" Tira screamed again before charging her brother. Eerack saw her coming and took off into the mess of smeets and Nannies. Tira gave chase, screaming at him all the way.

Zim watched them, eyes not entirely focused. He had a lot on his mind lately. Even more so than normal. Dib took notice of it, how could he not? His cute little alien wasn't ever normally this quiet. In fact, Zim was just as loud now, even after taking over a Queen of the Empire.

"What's wrong?" Dib asked softly as he turned to hold his Mate. "You're not usually this quiet."

" I don't know, I'm just thinking about something." He said leaning more against his Mate.

"What about?" Dib gently encouraged me.

"Well, I'm thinking about the fall of the Brood Mothers." Zim admitted. He turned his head to look at Dib, warm brown eyes focused on magenta. "I can't stop thinking about the three Nest Maids that fought Zakell. I just, how did they know?"

"I don't know." Dib shrugged. "I don't think we ever will, either. I mean, theirs not a lot to go on, we don't even have their names. I guess it will remain a mystery."