The Irken Armada shall conquer all!

Red would quite literally hoist up Zim ( @forsaken-invader ) claws resting under his arms & holding him up, presenting him rather proudly before yelling. 

❝ GLADLY. One time, in training, Zim spent over an hour trying to lace up his boots. It was HILARIOUS how STUPID he is. ❞

Purple rubbed his shoulder  with a laugh. A dramatic  ❝ – OooooW ❞ would escape him at the punch , playfully pretending that Red’s hit had somehow actually hurt him despite the Armour they were covered in from head to toe. Watching his best friend’s mood flip entirely made Purple proud. If there was anything he was good at, it was cheering up Red.

When Purp thought about it, he never really saw the appeal in being any kind of compassionate or caring. Growing up he made himself content by putting other people down, watching people suffering and uh snacks? Yeah.

- But when it came to the one person he knew  that he cared about, Purple felt rewarded every time he could make him smile. Was this normal for irkens?  Probably not, but he didn’t see much use in thinking about it for very long (he’s like that with most things). As soon as Red was on his feet again, Purple would return the rough-housing by shoving him back onto the ground again. Snorting with laughter he rolled onto the dusty earth next to his friend.

He let them lay there for a bit, laughter fading as he stared up at the red sky above them. He smiled and sighed, breathing in the air.

As much as Irkens complained about being outdoors, Purple enjoyed moments like these - Now that he was old enough to be on the surface of a planet he wanted to take in the peace and beauty. Despite DEVASTIS being nothing but a hub for ELITE MILITARY TRAINING, it was the most he’d ever seen of the surface of..well, anything! The sun warm on his skin, he closed his eyes and smiled into the light. His hand would brush up against that of his best friend, and he would grab it and intertwine their  fingers. It was an innocent gesture - a way to show his friend that he was comfortable, happy and at home when he was at his side. Purple was radiating joy, and he wanted Red to feel it too.

Proud grin would fall onto Reds face despite the pained noise that left Purple being obviously fake. He had to be proud of himself to really play it off as it having been real though! And just as quickly as he had bullied Purp back, he would be shoved onto the ground. A soft squeak of surprise leaving him as it happened, eyes widening for a moment and just as quickly turning into a glare to his friend. But it was all in good heart, his glare soon disappearing and he would find himself laughing along with his best friend. 

They always were by one anothers side, and he could never find it in himself to be angry at him. Sure, they might have had friendly spats here but it was never anything serious. That was why they synergized so well when it came to combat- they were always on the same page. For the most part. They were a power duo of a team & nothing would tear them down! It’s why they were the VERY BEST in their classes. Other than being TALLER than everyone else too. 

As he laid there though, smile on his face, he found his blood running cold when he found that hand intertwining with his. He would swallow harshly, it was a great moment but. It felt like he shouldn’t be feeling what he was. The stupid, warm, fuzzy feeling in the pit of his innards. The way such a small touch made his brain malfunction. It made his mind feel fuzzy and his cheeks hot. Why did he feel like this he shouldn’t be feeling this way. His brain was running at a hundred miles a minute and a small bout of steam would start to emit from his PAK as he laid there. It felt like he was going to puke, was he nervous? Irkens dont get nervous. This wasn’t normal..

He wouldn’t say anything for some time, turning his face away from Purple and pressing it to the ground to try and cool it off. Despite this his hand would give a squeeze to his friend’s, not wanting to let go. He didn’t want to let go he couldn’t. Face would skew up, lips twisting into a look of uncertainty and his antennae would fall flat against his head. Nothing but radio silence on his end, he was overwhelmed with too many mixed emotions - too many things he didn’t understand. It hurt.. was he broken for feeling these weird things? He.. he wasn’t sure, but the more he thought about it the more steam would emit from his PAK - it overheating itself from the overexertion and overthinking he was doing.  

❝ Hey purple- ❞ he spoke up quietly after a while. Voice was slightly shaky, and he didn’t even know where he was going with this. Struggling to get words out properly.  ❝ I...I think there’s something wrong with me. ❞

....

❝ Dont get me wrong, I still HATE zim with a passion.

But when it comes to humans, Zim is just the LESSER of two demons. Both are absolutely horrible. 

        Antennae twitched as the taller laughed, head tipping to the side akin to how a child might nonverbally express their confusion towards a situation. A small hand even came up to scratch idly at the side of his head to complete the illusion. Had he said something funny? He hadn’t been trying to make a joke. Perhaps part of Zim’s inquiry reminded him of something humorous back on Irk? No, surely Red took his role as Tallest too seriously to find himself distracted over something so trite. Oh! Oh he must be expressing his immense PRIDE and GRATITUDE with the noise, too jubilant over Zim’s accomplishment to hold back his excitement.

The conclusion he’d come to helped to rid himself of that shameful, embarrassing anxiety he’d initially felt, and his expression began to lighten up a bit. His previously lowered antennae twitched once more, raising themselves a bit higher as Zim began to feel the comfortable familiarity of pride and victory rush over him. That was much better. He opened his mouth, ready to act all humble and proclaim that he only did what any good invader would have done, only to go on and brag about himself a little, but before he could, Red was speaking again, the tone of his voice sending a shiver down Zim’s spine.

Annoyed or exasperated tones weren’t unfamiliar to him when conversing with the Tallest. It was only fair that they might become overwhelmed or tired from all of Zim’s amazing achievements, but this tone was more or less unfamiliar to him. As he tried to process it, his PAK acted without his permission, mechanical legs extending themselves to tiptoe the Irken backwards, as if it were reacting to a life-threatening situation. That was an… unfortunate error. There was no threat to his safety here, and for Red to see his PAK act up like that was petrifying. What would he think? Creeping away so cautiously and slowly was a sign of FEAR, and to EXPLAIN that he hadn’t intended to do so might make him seem defective.

He blinked cluelessly at the words, something in him stopping or perhaps breaking as he repeated them in his mind, any lingering comfort he felt earlier quickly being stripped from him as it was replaced with an unfamiliar dejection. He… wasn’t impressed? He thought his plan was stupid? He was here to… no, that couldn’t be right. Something was wrong here. Something wasn’t right. Something was-

“My Tallest, I don’t understa-” To say he cut himself off upon Red’s sudden belligerent stance wouldn’t be entirely correct. It was as if he had the wind knocked out of him despite the lack of physical contact, breath taken from him as he gawked at the Irken towering above him, looking at him like he was a disease, pointing a WEAPON at him and declaring him a WAR CRIMINAL. This wasn’t right. This couldn’t be right. This…

“Re… M-My Tallest, there must be some sort of MISTAKE. Zim did nothing wrong!!! P-Perhaps the navigators are at fault.I-I-I-” He sounded like a broken record as he struggled to get out the words. “P-Please, My Tallest, I-I-I-I only did it to gain your respect. I… Zim-” He let out a small, pathetic squeak as he felt his PAK bump against the wall behind him, legs having carried him as far backwards as they could go.

That fear was the response that Red had wanted. He wanted to see Zim COWER beneath him, wanted to enjoy the moment and watch him suffer when he would take revenge. As he would restore glory to the Irken Empire by decommissioning the bothersome PEST that was Zim. Hold on his weaponry was tight, grin spreading wide across his face as he watched Zim back up. And just as the Invader would back up, his own P.A.K legs would move him forward, one long stride at a time. They dug into the flooring of the house, keeping him stabilized and indenting the ground as he did so - only adding to his terrifying image. 

But the DENIAL, how he CLAIMED that he had done nothing wrong would wipe that grin off of his face. Only anger falling onto it now. How STUPID was he? To believe that this was a real mission, to believe that he wouldn’t face consequences for EVERYTHING he had done. Operation Impending Doom 1, the blackouts on Irk, the Florpus hole that had destroyed half of the Armada and put the Massive in a barely usable state. And all the RAGE that he had suppressed over the years because of these things would resurface. 

His P.A.K was steaming slightly as he was overcome with rage, but the adrenaline it was pumping into him would leave him not CARING for the overexertion of it. No, the only thing he was focused on in this moment was Zim. His target. The one he was going to end. And he would continue his advance forwards, sour look on his face. 

❝ YOU! ❞ He hissed through clenched teeth. ❝ You did it to earn my RESPECT? ❞ Oh he was angry. He was completely off the rails. Honestly at this point there werent even any rails anymore. He could’ve snapped that spear with how tightly he was holding it. ❝ You will NEVER have my respect. Your mission was FAKE, ZIM. How STUPID do you have to be to think that any of this was real? To think that ANYTHING you have ever done was okay?! ❞ ❝ NO! You’re too INCOMPETENT, too STUPID, too DEFECTIVE to realize it! There will be no MERCY for you! ❞

 Red didn’t really CARE that the stupid, short navigator was suggesting to go around the Florpus hole. He let out a huff as he crossed his arms over his chest. This is why TALL people were SMARTER! Because his plan of going in a straight line was absolutely genius! He knew it was, it would show his path of destruction much more effectively! 

❝ We’re going STRAIGHT! Cant you just BLOW UP the FLORPUS or something?! Are you that USELESS? WHO programmed you to be like THIS?! ❞