Megami Joushou

Eyeing her suspiciously, Vermeil stated, "SIR unit? I thought Zee was the only Purple that became an Invader."

"Zim made sure of that," the female Irken scoffed, walking ahead of them down a short hallway, beckoning they follow. "He ruined my Evaluation and assured I never got that honor. Mimi is a creation of my own, from old SIR unit parts." Grinning back at Vermeil, she said, "But I can assure you that she, unlike-- HIS-- filthy old unit, is worth the batteries she runs on."

Megami realized that she was insulting GIR, but she chose not to take issue with it. She did, however, feel like leaving as quickly as possible. Something about this woman squicked her out. They entered a small room decorated with many lavish fabrics and bright, humming machines. Perching atop a stool, the Irken gestured to a soft little couch nearby.

Hesitantly, Megami sat. Vermeil continued standing, his antennae flicking as he looked about.

"Boy, for two young ones that came to visit ME you sure look nervous..."

Feeling a little silly for acting so shy, Megami spoke up, quietly. "May I ask your name?"

"It's Tak," the woman replied. She crossed her legs and smiled haughtily. "So, are you as bright as your father? Maybe you and I should play a game of Zeeglit for keeps... How much money do you have on you?"

"Aaah.. None. And... I don't know if I'm as bright as my father. I don't... know my father."

Furrowing her brow, Tak said, "What?" Before Megami could answer, she continued, "Waaaait. I get it. If you don't know your father, you came here looking for your mother thinking I was her. Am I right?"

"Yes."

Tak laughed heartily, slapping her knee. "Zim thought that you were MINE?! Oh, Oh, that's rich. He's such a fucking moron."

"So you're NOT her mother," Vermeil postured, pointing at Tak.

She shook her head. "Nope. Sorry." Crossing her arms, she scoffed, "You should know better, My Taller. Irkens can't breed. Not by traditional means, anyway." She turned to Megami and winked. "Though Prince Vermeil here, he was the first Irken to be born in a very long time via implantation. He could be very capable of siring children... You might want to be careful!"

Megami blushed. "I didn't know that about you, Vermeil," she said. "How does that make you different? Irkens are born from capsules, right? You were born from another Irken?"

"Y-yes..." Vermeil replied quietly, his posture slackening. He should have assumed that this woman, being Irken, would know about him. But he didn't, and he wasn't prepared at all for this conversation. "I was created in a test tube and placed inside a female... Then I was laid and put into... a capsule. It's not so different, really."

"Except you weren't engineered like the rest of us. 100% Tallest genes, you are. Pretty ingenious. Totally unmodified by machines." Tak grinned. "I wonder if I'm the only other Irken that caught on to that... I mean, when you think about it, it really wasn't fair. But who were we to argue with our Tallests?"

"I had the same chances of being Tall as anyone else," Vermeil shot back, glaring. "I was a product of my parents' love for eachother."

Tak grimaced. "If by 'love' you mean 'ambition,' then you're right." She looked at Megami again. "When Irkens die, Megami dearest, their Paks-- basically, their souls-- are drained and dispersed into the collective knowledge. They have to be, because though Paks struggle to attach to another host, the host usually rejects them."

"Shut up."

"Vermeil?" Fear was plain on Megami's face.

Tak contined, smiling as she watched Vermeil's fists clench. "But if an Irken were able to produce-- what's a good word-- an heir? Yes, an heir with their genes, the Pak has an almost 98% success rate of reattachment. Thusly, an Irken wouldn't have to rejoin the collective... Instead he could live on forever."

"They didn't do that to me," Vermeil asserted, his features taut with rage. "I have my own Pak taken from the collective just like any other Irken. You're spouting Anarchist bullshit. Typical of a failed Invader. My parents were in love and they loved me!"

"You would know a failed Invader when you saw one, eh Vermeil?" Tak's cool demeanor didn't change. "All that idealistic, romantic tripe sounds like typical Tenn talk. She was weak-willed and her mission came down around her like a house of cards."

Vermeil drew a long, steadying breath. Megami had heard enough. "Please, Miss Tak. Please stop."

"Don't defend this filth, Megami," Tak answered. "Why hasn't he told you who your parents are?"

The question hit both of them like a ton of bricks. They both stood, slack-jawed...

Kill her, Vermeil. Kill her before she says anything! She knows. She knows.

No... No... I can't do it. I can't... Not in front of Megami.

"Vermeil? Do you... know who my parents are?"

"Yes, Megami. He does."

Shaking his head vehemently, Vermeil cried, "No, Megami! I don't. This bitch is spewing lies. Lies. Lies. Lies!"

He was panicking. Megami had never seen him like that before...

...and she knew that, for that reason, Tak wasn't lying at all.

"Why don't you answer my question, Vermeil?" Tak cried, jumping to her feet. "Why haven't you told her, hmm?"

"Shut up!"

Tears were streaming down Megami's face. Her muscles had gone limp; she couldn't find a way to stand. "I don't need to be told why. I understand now. You think I'm stupid, don't you? But I'm not, I've put all the pieces together now. Your parents are the Red and Purple Tallests, right? You were created by them and you were going to be raised to take over for them. You were going to rule the entire Irken race. But Zim killed them first and you were forced to run away and hide..."

Tak licked her lips. "Go on."

Vermeil closed his eyes.

"...You knew Zim was still alive but you couldn't find him because HE was hiding. But you somehow found out about me, and the fact that I had GIR... Because Dib was Zim's lover, and Gaz was Dib's sister." She finally found the strength to stand. "And you... You... USED ME. To get to Zim! You both weren't sparring at all!"

"No... No, Megami, we weren't. I... I did... try to kill him." He turned and grabbed a pair of her hands. "But... I didn't. Because of you, Megami."

She sobbed, but didn't otherwise react.

"I love you so much, Megami. Please try to understand. I didn't want to use you. But I had to."

"Sure you did," Tak spat.

Turning and shaking a fist, Vermeil bellowed, "Shut the fuck up, you dried-up old bitch!!" Spinning wildly back to Meg, he cried, "Please, Megami. Please believe me."

"If you loved me, you wouldn't have lied to me all this time. You wouldn't have tried to destroy the only path I had to answers... NO-- You would have told me the answers in the first place!" She ripped her hands away from his grip. "Who are my parents, Vermeil?! Where are they?!"

"I know," Tak stated calmly. "I'll tell you. But first, he has to leave."

Pure hatred burned in Megami's eyes as she turned to Vermeil. "I'm going to get GIR off of that ship. And then you're going to leave."

Standing stalk-still, Vermeil murmered, "I'm not going anywhere, Megami. You don't understand. I want you to understand."

"GIR's with you, eh?" Tak observed. "Well, maybe he'll prove useful... I'll have Mimi go get him so you don't even have to go back on that ship." Mimi took off through the door. "Handy, isn't she?"

"Good," Meg hissed. "Now all you have to do is leave."

"I'm not leaving." His jaw was set. "You'll have to kill me first."

To his surprise, Megami answered, "Okay."

She advanced on him in a flurry of movement. He jumped backward through the door so they were in the hallway again. First she kicked from the right side; he easily blocked her. A punch on the left. He dodged. "Please listen to me, Megami--"

"Fuck you." From the right, the left, from below she continued to assault him, pushing him further backwards down the hall. Her technique wasn't terribly advanced but she was fast, and she finally managed to land a blow to the side of his neck. Wincing, he grabbed the offending hand. Why did he still have faith that he could convince her? Where was this sickening sense of hope coming from?

Struggling to keep hold of her hand, he grunted, "Megami, please, let's talk this out."

"Whatever you want from me, you're going to have to get it somewhere else!" She kicked him between the legs. He flinched but didn't move. "You're a filthy liar and I never want to see you again!" Flailing her limbs wildly, she began to sob again.

Desperation must have dulled his sensibilities, because he knew that in her current emotional state she wasn't to be trifled with. When the familiar blue light began burning in her eyes, he barely had time to react before she punched him full in the face, her powers completely manifested, knocking him out cold.