Almighty Tallest (Red & Purple)

The Almighty Tallest are rulers of the Irken race, selected exclusively for their superiority in height; they oversee and direct the operations of their empire, essentially Operation Impending Doom 2—their latest effort at universal domination. The Tallest despise Zim for his insanity and destructive temperament (and for nearly annihilating their home planet), which is why they exiled him and led him to believe that he was being given a secret mission. Of the two Tallest, Red is proven to be more competent and likely to solve a major problem, while Purple tends to panic more in the face of danger. They both love their positions, and also share an obsession with snacks.

INITIAL CROSSOVERS
Another one of Zim's dreaded transmissions reaches the Tallest one day, and both Red and Purple are forced to watch and listen to his latest detailed scheme—this time having to do with finally defeating his apparent personal nemesis, called "Dib." Purple expresses distaste at the sight of this captured human, but neither of the Tallest show any actual interest in Zim's scheme otherwise; they both remain indifferent throughout the message, even as the procedure to wipe out the human's brain begins. To the surprise of absolutely no one from aboard the Massive, Zim's plan goes horribly wrong, as his GIR unit evidently fries the control circuits and sabotages the entire operation, engulfing the entire lab in brightness. Red and Purple end the transmission and pay it no further mind as they return to their casual luxury.

STAR-MOON HOMEWORLD INVASION
Some time later, the Tallest become aware of a previously concealed planet that appears to be abundant with snacks. A fraction of the armada is summoned, and the Irkens promptly make their way toward this unknown world, by order of the Tallest themselves (clearly eager to possess these snacks); upon arrival, they come across a band of cycloptic inhabitants, who become enslaved within hours. Red and Purple oversee the entire invasion from aboard their flagship, being able to simply watch as their forces conquer the populace and lay waste to the planet surface.
 *  "Well, we hear they have lots of snacks!"   -Purple 
 *  "Yeah! Especially the donuts!"   -Red 

However, they fail to notice the disappearance of two specific aliens, only learning of their covert activity when they later show themselves along with an alliance of rebellious creatures—clearly not from this world, seeing as some of them even appear to be human.



The Tallest come face-to-face with this group as they are captured and brought aboard the Massive, and the two Irken leaders waste no time in belittling this petty attempt of resistance. Nevertheless, their fears are confirmed when one of these beings is identified as the apparent Earth leader, and dread befalls Red and Purple as they speculate that Zim is now involved in this; even the human "Dib" is recognized amongst the group of rebels. A blue hedgehog then addresses the Tallest and confirms that they know Zim, by demanding a reason for their sending him to conquer the planet Earth.

Red observes the manner in which this individual speaks of Zim, and realizes that they seem to have a common enemy. In response, he and Purple explain to the alliance the details of his exile and the true nature of his "mission" on Earth, making it clear that they had no knowledge of the Earth's existence in the first place, and so had no intention of marking it for invasion; however, they have also known how truly incapable Zim is at planetary conquest—which is why they ultimately chose not to resolve the issue. During the conversation, the Tallest also elaborate on their motives behind the attack on this current planet, and the alliance appeals for the inhabitants' freedom and the Irkens' departure. In particular, the Earth leader (a small boy whom the Tallest initially regard with laughter) suggests that perhaps their lust for snacks can be fulfilled elsewhere, though Red and Purple outright refuse to come anywhere near Earth.

Then, the blue hedgehog makes a proposal of his own: that the Irkens assist the alliance in defeating another rival empire, led by a "Doctor Eggman." At first the Tallest simply disregard this idea, making it clear that they have no desire to fight a meaningless war for these intruders, nor do they want an encounter with Zim; however, when the prospect of donuts is introduced, Purple in particular immediately responds with enthusiasm, and he and Red both begin calling off the invasion of the Star-Moon planet and organizing their ships for combat. The Tallest and the alliance form a coalition, and they all soon depart for Earth, fully prepared to battle the Eggman Empire and achieve victory.

THE WAR ABOVE EARTH Red & Purple follow the Earth Leader as he and his allies lead the way to Earth; upon arrival, this "Eggman" has clearly made his presence known, for there awaits not only a varied and multiplied fleet, but a large, orbital space station also, bearing a gigantic mustached-face (presumably his own). While inwardly questioning this Doctor's sanity, the Tallest give the order to open fire—and as such, the area erupts into chaos, with the Irken armada instantly decimating entire vessels in the Doctor's fleet. Red and Purple observe the waging battle, giving orders to their pilots, and at one point or another hearing what the Earth Leader needs accomplished and providing that for him—such as laying waste to the "Egg Carrier" blockade in front of the space station. In their mind, the battle is already all but won, seeing how easily their weaponry is dominating the field, and so Red even takes a seat and helps himself to a drink while the fighting is going on.

The Tallest are told that they must not destroy the station until the Earth Leader and his allies are out with the "chaos emeralds" (whatever those are), and Purple makes sure that the donuts are also on their list of priorities. However, while the armada is busy wiping out every part of the Doctor's fleet in the meantime, the Tallest notice that a robot is tossing around the ship holding the Earth Leader and his allies, preventing them from entering the station; Red sends out an elite squadron of stealth vessels to eliminate the robot, and the task is promptly completed.

But then, a bright surge of energy suddenly appears atop the space station, gathering everyone's attention; the Tallest hear from the alliance of heroes that the charged energy is coming from a "Final Egg Blaster," which is apparently capable of destroying just about anything. Red and Purple panic, unsure of whether or not their vessels can sustain such firepower—but thanks to the Star-Moon aliens and their energy shield which expands arond the entire armada, the Blaster fails to destroy any of them. Red immediately takes initiative, using the Massive's particle cannon to instantly destroy the now-dormant Final Egg Blaster, effectively sealing the Irkens' victory.

The Earth Leader and his allies are now free to enter the station, and the armada is tasked with keeping the Doctor's remaining forces at bay; the Tallest then stand by and wait for the alliance of heroes to complete their mission—though not without confusion, as a gigantic energy blast shoots upward from the top of the station at one point, several robots later fly in from Earth and plow through one of the station's windows, all of the lights inside appear to go dark, a colossal fireball shoots out and is sent hurtling through deep space, and finally, a powerful enough explosion from within sends the station plummeting toward the planet. The armada fires at the station in an attempt to destroy it before it can reach the surface, but the Tallest order them all to hold their fire, for the Earth Leader and his allies are still inside collecting the donuts. Red & Purple watch anxiously, waiting for the heroes to make their escape from the falling space station—but instead, the station itself ultimately begins slowly ascending back out of the Earth's atmosphere, much to the Tallest's complete bewilderment; then, in a matter of seconds, the Death Egg suddenly vanishes in a flash of light.

Red and Purple are stunned. For a moment they believe the alliance of heroes to be gone along with the space station. But then, they decide to take the Massive down to the planet surface and see just what happened; sure enough, according to the ship's computer they are all on an island below, safe and sound. The Tallest venture to the island themselves and confirm the alliance's survival, as the Earth Leader comes forward with a bag of donuts, as promised. Declaraing the mission a success, Red & Purple (immediately helping themselves to their reward) quickly take their leave, for they notice Zim attempting to make his way over to them. Back aboard the Massive, which immediately takes off, Purple excitedly asks who wants some donuts.

SCATTERING OF THE IRKEN ARMADA
Time goes on, and matters go back to normal for the Tallest; they continue to oversee their empire's operations in galactic conquest, casually enjoying their snacks and carefree lifestyle all the while. There comes a day, however, when the affairs that they took part in above the planet Earth resurface, as the Massive indicates the presence of the Death Egg on one of their conquered worlds, Blorch. Red and Purple are surprised, as they learn that the station evidently appeared out of nowhere and collided with the planet, effectively crash-landing and falling apart completely. Red orders their crewmen to contact Invader Skoodge and task him with investigating the wreckage; Purple recalls Skoodge's apparent death some time ago, but Red states that the Irken is in fact alive and well. He also remembers the Death Egg's mysterious disappearance when they last encountered it, and wonders why the station would suddenly show up on Blorch, of all places. Purple, however, is less concerned about that and more reminiscent of the donuts they received after the battle.
 * "Zim knows that we lied to him. He'll be more unstable and dangerous than ever... We have no choice." -Red, just before he & Purple escape from the besieged Massive

Something else grabs everyone's attention, however, as one of the crewmen notices a small, one-man ship approaching, with its identification disabled; when displayed on-screen, the Tallest recognize it as an Irken vessel, curious as to how it got so deep into space on its own—when suddenly, the ship fires its weapons directly at the Massive. Red immediately orders the armada to return fire, realizing instantly that they have a rogue vessel in their midst. As countless Irken ships give chase, Purple inquires who the pilot is, and Red orders an identification from the crewmen, who oblige; on the display screen, the image reveals none other than Zim piloting the rogue vessel. The Tallest both recoil in shock, and Red gives the order again to destroy him.

Though the small ship is soon vaporized, the Tallest see Zim still alive, now flying via his PAK's jets; as he continues to make his way toward the Massive, Purple frantically asks what he wants, and Red slowly puts two and two together— Clearly Zim knows about the Tallest lying to him about his mission on Earth, judging by his sense of vengeance and rage, and now he is attempting an assassination. When Zim begins cutting his way through the Massive's exterior, Red realizes that he and Purple need to get themselves out, convincing a baffled Purple that Zim is now more dangerous than ever, willing to stop at nothing to destroy them both. Taking into account how unstable Zim was even before today, the Tallest know that this is truly saying something.



So, they tell their crewmen that Zim is going to take the Massive, and they give the order to take the armada as far away as possible. Red bids the crewmen farewell, for the first time uncertain of his and Purple's survival.

The Tallest quickly make their way to the hangar, where they board a Viral Tank and escape from the Massive; however, not long afterward, a laser blast from the Massive's particle cannon grazes the exterior of their vessel, and Purple & Red realize that Zim is already at the helm of the entire ship. Hastily, they attempt to prepare the Viral Tank for lightspeed, with Purple in charge of setting the destination, and soon they are able to activate hyperdrive and flee the scene before Zim can destroy them.

Now traveling through hyperspace, Red & Purple breathe a sigh of relief, amazed that they survived the attack. When Red inquires where they are going, Purple states that the destination has been set for Earth, but only because he was in distress and did not know what other coordinates to place; however, Red contemplates this development, deciding that it is not a bad place to go—considering how many other foreign worlds have become opposed to the Irken regime, and that the Tallest actually have mutual allies on Earth. Purple knows that he speaks of the Earth Leader and the rest of his alliance of heroes, and wonders whether they can be counted on, to which Red replies that he believes they can. As their ship presses on, Purple takes the time to ask if Red remembered to bring the nachos, and Red assures Purple that he did.

MUSHROOM KINGDOM INCURSION
 After coming out of lightspeed, the Viral Tank prepares to enter Earth's atmosphere, but finds itself colliding with an invisible barrier of some sort, leaving the Tallest confused; they attempt to plow through said barrier multiple times, until finally it seems to relent—though it sends their ship plummeting, forced to crash-land near a castle, where some of their mutual allies happen to be. Purple, however, fails to recognize them, and promptly activates his PAK weaponry out of sheer hysteria; Red attempts to calm Purple down, while he notices these civilians are very shaken by their abrupt arrival. Seeing that this is not exactly helping their situation, Red quickly states that they have not come to attack anyone (while Purple mutters that this is a first for them), but the apparent ruler of this land is not quite convinced. Then, the Tallest notice that Zim's robot, GIR, is among them, along with Minimoose; Red gets GIR to recognize him, which prompts Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi to suddenly remember the Tallest also. After they explain to the princess their last encounter with Red & Purple, she is then satisfied that the two Irken leaders do not intend to cause trouble.

 They are invited into the castle, and before long, an ocean of snacks is provided for them, which they immediately dive into and begin devouring. Whilst gorging themselves, Red and Purple explain what caused the precariousness of their arrival, and upon mentioning the invisible barrier, the princess and her friends attribute this to a  secret weapon  that they apparently had a hand in activating, in order to keep out a  specific group of enemies. "Sonic" is mentioned, and Red recalls meeting the blue hedgehog last time; however, he finds that he does not remember meeting this princess, who introduces herself as Princess Toadstool of the Mushroom Kingdom. The Tallest then take this time to request that they use this kingdom as a temporary refuge from Zim, whom they explain is attempting to destroy them both. While the princess does not hesitate to allow Red and Purple sanctuary, she does make a request of them: their assistance in forming a sufficient military force for the kingdom, as a countermeasure against future invasions. The Tallest consider and agree to these terms, recognizing that this also benefits their own protection.

 After much time spent converting a multitude of the town's civilians from helpless   Toads   to battle-ready   soldiers, the Tallest present the princess with her new army; completely competent, heavily equipped with high-tech weaponry, and instilled with the element of surprise, Red & Purple are certain that the kingdom's security is in good hands. The princess clearly approves, and so she thanks the Tallest and tells them they can stay for as long as they like—prompting Purple to gleefully rush back inside for more snacks.

Red remains outside with the princess, observing this new environment, when they abruptly come across a squadron of   SIR units   that have just teleported in; there is a moment or two of confusion, before the SIRs suddenly leap forward in attack formation, shocking Red & the princess—but the new Toad soldiers immediately launch themselves into action, expertly fighting off the SIR units and defending their leaders all the while.



Red instantly understands that these robots were sent by Zim, and informs the princess of this, while watching the ensuing battle (now including Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi, come to help). One SIR in particular comes close to landing a kick on Red, but two Toad soldiers grab the robot and throw it back toward an energy blast fired by another soldier. While Red is not overly worried —rather, he is more impressed with the Toad army's bravado than anything —he and the princess decide that they should probably head indoors while the fight wages on.

Their departure does not go unnoticed by the SIRs, one of which fires a missile at Red, but he sees Yoshi grab the missile with his tongue and spit it back toward their enemies. Red and the princess soon reach the castle and run inside, while two battle turrets rise up from the water nearby and cover their exit. Once safely indoors, Red attempts to find Purple — who is back in the room filled with snacks, completely unaware of what's happening. Later, they find Luigi crashing through the ceiling, and Red hears him tell Peach that GIR attacked him and his allies out of nowhere; this unsettles Red slightly, as he realizes that Zim must have regained control of his robot, who is now acting on Zim's orders once more.

However, the SIR units soon vanish, as witnessed from inside; Red observes as Mario & Yoshi return, and he hears that GIR has disappeared also... nor is there any sign of Minimoose, either, now that Red thinks about it. He briefly wonders if perhaps both of them are now back under Zim's control — but before he can speculate on this further, Purple reenters the room, having stuffed himself with snacks and asking if he missed anything important. No one feels compelled to answer him.

Aftermath
 Not long after the surprise incursion, one of the Toad soldiers hurriedly enters the castle and informs Princess Toadstool of an island attack, involving a young boy and his companions; the Tallest inquire what's going on, and Peach says that she thinks she knows who the young boy is. As she, Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, and a contingent of her new Toad pilots take their leave to rescue these apparent allies of theirs, Purple simply turns his attention back to the nearby pretzels; Red, on the other hand, is not quite so distracted, as he checks the sensory systems for himself. Sure enough, the aforementioned boy is revealed to be the Earth Leader, and he is indeed accompanied by more allies. Remembering why they came here, Red relates this information to Purple; as night falls outside, and they realize that the princess may not be back with the Earth Leader until morning, the Tallest try to figure out how they ought to proceed with enlisting their help against Zim in the meantime.
 * "Oh, yes, he's getting along swimmingly, just landed a fine, honest line of work, and oh yeah — HE'S TRYING TO KILL US!!"   -Purple, explaining the Zim situation to Calvin (sarcastically) 

 However, Red suddenly receives an incoming transmission via his PAK, and the informant appears to be Invader Skoodge (much to Purple's distaste). Skoodge expresses surprise and relief that the Tallest are alive, and Red asks how he knows they were in danger in the first place; when they hear that Skoodge has been attempting to monitor their movements after hearing about Zim's attack on the armada, Purple becomes incensed with the thought that Zim might be using those scans to find out where they are—only to hear from Red that he apparently already knows, and that he already sent a battalion of SIR units to attack them not long ago. Red further belittles Purple for being so distracted with snacks that he did not even notice this was happening, but Purple points out that there was jell-o included in the snack room, which ironically piques Red's interest for a moment. Returning to topic, Red asks Skoodge where he is, and Skoodge tells them about his investigations of the crashed Death Egg on Blorch, mentioning a group of survivors. Purple hears him refer to a hedgehog, and immediately assumes he is talking about Sonic, though Skoodge never explicitly states that the hedgehog is blue. However, something appears to distract Skoodge on the other end, causing him to slowly back away and then start running as he evidently falls under attack; the transmission abruptly ends, and Red's attempts to get him back prove futile. Purple, on the other hand, nonchalantly figures that this could be the moment that Skoodge finally dies.

Morning comes, as does the Earth Leader and his allies, escorted in by the princess and her entourage. Red greets the boy and asks if he is alright, and the boy confirms that he is, while an unfamiliar girl states that she remembers seeing him & Purple before, apparently after the War Above Earth. One of these allies, however, is less considerate; he speaks to the Tallest in a rude tone, demanding to know what is going on and even threatening to punch someone if he is not told. Purple steps forward and wastes no time in criticizing this child's conduct, stating that he has no business telling him and Red what to do; when the bully tells Purple to give him a reason why he should listen, Purple declares several —namely, that he is speaking to the leaders of a vast galactic armada, that they are both much taller than him, and that he, the bully, has no real significance, seeing as he deems it necessary to act superior when clearly he has not ever picked a fair fight in his life. Red is impressed, as the bully appears defeated and walks away.

 The Tallest then turn their attention back to the Earth Leader, and begin to explain the current threat against their lives. They elaborate on Zim having somehow learned the truth about his fake mission, the fact that he is already in control of their main flagship, the armada being forced to scatter across the universe, and the circumstances under which the two of them came to arrive on Earth. Red also mentions Zim's previous acquaintance with the Earth Leader, and although Purple is skeptical that Zim would listen to sense even from his past allies, Red points out that this group of heroes were the few people he ended up trusting. The Earth Leader states that he is unsure, bringing up an apparent conflict between Zim and Sonic some time ago —which causes Purple to suddenly mention Sonic's presence on Blorch. Everyone is bewildered, and Red hastily makes clear that the hedgehog on Blorch may not even be Sonic at all. Details are requested, and Red talks about Blorch being the Irkens' parking structure planet, as well as the current site of the crashed Death Egg; this, of course, gets the Earth Leader's attention, as he seems to guess who the true main survivor is. Someone named "Shadow," evidently, is the hedgehog that Skoodge mentioned, according to the Earth Leader — and the Tallest surmise that it was he who sent the Death Egg away during the battle.

 Suddenly, there is an alert that appears on Red's monitoring screen; he discovers that the Massive itself is currently traveling through hyperspace, coming straight for Earth. Horror-struck, he relays this to everyone, and while they all express their shock and terror, Mario appears to take it the worst, as he collapses and falls unconscious. The princess rushes to his side, and everyone else follows suit; while Purple wonders whether Mario is alright, Red realizes that they now have little time to waste. He goes outside to prepare the Toad pilots for war. DOGFIGHT AGAINST THE MASSIVE The Tallest organize their forces for engaging in combat against the Massive, while also sending several soldiers to the newly-created Anti-Massive Batteries stationed on opposite ends of the kingdom, in order to keep Zim out. Red & Purple are certain that the invisible barrier which obstructed their own arrival will be unable to last long against the enormity of the Massive —assuming said barrier is still active at all. Nevertheless, they intend to use their foreknowledge of the ship's inner workings, functions, and capabilities to help the Toad pilots know ahead of time what to aim for, and how best to keep Zim busy, at least.

 Soon, the moment arrives for the Toad pilots to take their jet planes up into space, led by Luigi & Yoshi in a plane of their own, as the Tallest see the Massive reaching Earth. They observe intently as their newly-trained forces fare relatively well against the mighty flagship for some time, and the two of them converse jokingly about what the Toads used to be like before they received their training ( even mentioning their proclivity for directing people to other castles).

 Red & Purple are later joined by Hobbes, Susie, and Moe, all of them gazing upward as the battle rages on. Later, they are informed by one of the Toad pilots that the plane containing Luigi and Yoshi has been destroyed, which causes everyone to worry about whether or not they survived. To make matters worse, the Massive begins to speed toward the planet shortly afterward, and Red instinctively gives the order for the ground troops to fire the Anti-Massive Batteries. Fortunately, the strategy succeeds, and the Massive is effectively pushed back out into space, giving the Tallest good reason to breathe a sigh of relief once more. Not long after battle resumes, however, Red and Purple realize that Zim is deploying more SIR units to fight off the Toad pilots.

 When the Earth Leader and the princess join the onlooking group later on, Red explains the situation to them, but remains certain that the Anti-Massive Batteries will continue to do their job well —that is, until he receives word that said cannons have fallen under attack. As everyone wonders who could be attacking them, GIR is suddenly spotted flying past; before the Tallest can stop him, the Earth Leader attempts to speak to GIR, who instantly turns around and blasts the boy off of his feet with a fired missile, before taking off again. As Peach and Susie rush to the boy's aid, the tiger speculates that GIR is attacking the Batteries on Zim's orders, at which point Red tries to contact the ground troops stationed at the other cannon; however, he hears the cannon already being attacked and the soldiers yelling in agony as they are disposed of. Red undergoes a sense of despair, realizing that this time, Zim appears to have the upper hand.

In spite of the Toads' efforts, nothing seems to be slowing the Massive down as it resumes making its way toward the planet; the Tallest, knowing what capabilities lie with the Massive, do not see any point of evacuating, either. Though Mario comes outside (having made a full recovery) and informs everyone that Luigi and Yoshi are still alive up above —though how he knows this is unclear —Red & Purple are certain that Zim is going to prevail no matter what they do.

 Then, the arrival of the blue hedgehog and his group of allies grabs everyone's attention, including the Tallest (Red acting smug toward Purple about Sonic not being on Blorch), as they declare their refusal to give up. Possessing their own jet plane, these newcomers formulate a plan to buy as much time as possible for the Tallest and everyone else to get themselves to safety; even though Red still sees this as a long shot, he & Purple agree that they still ought to try. They contact the Toad pilots and order them to keep fighting, while informing them that Sonic and his crew have arrived to assist them. Then, as battle resumes, the princess directs everyone into the castle, stating that one of its secret passageways should get them where they need to go; Red & Purple hastily make their way inside, though they notice the Earth Leader being hesitant about leaving his allies behind to fight the Massive.

 Nevertheless, their escape plan moves forward, but Purple stops at one point to state that they ought not to leave the snacks behind; Red agrees, despite his earlier criticism toward Purple, and they both grab as much as they can carry, before following everyone else down the secret passage. They run through many different hallways and hidden paths, in the hopes of somehow eluding Zim —but some time later, Mario stops and frantically informs everyone that the Massive has begun to speed straight toward their location. Red & Purple become terrified, dropping all the snacks they were carrying, and they all try to run as fast as they can through the underground. Eventually, however, a large laser blast from above decimates the ceiling, and everyone dives out of the way of the falling debris; the Tallest get to their feet, look up in the sky, and see the Massive right there, prepared to destroy them —but they also spot a strange entity appearing up above, swirling and rotating near the Massive. Purple and Red wonder what it is, as does everyone. Soon, it begins to pull the ship back, much to the Tallest's confusion, though it does not seem to stop Zim from making a last ditch effort to grab them via tractor beam, as Mario manages to dive forward and push them both out of its line of sight just in time. When they get back up, however, they see the beam shifting toward the Earth Leader instead; but as he begins to rise up off the ground, the princess suddenly leaps forward and shoves the boy out, allowing herself to be taken in his place. The Tallest are frozen in shock, hardly daring to believe what they have just witnessed, as the tractor beam takes the princess just as the wormhole in the sky takes the Massive, before vanishing without a trace. <h5 style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:16.5pt;">Aftermath

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:16.5pt;">Red and Purple, in utter incredulity that they actually managed to survive this incident, pull themselves and everyone else out of the hole in the ground; their minds still racing over what just happened, the Tallest notice that the Earth Leader appears especially traumatized. All who had been battling the Massive soon arrive, the hedgehog asking if everyone is alright — and before anyone else can answer, the Earth Leader is seen going ballistic, as neither he nor the rest of the group have any idea where the princess was taken. The Tallest observe as the boy instantly flares up at the suggestion that Peach might be dead, and after he runs off to calm himself down, the others are informed by Hobbes that his frustration has a great deal to do with him believing Peach to be his actual mother. Red & Purple are not quite sure what to make of this, except that vengeance against Zim seems to have just been made personal, in the boy's case. What truly gets the Tallest's attention is the unexpected crash-landing of Invader Skoodge from up above, and he seems to have brought a now-unconscious GIR along with him.
 * "...No. The time for cowering is past." -Red, facing a hostile GIR, who aims to destroy him

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:16.5pt;">The Tallest drag the robot back to the castle, instructing the remaining Toad militia to go into town & calm the panicking citizens, and to await further orders. Red inspects GIR, recalling that he was originally made of garbage when first given to Zim, and so going about repairing this robot would be a different sort of process than it would be for an ordinary SIR unit; Purple also points out that any wrong move in doing so would trigger a violent reawakening from this antagonistic GIR, and he would not exactly be keen on divulging any sort of information on Zim's new whereabouts, if indeed he possesses any. The group then contemplates what they ought to do, as they appear to have a problematic situation on their hands.

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:16.5pt;">However, they are soon treated to an abrupt reawakening anyway, as GIR suddenly comes to and instantly attacks everyone, starting with Sonic; the Tallest hastily scatter along with everyone else, though a few of them rush forward to help fight the robot. Unsure of what to do, Red & Purple simply observe as the ensuing brawl turns especially brutal, with GIR tossing people aside left and right — until eventually, he stops and sets his sights on the Tallest. Cream the Rabbit comes to their defense, but GIR simply smacks her to the ground, much to Red and Purple's antipathy; what happens next, however, catches Purple particularly by surprise, as the bully he had chastised earlier bravely comes forward and punches the robot as hard as he can, sending it flying until it smashes its head against a wall.



<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:16.5pt;">This attack inspires everyone to get back up and keep fighting, though the Tallest are still deciding whether or not they should get involved, seeing as much of their past combat experience simply had to do with commanding the field and giving orders for others to follow. But eventually, the time comes when they have no other choice, as GIR tosses the Earth Leader to the ground and faces the Tallest once more from midair; Red stands up, faces GIR, and activates his PAK weaponry, stating that he is done cowering in fear. He fires two large particle blasts from his PAK legs and effectively incinerates GIR's jets, sending him plummeting toward the ground & crashing on impact.

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:16.5pt;">With the robot out of commission, the rabbit then comes forward and tries to talk some sense into GIR, who still retains hostility despite his defeat. Red & Purple are prepared to intervene if GIR makes a move, as are Sonic and Knuckles —but after some time, Cream's words seem to have an impact on GIR, as he suddenly short-circuits and powers down. What the Tallest recognize as the self-repair process follows, and they become confused as to why it hadn't been functional until now; though soon it does not matter, as GIR returns to his crazy, maniacal self, much to everyone's delight and relief.

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:16.5pt;"> The group is soon contacted by a human investigator, apparently on the heroes' side; he and his team have evidently located what might have summoned the wormhole which sent the Massive away, going by the name of "the Infernal Machine." Red & Purple listen intently, learning at last about this other enemy who has been plauging the alliance of heroes as of late: someone named Eggman Nega, who seems to be bent on obliterating reality itself. If it were up to the Tallest, and it were only Zim who was trapped wherever this "Nega" person sent him, the Tallest would simply leave him to rot for everything he has done; however, as it is, he also has a prisoner who is very important to the heroes, and especially the Earth Leader. So, Red & Purple do not object when the prospect of a rescue mission is put forward, despite the risks of having to bring Zim and the Massive back out as well.

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:16.5pt;"> Nevertheless, the Tallest know that they will need as much resistance as they can get when and if this is done, so they volunteer to venture out into space and rally the Irken armada once more; in their minds, the running and hiding stage is over, and the time has come to strike back against their enemy. However, while most of the heroes will be going into the wormhole to save the princess, the Earth Leader apparently deems it necessary to send Susie into space with Red and Purple, who had not been anticipating this. Though they do not particularly have a problem with others going with them (as more are selected by Sonic), they draw the line at Skoodge being one of their number, considering how annoyed they are by him. Skoodge instead goes with the team venturing into the wormhole, and the Tallest are joined by those accompanying them into space. Additionally, Minimoose returns, and he comes bearing two sets of powerful objects, one of them being the "chaos emeralds" that were mentioned once before; the others, identified as the "sacred elements," are given to the Tallest and their crew, in case they run into trouble. <h3 style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:16.5pt;"> MELEE ON THE STAR-MOON HOMEWORLD 


 *  "Hey, I thought Irkens were vulnerable to water?"   -Miles "Tails" Prower 
 *  "Well, see, we're the Almighty Tallest."   -Purple 
 *  "...And...?"   -Tails 
 *  "That's it."   -Purple 
 *  "Oh."   -Tails 

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:16.5pt;">After sending the rescue team on their way, Red & Purple board the Viral Tank along with their group, and they all take off, leaving Earth behind and heading into deep space to seek out the Irkens. Once they reach a distant part of the cosmos, the Tallest send a rallying message out to wherever the armada may be; for a while they have no luck, as there apparently aren't even any signals nearby to speak of. Purple criticizes Red's last order to their crewmen — that they rendezvous elsewhere and stay as far away from their leaders as possible — but Red retorts that Purple was the one who panicked and sent them both to Earth for no real reason. Their bickering is cut short, however, when Susie brings up another option: that they seek out the help of another race of aliens with whom they had crossed paths before. Red & Purple exchange glances, as it slowly dawns on them that she is speaking of the Star-Moon Alliance.

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:16.5pt;">Galaxoid and Nebular greet them all as they arrive on the Star-Moon homeworld, though Purple is less than enthusiastic about enlisting the help of such short aliens, despite Red's reminder that they proved to be of some use during their battle against the Eggman Empire. Both cycloptic beings then angrily point out that it was the Tallest and their empire who attacked the Star-Moon planet and left it in ruins way back when, and they are unconvinced that they should even consider helping the Irkens with their problem. It is then suggested by Cream and the others that the Tallest apologize for what they did before, and after some hesitation, Red decides that it is best to put the past behind them and focus on the current issue ; so he apologizes. Purple, on the other hand, is not so indulgent, complaining that they did not even acquire all of the snacks they had attacked the planet for —but a laser blast to the eye sends Purple flying backward and crashing on the ground, as Red apologizes for him.

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:16.5pt;"> After hearing from the group what threats they face, Galaxoid and Nebular lead them all to something that came in contact with their planet some time ago. On the way to its location, the Tallest cannot help but be impressed with how well the Star-Moon aliens have recovered since the Irkens' raid; they continue to observe the terrain and civilization while the group makes its way to what Galaxoid and Nebular aim to show them, until finally they reach their destination. Everyone else reacts in shock, as they appear to recognize the frozen beast that lies before them, which, according to the heroes, goes by the name of "Bowser." After hearing about what should have been his demise, Red remembers also —namely, that during their battle with the Death Egg, a gigantic fireball shot up from the top of the station at one point, and went spiraling into the cosmos. He surmises that the trip itself could have caused both  the coldness of space  and  the heat from the flames  to cause him extreme freezing that he could live through, while Luigi attributes this phenomenon also to Bowser's general knack for surviving whenever presumed dead. This reminds Red & Purple of someone else they know...

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:16.5pt;"> As the two cycloptic aliens are conversing with the group about how this being could benefit them in learning more about how to stop this "Eggman Nega," at one point it is noticed that the beast's frozen shell is slowly starting to thaw out, bringing Bowser back to the land of the living; the Tallest recoil in astonishment along with everyone else, as Bowser is soon completely unfrozen, fully alive and awake, and evidently ready to begin wreaking complete havoc.

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:16.5pt;"> Red & Purple stand by intently as brawling ensues between the group and Bowser, who wastes no time in brutally attacking everyone he sees. The Tallest prepare themselves to step in and aid the alliance if need be, but particularly when they introduce the sacred elements into the mix, it seems as though this creature will be subdued in no time. However, they underestimate this foe, as even the elemental powers don't seem to be enough to defeat him; that is, until Purple realizes that they have been forgetting all about one crucial element, that of water. He promptly pulls it out and activates it, firing a powerful blast of water at Bowser, completely drenching him and catching him off-guard.

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:16.5pt;"> For one brief moment, the beast glares at the two of them and states that they look just like someone he encountered before, which confuses them both. But suddenly he leaps forward to attack them, and the Tallest quickly unleash their PAK legs and start heavily electrocuting him, hoping to bring him down at last. Yet again, however, Bowser manages to overpower the attack and grabs both PAK legs, flinging both the Tallest toward him; Red & Purple react swiftly, using this pull to allow them a double kick that sends the beast sprawling on the ground. He then hides in his shell and rams into them both, which causes Purple to drop the water element as he spirals backward. Bowser then leaps toward Red, who backs up and uses his wrist-deflector to block a punch ,  before sidestepping a propelled kick and pointing directly at Bowser —  which causes a nearby laser to strike him in the face, temporarily blinding him and making him dizzy. Purple uses his PAK weaponry to throw Bowser across the terrain and fire twin energy blasts at him; however, he manages to jump and dodge this, while unleashing a fiery blast that sabotages Purple's PAK legs. Bowser then brings Purple toward him using his vacuum breath, before grabbing him and throwing right at Red, which sends them both flying backward.

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:16.5pt;"> Just when it seems as though the creature is about to fry them, however, Susie Derkins runs in and tosses the water element to Red, who quickly activates it and starts firing torrent upon torrent of water directly at Bowser, not only quenching the flames, but keeping him pinned down to the ground by the element's sheer pressure. When Red is convinced that Bowser is through, he deactivates the water element and watches warily as Bowser, out of breath, seems to accept defeat. Red assures Amy and the others that he won't be so willing to fight now. Purple is then questioned by Tails regarding his and Red's ability to hold the water element without burning their hands like other Irkens — to which Purple replies that they are the Almighty Tallest.

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:16.5pt;">When the time comes to start questioning this foe, the Tallest observe and listen as he converses with the others, at first in defiance but eventually out of a mutual truce; he starts revealing what is really going on behind the schemes of Eggman Nega, even showcasing his knowledge that the Tallest's earlier attempts at communication with their fleet went undiscovered. Red is surprised while Purple is skeptical, but Bowser seems to know what he is talking about — since apparently the armada is having the same issue trying to reach them. Completely bemused, yet intrigued by what else this creature could know, the Tallest continue to hear him out as he explains to everyone his role in this plot. <p style="text-align:center;">(editing shall recommence soon)