"Moose, Status: Complete. No problems." said the main computer system. The Tallest, ZIM and a few misc. Irkens stood waiting for the Conversion Pod to open. This was the moment all of them had been waiting for; it was time to see if the Conversion from human to part Irken had worked! The fluids keeping the Pod clean and germ free emptied and the glass door opened. The Moose simply fell forward, still half gone from her body and reality. Four robot legs appeared from her Nano-Pak and held her up.

Her eyes opened and she was up and on her feet. Moose walked over to the Tallest and bowed deeply, her extra "legs" sliding smoothly back into the Nano-Pak.

"My Tallest..." she murmured, brown hair falling around her face. She ended the bow and Purple handed her gloves and boots. Another breathy thanks and she put them on. ZIM watched her; something was very different about her. Something he really could not place.... Almost like she was a different person... Had the Converting done something to her? The Tallest had never really known her, so they didn't notice anything different.

Moose wandered along a corridor in the Massive. She had a giant grin on her lips; she was on her first mission. Her first invasion! SQUEEE! Her heart skipped a beat and her step quickened down the corridor. If this worked, she would be Invader Moose! She stepped in and bowed immediately.

"My Tallest-Oh," said a surprised Moose, "Who are you?" A woman of the Irken race sat there. She was in the Diplomats uniform, with a slight twist. Her eyes were red and she had a small smile on her face.

"Hello," she said kindly, "My name is Kri! And you must be Moose!" (Yes, her name is supposed to be changed) The woman smiled and told Moose that before she would become an invader she would have to undergo a bit of diplomatic training.

"... This, of course, is to make," Kri smiled, showing glinting pointy teeth, " the best, strongest and most well known invader. You can always drop it, if you don't want to be the best-"

"No! I want to prove to my Tallest that I am the best!" said Moose shaking her head vigorously. Kri smiled at her.

"Then, let us begin."

"Now, Moose, tomorrow is the test. Study hard and do your best!" said Kri as the clock ticked 2:00 on Irk. "You are dismissed!" Moose jumped up and went running off to tell ZIM about all these good things in her life. So many good things to talk about! She caught up with him in the teleportation room hooking up several cables. Or...

"DAMN CABLES! Work, fit!" snapped ZIM hitting the cables viciously. "ARRAGH!"

Moose smiled slightly, but covered up the grin with the back of her hand. It was impolite to laugh at someone’s attempts.

"What're you doing, ZIM?" asked Moose when she had recovered.

"Leaving."

"Where to?"

"Earth. I still have a mission." he replied and brought himself up proudly. "I must doom it!" Moose sighed quietly, it would've been nice if ZIM would stay to see her finish her exam and then conquer her own planet! But... A mission was a mission. ZIM finished and waved good-bye as the teleprompter sent him back to Earth.

Earth.... That sounded familiar. An image floated up to her mind: She was standing with other people. But... They weren't Irken... They were different... Who were they? These strangers? She shook her head and the thought flew away like a dove from a cage. In a second, she didn't know she had friends on this place called Earth.

The next day, Moose sat ready for her test in Diplomatics. Kri walked over to her with a piece of paper and put it on her desk.

"Start." she said. Moose turned the paper over and stared at the first question: "What was your past? What did you do before this?" Moose's stomach turned cold with icy fear, how could she do this? She didn't know her past! She stopped for a minute; SHE DID NOT KNOW HER OWN PAST. Something was grievously wrong with that. But, she would say she didn't understand that question. Crisis averted! Next question, "One planet you want to visit." Moose sighed, something she knew! That planet ZIM was on... EARTH! "I want to go to earth!" she wrote. Next question: "Choose one thing about your past that you want to change. Why?" She stood up and handed the paper in. Lies skittered through her mind: "Sorry, I didn't see the last one!" "I didn't understand the first one!" Without one word, she ran from the room.

M E A N W H I L E:

"Poor, poor Moose!" laughed Tallest Mri; "She doesn't even know her own past!" Tallest Mri held the paper Moose had been working on. She laughed again and heard the cursing and crashes of Cri.

"DAMN CATS!" she screeched and several cats went running past the door. A blast of laser went zigzagging past the open door and a cat screamed. Cri walked in, panting and looking terrible. She put the laser back into her holster and smiled at Tallest Mri. "Excuse me, I had a bit of trouble." she said and smoothed her clothes. Mri sighed and looked at her assassin. Tallest Mri decided she did NOT want to know about cats, lasers or WHY they were both in the same area.

"Lookit this, Kri..."

"My Lady, excuse me, but it's CRI not KRI. That name is in disguise." said Cri with a small bow for politeness. Mri waved her hand and continued on. "Anyway, Cri, lookit this! 'One planet you want to visit.' Ya know what this Moosie put?" Cri raised and lowered one shoulder. Now, of course, Cri had already looked at this, but when your master asks you if you have and they're in a good mood you say "No".

"Yes, Tallest Mri, I did in fact look at it-," said Cri with a sigh. Mri gave her a glare. "-But go on and tell me again. I forgot."

"Cri, she want's to go visit her HOME! This dumb Moose wants to visit her planet of origin!" laughed Mri, standing up from her seat and reverting back into her shadow form, "She doesn't even know where she was BORN!" laughed the shadow with glittering silver eyes. Cri smiled slightly and asked quietly as she popped her lenses back in, "Shall I tell her all about her first life?"

"You do that, my little goddess of death. You do that, and tell her Mistress 'Mri' can tell her all she needs!"

Moose stared out the window. Why couldn't she answer that test? Why was it so hard to figure out her past? She closed her eyes so tight they started tearing. Her whole self felt like it had been emptied of everything and all that was left was the shell. Like a clam. Tears spilled over her cheeks, why was everything wrong? She wanted to be an invader, and she couldn't even figure out her past! There was a quiet knock on the door and Moose didn't answer.

Tallest Purple and Red stood there. "Oh dear...." remarked Purple, "Maybe I'll go. I've never been good at comforting people..." Both of them had a flash back...

F L A S H B A C K:

To when they were wee little Irkens and playing "Laser Tag". Their Laser Tag involved them all climbing into Voot's and blowing each other up. At least the craft, not the actual Irken. Well, Purple had shot down Red and Red had toppled to the ground and broken his leg. Purple had come running over to him and said "Hey, don't cry Red! It can't get any worse!" and right then, a large chunk of metal fell on Red's OTHER leg and broke it.

E N D O F F L A S H B A C K

"I'd forgotten about that..." remarked Red eyeing Purple. Purple laughed nervously and left the room before Red could kill him. Red walked over to the crying Moose.

"Hey, Moosie, what's up?" he asked putting a hand on her shoulder. She didn't reply. "Moose, what's wrong?" he tried again. She looked at him and stood up. "Hey! Moose-!" he said as she left the room. "Where're you going?!" She looked back at him with a dead look in her eyes.

"To find what my past was."

B E F O R E H A N D:

Mri was slipping down the halls. Her black/silver uniform blended perfectly with the background as she crept along to find where Moose was. She walked past Purple’s room and looked in for a minute, it was good to see him. 'Since I'm not even ALLOWED to see him anymore!' she thought herself and pushed away the past. 'Go away, I don't even want to think about that!' she thought and waved a good bye, even if he couldn't see her. A pang of guilt hit her hard as she remembered those events… Being THAT drunk to get the eviction notice and be thrown out of Palace life…. Not that it mattered! She would reclaim this and it would work out! She steeled her feelings and refused to think about that. She slid around some more corridors and found Moose’s rooms. An evil grin light her face as she typed in the code.

The code was to let her Essence out. 'Essence' is what makes someone their selves. If you were as apt as Mri, it could be used to control someone. It would take an equally strong person to realize what you were doing. She let her Essence spill out and flow into the very depths of Moose's mind, heart and soul. In her sub-conscious, she left a message, if you want:

"Moose, if it is the past you crave, then call upon me... I am the one true ruler of Irk, my name is Mri! Come and find me and your past!" And, as she slipped back along the halls, she knew the Moose would be traveling to her room. Mri grinned again and left, running silent in the halls.

Purple turned and for a minute, he thought- Naw. Why would SHE come back? He shivered and turned back to issue number five of JtHM.

Why would Mri come back to him after all those years?

Moose was now running down the corridor. Her heart was singing with the untold hope of her finding... Finding... It was too amazing to say! HER PAST! Where she was from, who she was, everything! She took a running leap and almost crashed into a wall. She avoided it and came to a hallway that was unfamiliar.... It was cold and quiet. And eerie and weird. But something urged her on, something telling her to "hurry, rush, come!"

So she did.

She ran faster and faster, the key to her past lay shimmering above her. Finally, she stopped in front of a door. She knocked and it opened for her.

"Hello?" called Moose into the pressing darkness. "Anybody there? Yoo-hoo!" The darkness shifted and a light came on.

"Is this the Moose?" asked a voice.

"Yup. Why?" "Moose, do you seek your past?"

"Um, yes. I'm looking for a Tallest Mri. Is she here?"

"You are talking to her." replied the darkness. Suddenly, to Moose's left, two silver eyes appeared. Moose jumped back and a small shatter of glass was heard.

"Oh, shoot! I'm so sorry! What can I do to make it up?" she asked as she swept up the mess. The silver eyes blinked and a voice replied, "Don't worry about it. You came here for your past, correct?" Moose nodded. The eyes seemed to smile and a light appeared and the form of a very tall Irken woman stepped out. She was clothed in black and silver and she stepped down to Moose.

"Stand up, Moose." she commanded. Moose stood up, transfixed by her eyes. Now, you must understand, Moose didn't know about the Rebellion. She didn't understand how very dangerous Tallest Mri was-

"Why thank you!" Tallest Mri said looking up toward the ceiling. "Huh?" questioned Moose looking up as well. A girl with light brown hair, glasses, PJ pants with monkeys on them and an IZ T-shirt appeared and glared at all of them."Hey! I'm not here! I'm just writing all of this down! Now, Mri get back to the... er.. things you doing!" said the author with a cough and disappeared.

" 'Things I doing'?" asked Mri.

"Yes."

"Whatever. Now, Moose, you wish to know about your past, is that right?"

"Who was that?"

"MOOSE!"

"Oh, yes! I do, Tallest Mri," says Moose, hypnotized once more by those orbs of silver power. An evil, conniving smile spread on Tallest Mri's face. "Thank you, author!" thinks Mri with a bigger grin. "I. AM. NOT. HERE!" thinks the author. "HI!" "Who let HER in?" "Good question, Mri. Now, continue with your stuffy things."

"What?"

"Nevermind."

"Hey, did I know I could do this?"

Moose stares into those eyes and finally, Mri breaks the connection. Moose shakes her head and looks at Tallest Mri.

"Do you know what?" asks Mri walking to a mirror. Moose shrugs one shoulder, "What?" Mri looks to Moose, silver eyes sad.

"The Tallest claimed my rightful throne. They stole it from me!" Tallest Mri says, "I am two full inches taller than both of them!" Moose stares at her surprise in her eyes. "Really? But the Tallest are so nice-" "They act!" screams Mri, shaking a two-fingered hand. "They lie!" Moose could almost feel and hear her trust shattering around her.

The Tallest-?

Liars-?

Actors-?

Mri watched her with hot anticipation. She knew how much Moose believed in the right thing; she could see her thinking it over. How could she help poor, poor Tallest Mri regain her throne? Mri caught her breath for a minute as Moose's face turned cold, but then she looked at Mri with a smile of hope "How can I help you, Tallest Mri?" Tallest Mri looked out the window into the black night. "We must find their weak spot and attack them there!" she replied, feeling eviler and better by the moment. Moose nodded and said to her "Mri, my true Tallest, I will do everything possible to help reclaim your throne!" Mri nodded and thanked her with a false smile. "But I said I could help you too. If you help me regain my throne, I will give you your past. Deal?" she asked extending a hand. Moose nodded immediately.

And they shook on it, a binding agreement.

Tallest Mri had given Moose a small camera to carry around and use as a spying tool.

She walked in to her room to find Red sitting there. Or, actually, lying there. He had fallen asleep. Moose grinned and sat down in the chair by the window and fell asleep soon enough.

Moose woke up to the sound of her alarm going off. She muttered some curses and wandered over to the alarm to shut it off. She looked over to the chair and found it empty. With a shrug she left to find Red and tell him what went on. She ran down the halls and heard the banging of someone demanding snacks from an unwilling snack machine. Moose turned the corner to find Red banging his head on the machine to get it to "... EXPEL THE CANDY BAR, YOU ROTTEN-!" and such. She walked over to him and punched in E4 and the candy bar dropped into the slot.

Red sighed and pulled it out. "What's up?" asked Moose putting in some money and fishing out some random candy bar. "Oh, nothing! Tallest business!" he replied hastily. In reality, he had just gotten a mail from ZIM. He had told him that Moose never acted this way on Earth and he had included some "screenage" of her in her "natural habitat". After all of this, Red had felt the blood fall from his face when he had seen... He swallowed some spit and Moose looked at him. "Are you going to eat that?" she asked pointing at the candy bar. He nodded and ate it hurriedly.

"You're so weird!" said Moose as Red searched for the lost wrapper.

"What?" he said and checked the floor getting down on hands and knees.

"You just ate the whole thing, you Earth monkey!" she grinned, this was one of ZIM's favorite insults. He grinned slightly and brushed himself off. "Well, I gotta go!" he said and started off. "Hey, can I come?" asked Moose catching up to him. Red smiled sadly and shook his head. "Sorry," he said and Moose sighed and left the other way. But she was back around in an instant and followed him. This was for the rightful Tallest, Mri! He wandered off to the video room and Moose crept behind him. A message blipped on the screen; "Play" commanded Red. An image of ZIM popped up onto the screen.

"Bleep already! Oh-oh! Hi, um, ZIM reporting sir's, new video info about her, um, I'll send it in a few. Say hi to Moose for me. Bye." The image winked off and Red clicked on a file. It was a vid file of Moose on Earth. "Oh, Moose...." he said with a sigh, "When can you go home?"

"I've never been to... Earth..." whispered Moose and went running back to Mri for help.