Drops of Jupiter
Mottled green swirlings simply hung there on the inky vastness of space shrouding something that might have once been a planet. The Utopian Nebula. Stars dotted even in the deepest voids of darkness, shining gently and with a quiet wisdom, having seen everything there is to see since the beginnings of time. Move over to the left and you saw a different side to the charmingly unassuming stars; a supernova glowering like a misty red wound on the horizon bleeding dust and rock and light. Just ahead was the Planet Aphodite, a marbled pink sphere floating in the distance. It was all so achingly beautiful.
Standing in the bridge of the Massive and watching the galaxies pass by, Purple had lost all track of time. He loved to watch the stars, to see the way they shone in a whole spectrum of colours and to dream about ruling it all. Beauty was something that he desperately needed to see, to own. Irk, his home planet, was little more than an industrialised wasteland; the only awe that it could inspire in anyone was at the efficiency and technological detail that had been put into everything. Skilled and advanced as they were, Irken designers did not consider aesthetics to be an issue. Purple had only really realised how stunning the universe could really be until he had seen it from the Massive.
He had been watching the stars for so long that Purple hadn't even noticed that his co-tallest was standing next to him, studying his face with mild interest. After awhile, the crimson-clad Irken crossed to the other side of the bridge and looked out as well. His gaze darted around to try and catch a glimpse of whatever had captivated Purple's attentions. He had never seen such a pensive and musing look on his fellow Tallest's face; Purple was not one to give anything more than a couple of second's thought.
"Spectacular, isn't it?" Red said eventually, and though his voice was soft it still caused Purple to jump a mile.
"You think so too?" Purple asked, delighted, crossing to see what Red was looking at.
"Of course. Everyone does. Something so huge, so vast, and so powerful. Unforgiving. And all of it is ours to command," he replied, casting an arm across to indicate the enormity of their power.
Purple looked out of the window. The Irken Armada stretched out for miles behind and around the Massive, occasionally zapping a random planet or passing spaceship. They spread around the ship like a swarm of mechanical insects, blocking out the beauty of the nebula as they passed it. Suddenly they picked up speed, gathering in front of them around Aphodite, their goal clear. Now it was Red's turn to give a lazy, enraptured smile, moving to get a better view.
"Let the show begin," he said quietly, and as if on cue, a hail of red lasers began to rain down on the planet's surface. A small fleet of blue ships rose up from some unseen military base and the Armada brushed them aside like crumbs on a tablecloth. The light of the planet's sun filtered through the gaps in the Irken ships, diminished and unimportant.
Purple stood at Red's side, defeated. He burned to turn his co-tallest around, to explain to him, to make him see the beauty that he saw in every star and planet and sun. But he knew that it would be pointless. Red's eyes were wide and shining as they reflected the light of the laser bursts, glistening like drops of Jupiter. This was the only beauty that he could see, and Purple accepted this with a heavy heart. He would save his supernovas for when he was alone. Right now he could see the same, explosive power as yet another planet crumbled at their feet.
AN
Please review. This is an expansion from a drabble that I wrote a while ago, which was on the RAPR side of the Invader ZIM spectrum. I wanted to take it down a different route and whilst I'm not so keen on the ending I prefer this version.
Title inspired by the song of the same name by Train.
Invader ZIM belongs to Jhonen Vasquez.