Author's Note:
Here we go... this is the longest fanfic I have written so far. I'll try to upload quicker than I have in the past, but I won't make an updating schedule because I'll be unlikely to follow it. If you are looking for romance or any sort of happy warm fuzzy feelings, this is not the right fic for you. If you're looking instead for hurt/comfort, a boat load of angst, a depressing atmosphere with some half-hearted attempts at light humor and a slow moving plot, you've come to the right place.
Warning: No romance. There will be angst, cursing, multiple character deaths, and torture. If you still want to read this, be my guest. Just remember there isn't going to be any romance. Lard Nar and Purple are the main characters. I don't write slash.
Pain
Screams echoed down the hallway. Begging and pleading before the twisting agony of the torture devices. There was a sickening snap of a bone being driven out of place. Another scream. Then all was quiet.
He squinted. The bright room was only starting to come into focus. There was pain like hot embers shooting up his leg, and he groaned in discomfort. Grinding his teeth, he tried to move. He exhaled sharply, realizing his leg wasn't cooperating and any kind of movement only made it hurt worse.
The floor he was lying on was cold; the chill bit into him; he shuddered.
"It's awake," someone sneered.
Something wet was dripping down his face. He reached to brush it away and was stunned when he realized it was his blood. A fresh wave of pain struck him, and he squeezed his eyes shut. He wanted to return to the darkness where everything was numb.
"Go inform the Tallests."
There were two of them. Lard Nar could see their shadows. It took him a moment to understand their words. The Tallests… some of his memories flooded back to him. The Massive had shot down his ship which had crashed on some god-forsaken planet. He had been able to make it out of the wreckage, but there were blazing fires all around him and thick smoke that stung his eyes and made it hard to breath.
He must have woken once or twice. He remembered hearing something frightening, although his mind had mostly blocked it out.
Where was his crew? He wondered, forcing himself into a sitting position. His head spun, and he began to feel a bit sick. He was frightened and alone, but he wasn't about to show any weakness to his enemies.. not if he could help it.
His mind raced as he took in the colours of the walls. He was definitely on board the Massive. White energy circulating from the ceiling down to the floor kept him contained in a small corner of the room. He knew if he touched it he would receive a jolt strong enough to paralyse his body. He had worked with such high density energy before.
"You lost the bet," a familiar voice came from the corridor.
He watched quietly while the guard saluted his superiors as they entered the room.
"Yeah yeah, I'll pay you when we get back to Irk," an equally unwelcome voice stated.
Lard Nar forced himself to glare up at his captors. They came and stood outside of his holding cell, leering down at him with big grins on their faces.
"You lost Vortian," the Tallest wearing red spoke. He was also the one who supposedly lost the bet. "I'm sure you remember what our laws have to say about that."
According to Irken rules of war he was now their prisoner. Of course he remembered; his whole planet had fallen under that stupid rule. Grimacing in pain, he slowly managed to rise to his feet, favouring his injured leg. His throat felt scratchy from all the smoke he inhaled after the crash. He couldn't speak above a whisper.
"You won't… succeed…" Lard Nar spoke as loud as he could, which wasn't very loud at all. Even if just one of his crew escaped, the resistance had a chance of surviving.
They stared at him.
"Wow. He can stand," the purple one commented.
"I don't think he realizes the trouble he's in," the other Tallest grumbled, turning his attention to the guard. "You have permission to torture him as much as you want."
The red one turned away, already bored with their latest captive. Lard Nar wouldn't know this, but most of his crew had died in the crash, and the other survivors besides himself had already met with their unfortunate ends.
Purple watched his partner leave. He lowered his antennae slightly when he realized the guard was waiting eagerly to carry out the other Tallest's orders. "Hm well… I think we will succeed, seeing that your in no shape to fight us, and your little resistance thing was the only one trying to stop the armada."
"There will be more…" Lard Nar murmured teetering slightly. "More resistance… the more you two destroy…" His vision started to blur. Already he could feel his legs starting to buckle in protest.
Fainting in front of Irk's leaders wasn't something he wanted to do, but he did… He didn't expect to ever wake up again.
His head was swimming with the last tattered shreds of a dream.
Something cold and heavy was around his neck. He touched it; his eyes widening with the realization that it was a collar of some sort.
Blasted luck. They were going to keep him as a slave rather than kill him. He cursed under his breath and made a feeble attempt to remove the collar. It didn't budge.
Then he noticed the bandages on his arms; they had been burned quite badly, but the pain in his leg had taken most of his attention away from his other injuries. There were more bandages wrapped around his head. He felt them carefully before tugging at the ends to remove them.
At least he was still wearing his uniform, or what was left of it anyway... he hated even picturing himself in the traditional Irken garb. He'd gladly take a shredded ash stained outfit over ugly pink stripes.
"Leave 'em on," the purple eyed Tallest yawned. He had been sitting at the desk beside the bed.
The bed…? Lard Nar suddenly realized he wasn't in his holding cell anymore.
"If you take those off you'll get blood on everything, and it'll be gross."
"What are you doing..?" Lard Nar asked in a hoarse whisper.
The Tallest smirked. "Don't freak out, but I kind of claimed you."
"You what…?" all of the colour drained from his face. He swallowed down his revulsion and tried to prop himself up the best he could. His arms trembled, and a shiver ran down his spine. This couldn't be happening…
"It's not all bad," the Tallest told him. "No one can kill you without my permission. It's almost like having diplomatic immunity."
"That's nothing like having diplomatic immunity…" Lard Nar grumbled. He was experiencing his greatest fear; he had become Irken property. His life no longer belonged to him. The thought of it made him feel queasy, and he wondered if there might not be a way to end it all right here… but he couldn't. There was still hope so long as he remained alive.
He had to cling to this hope no matter how bleak his situation was.
Purple chuckled. "I guess not, but it was either this or a slow painful death under that sadistic guard Red seems to like." He grabbed a can of soda off his desk and held it out to Lard Nar. The Vortian stared at it in disbelief.
"I won't do this for just anyone," Purple told him. "The other aliens that survived the crash were either shot on sight or tortured to death."
Lard Nar ground his teeth and turned away. He didn't want to remember what happened during his bleary state of semi-consciousness after the crash.
"They were your inferiors," Purple remarked, puzzled by the Vortian's reaction. He had just thrown a shorter Irken out the airlock that morning. Followers were so common they could be used as extra ammunition.
Of course, he didn't really hurt his people that often. Other aliens were a whole different matter entirely though.
"They weren't drones Irken… they chose to follow me…"
Purple's antennae twitched. "Irken? I'm not just an Irken. I'm the Tallest." he sat up straighter. "And they were aliens to both you and me. Who cares if they died?"
Lard Nar gave the Tallest a strange look. "I am never calling you that… so long as there is… breath in my body… and alien or not... they were still my... my crew..." all of this talking was beginning to make him feel sick again. He closed his eyes and breathed a sigh.
Why would the Tallest want to save him? It was all very confusing…
Instead of being offended, Purple simply shrugged his shoulders and placed the can on the desk. "I didn't really expect you to call my by my title," he admitted. "You seem to be pretty stubborn."
The door slid open, and Purple turned to see a small frightened technician stepping into the room. "Sir… Tallest Red is uh… he is wondering where you went…"
Purple rolled his eyes. "Honestly?" he questioned, but he stood up and walked towards the hallway. "I'll be back later. Don't touch my stuff."
Lard Nar relaxed a bit, relieved the Tallest was no longer in the room. He could hardly believe he was still alive and not chained to something. At the very least, he should have been confined.
He opened his eyes and looked up at the ceiling.
When he tried to move, he recognized there would be no chance of him escaping, and this was probably why they hadn't physically restrained him at all. Every part of his body felt sore, but the worse pain came from his broken leg. He wondered if he would ever be able to walk without a limp. His arms and fingers were burned so badly, he thought he might not be able to grip anything with his hands.
He tried, but his fingers trembled and a shooting pain ran up his arms. He bit his tongue and sucked in a breath. Not good… something wasn't working properly.
Cursing under his breath, he pushed himself to sit. It hurt, but he needed to make sure he could still move. Fighting back his dizziness, he carefully edged closer to the side of the bed. A dark veil seemed to be closing in around him. He was seeing spots.
Walking; he could still do that right…? His chest constricted. No… he probably couldn't, but he had stood up not long ago. If he could stand, why couldn't he walk?
He was tired, so he lay back down, not willing to risk hurting himself anymore. He needed to heal quickly so he could find a way off the Massive.
Disclaimer/Notes: I don't own any of the Invader Zim characters, the show, Nicktoons, nothing.
I'm finally back after a long break. You see, my computer caught a virus and I lost all of the fanfic stories I'd been working on. This one was started after the 'great disaster' and because I've almost completed it, I thought I should get it uploaded before something terrible happens again.