Man, it's been a while since I updated this one. I apologize for that, someone took my laptop away over something stupid. I've managed to write on my phone and publish this in my work's computer.

Shades of Purple

Chapter 22- The Escape

He initially thought it had all been a dream until he awoke the next morning and found himself holding his beautiful Tenn in his embrace, deeply snuggled and snoring lightly. He stroked her cheek, and she didn't move away; granted, she was still asleep, but this was a clear sign that she didn't feel any aversion anymore.

Everything was just like he imagined it would be. Her caresses, her kisses, her bites, they were so passionate… She was like an untameable wildfire that burned you alive if you tried to put it out, and the idea that he could touch it unscathed was alluring.

She was now his, and his alone.

He was brought out of his thoughts when Tenn finally started stirring awake. He smiled at her as she opened her lovely fuchsia eyes.

"Good morning," he purred.

"It's morning already?"

"Yeah," Purple smiled at her, cupping her cheek with his hand. "Did you have sweet dreams?"

"You could say so. I dreamt I was in the arms of a prince…" Tenn twitched a lekku and ran a hand down his chest. Purple shivered in delight. "Did you see any?"

"I'm way better than a prince, my dear." Purple licked his lips. "I'm an emperor."

"So what's your verdict, my Tallest? Did I please you?" Tenn purred.

He kissed her forehead, pulling her closer by the waist. "If we keep this going, who knows? We might have our smeet sooner," she shivered a bit. Shoot, had he brought it up on a wrong moment. "Sorry, I didn't mean-"

"No, it's okay, it's just… Well, the idea of smeets still…" Tenn made a face and turned her back on him, rubbing her forearms. "I'm not used to the idea of motherhood."

"Chill out; I'm sure you'll be a wonderful mama," Purple stroke the back of her head tenderly. "Besides, you have me to help you."

"No offense, but I still can't picture you as a father since you lost your nephew twice."

"Nice try, but she was under your supervision those two times, so technically it was you who lost him." Purple snuggled deeply into the covers and into his lovely Tenn's warmth. "Man, I don't want to get off this bed."

"Me neither."

"We could stay here all day. Red can handle a mutated lizard."

"Mutated lizard?"

"Oh, right, you don't know." Purple snapped his fingers. The starry landscape disappeared, and they 'returned' to the observatory, but one of the projectors showed a hologram of the 'kurokran' Ilk had previously mentioned in one of her reports. "This is the hybrid captured at the Battle of Foodcourtia. They're bringing it to the Massive for study."

Tenn was silent for a few seconds. "Wait a minute; you're bringing one of those creatures here? Isn't that a little bit dangerous?"

"It's either here or Vort, and we don't want to go anywhere near Vort right now." Not ever since Miyuki died there, anyway. It brought them, particularly Red, bad memories.

"What are you planning to do with that thing?"

Purple shrugged. "No idea yet. We might eventually put it in Zootopia to display as a trophy or turn it into an actual trophy."

"Oh. Sounds… interesting." Tenn trailed off. He didn't miss the small twinge of genuine curiosity in her eyes. It made her look cute! The last time he saw her like this was when she inquired about how Invaders were picked.

"Wanna come see it when it arrives?" Purple asked, smiling when Tenn's lekku perked up cutely.

"You are serious?" He nodded and stroked her cheek.

"As of today, consider your solitary condiment over, my dear." He was about to kiss her again when he got a PAK-mail.

"Pur, where are you? It's almost noon, and you missed the War Council!" Purple sighed. Damn it, Red!

"I'll be down in twenty. Has the hybrid arrived yet?"

"No, and if you don't hurry, I'm telling the guards not to let you into the hangar."

"Haha, very funny." Purple sat up in bed, slipping back into his robe. "Well, my dear, we better hurry or Red won't let us see the hybrid."

"Us? What did I do?"

Purple smirked. "If I sink, you sink with me, honey." He picked her bridal style so he could hold her close. "Shall we go, then?" Tenn stiffened in his arms and blushed deeply. She looked so cute! "What is it?"

"I'm naked! Y-You can't expect me to go down like this!"

"Of course not, my dear. Thankfully, there's a secret passage here that leads down to the Tallest quarters."

"Secret passage?"

"Miyuki's idea when she was commissioning the Massive, arguing that The Almighty Tallest need a way out in case the ship is compromised*. It's never happened before because it's the Massive, and no one's ever dared attacking it, though, so Red and I mostly use the passages to hide and have our private snacking sessions."

"Private… snacking sessions?"

XOXOXO

By the time he arrived at the hangar ten minutes later, it seemed as if half the soldiers of the Massive had gathered there, all armed to the teeth with spears or riffles. They were aiming it towards a large cage with electric plasma walls instead of bars, designed for big large specimens. He didn't get to see the creature just yet, as it was still being lowered from the cruiser's cargo hold.

Purple caught a glimpse of Red down on the platform, surrounded by imperial guards who were, in turn, keeping reporters, cameras, and journalists at bay with their spears. It's no surprise the media were here. It's the first time that the Irken Empire has ever gotten its hands on a Sobrekt hybrid.

Well, he better lend Red a hand before his lack of vocabulary kicks in. It took Purple a while to get through the swarm of over-excited reporters, though. He had to kick his way through the crowd while he was bombarded with questions.

"My Tallest, what kind of hybrid are you bringing?!"

"Aren't you worried it might escape and wreak havoc?!"

"Sire, do you believe this could turn the war against the Sobrekt in a new direction?!"

"Make way for the Tallest, shrimp!" One of the guards yelled while poking one of the smallest with his electrified spear, allowing Purple to pass.

"Where were you?!" Red asked over the loud voices.

Purple grinned happily at him. "Having a perfect night with Tenn!" He sing-sang in a cheery tone.

"You mean…?" Red raised his lekku. "Wow. I'll congratulate you later when we're done with this. Where's Tenn right now, by the way?"

"She'll come down in a few minutes." Purple looked up at the cage. "So that's the creature? Have you taken a look at it?"

"No, but from the descriptions and reports I got from the ship staff and the soldiers who captured it, it seems to be the creature that turns itself into a ship," Red explained.

"The Kurokran?"

"Yeah, that one!" Red frowned at the reporters. "But we better deal with them first. Ilk mentioned most hybrids don't do well with camera flashes."

Purple let his co-Tallest handle the press. Red might not be good at words, but he knew how to talk to the crowds. He always did the talking in public events or was the one to directly negotiate with the few foreign planets worthy of being equals to the Irken Empire. Having worked as a fleet commander and then an Invader during their youth made Red a brilliant tactician; he often was the one to take charge during space battles or organic sweeps, sometimes even joining the fight himself, always leading the Armada to victory.

Purple's shorter fuse, awful temper, and impatience made it hard to take care of those duties, so instead, he focused on raising the troops' morale by planning the significant events. He met up with the science drones and engineers to plan and design new weapons and ships, as he was more familiarized with building and crafting*. He picked the new planets to Invade depending on their resources and threat level and sent the list to the Control Brains, who, in turn, picked the Invaders assigned to each planet depending on their test results.

The good thing about having this part of the job was that he could make suggestions to the Control Brains about the picked Invaders. He'd check their profiles and leave his comments to the Brains, who, in turn, could choose to take them into account or not. Usually, they did, as they trusted his judgment, to the point they didn't call him out on re-assigning Invaders to other planets in the Great Assigning without prior consultation*. This is how Purple and Red got to change Larb's assigning to Vort and Skoodge's to Blorch in Operation Impending Doom II.

And this is how he got to-

A smack on the back of his head brought him back from his thoughts. Purple frowned at his co-Tallest. "What on Irk, Red?!"

"Pur, save your fantasies with Tenn for later, we have a hybrid to take care of," Red said.

Purple blushed deeply and turned his back on the press to look up at the cage before they could notice. As it was lowered a few meters in front of them, Purple could take a better look at its captive. It was just like the diagram Ilk sent: a wyvern-like reptile with dark scales and big yellow eyes. Except this one had lots of scars and wounds and was heavily sedated.

"What is that thing?"

Purple found his lovely Tenn standing on the doorway with Lena; both Irkenettes were staring at the Kurokran apprehensively. He partly understood them; the Kurokran was way bigger than a zhook runner. Purple joined his wife as soon as she appeared, greeting her with a glorious lekku-kiss that sent shivers down his spine.

"About time, you appeared." He purred.

"Purple, not in public," Tenn murmured quickly, glancing at the press.

"Don't mind them. They're here for the hybrid." Purple heard Red coughing loudly from behind him. "Well, let's get this over with, so we can go eat something. I'm hungry!"

Red signaled the workers to wake the animal up. A pair of tubes released the gas that would awaken the beast. It didn't take more than a few minutes for it to take effect. The kurokran blinked its eyes open and stirred inside its cage. Honestly, Purple didn't find it that impressive at first. At least until it realized its current predicament and spread out its wings, receiving electric shocks as they came into contact with the plasma walls.

Shrieking in pain, the kurokran completely lost it and started banging against the walls, receiving more discharges in the process. Purple snickered at sight, especially when some of the reporters jumped back and lost their footing, falling on top of one another. He couldn't resist the temptation and took mental pictures of the animal. Purple wondered how the Shuryo would react if he saw this; maybe he could convince Red to let him send the images to provoke the lizard into acting rashly.

"So, do you have any idea of what you're going to do with it?" Lena inquired.

"Not yet. We're in between Zootopia or dissection."

"The Control Brains want to take DNA samples of it to see if it can be recycled with Irken DNA," Purple told his co-ruler. "That's even cooler if you ask me. Just imagine this animal made with our DNA."

"That does sound like it'd give us an advantage over other armies. These animals can bite through metal hulls and reach the-"

SHRIEEEEEEK!

They were caught off guard when the kurokran released a high-pitched roar that made all things made of thin glass within the Massive crack and shatter. Purple felt an extra weight on his arms; seconds later, he found Tenn in his hold, her arms wrapped around his neck. Purple couldn't help but laugh.

"Chill out; I won't let it hurt you, my dear."

"What? I didn't-!" Tenn jumped off his arms, blushing fiercely. She looked so cute like that!

"Red, that thing is not staying here!" Lena snapped.

Red chuckled nervously, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "How about we discuss it over lunch, honey?"

She didn't know what was harder. Having sex with the man she had sworn never to love or to have to pretend that she liked it. It took her all of her willpower not to kick him in the groin and push him off, actually.

But in the end, it paid off, as her 'solitary confinement' finally ended. After taking a look at the creature and adding a bit more drama by jumping into his arms when it shrieked, Tenn bid her time, waiting for the right moment to meet up with the communications officer, Jack, in the cafeteria.

The right time came sooner than what she imagined; sooner after retiring to their quarters to have lunch, the Tallest were summoned to the bridge for an emergency. Judging by what they said, the lizards had sent their fleet to intercept the Irken Armada. It was a bold, if not outright stupid, move. There's no military force in the universe that can hold a candle to the Irken Armada. Purple gave her a lekku-kiss before leaving with Red.

As soon as they were alone, they knew it was time.

Lena packed a few snacks for her in a handbag and accompanied her to the cafeteria, where she was to wait for Jack in the entrance. Purple and all the guards would be far too occupied with the Sobrekt fleet outside to take notice of her absence until later on.

"Tenn, I'm not sure if this is the last time we see each other, but if that's the case…" Tenn was a bit surprised when Lena embraced her. "Take care of yourself."

"Thanks for everything, Lena," Tenn said, returning the embrace. "I will try to keep helping your daughter; however, I can." She heard a tiny squeak. Rouge had poked his head out of Lena's pouch. Tenn chuckled and patted his head. "I'll miss you too, little guy."

"Squeak!"

"Tenn, before you go…" Lena took a deep breath. "I know Purple hasn't been exactly… nice, but please don't judge him so cruelly. He's got his reasons to be like that…*"

"Wha…?" Lena had already turned on her heels and left before Tenn could ask her what she meant.

Tenn only had to wait for five minutes until a communications officer appeared. He was noticeably taller than most of the other pilots she had seen, meaning he must be the one in charge.

Where had she seen him before? The memory was fuzzy, but it had something to do with Devastis… Wait, the Pink Irkorse! She vaguely remembered a comms officer named...

"Jack?" She called out tentatively.

The Irken nodded curtly. "No time to explain, ma'am. Follow me, but not too close." He whispered quickly. "I turned off the cameras for a few minutes, so we have to hurry. There's a voot runner in the hangar-"

"Voot runner?" Tenn repeated as she followed after him.

"Less likely to catch someone's eye. Nobody would think the wife of an Almighty Tallest would use such an outdated model."

"Why is there an 'outdated model' in the Massive in the first place?"

"Spare parts."

Tenn didn't have fond memories of voot runners ever since that visit to Zim, but she guessed he was right. Nobody would look twice at someone driving an old ship.

The hangar was mostly empty except for the science drones trying to sedate the kurokran to take DNA samples. Tenn and Jack headed towards the currently unoccupied area where older and outdated ships were kept mostly for spare parts, as they were the only thing they could be used for*.

Amongst those old, broken-down ships was a voot runner in a more-or-less passable condition. At least it looked better than Zim's ship.

Jack took a look around to make sure the coast was clear. "Okay, ma'am, this is it. The ship's hyperdrive will only work for one more journey, so I recommend that you make a pit stop at a planet out of the Empire's jurisdiction to fix it if you wish to go further. Do not reveal your name to anyone. Stay out of the Empire's reach if possible."

Tenn nodded. "Right." She climbed into the cockpit and turned the ship on. The engines roared back to life as the runner levitated.

"Well, ma'am, this is it," Jack said. "Take care of yourself."

Tenn nodded. She felt bad for giving him trouble back on Devastis. "Thank you."

"Go now!"

Taking a deep breath, Tenn drove the runner out of the hangar and out of the Massive.

As soon as she was out of the flagship, she felt as if a great weight was lifted off her shoulders. At last, after weeks of being inside a golden cage and being treated like a trophy, she was finally free. No more having to pretend she was a perfect little Irkenette, showing fake smiles to the press. No more feeling his hands touching her nor his tongue licking her body.

No more Purple.

She was finally free… and she had no idea where she would go next.

But for the time being, Tenn just enjoyed the moment of freedom

* I think Miyuki would have had these safety measures added into the Massive during its construction. I mean, no one would ever dare attacking the Massive, but she didn't want to take any chances.

* Headcanon: One of the reasons has less stamina than Red is that he worked as a science drone, then engineer and finally pilot after becomingan Irken Elite. He didn't spend as much time in the battlefield, and when he had, he mostly provided cover from the distance instead of open combat. Purple is more into building and designing, adding to his superior intelect back in the day. He still has it, but seldom uses it nowadays.

* Headcanon: while the Control Brains treat both Tallest equally, Purple's better than Red at dealing with them. The Control Brains know that, while he's not a brilliant tactician or strong commander such as Red, Purple is less likely to think with the heart. Purple doesn't ask for special treatment for people he likes, like Red does with Ilk and would do with his family. Purple actually analizes height, strengths and weaknesses and makes decisions based on that,which the control Brains actually respect.

* I've mentioned before, and I say it again. In this story, Purple is a jerk, but not an outright monster. From the beginning, I wanted him to eventually reform somewhat.

*Headcanon: The Massive has a sort of 'junkyard' area loaded with old, broken down ships in order to get spare parts for when newer models break. It saves them time in repairing.