I know I said this would be the last chap, but I've decided to make a short epilogue. I felt like I couldn't just end it like this, I want to give it a proper ending. So in a few days I should be FINALLY finishing this story with a short epilogue.
Enjoy!
Indokani
Chapter 24- If You Love Something...
Sobrekt weddings are, by tradition, short; at least in comparison to the whole pre-kekkonshu stages previously held. It only consists of the couple making a cut in their palms: not too deep, just enough to draw blood, which is then mixed together and used to paint patterns on their foreheads and naked bodies*. Meanwhile, the guests sit around them in a circle acting as witnesses.
Thankfully for Red, Ilk was allowed to wear a thin, blue silk robe of sorts. Still, he forced the Invaders to close their eyes during the duration of the ceremony. He didn't want their inferior eyes to violate the sanctity of his baby's body.
Lena and Sakr painted the patterns on Ilk and Blue respectively, while Zim just stood there holding the ceremonial bowl of blood paint mixture with an insufferable grin on his face. His role was akin to the guy who carried certain objects up to the altar, while Lena and Sakr were the equivalents to a 'maid of honor' and 'best man' respectively.
"Nice dress, Irken."
Red frowned. He and Purple had chosen to wear their ceremonial robes, consisting of long silk robes of vibrant colors*, for the occasion, and Captain took every chance he could to tease them for it.
"For the hundredth time, Captain, it's a ceremonial robe!" Red hissed in a low voice.
"Whatever you call it, it's not good attire for the grass."
"I thought we'd at least get some chairs!"
"What do you complain about? You are sitting on 'chairs', aren't you?" Echo inquired, glancing at Skoodge and Bob. Both were wearing a service drone's table and acting as literal seats for the Tallest, given the Irken Leaders outright refused to get their precious dress- sorry, 'ceremonial robes' dirty.
"So that's your niece?" Purple glanced to his right, where Akkono was sitting. She was staring at Ilk curiously, her head tilted to the side. She looked cute like that!
"Not exactly by blood, but yes, that's my niece who's getting married," he chuckled.
"She must be a wonderful person if you and your co-Tallest were willing to steal the last Moondrop flower to save her life."
"She is." Purple glanced at the familiar hill the couple was sitting on. "You know, it's quite curious. That's the very same spot where we stole the first flower."
"I know. I used to come here as a hatchling to watch rebloom in spring." Akkono said, smiling a bit.
Once the painting was done, Blue and Ilk held each other's hands, locking their eyes with one another.
"Aik'ateru," Blue whispered
"What was that?" Purple inquired.
Skoodge took a look at one of his flashcards. "It means 'I love you' in Sobrekt, my Tallest."
Ilk struggled to repeat the word just like he did, but her tongue nearly knotted inside her mouth. "Ak-ka.. Aikte…" Blue looked like he was trying not to burst out laughing. Ilk furrowed her brow, pouting. This elicited a small chuckle from Red.
"You can say it in a normal language if you wish." Blue piped in after a few more failed tries.
Ilk made a mental note to get even at Blue later. For the time being, she smiled. "I love you."
Instead of sealing the union with a kiss, as more species did, Blue and Ilk leaned forward and rubbed their heads together, purring loudly. The crowd around them erupted into loud cheers and whoops. Purple additionally fired confetti wrappers and colorful smoke bombs from his PAK, whooping loudly.
Red didn't verbally join in, but he clapped his hands loudly, staring at his little Ilk with a broad, tender smile. If learning to let her go was hard enough, watching her accept another man in her life was even worse. Sure, the bond he and Ilk shared as father and daughter would never be broken, but now he would have to share her, something he was still not sure about. What if Ilk got hurt? What if things didn't work out and she ended up with a broken heart? There were so many possibilities…
Then he remembered this was Ilk they were talking about. She had grown into a fearless, strong, independent irkenette. Whatever it is that the universe has cooked up for her, she's more than capable of dealing with it. He'd always be there for her, that is right, but she was no longer a smeet.
Red's eyes met with Blue's for a few seconds. He said nothing, but the kryvtor could tell what his… father-in-law meant to say: 'Take good care of her, lizard, or I will drag you to the Massive so I can personally toss you out of the airlock.'
Blue nodded solemnly.
Purple glanced at the budding white flowers around Ilk and Blue. One, in particular, had already bloomed into a beautiful white iris-like plant. It was almost identical to the original, except its color has a mild reddish hue and its petals curled in a way that reminded Red of Ilk's curly lekku.
"So, what did you call those ones?" he inquired curiously.
"Ilkdrop flowers*," Akkono said.
For once, Purple liked the name.
The following few days were, thankfully, calmer. Unfortunately, it was time for Red and Purple to depart and continue with Operation Impending Doom 2, but they decided to take at least a few more days before actually leaving. In the meantime, many things happened.
Thankfully, the Control Brains had been dormant during the whole issue and they didn't know all the details as to why the Sobrekt had invaded the Massive, much to Red and Purple's relief. This meant they could modify the events to their convenience, and so the official story was that Bob and Skoodge had forged a permission slip to bet the Massive behind their backs. They lost the bet, but Red and Purple managed to negotiate its safe return in a peaceful manner.
With the Massive securely returned and the wedding going on without a hitch, Red could now pamper his pregnant wife, and he was happy to do so. Another check-up revealed that the smeet was healthy and growing: Red literally cried once he saw the picture of a tiny, curled up body in the ultrasound monitor. According to the information, a soft eggshell would form around the smeet and then it would be laid. To Lena's chagrin, though, Red got a little carried away with what things she could eat or not, and he made sure that nobody could give her Sobrekt related food. Echo was kind enough to give her some fried adaarksscotch on a stick when he wasn't looking.
Tenn made a full report about all she had learned about the kurokran program and insisted that she stay behind to keep digging into the war hybrids. The Tallest didn't have a problem with that, but in truth, Tenn's actual reason for staying was that she felt… drawn to her kurokran and didn't want to leave it. Besides, she had taken a liking to her new teammates and figured she could 'get some more information out of them', as she put it.
Purple decided to give Red some time alone with his family and instead hung out with Akkono a bit, claiming it was amusing to be around her. He'd spend some time in her home or in the indokuro sanctuary, and she'd give him some tips regarding indokuro training so he could take better care of Cheesecake. Sakr and Captain would tease the Irken leader, saying he was head over heels for the female kryvtor. But frankly, Purple didn't care what they thought.
Cheesecake finished recovering and was soon back to his playful self. As Lena said though, most of his injuries hone across the left side of his muzzle. Not only that, but it seemed like his jaw had been permanently become partly offset. It was nothing to worry about, according to Lena, but it gave Cheesecake a funny look. From then on, Red referred to him as 'Elvis'*. Oh, well, at least it sounded less insulting than 'lizard'.
The day before the Irkens' departure he was brought back so he could enjoy the grass and the open fields one last time. For the first time ever, Purple could properly play with his indokuro and teach him tricks, putting what Akkono taught him into action. The day before their departure, they spent most of the day in the indokuro reserve, playing or just taking a break. Cheesecake brought his master lots of animal carcasses; Purple didn't have the heart to tell him he couldn't eat them, so he opted to throw them away when Cheesecake wasn't looking.
Afterward, Fury arrived with his pack and Cheesecake went to greet them happily. Purple smiled at the sight and sat down under a tree, watching his indokuro playfully chase after Panther and Cougar. It's been a long time ever since he saw him so happy. It's a pity he wouldn't be able to do this very often in the Massive. Purple considered adding some of those treadmills he had heard so much about or even a whole habitat in one of the empty spaces. He'd have to talk to the Control Brains about it...
"Hey."
Purple raised his lekku, recognizing Akkono's voice. "Oh, hello there! What brings you here?"
"I needed a break from my little brother," Akkono explained, sitting down next to the Irken. She momentarily placed her incubator aside. "He wouldn't stop bugging me about wanting to feel the egg no matter how many times I've told him the embryo is not big enough to feel its movement yet."
Purple chuckled. "Just don't leave him alone with the incubator. Believe me, I know it by experience." He recalled how he'd accidentally broken Cheesecake's egg back on Hoth*. He was fortunate the egg had been close to hatching, or Cheesecake might not have been born at all.
Akkono smirked. "I'll take it into account." She glanced at the white-striped Indokuro bickering with its packmates over a bird carcass. "So what will you do now? About Cheesecake, I mean."
"I'm not sure. I mean, I know things won't go back to the way they were before." Purple sighed. "I mean, the Massive doesn't precisely have enough space for him to run. But there's a lot of unused spaces in there, I could make a replica of this reserve so he can run and play. I'd just have to ask the Control Brains for permission."
"Is that what you really want for him? To be stuck inside a holographic illusion, completely alone for the rest of his life?" Akkono pointed out. "No matter how advanced those projectors are, they really can't be compared to actual grass."
"He won't be alone, he has me."
"Indeed, but indokuros are social creatures that need to live in packs. Now that Cheesecake has experienced life in a pack for the first time in his life, it'll become a need he'll need to fulfill to remain emotionally and psychologically healthy. No hologram can replicate that. Prolonged isolation will have a negative impact on him later on."
By then, Purple had learned not to snap back, but he still furrowed his brows. "But I'll get to see him..."
Akkono leaned back, sighing. "Do you know why we let Indokuros loose?"
"It's because they need to exercise and burn all their energy, right?"
"That's one of the main reasons, that's right, but there's more to that. Indokuro hatchlings are always following their indokani around as if they were their mothers because they need to feel protected, but as they age, the indokani starts to treat them less like babies and more like partners. The indokuro learns not to become clingy to their indokani, and this, in turn, will lead them to try and join a pack, where they will learn to hunt and to fend for themselves. The Indokani visits periodically to continue the training, and then they cooperate with their indokuro during assignments, but they keep distance most of the time.
"However, even if they are separated most of the time, their bond remains as strong as ever. Just because they don't see each other every day, or sometimes even for weeks, it doesn't mean that they are not friends anymore. But sometimes, what you want is not what your friend needs. If you truly love someone you think of what's best for them, even if you have to… let them go. Even if it hurts, you want them to be happy and healthy."
Purple didn't know what to say to that but was interrupted when Cheesecake came over to him and curled up around him to lay his head on his lap.
"Don't forget to call me when you come over, sweetie!"
"Ilk, we said we wouldn't use the nicknames on public!"
"It's okay, they're family." Ilk shared one las nuzzle with Blue. "See you in two weeks!"
Red had to admit, he was glad Ilk would be coming with them this time around. Apparently, Blue had just been given an infiltration mission with Fury and he agreed that Ilk should spend some time with her family in the meantime. She would have gone with her mate, but Sobrekt have a strict policy regarding bringing family members to infiltration missions, thinking it might… compromise them.
"Ah, my Tallest!" Zim greeted happily, skidding to a halt just as they were leaving Blue's home. "I just wanted to let you know that I will be returning to Earth and continue with my mission! You'll be hearing about my next diabolical plan to destroy the hyoomans soon!"
"That's nice, Zim," Red lied. "So, where is that abomination?"
"Abomination? Ah, you mean Zimkro!" Zim glanced skyward, took a deep breath and screamed. "ZIMKRO, COME TO ZIM!" A few seconds later, the animal landed right next to him, wagging its tail. Zim laughed. "I have successfully trained him to come on my command! I shall be taking him to Earth to aid me in my mission!"
"As long as you keep that thing away from the Armada, I don't mind."
Zim ran off with a wide ear-to-ear grin, Zimkro in tow. Lena glanced at Purple, who hadn't said anything during the whole exchange. In fact, he had been 'absent' all morning: he didn't even touch his meal. His body was there, but his mind was not.
The group returned to the grassy field where a spittle runner was already waiting for them. They found none other than Bob and Skoodge waiting, both twitching their lekku anxiously.
"Hi, guys!" Ilk greeted cheerfully. "I hadn't seen you since Zimkro crashed into the base."
"You could say we were… indisposed," Bob murmured, rubbing his rear. "Damn frill necks."
"Um, sirs…" Skoodge laughed nervously, glancing up at the Tallest, but avoiding looking at them directly in the eyes. "We sort of… We wanted to ask you… N-Nobody wanted to give us a ride to the Massive… And, well, we were wondering…"
Red and Purple exchanged annoyed glances, before the former spoke. "Bob, Skoodge, you two are permanently banned from the Massive."
Skoodge went pale. Bob raised his lekku."S-Sirs?"
"What?" Ilk and Lena looked at Red.
"You heard me!" That said, Red stamped two seals depicting a crossed-out icon of the Irken flagship on the two shorters' foreheads with his PAK. "You cannot put a foot within nor within aerial space of the Massive. If you do, you'll be charged with treason and sent to Judgemetia. Is that clear?"
Skoodge was about to say something when Bob interrupted: the bastard was laughing, and holding up his arms triumphantly in the air. "HA! You two can serve yourselves from now on!" He looked sympathetically at Ilk and Lena. "But I'll miss you, miss Ilk and doctor Lena."
"B-But Bob, where are we going to live?!" Skoodge cried.
"Um, you guys could ask Zim is he needs any help in conquering Earth.' Ilk suggested. "I think he'd appreciate the help even if he won't admit it."
"Besides," Lena motioned the two shorters to come closer so she could whisper into their lekku. "Look at how tall Zim's gotten. Who knows? Perhaps spending some time on Earth might help you grow taller."
Bob and Skoodge exchanged a glance; a fraction of a second later, they were rushing towards Zim's voot runner. "ZIM, WAIT FOR US!"
"Dad, don't you think that was a little too harsh?" Ilk said once they were out of earshot.
"That was actually a mild punishment in comparison to what the Control Brains would have done," Red said simply. "Besides, they are short."
"My Tallest, we are ready to go." The pilot announced.
"Wait a minute, where's Cheesecake?" Lena inquired.
Almost on cue, the indokuro appeared from behind a tree line and ran towards Purple, stopping a few steps from him while wagging his tail. Behind Cheesecake, the Irken spotted Hornet, Cougar, and Panther stepping out of the line of trees, looking towards the Spittle Runner. They knew what was going on. They knew they were leaving, and take Cheesecake with them. Panther made a strange sound Purple recognized as a call. Cheesecake turned around and momentarily went back to the pack to share some chirps and croons.
"Pur?" Red called out, but there was no reply. "Purple?"
"Uncle Pur?"
Purple watched as Cheesecake rubbed snouts with the other indokuros and then came back to his side; he looked less lively than a few seconds ago. Purple looked up at the Massive, then towards the forest.
He couldn't do this. He couldn't force Cheesecake back into a cramped space, away from his natural habitat and the friends he just made. What awaited him up there? A fake environment and an almost perpetual feeling of loneliness? It would be selfish of him to think Cheesecake wouldn't mind it when in truth he'd notice the difference. What if Akkono was right and it did more harm than good? What if Cheesecake went back to being the same as before? True, he had been cute and funny, but that's not what an Indokuro needs.
Cheesecake just stood there, waiting for master to say something. They were going home, right? Why wasn't Master saying anything? In fact, he looked very sad. Cheesecake tried to make him feel better by rubbing his nose against his chest, purring.
"Oh, Cheese…" Purple took a deep breath and rubbed the indokuro's muzzle. "You know how much I love you, don't you?"
"Rawr!"
"You know… I wanted to go back to the Massive and go back to the way we were, but…" Purple grabbed his indokuro's head gently. "In all this time, I never thought of what was best for you. I just thought of what I wanted and didn't realize that you have your own needs."
Cheesecake purred, blinking.
"Cheesecake, I…" Another deep breath. "I've never seen you so happy before we came to Sobr. Not at this level… I just didn't want to accept it because I wanted you to be with me forever. But now I see that I can't take this," Purple glanced around. "Away from you. I can't turn you into a housepet again."
Now he's certain that something's off. Master's eyes are wet and leaking liquid. If he could, Cheesecake would be crying too. He had a strange feeling in his gut; he had an idea as to what was going on. He understood what Master meant to say.
"Even if it hurts me, I have to let you go and be yourself, let you be an Indokuro. That's something you can't do in the Massive." Tears rolled down Purple's cheeks as he stroked Cheesecake's head, meeting his gaze. "I want you to stay here, in Sobr, with Fury and his pack. Your pack. Get better at fighting. Get in better shape. But overall, be happy." He smiled a bit. "It's time I let you take care of yourself."
Red, Lena, and Ilk were staring at the scene, stunned. Was Purple doing what they thought…?
Purple wiped some tears away with his arm. "Be a good boy for me, Cheese, okay? Don't go around tearing off limbs. Eat well, and all that. But overall... Don't forget me, okay? I'll visit you every now and then, but… Well, to be sure-"
Purple was cut off when Cheesecake did something unexpected. He stood on his hind legs and pulled the Irken close with his arms, wrapping them around his torso*. When did he learn how to hug? He didn't really care; Purple returned the embrace, burying his face into his indokuro's chest.
His mind drifted back to Hoth, where he witnessed Cheesecake's hatching and they first met. Then the following hours in which they got to know each other. He remembered the little hatchling struggling to climb into his bed and curling up next to him to sleep. He remembered the snacking sessions in which he'd throw donuts into the air and Cheesecake would catch them. He remembered the many misadventures aboard the Massive in which both ended up grounded.
Hornet called out again. Cheesecake turned at him, and then back at Master; master nodded slowly, smiling sadly.
"See you later, buddy."
Cheesecake stared at Purple for a little longer before going back to the pack and disappearing behind the tree lines, their shrieks and calls echoing within the forest.
"Pur…?" Red asked tentatively, walking over to his friend. There was a vacant, glum expression on Purple's face.
He couldn't believe what just happened. Purple just… let Cheesecake go, just like that. Red never imagined he'd do such a thing, but right now the last thing his friend needed was another reprimand.
"Are you okay?"
"Remember when Ilk left for the Academy and you cried?"
"Y-Yeah."
"Is this how it felt like?"
Red placed a hand on his co-Tallest's shoulder but was caught off guard when Purple reacted and leaned into him, breaking down into tears. With nothing else to say, Red pulled him into an embrace and let him cry.
* Sobrekt Headcanon: the reason the couple in Sobrekt weddings don't wear any clothing is symbolic, as now that they've become mates, they will be free to touch each other's bodies without any sort of restriction. Non-Sobrekt may use a robe if they wish, but it must be semi-transparent and not hide their bodies from their fiancé.
* The robes the Tallest wore in Zim's trial sequence in Enter the Florpus.
* Remember how Ilk's DNA was taken in the epilogue of Lost? It was for this purpose: recreate the Moondrop flower, though they couldn't remove the Irken genome completely. It was named Ilkdrop flower after Ilk herself, as it's thanks to her that it exists.
* Reference to Echo from Jurassic World.
* Lost chapter 15.
* Reference to The Hidden World, when Toothless hugs Hiccup as they bid goodbye. I felt like it's something Cheesecake would do too.