Hello, everyone! It's been a while since I updated this one, but as I've mentioned, that is because I don't spend as much time writing in the computer as before.
And now, I'll reply to a few review.
17: No, this story is far from over, you won't have to worry about that detail. There's still so much to tell!
Guest: yeah, in this au, Red turned out to be Cheesecake's daddy. I wanted to explore how Cheesecake would have turned out had he been hatched by Red. You can be sure that he won't spoil him like Purple did in The Smeet AU, though.
And now, without further ado, enjoy!
Shades of Purple
Chapter 28- From the Frying Pan...
Purple found the apartment in shambles when he returned. He momentarily panicked until he recalled that Tenn tended to vent off by smashing everything around her. Thankfully, the comfortable-looking couch didn't seem to have a scratch.
Okay, now to find Tenn.
Twitching his lekku, he managed to hear a sound coming from the thing hyoomans called bathroom. Curious, he approached the door and pressed one side of his head to it. He recognized the sound of an Irkenette vomiting, having heard Lena throw up lots of times when she was pregnant.
Purple sighed. "Are you okay?" He asked. As mad as he was at Tenn, it didn't mean he wasn't concerned about her health, especially now that he knew she was smeeting.
"Puaj!" Guess that was a no.
The door opened a few minutes later, and Tenn stumbled out, her face pale. Purple quickly reached out and picked her up before she could do anything to slip away. Resistance came almost after as she wiggled in his hold, trying to get free, but his grip on his wife was firm.
"Put me down!" Tenn snapped.
"Calm down, woman," Purple said coldly. "Fits can hurt the smeet."
"Are you kidding me?! Now you're going to act like the 'loving' husband?!"
"Regardless of what you think, my dear, I'm not a monster. I'm not going to lay a hand on a pregnant irkenette," Purple glared down at his wife. "Even if you do deserve it."
As he walked into the room, Purple finally lost the little bit of patience he had. Instead of throwing Tenn into the bed as part of him wanted to do; however, he merely pinched down on a particular spot in her neck.
"What on Irk…?" Tenn trailed off as her eyelids fluttered, and she went limp in his arms.
Purple sighed. It's been a while ever since he used another Irken's weak spot to knock them out. The last time he did it was when Red was on a rampage after Miyuki died, and he had to knock him out before he could destroy their room (and the snacks). Thankfully, the bed was big enough for the two of them, so Purple tucked Tenn into the right side. As he was bringing the duvet over, his fingers gently brushed against her abdomen.
Purple froze. He found himself carefully placing his hand on his wife's abdomen as he imagined a tiny embryo safely tucked in her spooch-sac, growing. His smeet, his child… A warm feeling overcame Purple as he found himself smiling lightly.
He was going to be a father, after all. He could already imagine himself cradling his tiny smeet in his arms, making crooning noises to lull him (or her) to sleep. He imagined himself playing with the little one, changing dirty diapers, and taking him out on strolls, being there for the first steps…
His mind drifted back to Tenn as his gaze fixed on top of her. His wish came true, that's right. He was having a smeet with Tenn, but he was not as elated as he thought he'd be. He still didn't have her love. Worse, she tried to run from him, taking their smeet with her. She lied to him.
What about you? Didn't you lie too?
Purple angrily pushed the thought out of his head. It's not the same thing.
What could he do now? He just couldn't trust Tenn, at least not right now. She's likely to try and escape when she gets the chance. And he wasn't sure he wanted to go through all that again. He couldn't let her go unpunished, but at the same time, he couldn't bring himself to lay a hand on her. What to do, what to do…?
Wait a minute. He remembered a particular thing that he used to do on his regular visits to Orgydia. Yes, it might work. He just needed to make a quick call to Callnowia.
Tenn started stirring awake. Damn it, who turned on the lights? Tenn covered her head with a pillow, groaning.
"Wake up, sleepyhead!"
Tenn sat up, straightening up her lekku. That voice. It couldn't be! How did he…? Then she remembered what happened last night. Purple appearing in GIR's pizza party, him dragging her home, their argument, and how he knocked her out. Damn it, she had been hoping it was just a nightmare.
Tenn took a deep breath. The only good thing about her being pregnant was that Purple wouldn't lay a hand on her as long as she was carrying his smeet. She just had to put up with it until she either managed to escape again or until she gave birth to the smeet. Hopefully, the deal they'd made was still valid. If she gave him a smeet, he'd let her go.
There was a pleasant smell in the air. It smelt of cinnamon and plookesian honey. Tenn's squeedly-spooch growled. Guess the smeet must be hungry.
As Tenn got dressed into a robe, she noticed two metallic mauve bands in her forearms. She poked one with a finger; it was cold. As she tried to slip it out of her arm, however, the band tightened considerably to the point her arm started feeling numb. When she released the band, it went back to normal. How did these get into her arms? It must be Purple's doing.
She found her husband in the kitchen cooking. Cooking. Tallest Purple, the laziest of the two rulers of the Irken Empire. The one who asked navigators in the bridge to pass him his donuts when they were a few inches away from reach, was cooking. Tenn rubbed her eyes in case she was still dreaming. Sure, he had cooked for her a few times, but now she had expected him to force her to cook.
"Good morning, my dear!" Purple said, oddly cheerful. "I hope you had sweet dreams."
"What are you doing?" Tenn asked.
"Breakfast, I'm hungry."
"I can see that. But I didn't imagine I'd find you cooking."
"Come on, you've seen me cooking before."
"Yeah, but you'd rather have someone else do everything for you."
"Indeed, but sadly there's no one else here to make the food, and I'm not letting my smeet starve to death!"
You mean you can't let your wife carrying the smeet starve to death, Tenn thought bitterly. He was doing it again, acting as if the smeet was a separate entity from her when it was, in fact, inside her body.
"Sit down, my dear, I'll join you in a moment."
Tenn warily made her way towards the table. What was Purple doing? Why is he all sweet and affectionate out of sudden? He was pissed at her yesterday, but now he was acting as if nothing had happened. It must be a trick; she was kind of used to them already.
Purple joined her at the table soon after, placing a plate right in the middle. Tenn recognized the wapcakes covered in Plookesian maple syrup and pink whipped cream. Her lekku twitched at the pleasant smell. Hunger and cravings overruled caution, and she reached out to grab one.
"No, no, my dear, there's no need for you to move your arms," Purple said suddenly. Tenn felt a shiver down her spine.
"W-What do you mean?" she stuttered unintentionally.
Purple snapped his fingers. Tenn felt a tingling sensation in her arms. When she tried to move them away from the table, however, she found herself unable to. She tried again, but she couldn't even feel her arms. She remembered the bands.
"What did you do to me?!" She all but yelled as she got to her feet, her arms hanging limply.
Purple was still smiling, but Tenn recognized the look in his eyes.
"Why, Tenn, you need to be one hundred percent relaxed in your state." He said, 'sweetly.' "That means you shouldn't move any heavy stuff nor get yourself stressed."
"Oh, and having my arms completely immobilized isn't a stress factor?!"
"Don't worry, darling, I'm here. I'll make sure you're happy and comfortable." Purple held up a fork with a small cut piece of wapcakes. "Open up!"
Tenn was dying to spit right in his face and erase that grin off his face, but she was no fool. In her current state, she'd be defenseless. Up to now, Purple was yet to lay a hand on her, especially now that she was pregnant, but she wasn't going to push her luck.
Swallowing her rage, for the time being, Tenn forced herself to eat silently. It took her a considerable amount of willpower to keep a deep frown on her face even though the taste was exquisite.
"Man, I really overdid myself this time!" Purple said in-between munching a piece of wapcake. "Hey, there's some honey on your cheek."
To Tenn's mortification, Purple leaned in closer and ran his tongue over the smeared honey. The disgust caused her to jump backward, but as she couldn't move her arms, she lost her balance. She would have fallen to the ground hadn't Purple's PAK-legs caught her in the last moment.
"That was close!" he chirped.
"It wouldn't have happened if you hadn't licked me!" Tenn snarled.
"Oh, come now, where's your sense of humor, my dear?"
"What are these things you put in my arms, anyway? Why can't I move them?"
"A little souvenir I got from Orgydia during one of my... visits. It renders a person's arms immobile for an undefined period until removed by their partner. I often used them with my girls. These ones, however, were customized. They can only be deactivated or removed on my command. If you are five meters away from me, they will paralyze you until I am within range."
Tenn's squeedly-spooch twisted. This meant she wouldn't be able to be off his sight, which would make it impossible to escape. He was more than prepared this time.
"So what? Now you'll turn me into a literal porcelain doll?" She asked bitterly.
"Of course not, my darling! Just until we're back on the Massive."
"I'm not going back!"
"I'm not asking you, my dear. I'm just telling you what is going to happen." Purple continued, his voice momentarily becoming hostile before going back to his fake sweetness. "Now that you're carrying my smeet, I'm not leaving you in a place overrun by inferior species and their germs. Who knows where an assassin might be lurking! You'll be far safer in the Massive with me."
"I doubt that," Tenn murmured. "Did you forget the Sobrekt attack?" She couldn't help but feeling the smallest twinge of satisfaction as she noticed his fists clenching. She had struck a nerve.
"That was different. I lowered my guard, it won't happen again."
"Can you assure me that?" Tenn insisted. "How can I be certain that another group of assassins won't infiltrate and try to kill me again? Are you willing to take that risk?" She would have placed her hands on her abdomen for emphasis if her arms weren't numb.
"We won't be staying in the same solar system as Zim!" Purple snapped, but Tenn could tell he looked affronted. She had brought up a valid point; he hadn't forgotten the miscarriage, and he most likely wouldn't be willing to risk losing this smeet too.
Yet his point was a valid one too: living anywhere near Zim was a constant danger.
"We're leaving tonight, end of discussion." Purple took the plate to the dishwasher, ending the conversation.
Tenn might not be able to move her arms, but she was more than capable of smashing her forehead against the table.
"You know what to do, Kamora. Do not fail me."
Kamora saluted and stamped her tail, as customary in the Sobrekt military. "I won't fail, ma'am." The transmission cut off.
The kryvtor peeked through her ship's windshield. Part of her was dying to go directly to Earth and take a look at what Hitorken Zim has accomplished, but she had a task at hand, so she steered her ship towards the planet known as Saturn. According to Captain Mizorant, there was a contact there who would aid her in her mission.
The computer notified her of a message sent not long ago.
Dome 23, hangar 9. I'll meet you there. Hurry up, we don't have much time.
-M
M? What kind of name is that? Kamora shrugged it off. Must be a codename of sorts.
The dome she was directed to was bigger than the others. According to her research, this one was meant for rich people, or those Hitorken Zim liked enough to give them a comfortable place to live in. It's no wonder her target would be located here.
Kamora landed on hangar nine, as the message said, and she stepped out unto the cold metal platform. The atmosphere reeked with many exotic scents, some familiar, but others unknown and overwhelming. Kamora sneezed. Damn it, one downside of having a good nose is that it can be particularly sensitive towards certain scents.
"Kamora?" Turning around, she found herself face to face with a Meekrob. Kamora narrowed her eyes, her pupils turning to slits. "It's a good day to die."
"Why?" she asked.
"Katayo'o mottu nukot'ga kinoder."
Kamora relaxed. If he knew the answer, then he's a friend. "M, I guess? No offense, but it's not very original."
"I'd rather not tell you my actual name if you don't mind. I gotta watch my back." M said.
"I'm a Sobrekt, you don't have to watch your back around me."
"I know about your honor code, miss Kamora. I just don't find it easy to trust people anymore." M said bitterly.
"Whatever. Where is my target?"
"Follow me."
Kamora followed M through the crowds of aliens on the platform. It wasn't hard, as the Meekrob's glow made it easier to spot him. Though she couldn't help but notice that his light wasn't as bright as other of his kind she had seen. Probably has to do with his emotional state. After all, his homeworld was destroyed.
"There." M pointed to a ship apart from the rest: an Irken zhook runner with the Tallest insignia on its side. There were guards posted all around it. "Tallest Purple arrived in that vessel, and he'll be leaving soon with his wife."
Kamora raised an eyebrow as she noted how M spat the word 'wife.' "I take it you got something personal against her, don't you?"
"She's responsible for the fall of Meekrob," M was trembling. For a brief moment, his skin turned orange. "I want her to feel in the flesh what I felt."
"So, what's the plan?"
"They should be arriving soon. I will create a diversion while you subdue the female."
"I figured you'd want to be the one to attack her."
"Believe me, I want to, but Meekrob isn't known for their close combat skills. You, on the other hand, could probably kill a hundred Irken Elites single-handedly if you could. You'll have better chances to capture her alive." M narrowed his eyes. "But do not lay a claw on her. I want that honor for myself."
"Don't worry, my orders are just to capture them, not to kill them."
M turned his head towards the hangar doors. "They are coming. Get ready."
Kamora licked her lips. This will be fun.
The way up to the station was silent. Tenn hadn't dignified him with a word, nor even a glance. Purple was glad; right now, he didn't feel like talking to her. He just wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.
As they stepped out of the transporter, Purple gently grabbed his wife's arm and pulled her to walk beside him. He considered releasing one of her arms but thought against it. Tenn is more than capable of escaping with one arm alone.
One of his Imperial guard escorts, awaiting by the teleporter, saluted.
"Are we ready to go?" Purple asked.
"Yes, sir."
"Then let's get the heck out of this Irk-forsaken planet."
Purple followed the escorts all the way to the docking platforms, holding his wife's hand tightly. He pulled his hood back up as he took a look around. There were lots of inferior species all around them, but thankfully the place wasn't crawling with Sobrekt. Why didn't the lizards show up here if they adored Zim as much as Ilk had said during one of their transmissions? They were probably afraid that he'd blow them up.
"Can't you go a bit slower?" He heard Tenn ask impatiently.
"The sooner we get out of here, the better, my dear." Purple retorted impatiently. "I'm not exposing you or my smeet."
"I'd like to at least say goodbye to Gazlene!"
Purple shot Tenn a frown. "You're not talking with that hyooman again." He hissed. That woman was a horrible influence; she probably was the one who put the idea of running away in Tenn's head.
"You don't get to choose who I can talk with!"
"I am your husband and your Tallest, so yes, I can." Purple's eye twitched as he felt Tenn trying desperately to slip her arm out of his grip. He sighed. "Would you stop acting like a smeet, for Irk's sake?!"
"I am the one acting like a smeet?!"
Purple murmured under his breath. He'd have a proper conversation with his wife once they were back on the Massive. Right now, all he wanted was to-
"Hey!"
Purple turned towards the person who called out and was somewhat surprised to find a Meekrob. He instinctively pulled Tenn behind him. The imperial guards made a protective barrier between them and the glowing alien, all pointing their spears at him.
"Purple-"
"Not now, Tenn."
"Well, well, what do we have here? One of the Tallest so far away from the Irken Armada," the Meekrob sneered. "What brings you all the way here?"
Purple noticed all of the aliens looking their way with stunned expressions. He caught a few looks of hatred coming his way.
"That is none of your concern, you glowing piece of meat," Purple snarled. "Why don't you go back to that stinkhole you call your homeworld? Oh, wait, I just remembered it's no more," he smirked. "Sorry my bad."
"My business is not with you, Irken. It's your beloved wife I've got a pending issue with, so how about you hand her over and I leave you be?"
"If you dare put a single limb of yours on my wife, I'll make you wish you had been blasted into oblivion with the rest of your pathetic race."
The Meekrob scoffed. "Please, we all know you are nothing but a spoiled smeet that sends his soldiers to do the dirty work for him. Why else would you waste your time gorging snacks?"
"Say that again," Purple spread out his PAK-cannons, pointing them straight at the Meekrob's head. "I dare you."
"My Tallest, don't get your hands dirty with this scum. Let us handle it." one of the guards said.
"Purple-!"
"Silence, Tenn."
"You should pay more attention to your wife, Irken. Who knows? Looking away for one second might be enough for something to happen."
"Oh, yeah? Like what?"
"That."
Someone cried out from behind. Purple twirled around, PAK-cannons at the ready.
"Don't you dare, your Tallest."
Purple went pale. The guards were knocked out, and holding Tenn with an arm while pressing the tip of a plasma blade in her stomach was a female kryvtor. The lizard met his gaze with her slit-pupiled eyes.
"I thought it'd be harder to get through your guard, but I must say I'm very disappointed." She sneered. "And you entrust your life to these incompetent oafs?"
Purple brought out every PAK-weapon he could think of and aimed it at the kryvtor. Likewise, the one-half of the guards behind him rushed forward to point their weapons at her.
"Get your filthy hands off my wife, lizard-!"
"Ah, ah," the kryvtor pressed the blade's tip harder onto Tenn's stomach, making her cry out in pain. "Put those away unless you want me to gut your beloved mate in front of you, your Tallest."
"D-Don't, Purple!" Tenn croaked.
Purple froze, his limbs trembling. He met Tenn's terrified gaze, then lowered his eyes to her abdomen, where the dagger was pointing at. He swallowed the lump in his throat. It wasn't an empty threat; the lizard was capable of driving that blade into Tenn's stomach, killing both her and the smeet.
Slowly, his weapons retreated back into his PAK.
"Lower your weapons."
"B-But my Tallest-!"
"It's an order!" Purple yelled. He glared at the kryvtor, forcing himself to take deep breaths and calm down. "What do you want, lizard?"
"Your wife is coming with me, your Tallest," she said. "She has crimes to answer for. Now you better tell your guards to move out of the way before things get bloody."
Purple clenched his fists. He felt like screaming. It's happening again; Tenn, and by extension, his unborn smeet, is in danger, and he can do anything to help her… Or can he?
An idea crossed his head. It was very risky, but it was a juicy offer. They wouldn't be able to resist it.
"Lizard, wait." He said, taking a wary step forward. He panicked when the blade was pressed deeper. "No! I have a proposal for you!"
"A proposal, you say?" the kryvtor inquired quizzically.
Purple met his wife's eyes. Those beautiful fuchsia eyes so full of searing fire.
Tenn… As mad as I can be at you, I won't let them hurt you.
"Take me in her stead."
Oh, no! Cliffhanger!
Yes, despite all of his defects, I believe Purple would be willing to take a bullet for Tenn if it means saving her and the smeet. He does love his wife, the problem is that his way to show it is not very nice.
