Hello and welcome back to our next chapter of Fire in the Snow! I want to personally thank you all for your support in these hard times when I got sick, and I promise that I'll be ok, I've just been having some trouble focusing. I pushed off this chapter for two days because I wanted to make sure that the content I gave you was my best, and I really, really do appreciate your patience! I love you all, and I hope you're ready for some angst!
As a side note; I have definitely not forgotten about the request for an explicit sex scene (there will be more than one) or for a specific life or death angst scene. Both are coming! I just have to make sure they fit into the flow of the story, and I really want to make them SHABAM moments! Love you all and I read all of your reviews and take them all into account because they mean the world to me! Thanks for the feedback and I really do love having you all around!
NOTE: FANFICTION IS CURRENTLY HAVING AN INTERNAL ISSUE IVE NOTICED WHERE IT'S OMITTING SOME LINES. I found one line in here that is omitted, and it shows up in my document but doesn't show up in the story correctly about Sen's father, so I wanted to put in a note about that just in case you see it and are like "huh. wierd." I also think it's very wierd but I've emailed support to try and get it fixed! (4/5/2020)
Chapter rated M for graphic depictions of blood/violence/gore, perilous themes, brief heavy language, suggestive themes, and general adult content!
Hours?
Hours.
Purple shot up, knocking Red aside on accident and watching as he slumbered himself back down over the worn leather of the plush bench they had been reclining upon. Where were they? What time was it? Why did he suddenly feel so rested? What was that humming? Was that…music? He winced when Red's cheek collided hard with his lap and went completely deadweight, grumbling under his breath and stretching back over the beauty of the dark wood interior of the opulent ship he'd been held in as a fictitious captive for Irk knows how long now. It was gorgeous and expensive with immaculate gold leaf dotting accents and side tables as they lazed and buzzed leisurely through the cosmos over the smoothest warp jump he'd ever had the privilege of experiencing, glancing groggily to the wide expanse of windshield several feet away to admire the swirl and eddy of incredible color whizzing by as they traversed insurmountable distance. A single hand tapped impatiently over the rubbery grip of the clutch, silently running along each and every seam and bopping along to something angry and rebellious playing softly in the background to their once peaceable sleep. Wait…this was…
Purple swallowed, going back on his defensive guard when he realized where they were and who was transporting them and cursing himself under his breath for having fallen asleep so easily in his exhausted fugue, reaching down in a flash and grabbing Red to hold him close like a stuffed toy, beyond irritated when he merely rolled over and returned the embrace with a faint, sleepy smile and continued to dream whatever imaginative nonsense was going through his confusing labyrinth of a mind. Ugh. The guy could sleep through the apocalypse and still be content. At least he wouldn't move when they finally got a place or shout at him when he would accidentally kick him through the night. He ran a palm up the side of Red's cheek and tightened his hold once more when the split, nauseating gaze of their once enemy turned something he didn't understand swiveled in her chair and crossed her long, wiry legs, reaching up to snap with her free hand for the ship to go on autopilot and automatically follow the telltale ping of the Massive calling out them like a siren from afar. He glanced up to the control panel hovering over the hooded face of the zombified mess that would hopefully be their salvation, swallowing when he noticed they were almost to the gargantuan metallic prison that had held him for two grueling cycles. No. He had just gotten away from this place…he had just freed himself and tasted the dangers and the pleasures of being loved for the first time, and he was expected to go back and potentially relinquish the overpowering need to run that lit him up like sizzling kerosene? He growled and averted his gaze back to his feet when Sen looked him up and down, impulsively toying with Red's limp, buzzing antennae for some sense of tender self-comfort and habitually preening them as opposite sex lovers typically did in Irken society, sighing long and low when he couldn't find the words to call back to the three glittering black eyes beating into him like a red hot poker. It hurt. It hurt so much and festered in the pit of his chest to form a choking lump in the back of his still raw throat the more he thought about returning to the figurative den of snarling beasts and shadowy graves waiting to swallow them all whole under the booming laughter of Del's hideous smirk. He would never let them get close enough to inject him with a mixture of Red and Sen's blood and would undoubtedly up his formidable security beyond anything Purple himself had ever seen, knowing it would be harrowing and nearly impossible to break through the best of the Irken Elite. Was this all hopeless? Sen said something from afar that he didn't register in his own spiraling discomfort, letting his overwhelmed gaze trail up his knees and land on the beautifully relaxed visage of his partner hitching gently in his sleep as he battled demons and angels alike and became the most feared and loved man in all of the universe. He reached out and ran a smooth, featherlight brush over his lips, shying back when Red scrunched up his face with a grumble and tried to flip himself, giving up halfway and resorting to loosely wrapping an arm around Purple's waist to unconsciously latch his claws into the fabric of his Callnowian jacket. He felt a tiny smile peak on his face at how utterly ridiculous Red actually looked, wrapped in sickening pink fabric and even more pathetically girly leggings dotted with warm fuzz; he looked so comfortable and cozy, using Purple as a makeshift pillow as he lazed and drooled through his heavy cognition for the first good sleep he'd had since their ordeal had begun. It was crazy how someone so seemingly undesirable could be so perfect…so kindhearted under all that anger and pent up aggression. He was the embodiment of revenge, the steely fire of karma laying waste to the demonic, icy fingers of the Tallest they had both looked up to as a hero once, melting him with his sweltering crimson stare and ripping out his throat with a single, booming plasma shot from the barrel of the custom pistol Sen had limped over to set silently before them, followed by a second. Purple took a deep breath and reluctantly flicked up to meet what was left of her eyes, wincing at the incredible determination he was met with and feeling his own adrenaline spike in his system when he ran over the plan they'd all discussed before they had fallen asleep.
One; infiltrate the ship by pretending to be Sen's prisoners. She would bind and gag them both for good measure and believability, escorting them to the bridge to show them off as her special prize and a gift to the esteemed Tallest Del as what he would hopefully perceive as her need to show that she finally accepted him as her new father figure. They would then be forced down to the dank, disgusting holding chambers of the Massive's brig where they would begin to count out five minutes. In that time, Sen would find an excuse to slip away to the medical bay, forcibly remove a vial of her blood through the use of a stolen syringe and return to the bridge where she would distract Del by fabricating the threat of rebel hacking, pretending that the ship was being overridden by his enemies and effectively cutting the power. With the ship completely offline, Purple and Red would then be able to slip away from their bonds and pull free the carefully concealed Callnowian micro-pistols that would be hidden by harness along their hips, and hopefully not taken away during Del's potential order to check them for weaponry, blasting their way through the dark with the help of Red's artificial ocular implants as they ruthlessly fought back to the bridge where Sen would then stab Red with a free syringe and inject her adopted father with the mixture of both of their blood. It would happen at blinding speeds, a virtual coup and hostile takeover of everything they had ever known the Irken Empire to be as they stomped on the personal golden flag sporting Del's two sickening eyes and transformed them into a mixture of vibrant cherry and dominating lavender. Then…wait.
Then what?
They'd be able to murder Del once his blood had been chemically changed to something immoral and undead and had the once incredible immortality taken from him to be replaced with dust, but…what would happen when he was gone? They hadn't thought that far or ever really talked about it in detail in the short time that they had all been allied, leaving that rapidly approaching eventuality shrouded in the veil of terrifying, unknown mystery that threw a wrench in Purple's already sporadic confidence. He was once set to be Del's tall successor for his incredible success and mind-blowing intelligence in the Academy followed by his prospects as his apparent son-in-law by marrying his adopted daughter, all of which was now blatantly disturbing once he actually thought about what he almost got himself into, but would he…would he still be Tallest? Red had flippantly expressed a passive interest in taking the command chair, but Purple knew in the back of his mind that his idiot of a partner wanted more than just to lead. He wanted the status, the authority, the power to crush anyone beneath the toe of his steel boot as he strolled the bridge and raked through the Universe with enough force to blind a star, taking what he felt his people rightfully deserved and taking over every long lost empire that had beat back against his own citizens in the past and claimed that they were anything but excellent. He hated it and he expressed it vocally in his many fervent, determination filled speeches and the shine of his resolute, unwavering gaze taking Purple's soul and reviving it from the blackness he'd unwittingly slipped into.
Maybe Red could be Tallest.
He had the witty banter down and had tons of external experience with the toils that life had thrown their way, but…how would he be able to handle the social aspect of the job? He wasn't exactly a saint and, if Purple was being blatantly honest with himself, was quite awful at opening up to express himself with words, a necessary skill that would be needed should he have to address the wide-eyed public or speak off of a teleprompter before his advisory team. Without the ability to speak eloquently, his approval ratings would surely falter and die away sooner rather than later as he lost the support of each of Irk's eighteen separate regions one by one when they turned their antennae up to laugh in his direction. He was setting himself up for early-onset failure should he refuse, or simply not understand, how to improve himself and Purple couldn't let him crash and burn because of his own misunderstandings towards the inner workings of the political realm he'd lived since his stripping from the Academy. Maybe…they could be Tallest together? He could take on the socio-political aspect of the Empire while Red blazed through and opened up raging wars throughout the cosmos, paving the way for a formidable team beyond anything that their more than worthy planet had ever had the privilege to witness. After all, Miyuki and Spork had ruled together.
Ugh, no. They were married. There was no way that the Control Brains, even when they found Del to be in violation of imperial law, would ever approve two mere idiots casually dating to enter into something as serious as the seat of Tallest together without a real commitment.
There was no way.
Purple reached out and ran his bare palm over the smooth grip of his pistol when Sen cleared her gooey throat, feeling his jaw clench on impulse as he took it up and averted the plasma coil to the floor, squinting down the sight and scoffing when he realized how poorly made it was. Had Sen modified these herself?
"The sight is messed up. How am I supposed to aim with something like this?" He asked, forcing himself to try and relax when Red stretched with a peep over his lap and let his waist go.
Sen wavered on her feet when the ship jerked and lurched unexpectedly, flying up to grip at the safety railing dangling above her. "I-It's not messed up! Don't you know how to use a Callnowian sight, you uncultured little insect?" She reached down when the turbulence died away and fumbled to snatch the pistol back with a hot grumble, pressing a tiny switch along the side to free a concealed laser sight from within the casing. "There, you see? It's completely fine!"
Purple extended a hand out of curiosity and took the weapon back, examining it once more and rolling his eyes when he realized the scope was still off by more than two ridiculous inches. "You're kidding, right? Haven't you ever heard of the term 'doping your scope?'" He extended a single, sharp PAK leg, snickering when Sen panicked and stumbled back before quickly catching her breath in humiliation and cursing under her breath when she realized he was using the narrow tip as a makeshift screwdriver to correct the poor configuration on his weapon, intermittently checking it as he went. "From what I've seen, most weapons in our neck of the starsystem follow the same configuration and are based on old Vortian engineering, meaning you can adjust the accuracy of your scope by tightening and loosening it with these two little screws here." He pointed them out with a claw, strangely happy when his ex-fiancé decided to pay attention for once. "If your laser and your scope don't line up, you're not gonna be able to aim and it'll be the life or death of you."
Sen nodded along with his explanation, bringing her now deteriorating fingers to her still plush lips as he spoke. "Huh…I guess I hadn't thought of that. Forgive me, Nemi, I wasn't necessarily built for combat. Everything I know, I know from my father, and not that tall creature my mother tried to pawn off on me as a replacement for my real father." She sneered, returning to the pilot's seat when Purple snatched for Red's pistol to scrutinize it as well, slipping free the electronic cartridge and passively listening to her miniature rant. "Del would visit mother in secret for their idiotic love making. It was so impromptu and disgusting and I never saw him as my father no matter how many gifts he gave me or-" She trailed off when she noticed the obvious tremble in Purple's hands as he slammed the clip back into the side and proceeded to distract himself by fumbling with the grip. "Are you…are you nervous?"
"Why would I be nervous?" He snapped back quicker than he had originally anticipated, swallowing down a sudden wave of anxiety induced nausea as he took a deep, calming breath. "We're only going back to the one place that I hate more than any other, and facing the only other living monster that tried to ruin me over and over again, so of course I'm not nervous."
Sen narrowed her eyes and turned on her heel, moving back to the pilot's seat and slinging herself down with a snort of disdain. "You don't have to be so condescending about everything. I'm trying to help you, and this is the only way that you're going to be able to have the pathetic freedom you think you want."
Purple tightened his grip once more, gingerly slipping free and lowering Red down on the bench before standing and stomping his way over to throw a hot finger in Sen's face as she sputtered at the sudden dangerous shift to the atmosphere. "Why do you have to act so privileged all the time? You grew up with everything and yeah, I had a pretty decent life myself until it was taken away, but don't act like you know me just because we were supposed to get married!" He moved back and positioned himself next to his still somehow slumbering partner to run his hands over his cheeks for his own comfort. "You've had freedom your whole life and you've never been forced into what I've had to do. I've serviced men I don't know. I've given my blood against my will. All I've done is give, and give, and give to you and your people and you take without realizing what it does to people like me!"
"And all you do is complain that you've been wronged! Yeah, alright, I'm sorry you had to go through that, I really am, but do you really think I wanted to marry some Irken from millions of lightyears away that I never knew? I was sat down in front a book with thousands of men and told to choose based on your looks alone. I picked Styx because he was handsome and I picked you because I thought out of all of them you would be…w-would be nice to me. You had such a kind face." Sen faltered a bit at her decision, gripping at the clutch as they neared the end of their warp cycle and preparing for the inevitable docking she would have to undergo to pull them into the Massive. "I was with Styx for nearly a cycle and I truly tried to make it work because I wanted to love him but you can't force love on someone you know hates you from the look in their eyes. I wanted to move on and get over my own fear of being someone's pet and having to give in to everything that Mother wanted all because I was the catalyst to bring our Empire closer to yours! You're not the only one who got the short end of the stick here." Sen took a deep breath and continued, softening her tone when she realized she was being a bit too harsh. "I look at you and I can't stand to see your idiotic face screaming back at me because all I see is the future I was supposed to have but never wanted in the first place. I wanted to marry someone I loved instead of having to put on a smile and mate with parts I don't understand that are different from anything I've ever seen and inject myself with the blood of someone I had to sleep next to every night without consent. I don't want to downplay your pain, because I know how bad it hurts myself, but…we all need to bring that anguish together and find ways to channel it into the revolution that we're opening up because like it or not, we're all that we have now."
Purple didn't know what to say, slumping back and bracing himself when they ricocheted out of warp to slingshot around a nearby asteroid for speed, gripping into the plush leather of the seat beneath him for leverage when they shuddered and were hit with the sudden back-blow of the Massive's electromagnetic field rippling out in arduous waves. His gaze snapped up as his pulse quickened in his veins, finally catching sight of the terror he'd come to loathe with every fiber of his being; glassy, immaculate hull, magenta side pods filled to the brim with heavy canons, and an expensive viewing port where his greatest enemy stood proud and tall to look over everything he perceived as his own. Sen's words echoed in his mind and settled heavy in the pit of his spooch, cluing him into the horrendous wrongdoings that were wrought upon the Callnowian people in tandem all because two fated lovers wanted to cheat death and take.
Take.
All anyone in this existence did was take.
Maybe it was Purple's turn to wrap his claws around delicate throats, to stomp out the light of life and scream through his blistering, mind-numbing exasperations as he waded through every single being who had wronged him like a dark god. Ugh…what was he saying? Here reached back to Red's boot and fumbled with his poorly tied laces, grumbling to himself at the sheer ineptness of his partner to function on a daily basis. This was why he was doing this; the prospect of freedom for them all….the prospect of feeling loved again. It wasn't for the violence, it wasn't for the revenge, and he had to keep himself in check before he slipped down the same path his vexing enemies had taken. He was above them, he was figuratively taller, and he was going to win this war.
Red sighed himself awake when he felt two hands land at his hips to pull up his jacket and sling a scratchy harness around his waist, latching it in the front and shoving a micro-pistol in the holster before tugging his clothing back down to conceal their failsafe. He smiled, in his groggy fugue state, running his hands up along the two scaly wrists fitting him with equipment and purring at the idea that he was being awoken by the one man he'd come to…wait….scales? He blinked and let his eyes flutter open, scrambling back with a sudden yelp when he realized it was Sen's half-rotten flesh grazing over his, batting wildly at her fingers as he shuddered and stuck out his tongue to the unclean sensation of being felt up by his nasty ex-fiance and her gooey, putrid claws. No thank you! Purple held back a laugh to the side, tightening his own harness around his slim figure and tapping impatiently along the grip of his own weapon as he admired the strange scene unfolding and giving him a bit of needed hilarity to the terror they were about to endure.
"Good morning, sleeping beauty." He kidded, reaching out and flicking Red's antennae when he shot a hot look back and pouted, crossing his arms over his chest and staring at the far wall. "Fantastic for you to finally get up from your lazy streak and help us."
"Shut up! I was tired from dragging your sorry ass around." Red barked back in humiliation, finally, but quite reluctantly, standing when Sen motioned harshly for him to get up. He popped his back with a needed, warm stretch, doing a double take when he realized they where they had ended up. "Holy…is that what I think it is?"
Shit.
They were in the process of connecting to one of the thousands of docking pods dotting the side of the gargantuan flagship he'd come to call his home during the past six months he'd spent posing as a general, swallowing when he realized he'd have to jump back into that role once more as a prisoner. Ugh…this would be humiliating. He already knew his pride would be crushed under Sen's brazen torment and wasn't looking forward to the agonizing look of disappointment flashing over his false friend, Del's, face when he realized that his favorite officer had betrayed him so wholly. How funny would it be when he realized they'd never been friends in the first place but rather the worst of enemies deep down, dancing around one another as Red molded his pathetically soft emotions like clay into something beautiful before shattering them like fragile pottery. Ha. It was his fault for being so ignorant in the first place. But, Red knew better than anyone, except Purple, how utterly cruel Del could be when his button's were pushed one too many times or when he felt his position was threatened. He'd watched his former Tallest brand service drones with his PAK lasers, slicing through their skin when they brought him the wrong drink or mixed it improperly. He'd drowned advisors in blistering hot bromine baths when false rumors about their insolence circulated from the others, a way to get rid of competition through the permanent use of death and destruction to prop up their own agendas. It was hideous, immoral, and went against everything that the sanctity of Tallest was supposed to uphold, but still no one batted an eye because of Del's constant prancing in front of the Control Brains and their favoritism towards his apparently benevolent, warmhearted nature. Lies. All of it.
Red blinked when he felt his hands taken into Purple's before melting into the swift, tiny kiss peppered against his cheek like a feather before he was spun on his heel and forced to throw his wrists behind his back, a single set of tight, electronic handcuffs slung around his wrists. Purple shoved a crack key into his palm before pressing the switch along the titanium and unleashing the full extend of the restraint, enclosing his partner's hands completely in harsh, cold metal and immobilizing him as his own apprehensions bubbled in his thoughts. This was happening. This was seriously happening and he wasn't ready for it. Then again, Red would never be ready for something like this, thinking back to the dozens of times he was forced into cuffs by police of all species for his many improvised heists, snickering when he remembered how he and his family had broken themselves free each and every chance they got. This one would be for them, the image of Tak wildly screaming to the heavens hitching and blooming in his mind as they raced along alleyways together with armfuls of stolen bread and juice and evaded capture, returning to their waiting friends back in their ship and racing off into the shimmering stars. Would she be proud? Would she be happy that he was finally on the path to his own happiness? Red shook the thought away, turning when Purple kicked his legs apart and cuffed his ankles with a wince at how painful a stance it looked, not that Red wasn't used to restraint. This would be a cakewalk. He was more worried about Purple, watching as he hissed and grumbled in discomfort to the feeling of his shoulders nearly slipping free from their sockets when Sen reached forward and yanked him back to begin their long awaited, wholly terrifying mission and immobilize him the same way. He looked like he was in constant pain, scrunching up his face to the tenderness of the cuff seam rubbing his poor, uncalloused wrists raw but never once opening his mouth to complain when he realized this was the only way.
This was the only way.
Red held is breath, opening his mouth when he was fitted with a muzzle and instructed to bite down on the bar, the straps swiftly adjusted around his jawline and cutting off his loud, protesting voice when Sen giggled and flicked his antennae before moving off to do the same with his partner. He could hardly move besides the occasional roll of his rotary cuff in a weak attempt to stimulate blood flow to the site when he felt his forearms go distressingly numb, ready to get this horrific show on the road and get out of these awful restraints before he lost his mind. Ok, ok, the plan was simple enough. Go to the dungeons and count to five minutes. Wait for the power to go out and meet Sen on the bridge to take down Del. But what if he moved? What if he was taken by escape pod somewhere else in the height of the confusion? What if he suspected Sen of treason and threw her in captivity with them all as well? There was so much that could go wrong on this mission, so much that could get Purple killed in the heat of the action he knew his powerful partner had once expressed interest in seeing but now obviously wanted to just go home and live out his life in peace. Red was tired himself, tired of running from the law and physically exhausted from the strenuous nature of laying low and evading capture. The sleep had helped his form recuperate as what was left of his wounds sealed and disappeared, but his mind was still on fire and struggling to rationalize through what exactly it was they were getting themselves into. Red talked a big game and like to spout hatred back at the government, but now that he was met with the opportunity to take down everything that he despised, he was a little anxious about how well this was really going to go. He didn't care in the slightest what happened to Sen, but if Purple was wounded in combat or taken from him…he didn't know what he would do. They were in a budding relationship now, but Red was always miles down the road ahead of what he was sure Purple felt, his love having had months to cultivate over time and terrify him into submission at the thought of Purple vanishing from his vision or not being able to save him from the fate they were potentially walking into. He frowned around his bit, glancing to the side as Purple relaxed his jaw and swallowed around the intrusive metal splitting his teeth and making him drool unnecessarily, rolling his eyes back at Red with a tiny head shake to try and make light of the hazardous mission they were throwing themselves into. He had never told Purple that he loved him. He'd only insinuated it before through reassurance and sweet kisses, never once opening up the profound conversation about the future he definitely wanted more than anything out of fear that it would be far too soon and he'd lose his chance at happiness, but now that they were sprinting headfirst into the blazing fires of hell, he wondered if he should have told him sooner. It was a virtual nose dive, Sen grabbing them each by the arm and straightening her disintegrating spine as she limped her way towards the main hatch to thrust it open with her foot and smile up at her two tall prisoners attempting to psyche themselves up into the sweat-beading, pulse pounding, mind-razing threat of demise staring back in their pale faces.
"Alright, boys! Here we go."
Purple couldn't think. Everything moved in slow motion as he became painfully aware of the pistol digging into his ribcage under his jacket, flinching in sudden terror at the haughty laugh Sen barreled back at them when they were met with a group of Elite guards awaiting their transport, watching in confusion as she snatched Red first with more force than he'd expected and nearly forced him to his knees in a humiliating display of power. Purple was next, trying to shy back when he realized that they'd made a chilling mistake at the look Sen blinked in his direction, only calming when she snatched him by the jaw to spit directly in his face and pelt him with metallic blood before giving him a tiny wink. Huh. This was all for show. Even so, did she have to be so sadistically harsh?
"Hello, my darlings!" She sang sweetly to the group of appreciative guards fawning over her and shrinking back when they noticed her half obliterated jaw hanging to the wind. "Oh honeys, you don't have to stare. I know I'm the vision of perfection to your small little minds, but I'm here on a very important mission. As you know, my men were able to capture the traitor, General Styx from the Alpha Company, and the defector, Successor Nemi, from the capitol city of Bornau. They've been causing all kinds of trouble for Prime Minister Ipi and myself, and I would like to personally deliver them to Almighty Tallest Del for trial and," Sen licked what was left of her lips with a saccharine hum, "execution by whatever means necessary."
With that, she was saluted when four stoic faced guards clad in the thickest armor Purple had ever seen fell in at their side to look him over for the first time since he'd been exposed on the Massive. They looked almost sorry for him, lingering against his eyecolor for a few moments before grabbing him as delicately by the side as they could and leading him forward in line with Red who received rougher treatment. It was annoying how everyone automatically assumed he was delicate, claws hanging back and keeping free from his flesh as Red was unfortunately subjected to saliva smacking against his cheeks and a slew of names before a young recruit ventured enough courage to show off to his friends by raring back with a brutal laugh before connecting hard with Red's jaw. Purple tried to shout back in irate, white-hot anger, struggling against his restraints but finding them stuck fast against his forearms as Red coughed behind the intrusive, choking metal in his mouth and shook the urge to pass out from the back of his eyes, a thin trail of bright pink blood oozing lazily from the corner of his mouth where the bit had sliced through his lip. Ugh, why couldn't this just be easy? With that he was tugged back to his feet and forced to walk ahead of Purple a few feet as if he were being ruthlessly paraded as an example of what would happen if anyone were to take on the prowess of Del himself, kicking him around corners and grabbing him angrily by the antennae to snap his head back when he tried to look down and avoid the shocked gazes of former coworkers and friends he'd made along the way, effectively breaking Purple's heart when he noticed the whispers of disappointment uttered through each corridor and hallway they traversed on their way to the bridge.
Is that General Styx? What's he doing in restraints?
Didn't you hear? He murdered Advisor Lire and stole the consort Tallest Del was giving to Callnowia.
You're kidding! Why the hell would he steal Empire property like that?
Rumor is they've been having an affair for the past six months under our Tallest's antennae.
Phew, man. I wouldn't wanna be Styx right now if that's true.
Murdered Lire? Did no one here understand that Lire was a literal monster who molested Purple for almost two cycles? He wanted his voice back so he could yell at every curious bystander that thought they had an inkling of what was happening, to thrust their faces into the floor and scream out praise for Red and his cause. He'd saved him and taken him away from the life he never thought he'd be able to leave before showing him what love felt like…if it was love…n-no, Purple was sure of it. It was love. This was love. Red would go to the ends of the Universe for him and back and never once regret the dangerous and mind-numbing agonies he would surely face along the way, and Purple would do the same for him should the time arise. He cared about his partner beyond a level lingering on the surface of his skin, knowing deep in his weary psyche that the only reason he was here was to pacify the dangers threatening that tall, sometimes stupidly immature, beauty being forced through the gargantuan main hatch to the bridge. No, this was all happening so fast! He needed more time to prepare and work through these feelings of residual trauma blooming behind his eyes as Purple felt his breathing escalate to something swimmy and dizzying his wild gaze bouncing from the engineering deck to the wide-eyed navigation's team wondering who he was and what his role with their once favorite, faux general was. He felt sick, felt the sting of thousands of hits slamming into his sensitive bones to crack their surface but never go as far as to cleanly shatter them, felt the burn in his lungs from the terrifying sensation of drowning when he was waterboarded against his will for eating something he wasn't allowed or talking to a kind service drone in passing. He glanced down the way and froze in his tracks before he was pushed through the hatch to follow after his equally terrified, but boilingly irate, partner, catching sight of the lock pad on the door he had been forced to linger behind for two long cycles of mind-crushing torture and sexual favors that kept him from feeling whole. Don't dissociate. Keep your wits about you and keep going forward. He wanted to run far away from this excruciatingly painful place and make it to the Green with Red where they could forget about the Empire completely and live together in tiny quarters they could call their own and cook each other delicious meals at night that weren't just instant noodles. They could say whatever they wanted, feel whatever they wanted, and heal at their own pace. Maybe…m-maybe they would lie together for cozy, lazy mornings as they opened up rounds of sweet pillow talk and held each other close never again to reminisce about the sheer horrors of the Irken Empire bearing down on their shoulders like an anvil. But that wouldn't happen. The only way that he would ever be able to take Red away from this place and save his dammed soul was to go through with this plan and face the tall, immaculately armored entity flicking his dastardly, nauseating antennae forward to scent at the air and pick up on the intensity of their fear.
Del.
He was so beautiful, the picture of Irken excellence at it's utmost finest and slathered head to toe in gorgeous gold titanium to match his opulent eye color, the hem of his fluttering robes barely skirting the main platform as he glided above the same ground his subjects walked to portray himself as nothing more than a deity. His once youthful face was strained with age but he wore it well, each and every line in his forehead and dotting his well-rested eyes a mark of his incredibly soft lifestyle but the habitual twitch in his deep, seemingly kind eyes offered a tiny peek into the unstable monstrosity that he truly was inside. Purple couldn't look away, feeling a single tear prick in the corner of his vision and hastily blinking it away when he realized how much effort he was going to have to put forth to keep himself from unraveling, watching as Sen strode forward and threw her arms out to welcome her adopted father into an incredibly convincing, honied embrace. He laughed a bellowing laugh and held her back, rubbing affectionately over her shoulders before pressing her back to look her from head to toe and remain oddly unperturbed to the obvious disarray of a void she had spiraled down into. Instead he grazed over her good cheek, wiping her blood along his untainted robes before nodding with pride back at her.
"It's been quite some time since I've seen your beautiful face, Sen. How are you?" He asked genuinely, glancing over to her shoulder in satisfaction when one of his guards kicked Red in the back of the knee and forced him to his stomach, digging their heel into the small of his back as he squirmed and tried to fight off the advance to no avail. "I see that you've brought me some gifts! Thank you so much, sweetheart, and I'm sorry that my General has caused you so much trouble."
General? He still hadn't caught on that Red was a rebel?
Purple blinked with a muffled yelp when he was yanked back against his will, stumbling to keep his balance and freezing as his blood ran cold to the feeling of his restraints being gingerly peeled away. He felt his arms fall to his sides as he stared down in guttural shock at Red who struggled to scream something back in terrified, shaky warning around the metal clenched in his teeth, watching in tear-streaked horror as Purple was tugged free from his bone-crushing bonds and taken by the hand to the steps of the bridge by a kind table-headed drone beaming up at him as if he were the purest soul in the galaxy.
What?
W-What?!
This wasn't how the plan was supposed to go! He was supposed to be thrown in the brig with Red and his partner was supposed to use his crack key to free them both so they could fight their way through Del's team like heroes! This…this was strange. This was eerie and phantomlike, setting a sharp, agonizing hook in Purple spooch when he was stood up to shake in his boots before the leader who had started it all. He shook his head as his mind raced and shattered, leaving him with no plan b when Red was violently tugged up and taken hard by the throat by the suffocating glove of a commander as he writhed and begged to get away and reach out for to escape with Purple as his world crumbled. No. No. No. Please, anything but separation. Anything but separation! Purple couldn't think, taking an erratic step back and going to sprint after Red as he struggled growled his way through the main hatch and out of sight, two firm gauntlets landing to squeeze down hard on his collarbone as he yelled.
"Red! R-Red I'll find you! I-I promise I'll-" He gagged when Del moved a hand to his neck and clamped down, holding him still and snapping calmly with his free hand as Sen panicked and tried to fight her way out of the sudden, unanticipated set of strong arms around her waist hoisting her up and carrying her back off the bridge.
Sen kicked and screeched in hot Callnowian, loosing her heels as she thrashed and was carted away against her will after Red to leave Purple completely at the mercy of Del and his horrendously shady will. As her voice echoed and died away to nothing more than a faint mumble in the distance, Del relaxed his hold and instead moved his hands back to Purple's shoulders to massage his long fingertips into the slowly flowering bruise left on his trachea as he tried to double over and violently cough through the pain.
"How could something so tall be so sweet?" Del asked with a laugh, slinging an arm around his waist and lowering himself to the ground so he could stride in time with Purple when he tried to shove him off. "Why don't we go and have a little chat about this plan to overthrow me? Sounds like you and your General put in a lot of effort with my daughter to take me down, but I want you to know that won't be happening today."
"W-What…? What are you talking about?! Let me go!" Purple cried out, frantically screeching and fighting against hit Tallest's powerful hands when he scooped him up against his will and shoved him up under his arm when he tried to bite. "Let go of me go! L-Let me GO!"
"No, I think I'm going to hold onto you for a little while, my flower." Del hummed, blinking in the low light and nodding for a wildly uncomfortable advisor to take his place during his absence on the bridge. "You're so thin these days; why don't we go to my private quarters and have some pastries? I can warm them up for you and we'll sort this out like functioning adults, alright? How does that sound?"
No.
No.
No.
This wasn't happening.
This wasn't happening.
This wasn't happening.
Purple felt like his voice had been stolen, swallowing it down in the back of his throat and going into another pattern of mind-numbing dissociation as colors began to blend and turn to something erroneous and formless and…and…
Come on, Pur, you can do this.
Red?
Purple blinked and felt his spooch drop when the ghost of a familiar voice hit him directly in the PAK, memories bubbling up in his code and pacifying everything he was afraid of in favor of the undying, soft, tender love that he'd been shown in the past few days by the man who had tried to protect him from the beginning. He could do this. He had to do this.
It was his turn to protect Red.
Red sputtered and coughed when his gag was removed and his restraints tugged away, growling and yelping like a caged animal when he was tossed like a ragdoll into a glass holding pod and swiftly trapped against his will by a commander he didn't recognize. Dammit! Purple was up there by himself trapped with the monster he was trying to destroy and Irk knows what was happening to him! Red reared back, pressing his claws against the far wall before getting a running start and screaming as he slammed ruthlessly into his pen, faltering and slipping when he felt every capillary in his shoulder burst and immediately bruise but uncaring to the agony. He sputtered and pushed himself up, his white-hot anger blinding him into submission and drawing a primordial snarl from his lips when he limped back and tried once more. Again he failed, reaching up and scraping his palm down the impervious glass when a choked, furious sob wracked his body and curled him subconsciously into a ball. Nothing was right in his world anymore. There was no more lavender to stare back at and giggle about stupid jokes with. There was no more cooking stupid, pointless meals for his love and watching him perk up at the taste. There were no more untainted hands trailing his waist when he felt unworthy.
He couldn't keep him safe.
He couldn't keep him happy.
Red really was unworthy…wasn't he?
He didn't bother glancing up when a familiar voice rang out in his limp, hopeless antennae, his senses clouded with despair and a deep ache of self-animosity that wouldn't go away the more he imagined what Del was doing to Purple just a few floors up. He had to get out of here. He had to find a way to get free so he could get to him and take him away lightcycles away from this place. It didn't matter if their lives would be full of running anymore; if running meant Purple would survive and live to smile back at him another day than Red would take the brunt of whatever he had and steal for the rest of his miserable life just to see his partner's flourish. The pod directly next to his swung open and slammed with the vicious sound of Callnowian drowned out by his wild pulse thumping in his ears, drawing a pathetically weak jolt from his shoulders as he shuddered and audibly sobbed into the sterile floor, throwing out his PAK legs for one final attempt as he gained a burst of desperate, frantic energy and fired on impulse. Blazing hot plasma ricocheted back and slammed into his shoulder blade to sear at his skin and melt ruthlessly through his jacket as he screamed and wailed out his unbearable anger, fusing the polyester fabric to his skin but the pain of anything physical unsurmountable to what was hatching in his mind.
Boom. They'd taken his chances of graduating.
Boom. They'd taken his citizenship.
Boom. They'd led him to take his eyecolor.
Boom. They'd taken his status.
Boom! They'd taken his freedom!
Boom! They'd taken his family!
Boom! They'd taken his soulmate!
Lasers fell away and went limp, hands moved to knees, breath caught and stifled. Fear. So much fear. Loneliness. So much unbearable loneliness. He'd promised Purple he'd be safe. He promised him he would never let him down and Red had let him go to the clutches of icy, unforgiving death just like he'd done to Tak and Skoodge and tiny Zim. They were his family, and he loved them. He loved them with all his soul and every fiber of his being and he'd let them go all for his own insolence and inability to keep them safe. And now…now he'd led Purple right into the lion's den with his stupid idea to inject Del with his blood.
He'd led him right back and lost him forever.
"Styx?! Styx! Get up! You have to get up and get to him before Del does something!"
Red weakly glanced up from his fingers, barely making out the panicked, terrified shape of Sen banging with all her might on her own holding chamber for his attention, gooey blood rushing free from her destroyed veins with every clout. Her…he'd never seen her like this. She was frightened, appalled, terrified beyond belief that Del was going to win and their cause would be snuffed out like a tiny, insignificant candle. Why? Why did she still think he could do this after all this time? Hadn't he already proved that he was incapable of functioning in the smart man's world? He was an idiot and yet…yet she didn't think so.
She didn't think so. Purple didn't think so. Tak and Skoodge and Zim hadn't thought so.
Ipi had called him a flea. Del had called him stupid. Lire had laughed in his face as he raped his partner. But through it all, the shining stars of life and the ethereal radiance of love had peaked through the cloudy days of torment and agony to kiss at his face and tell him it was alright.
Why? Why else had he made it this far if not to keep going? But would he even have the chance to keep going? He finally met Sen's eyes, watching as she pressed her forehead to the glass and let it fog with her tainted, noxious breath. She glanced up and pointed to a tiny air hatch directly above his head, watching with genuine, heartfelt determination when he wiped his eyes on the back of his palm and uttered one final sentence that solidified Red's need to make this right.
"Get to him."
Oh boy! Part one of our descent into madness is done! I hope that you guys enjoy, and regardless of if I'm sick or the apocalypse is coming, I am updating on Wednesday, April 8, 2020 at 10:00 pm CDT (UTC -5)! I want to give you all good content, and I hope you all enjoyed! Thank you!
