Welcome back to Fire in the Snow! It's been so long since I posted, but I am back and ready to write baby! This was a great reintroduction to the story and will toss us all back into the heartbreak of Purple and Red's collective pasts for the worst as we prepare for bloody battle with the dictatorial Del! I thank you all personally for your patience, and I GENUINELY appreciate each and every one of you and read all of your lovely reviews! Thank you again for your patience, and I hope you all enjoy the return of Fire in the Snow!
This chapter is not betaed! I no longer have a beta reader, so some mistakes, mild redundancy, and grammer may be incorrect, but feel free to point it out if you'd wish!
Chapter rated M for mentions of rape/sexual assault, violence, allusions to mental disorders/PTSD, allusions to suicidal intention, allusion to self harm in the past tense, brief heavy language, brief sexual content, and general adult content. I do not condone or wish to romanticize mental illness, rape, or assault in any way and think it is a terrible, terrible thing to endure. I merely wish to work through the recovery process in these characters!
Eight months in the recent past; The Massive
"Come now, my pet, we don't want to keep the technician waiting."
"Y-Yes, sir."
Purple swallowed, reaching out and taking another sip of the tea his phantom counterpart had left in the middle of the night to comfort him against the mind-numbing torment that had stripped him of all remaining dignity and smeared him across the filthy floor like trash. He wasn't sure when the cloaked figure had come back to give him another cup after he'd so ruthlessly screamed and shattered the first, tracing the rim of the unbreakable steel mug as he attempted to collect his booming thoughts to remember anything about the cloaked figure he could. No face, no eyecolor, no name…nothing. His voice was disguised and his body held rigid in swaths of billowing fabric that kept prying eyes from distinguishing him from anyone of equal height and-
Purple blinked at the notion, gaze snapping up to stare in awe at his fatigued, ragged form in the mirror of his luscious vanity when a sharp realization hit him directly in his throbbing spooch. He was tall. If he was a he. He nodded lightly to himself, plucking a fluffy brush from the glittery bag to his left and chewing softly on his dry tongue as he hunted for the appropriate going-out color to cake over his eyelids, settling on an opulent, natural emerald green with a delicate sheen. He fumbled to pop open the casing, cursing under his breath when the fallout landed on the knee of his meticulously selected dress robes before brushing it away with the back of his hand and hoping the probing stare of his hawk-like advisor hovering behind him hadn't seen his insolence. Wait, what was he thinking? He was onto something, wasn't he? Oh! Height! Yes, yes, yes! The mystery Irken was impressively tall, matching his own coveted stature from what he could make out and slathered in a cologne so richly honied and spicy sweet that Purple could still taste it lingering on the tip of his antennae. There was a bizarre sense of comfort in that delectable, mouth-watering aroma, opening up whole fantasies of the cloaked hero sweeping through the massive as they fired blazing plasma guns through the smoldering flesh of all those who stood in their way, kicked down the door to his disgusting prison, and snatched him by the hand to stand tall and leave this sickeningly erroneous place together. They could find a new life in the wavering, formless eddy of The Green, a nebulous sanctuary where rebels and scientists alike went to hide from the all-encroaching eye of the dastardly Irken Empire and live out their existence the way they deemed fit.
Wow…leaving…what a foolish thing to think. That was the dream of a smeet, not the reality of a man taken as property.
No, Purple would die here whether by his own jaded hand or the hands of those closing around his windpipe as they used his body for their own nauseating pleasure and gooey release. There would be no freedom and no justice, the husk of his lifeless corpse shot into space like filth as his demented captors hunted for another toy to slaughter on the physical and unravel like thread in the psyche. He'd become far too paranoid, sitting on the edge of his bed as he rocked himself back down from his frantic tears and shrouded himself in his comforter to keep out the probing eye of cameras he knew were secretly watching his every move, recording his every thought, and stripping away what little security he'd been so falsely given. Had they seen…h-had they seen what happened last night? Had they witnessed the miraculous act of kindness passing soothing, liquid gold into his shivering hands? Had they seen everything else? How many officers were up lounging in the control room as he thought, laughing and jabbing jagged claws at static ridden security screens as his agonizing screams where stifled by harsh, gloved hands and what little of his innocence was razed and shredded to nothing more than a faint, dwindling light of the past? How many of them would return to…t-to use the footage for-
Purple clamped a hand over his mouth when a sudden, anxiety splintered gag washed over him, forcing him to stand and prop himself up against the cool wall with an erratic palm. He took a deep inhale and rushed his way to his private cleansing room, doubling over the pristine sink when another wave of horrid sickness took him and splashed against the deep magenta porcelain, a round of thick coughing following and stinging at the back of his throat as he frantically willed the nausea away. Don't do this to yourself. Don't do this to yourself. Don't do this to yourself when you're so low. Keep it together. They may have stolen your mind and your body but they can't steal your hope. Hope is good. Hope keeps you sane and keeps you level, and you will find a way out of here someday! They can't steal your fucking hope!
Can they?
A numbing, horrific realization stole Purple away as he clung to the edge of the counter, wiping his bitter mouth on the back of his hand when a small chuckle of defeat laced his need to spit the acidic taste from his mouth, the odd swimming in the back of his buzzing skull replaced by the slow, easy clack of leather boots against steel as they approached. They had taken that too, hadn't they? He had nothing. He had nothing left in form or thought that he could grasp at like straw to keep himself wanting to live another day in the pit of despair and maggots he'd come to call his vicious, unforgiving home. They had taken his will to survive and that was that, Purple passing himself over to the body-wracking breakdown in his overworked psyche he had been waiting for as pathetic, hot tears spilled down his woozy cheeks and flooded over his shivering fingertips to the creak of the hatch gingerly swinging open and halting. He couldn't do this anymore. He had to find a way to put a stop the seemingly endless stream of violent torture he should have never agreed to, disgusted with his excitement in the beginning to serve his noble Empire and put an end to the bloody carnage of Irken-Callnowian Conflict, but now he prayed for the fiery fall of the Irken Empire.
"Nemi, darling, you'll be late for your appointment. The technician won't wait forever. Afterwards, we'll get you a little something to soothe that sickness of yours."
Nothing.
"Nemi, do as your told. We need to go."
Silence.
"Nemi-"
Purple couldn't help himself, the sound of his name slandered and mistreated throwing him hard over the edge as he spun on his heel and locked eyes with the sickly green watching him from the hallway, clenching his fists in a horrendous rage as he opened his mouth and screamed as loud as his weary lungs would allow. His voice crested and broke to something ugly and porous as Lire jumped where he stood to the surprising animosity beating back against him, slinking back and pressing his PAK into the wall as he scrambled for purchase. Purple followed and reared back, snatching his abuser by the collar and holding him in place when his primeval fight or flight instinct took over.
No more running.
No more hiding.
Now was the time to fight.
He screamed again through his tears, ready to throw his ruthless punch and pummel Lire to a pulp when his advisor flew down and snatched at his hidden belt, drawing a plasma pistol and thrusting it up against Purple's cheek before hastily flipping the safety, yelping when his consort didn't seem to care, following through his death wish and colliding hard with his jawline to knock him back. What…what happened? Purple took a deep shuddering inhale and wiped frantically at his eyes when he found himself blinded by hot, sticky tears, scrambling for Lire's pistol when he heard it thud to the floor and skid down the hallway. He cried out when two hands landed at his ankles and tugged hard, forcing him down to the floor as he kicked and slapped in a fit of untamed, searing growls as Lire spat the trickle of blood flooding from his split lip back into his face. No. No. No! He didn't want to die! Something bloomed within Purple's chest when Lire forcibly snatched him by the throat and squeezed, choking off his air supply as he scrambled with renewed fanaticism for the delicious temptation of the pistol hanging just out of his flailing fingertips.
"I gave you everything!" Lire barked, lifting back and slamming Purple down on the callous floor once more as he choked. "I gave you shelter, I gave you food, I gave you purpose!"
"Y-You gave me…n-nothing…!" Purple managed to hiss, kneeing his attacker directly in the stomach and cursing under his fading cognition when he remembered Lire's impressive military training. "You…s-stole…m-my…life…! You…y-you stole…"
Lire eased back when Purple lapsed out of his rapidly slipping consciousness, shakily reaching for his pistol and stuffing it in his belt as he winced at the harsh pain radiating through his skin from his secret consort's surprising bout of strength before glancing down as he sputtered and rolled to the side with a raspy gasp. His advisor loomed over him a second, taking a deep breath to calm his unending wrath as he smoothed back over his antennae and grabbed for Purple's wrists, tugging him up to the wall and propping him up to a haphazard sit to lightly smack the side of his face and halfway bring him back to the present. He sneered when a string of spit fell to his lap, thwacking him hard across the side of the face again to little avail and sighing, resorting to standing once more and dragging him with all his might out into the center of his living quarters.
"Why do you make me do these things?" He panted, stopping a moment to collect his strength before gritting his teeth and heaving. "You know I love you and would never hurt you on purpose, Nemi, so why do you defy me? I love you. I own you. What more could you want besides what I've given you?"
Purple winced from the cold floor, steadily coming to as he stared blearily up at the ceiling and listened to the disgusting love confession he never wanted to hear before planting an unsteady palm against the floor and ripping his other away. He tried to stand, surprised that Lire hung back and merely watched as he collapsed once more and pressed himself back into the wall to stare down at his lap.
"Nemi, look at me."
Purple shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut to the now unbearable ache hitching behind his eyes from the hard blow to his skull the night before. "No. Get out of my room." He mumbled into his knees, drawing them up and hiding away from the world out of hope that it would somehow dissolve and be replaced with something warmhearted and safe. "G-Get the fuck out…"
"That's not any way for a consort to talk."
"Well, I'm not a fucking consort!" He snapped, still refusing to meet Lire's gaze. "You talk to me like I'm a damn woman! Do you know how emasculating it is for you to shove me in silk and force me to wear makeup?! I was a respected biologist in my field before I was shipped out to a base! I was going to be a sniper and you think you can treat me like I'm stupid?! I hate it here! I fucking hate it here!" He gave in to his gut-wrenching anger once more, growling under his breath when he heard Lire tug his gloves off and waiting for the dense sting of the slap across his face that was to come. "All of you act like I'm some bride to be paraded around and nothing else! I have a voice, I have opinions! Don't those matter anymore?!"
Lire took a step forward when Purple snapped up to meet his stoic, hardening stare, delicately folding his gloves to the side when his prisoner clawed at his face in a desperate, feverish attempt to smear away the glossy makeup spread over his sharp features. "I would advise you, Nemi, to hold your tongue. I'm going to give you two options and I'll let you choose; either you clean yourself up and look pretty for your Tallest as we do your bloodwork today, or I call a guard and we'll go back to the bromine pool to set a new record with how long you can hold your breath. Besides, you're Empire property until we pawn you off to Callnowia, and that means you're mine by proxy." He paused when Purple spat a glob of shimmery lipgloss in his direction with a hostile hiss. "You're a fighter today, aren't you? Like I said, the choice is yours and you'll have to deal with the consequences of either."
"No! I'm not doing either! You raped me! You used my body for yourself and I'm fucking tired of it! Even if you wanted to 'pawn me off' to Callnowia, you can't you idiot! I'm not a virgin anymore! Imagine what the whole Empire and Del will think when they find out you soiled their prized possession!" He cried when he felt furious tears prick at the corner of his raw vision, finally gaining the strength to stand as Lire sighed with disinterest and strode forward. "What are you gonna do to me, huh?! Stand on your toes and try to smack me with your little smeet hands?! Even if I've lost my muscle mass, I dare you to try and hit me! Watch what happens-"
Purple froze as the lock to his external hatch clicked and swung free when the safety was removed, each and every cog and gouge of metal on metal sending his pulse to lurch into his throat with horrified anticipation at suddenly being outnumbered. Click. There was the secondary lock. One more until he was venerable and thrown to the mercy of whatever hellish dogs walked into what little control he'd gained in the moment to strip him back down to the bone and use him all over again. Then, a thought began to fester in the back of his mind like a rapid whirlpool of the first inkling of hope he'd managed to snag in months. This could be his chance! This could be the big break he was waiting for! He could run for it…yeah. Yeah! No holding back this time or being polite under the sneer he threw behind the shoulders of every moronic guard he'd grown to despise! Ok, ok, hold it together you can't mess this up! He felt the world dull and fade as vivid tunnel vision took over and made him hyper fixate on his target as Lire opened his mouth to vehemently shout back an order, every fast paced step a cycle in length when the confused medical technician finally swung open the hatch to personally check to see why they'd miss their appointment.
Now.
Purple didn't waste any time, making a mad dash for the hatch as the drone screeched and furiously tried to tug it back closed, petrified where he stood when Purple violently barreled through him and slammed him hard to the floor. He took off without thinking, racing down the corridor and bolting past the gargantuan double security doors to the bridge as Lire feverishly pursued and drew his pistol, shouting brutally for him to get down on his knees before firing a booming warning shot at the pipeline dotting the ceiling. Purple cried out in panic when the searing hot plasma ricocheted and bounced back, skidding deftly around a corner as it finally careened up and slammed into a pipeline, hot steam bursting forth to halt Lire in his vehement pursuit. He could barely hear over the thump of his thunderous pulse surging along his antennae, turning another corner as he tried to map out and remember the layout of the steel fortress he'd barely explored. There was a hanger somewhere around here packed to the brim with warships he could hotwire if his foggy brain could remember how, override codes and frustrating jumbles of militaristic memories garbling his rational thought as he nearly careened into a sharp corner.
"Shit!" He yelped, grabbing for a nearby service drone's tray packed to the brim with fluffy snack cakes and eloquently decorated pastries, tossing it into the floor as Lire rounded the corridor and made a beeline in his direction followed by two hefty behemoths of guards, buying him time when scalding syrup momentarily blocked their pathway. "Dammit, where the hell are the docks?!"
He was getting lost, mixing up pathways in the hideous map in his mind as he stopped and felt his terror pop like a bubble in the thick atmosphere nearly choking the air from his lungs as Lire fired another shot that whizzed straight though his bewildered antennae. Purple could tell he was missing on purpose, aiming everywhere but his heaving body as they played their terrifying game of cat and mouse. Please! Please where was the hanger?! He was never going to leave this petrifying maze, officers hanging to the side as they wavered and tried to decide on what they should do when their morals clashed with their sense of duty, many turning a blind eye to Purple's daring escape.
Dammit! He had no choice; he was going to have to turn and fight!
Red inhaled another glazed donut hole, wiping his mouth messily on the back of his glove and scowling under his breath when he noticed the tiny pile of crumbs forming in his lap. He glanced swiftly over his shoulder before deftly brushing them to the floor, returning to his mind-numbing paperwork and feeling his eyes cross in boredom before he groaned and massaged at his aching temples. Why did he have to keep up the repour so well? Why the hell did he have to pick something as devastatingly uninteresting as a general to impersonate? He thought he would be out in the unpredictability of the ever changing battlefield, watching Del's cabinet from the sidelines as he toned his lean muscle and spilled the blood of the Callnowian menace to the snow, not this…whatever this was. Instead of earning glory, he was stuck eating his monotony away over a cluttered desk piled high with weapons and provisions requests his pathetic excuse for a leader was too dull to fill out himself. He'd become somewhat of an advisor to Del, gaining his favor but hanging a full tier behind the bizarre relationship he had with Lire and playing the game of happiness and sunshine with a man so vile was wearing thin on his nerves. He had to save face and keep his Tallest in the dark so he would be assigned to Nemi's transport flight to Bornau, sighing and rhythmically tapping his pen against his electronic reader as he thought.
Nemi.
What a stupid name for someone so clearly intelligent. Red had always wondered why he'd been given something so soft and malleable, running over potential nicknames he could call his secret protectorate in his mind and always settling back on Purple for the obvious. He leaned back in his seat, ignoring the telltale creak as his mind drifted away and became captivated by the sensuous, scalding lavender he'd met in person last night. Beautiful…but oh, so broken. He wanted more than anything to scoop Purple up in his arms and highjack a ship to take them far away from the pain and nauseating torture piercing his skin and keeping him prisoner in Del's hold, but he knew he couldn't for both Purple' safety and the safety of thousands of other violet-eyed Irkens lost to the system and freezing to death on frigid Callnowia. It took everything in for Red not to act on his powerful morality, driving himself absolutely mad with wrathful fury to know he couldn't do anything until he a surefire way back into Ipi's mansion with Purple's transport team to end this murderous scheme once and for all. But Nemi…no, Purple…he was suffering, wasn't he? Red had hung back and bit his tongue until it bled, had listened to the skin lashing beatings that left concealed bruises to flower over his delicately emaciated body. He'd listened to Purple weep in the engineering bay when Lire locked him in the dark for days without food as punishment for talking to service drones behind his back without his permission. And, recently and worst, he'd walked past the security hanger and caught sight of his precious crush being painfully forced into sexual conquest he didn't want as officers laughed at his face on camera screens. Del had ordered Red to watch him from the shadows and make sure he was kept in pristine condition for his important treaty signing later that cycle, but he couldn't physically stomach staying silent anymore. He'd gone to bed, laying awake in his plush, opulent chambers as Tak rambled aimlessly to him about her day on his transmitter, unable to burn the horrific image of his clandestine love being brutally attacked out of his mind before politely excusing himself from his girlfriend and breaking down over his pillow at the pathetic failure he'd become. He had promised himself that he would keep Purple safe the moment he caught sight of him across the mess hall and felt his stoic breath halt at the innocent beauty he'd so desperately craved to protect, that no one would touch a single freckle dotting his shoulders or steal away what little innocence he had left as a man. But what Red saw made him sick to his stomach and tore him to miniscule shreds to toss to the wind like nothing. Nothing. He was nothing and he would always be nothing.
He couldn't stop himself from sitting idle and bawling into his pillow, collecting himself around two in the morning and sneaking his way through winding corridors to the mess hall where he brewed a cup of stomach-soothing tea, adding a pinch of turmeric for the swelling he knew Purple would soon face in the unforgiving morning before he donned his stealth robes and slipped gracefully inside his prison. Of course, he was met with anger that broke him down further, keeping his face obscured so as to not foil the mission but also out of shame for the hysterical, hollow tiredness ringing Purple's once vivid eye color turned dull with abuse. Red had let that happen. He had let Purple fall to the clutches of someone who wanted to squish him like a beast between his fingers and hold him there until he suffocated on his own anguish, Red's secretly empathic nature taking on and internalizing the revolting humiliation and bottomless depression every time he patrolled outside Purple's quarters and felt the weight of the deadly atmosphere hanging inside. When his crush had reached out and smacked away his gift to accuse him of sweet talking him in order to gain risqué, sickening favors from his body, Red wanted to peel away his hood and show his face, to bend over the edge of his bed, take his chapped hands, and beg him for forgiveness like he'd never begged before. It was his fault after all. He had left Ipi's mansion when he couldn't bear to throw his arm out for Sen any longer, racing through the snow with Lavender Fire to set the cold ablaze but never realizing just how abhorrently selfish he was being. The great and mighty Styx had left a power vacuum in his wake, allowing Sen to throw her temper tantrum to her shriveled excuse for a mother and callously demand a new pet in the form of wide-eyed, excited to serve Nemi who had no idea what horrors awaited his pliable, unsoiled psyche. It was a form of warfare in and of itself, every day a battle to stave off wandering hands itching for a taste of their luscious beauty and driving Red to self-scarification and boiling chemicals poured in his once rich, delicious eyecolor to keep away the less than coveted purrs of his superiors. Now, he was desolate; a cynical, bad-tempered rebel disguised as an aggressive officer and forced to watch the same mind-bending torment break down another innocent man who deserved to hold the entire universe in his powerful claws.
Purple was a man, not a plaything.
Purple deserved to flaunt his masculinity, not be emasculated by others.
Purple was a warrior, not a victim.
When would it end? When would Red finally gain the strength to throw the cycle out of balance? When would Red finally help his beloved out of the true victimization he'd indirectly caused him to suffer through? What would happen when Purple found out he had taken Red's place? Oh shit, was he spiraling again? Was he overthinking things? Ok, no, he had to calm down and think things through. He took a deep inhale and reached across his desk, swallowing his gooey nightmares back down to hide them away in his throbbing chest as he grabbed for his thermos and popped the top, taking a long swig of stringent alcohol. The familiarity of the burn felt nice, bringing him back down to the artificial gravity swirling around him as he finally sighed, recapping his secret medicine and shoving it away when a strict voice behind him nearly caused him to jump out of his already crawling skin.
"Sir! I bring news from the bridge!"
Red spun in his chair to meet the tiny dispatch drone saluting him from below, opening his mouth to bark back orders to leave him be before a strident, booming alarm bounced through the ship to assault the sensitive antennae of everyone on board. It was clamorous and startling, forcing Red to scramble to clamp his hands over his overworked stalks as the drone attempted to screech over the sound and relay the sensitive information he'd been given in the wake of their first catastrophe with a certain someone racing through the ship on a death-defying escape attempt.
"General Styx, Sir!" The drone began, his voice cracking and breaking when the alarm turned supersonic. "I-I regret to inform you that the Callnowian consort, Nemi, has escaped and is currently fighting with operatives in the medical wing! Our team has shut emergency hatch 458 and 459 to keep him from moving further through the ship to reach a transport pod! We have reason to believe he is not armed with weaponry!"
Red froze, hoping the tiny officer didn't see the look of sheer, unabridged horror glazing his face for half a second before a cheesy smile quickly replaced it. "Ah! Heh, yeah! The consort!" He panicked, moving his hands to his lap as he wrung the expensive fabric of his gloves and attempted to sift through the terrifying leap and bound of gruesome thoughts scraping at his skull. "Is his PAK still disabled? Is there any way he can use laser technology?"
Please. Please say yes.
"No, his technology is still under surveillance for our and his own safety! What a lucky break, huh?" The drone chuckled when the siren died down to be replaced with a stoic, thoroughly bored announcement.
"Good morning Massive staff and thank you for participating in our ship-wide drill." The voice slurred in disinterest. "Our Tallest commends you for reacting swiftly and thoroughly to our unexpected 'emergency.' We would like to ask all staff to return to their stations to await routine morning briefing for your shift change. We would also like to ask all personnel not authorized to perform in the medical wing to refrain from asking for medical advice. This area will be under routine maintenance due to a small asteroid colliding with the hull of the Massive until 11:30 am today. If you have a medical emergency, please contact your supervising officer and a medical drone will be dispatched to your location. Thank you."
Red felt his jaw tighten when the click of the intercom squealed then fell silent, the rest of his observation team shuffling in confusion before shrugging it off and returning to their mountains of paperwork over hushed whispers of the strange projectile that collided with their ship. So, they were covering it up, huh? How pathetically low. Red stood, grabbing for his crisp uniform jacket and zipping it up the front before brushing past the drone on his way to the external hatch.
"Tell Tallest Del that I'm on my way." He mumbled stoically, running a finger over the pistol in his belt holster before the vicious image of Lire's gnarled excuse for a face flashed briefly in his mind. "I'm going to hang back and watch in case anything gets out of hand. You are to keep this secret, understand? No one is to know I'm there, per Tallest Del's orders."
The drone didn't hesitate, clicking his polished heels together with a rigid salute before briskly moving off through the open hatch, leaving Red behind as he slunk through and turned in the opposite direction towards the medical bay. His pulse escalated as he nodded to a few rogue officers chatting around the corner on the way to their shift change on the bridge, their unknowing respect only hammering the nail of desperate need further into his spooch as he picked up his pace and dipped around a corner at the end of the corridor. Why the hell did Nemi have to go absolutely feral now? He wasn't prepared for their mission to fall apart, peeking back around the corridor to ensure he was completely alone before digging into his back pocket for a tiny device no larger than a coin expertly crafted by Tak's own careful hand and smooth to the touch. He ran a thumb over the indentation in the surface before taking a deep, shuddering breath.
Let's do this.
With that, Red turned on his heel and flicked the coin with his finger, watching over his shoulder as it spun and suspended itself in the atmosphere for a few seconds, a tiny, high pitched whine splitting the fictitious serenity before it zipped off to collide hard with a nearby security camera. He smirked when it latched to the side and began its work of worming through the Massive's encrypted internal defense, code after scrambled code smoothing into Tak's waiting claws to crack as he sifted through his own PAK for a transmission sequence.
Lavender Fire, incoming. Lavender Fire, incoming- ugh. Do I really have to say the shitty code name Skoodge came up with? He sneered in his thoughts, feeling the code travel through his hardware. Anyway, we've got a problem. The mission is compromised, and I need all security systems in the Massive down for at least ten minutes while I work my way to our target.
Styx? What do you mean the mission is compromised?!
Red blinked when a furious voice split his thoughts and overtook his own in favor of her metallic screeching. He reached out and smoothed his hand over the lockpad to safety door 458, inputting his override as he nodded silently to the guards standing tall and rigid to the side. They waved him on when the hatch opened, revealing the true extent of what Purple had done as thunderous plasma fire exploded through the atmosphere and evaporated what little moisture clung in the air. Red yelped and slammed the door shut, ducking out of sight into the nearby, plasma burned doorway of a razed medical unit scattered with glass syringes and gooey medications as Purple tore by and turned on a dime to hold his footing when an officer lashed forward and opened up ritualistic hand to hand combat with him. Red winced, clamping a hand over his mouth as he instinctively reached for his pistol with the other, stopping when his love swept his attacker off balance in a single graceful stroke and slammed him hard into the littered ground to violently tousle with him over his weapon. He knocked it aside and snatched it up in his trembling hands, firing a deafening warning shot to the ceiling before pistol whipping his attacker across the face to ruthlessly crack his jaw with an audible, sickening snap. He was a god manifested in the flesh, commanding the attention of the medical bay with enough fire in his smoldering, terrified gaze to melt the whirring plasma core of the Massive itself, barking orders unintelligible to Red as his pulse thumped over his still antennae. He was captivated completely, the world swirling in vaguely sober mayhem when Purple twirled on his heel and threw out a well placed kick that sent his next opponent reeling back into the jagged paneling of a nearby wall before firing another warning shot into the destroyed pipeline suspended over his head. The way his shoulders heaved with every wrathful pant, the animalistic instinct to survive in a world that wanted to split him in two and steal his gorgeous soul for their own devilish greed…all of it. Every curve of his emaciated form pumped full of savage adrenaline and the undomesticated code of the spoken Irken language driving him on with frightfully gnashing teeth and heated curses white-hot enough to slice flesh on his exacting malice alone.
Beautiful.
Irk, he was so beautiful.
Styx? Styx?! Are you there, idiot?
He didn't respond, drowning out Tak's demands to watch the risqué, gorgeous show hitching in the hallway before him as his thumping pulse dropped into his stomach when Lire crept behind his powerful vision of Irken excellence and set his pistol to stun, aiming dead center for Purple's PAK as it blew off steam to the sheer force of the his next blow cracked viciously against his target's skill. Red went to cry out in horrified warning, clamping a hand hard over his mouth once more when he fired on malicious, callous intent with a laugh of triumph, Purple dropping hard to his knees as his jaw locked to the millions of volts of excruciating electricity shocking through his delicate nervous system and blowing out his pain-receptors as waiting officers snickered and hooted in thrilled relief when he slammed down hard on his front and went out cold in a frothing puddle of his own saliva. The itch…the powerful itch to race forward and splatter nauseating enemy brains over the walls was almost too much to bear as Red lowered his hands to his side and felt his wiry fingers curl into two irate, powerfully clenched fists ready to strip the souls from unworthy bodies like the reaper he wanted to be so badly in the grisly moment. He wanted to bathe in it, to watch Lire scramble for his slit throat as he gurgled and choked on his own bubbling, sticky blood spilling between Red's wrathful, justice-exacting touch and leaking to the floor as Purple stood behind him and watched his personal boogyman finally fade to a shameful, distorted haze.
Red wanted him gone.
He wanted him gone so bad he could taste it in the form of his own blood seeping over his tongue from the bite to his lip he hadn't noticed had gone too far. Purple deserved better but what could he do? He couldn't compromise his position to save thousands to save one man no matter how heavenly or deathly important he was to Red's own psyche.
Abort. Abort the takeover. He hissed in his mind, striding forward with as realistic a victory smile as he could manage. It was a false alarm on my part. Get out of the system quickly and safely and retreat back to Moo-Ping 10 for further instruction.
Wait…are you sure?! I'm already in! I can't just-
I said abort.
He listened to Tak throw one of her famous fits, tossing something over her workstation before disconnecting completely and slithering back from his code like a snake to strike another day. He hated working them up for a kill, but this had become too volatile for his liking and the safety of his crew and Purple needed to be his first and highest priority as Lire stooped and flopped his crush over on his limp spine to gently slap at the side of his face. He approached with powerful caution, ensuring the tiny advisor was aware of his presence as his heels clicked hard against the floor and shoved back the throng of onlookers hovering over his beloved.
"Councilman Lire, I'll kindly ask you to take a step back." He demanded with more passive aggression than he'd hoped. "I'll take him back to his room for his blood transfusion."
Lire propped himself up on a single sharp knee when the sound of Red's voice flooded his senses and took him over for the worst, curdling him back to the sour, angsty pervert he was underneath his translucent skin. "Hm. General Styx, what a lovely surprise that you'd show up at the tail end of all of this incredible excitement!" He clapped his gloved hands together when Red slung his own behind his back to puff out his chest and pathetically attempt to appear taller. "You always tend to pop up from the shadows, our little watchdog. Be a good man and run along to pass Del the news that Nemi has been apprehended."
Red fought with the deep, organ pounding need to reach out and clock Lire hard in the jaw but the violet bruise flowering over his bone structure meant Purple had beat him to the punch…literally. Good. Lire deserved so much more than a rightful smack across the face, but his bloody murder would have to unfortunately wait. He smirked and shook his head with a haughty laugh, shoving the tiny officer aside hard to the side with as much force as he could muster to prove his dominance before digging his fingers into Purple's wrist to check for his pulse. He wanted to weep salty tears of rapturous joy when he realized the man was somehow still kicking after everything he'd been subjected to in the past two cycles, the weak hum beating out Red's personal symphony as he quickly pulled away when he noticed he was lingering too long for comfort. He couldn't leave him here to the mercy of Lire, dipping down and bracing himself firmly against the floor before heaving Purple up into his arms for safe keeping, Lire's ferocious hiss of disapproval digging just far enough under his skin for him to sweep him back off his feet with a single, laughable kick to the shin.
"Y-You! You can't take him! He's mine!" He ruthlessly demanded, rubbing at his aching knee and shooting Red a formidable, mind-numbingly dark warning stare from below. "He is Empire property, not the property of a single individual of such sniveling rank as yourself!"
Red readjusted his hold when it threatened to slip, hoisting Purple up over his shoulder and feeling him hang limp over his collarbone as his excitement for the tiny victory he'd managed exploded in his mind and gave him enough confidence to turn on his heel and flip Lire off from behind as he strode away and took his worthy prize with him to greener pastures for the day.
"Thank you, Councilman. I'll report back to Tallest Del about your insolence after I see to it that Consort Nemi is returned to his chambers." He gave a swift glance over his shoulder and knocked on the external hatch with his free hand, aggressively delighted when it swung open and his faithful guards saluted back. "And saying he's yours? Whatever will our Tallest think of you now?"
With that he slammed the safety hatch behind him before Lire could protest his way into a fist fight, taking a deep breath and collecting himself as he held Purple close in his protective grasp and decided to take the less trafficked service elevator to his floor. He'd come so far and fought his way through three whole levels with his sharp wit alone, proving himself to be a formidable enemy should the time arise for him to annihilate bone and snuff out tidal waves of abhorrent malice attempting to take his far more deserving life. He was a white-hot burnout, a savage scapegoat, a daunting warrior slipped through the pencil thin cracks of the Empire's lowest depths on his freckled looks alone to never be remembered as the unsung hero of society that he truly was.
Red sighed under his breath when they reached the service elevator, hoisting his 'prisoner' back up when he threatened to slip and keeping a firm hold on his scrawny waist as they shot off towards the bridge. He could take him. He could take him so easily and run from this horrid, nightmarish existence to star anew in a world they had no experience in. He'd thought about it often over the past few months, humming amorously through his showers to the uplifting fantasy of him and Purple finding a place somewhere on the edge of the galaxy, changing their names to something that suited them, and laughing each and every night at cheesy jokes over dinner as calloused palms trailed over one another for comfort. They could pave their own path without Irk and the imperialism they both despised, giggling together under fluffy blankets and never having to burden their bodies again with the threat of sexual mutilation or the gnashing teeth of warfare aiming for critical veins. It could be beautiful and serene, a delightful change of pace to the repulsive, mind-bending torment Purple was subjected to every second of the day, Red grimacing in equal discomfort when he noticed he remained stiff in his protective, all enshrouding hold despite being knocked cold.
If only Purple knew he existed…things could be much different for them both.
It didn't take long to walk the few feet from the elevator past the bridge to Purple's personal, opulent prison, Red flashing a false smile to the officers waiting for him and helping him to gingerly sling open the hatch before shutting it cautiously behind him. He didn't have much time, knowing if he loitered too long that Lire would blame him for the foreign DNA discovered between his legs for his weekly health evaluation, the thought enough to unsettle Red's spooch. He didn't bother with the lights, stooping to lower Purple down as carefully as he could over his bedsheets and running a smooth, affectionate palm along his jawline when a deepset, hollow depression washed over him in disgusting waves and threatened to draw out the briny, bitter tears he'd been so carefully taming until now. He lowered himself to his knees, knowing he had a minute longer before Tak would restore visual to the deliriously confused security officers updeck scrambling to restore visual to their video feed through the cameras he'd so cleverly taken offline, but it would never be long enough for him. He couldn't help himself any longer, folding Purple into a tight, loving embrace and holding him flush to his chest as he hung limp and didn't respond with so much as a twitch. He smelled different, Lire's expensive cologne dotting his milky skin in uneven patches to be drowned out by the shielding veil of Red's cheap, spiced scent driving away the darkness lingering over him and hopefully giving him hope for when he awoke dazed and confused to the illustrious stranger that watched over him like a frustrated guardian angel.
"I love you…" Red mumbled into his neck, pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek when he pulled back and smoothing his antennae back against his pillow when he lulled back down and slipped from his trembling gloves. "I love you so much, Purple…I promise I'll get you out of here."
Present Day; The Massive
Red groaned and blinked away the groggy, sticky fringes of sleep keeping his weary eyes heavy before rolling over and drooling back into his pillow. He shivered, reaching out and allowing himself a tiny smile when his searching fingers found the warm body slumbering peacefully next to him. He slunk over, folding himself into the instinctive embrace that came from behind and smoothed down over his waist to keep him safe from the skittering demons that plagued his darkest nightmares and palest daydreams. He returned the touch out of habit, snaking up under the thin arms of his powerful warrior to smooth lightly over his shoulders before hazily blinking himself awake. It was murky and comforting, the billowy darkness swirling around them like their own personal galaxy as he sighed himself to some semblance of soothing cognition, massaging at the back of Purple's neck as he slumbered tenderly against him. He was out like a light, the vision of heavenly grace and tranquility Red knew he didn't deserve but had managed regardless. Utter perfection…he was everything he had dreamed and so much more he knew was waiting to be discovered the more Purple worked through his trauma and passed a part of his battered soul over to Red's loving palms. He dipped in, pressing a featherlight kiss to his warm, buttery lips before resting his cheek to his in ecstatic, true happiness for the first time since his unfortunate hatching and tossing into the callousness of a society that refused to see him as a complete Irken capable of greatness. He could almost feel himself healing against Purple's velvety bodyheat radiating in raw harmony with his own, happy when he found his way to the small of his partner's back to kneed at his ribcage under the reassuring heft of their thick comforter. This was the life Red knew he deserved, wishing with all his might that those locked doors would swing open to reveal that this entire charade had been a joke and that they were able to walk free hand and hand towards their glorious, peaceful future together to wake up in the same plush bed every morning and share a delicious breakfast over sweetened coffee. He finally had hope that they could find their peaceable, magnificent forever in each other's grip as they danced and twirled in the home that they could build together; he could paint the walls and Purple could explore his personality through decorating and making their personal space something to beautifully cozy they could cherish together as boyfriends…or more. Partners? Maybe. Husbands? Hopefully. But that would take time, Red chuckling groggily in his own mind and swallowing down his need for a commitment that would take cycles to devotedly cultivate through loyalty and trust, but he was ready to be patient if it meant he had a shot and giving his life over to the warrior who had mended his once shattered soul. He could feel pieces slipping back into place with every sleepy exhale and affectionate touch reciprocated folding forward to rest his chin against Purple's collarbone and doze the early morning hours of dawn away without a care in the universe.
They had mated together…made love together.
Red wasn't much for cheesy terminology, finding it to be too frilly and unnecessary, but the more he replayed the gorgeous closeness of their previous night, the more he realized he could sacrifice some of his stoic dignity for the drooling dork in his arms. It wasn't exactly traditional or socially accepted, thinking back to all the times that his past girlfriends slandered and drug him through the mud when they accidentally saw Red's search history on his transmitter or noticed the way he stopped to admire handsome men in the streets of Moo-Ping 10's moons. They always used his hidden sexuality against him, threatening to out him to the rest of the Elite or their team and he would beg for them to keep his secret for fear that his life would end to the hands of someone who didn't understand his love. But Purple…oh, Purple was where it was at. He was the full package; scary intelligent, warmhearted with fantastic intentions for good, so handsome it made Red dizzy…everything. He was Red's everything and he felt like a chipper cadet fawning over a crush once more, swooning and falling into a premature honeymoon phase he never wanted to end.
"Good morning scum of the Empire!"
Red shot up from his sweet, sleepy stupor with a yelp of horrified surprise as the hatch swung open, panicking when Purple rocketed out of his once peaceful slumber to swing at the nearest body he could find, connecting hard with Red's shoulder on accident before clamping his hands over his mouth when he realized he wasn't in any real danger…yet. He frantically mouthed an apology through his fingers, smoothing a palm over Red's sore collarbone and pausing to lock eyes with him, the two sharing a small smile that made them both weak in the knees before a silvery tone split the atmosphere and turned it cold and unforgiving. Del strode forward slathered head to toe in ritual combat attire and flashing his opulent, glittering gold breastplate when he clapped for the blinding lights to faze on, effectively blinding his enemy and sneering in heated, undying disgust when he noticed that the two had spent the night together. Purple scrambled to cover himself in shame, hiding behind his fabric barrier as the clang of Del's fitted metallic cleats hit the floor and chilled him to the bone. He was massive, towering over the two and covered in the finest armor the Irken Empire had to offer, utilizing expensive technology to shrink wrap himself into lightweight, durable combat wear that would be impervious to anything Purple could throw at him with his hands. His face was covered with a clear protective mask of Vortian design, showing off his confident, hideous gash of a smile and each of his elbow length gloves was tipped with a razor sharp claw extension begging to slice the soft tissue of Purple's throat and pluck his trachea from his lungs like a toy. There was no way in hell that he stood a chance against someone so gorgeously powerful but brutally immoral, hatefucking his way through Purple's very existence and lingering at the fringes of his darkest nightmares bringing him to pulse pounding terror he wasn't ready for. He felt instantly sick when his anxiety ruthlessly spiked and here remembered he had no weapons besides his shaky PAK legs and speed alone, swallowing down his nausea and refusing to make eye contact with the sizzling burn of the dictatorial monster attempting to intimidate him off the battlefield so he could sink his claws into his partner and Sen and tear them like delicate rice paper.
"What do we have here?" Del asked plainly, chuckling to the entourage of reporters trailing behind him as they snapped helpless, humiliation inducing photos of the two in their most vulnerable state, averting his eyes with a false cough of repulsion when Red shot up out of their bed in the nude to throw himself in front of his partner and cover him from the voyeuristic media. "Who knew you'd be into such filth, Nemi. I underestimated you."
"Shut up!" Red barked with a hiss of hot defiance, smacking Del's hands away when he threatened to strip the bed of its covering. "Say whatever the hell you want about me but you leave him out of this!"
"You? There's nothing more to say about you, Styx, besides how I'm going to laugh when you're burned at the stake." Del chuckled haughtily, catching Purple's wavering, fear laced attention at the bizarre statement. He went to open his mouth but Del beat him to the response, continuing on when the look of terrified bewilderment flashing in his ocular lenses amused him more than it should. "Yes, you heard me right. We're going to make a game of this to set the mood and entertain the stadium of officers itching to watch me decapitate you like an insect."
"What kind of game?! Quit being cryptic and spit it out already!" Red demanded, yelping when Del snapped and nodded for his guard to come forward from behind and snatch Red by the shoulders, admiring the ferocious fire blazing in his voice when he fought. "Let me go, you asshole! I'm protected under the Control Brains!"
Purple hopped up when his blood pressure skyrocketed and his instinctual need to protect his thrashing mate overtook him, earning him a hard backhand from Del's sharp glove that gouged a thin cut over his cheekbone and sent him back against the bedspread as he panted and finally found his voice.
"L-Let him go! I asked the Control Brains for protection and they extended that to Red! You have no authority to touch him!" He stuttered, taking a heaving shudder of a breath to try and puff himself up in spite of being fully exposed. He could feel the crushing alarm scream in his mind for him to run before he was harmed but he held his ground, staring Del down through his visor as he shook. "You have no authority to touch him!" He restated with a bit more power behind how little he felt.
One of Del's guards covered Red's vision with a blindfold, leading him towards the open hatch as he protested and tried to break away for a feral, hard bite to the arm, failing when the guard's heavy hand snatched him by the jaw to guide him on from behind.
"I'm not the one touching him, am I?" Del mused with a sultry purr that sent a shiver down Purple's already quaking backbone, looking him over and lingering on the thin trickle of magenta blood beading on his cheek. "Look at that precious blood of yours. You know that your genes mixed with my adopted daughter's before she turned into a beast were what made my skin tougher than diamonds. You built me up and gave me my immortality and I can't wait to collect what's left of you on the battlefield to build my army."
"Y-You…y-you won't win!" Purple stammered, feeling his retort die on his tongue when he was snatched by the wrist and tugged up to a stand to be laughed at and filmed in all his glory by the live press documenting the first challenger a Tallest had endured in nearly 900 long cycles. He yanked his wrist away with a hiss when his anger overrode his habitual fear. "I-I won't move until you tell me where you're taking Red! Tell me now!"
Del brought his wiry claws together to run his fingers along each and every precious joint of his gloves, tutting his tongue teasingly against the roof of his mouth before motioning his team to thrust Purple's armor into his quivering hands. He wasn't ready. He hadn't eaten, his bloodsugar low enough to keep him woozy and uncoordinated as thoughts of how he was possibly to destroy someone so vicious died in his rational thoughts. He couldn't do this. He was going to die. Red was going to die.
"Purple! Listen to me!"
Purple's gaze snapped up when Red raced back through the hatch, two burly guards hot on his heels as he flew forward through the press and collided with his lover's shoulders to fold him into a final embrace. He didn't care who would see or know of their forbidden relationship, flashing him a determined smile that stole Purple's breath away before he was unfairly ripped away by suffocating hands clamping around his throat. He watched in petrified awe as Red shoved the guard away by the face, noticing the telltale scars along his powerful forearms he'd neglected to spot before and realizing they carried more lucid weight now than ever. If Red could overcome his battles and live to tell the tale, then he would have no choice but to do the same to preserve the life he'd only just begun living, promising himself on a repeated loop that he would stare into that haughty, chauvinistic crimson once more and that they would walk out of here with renewed authority to take what they deserved.
"R-Red, I-"
"S-Shut up and listen! Y-You're…dammit! You can do this! I saw you storm an entire floor on this ship back in the day and hold your own against Lire and fifty officers cornering you in the medbay, and if you can do that, you sure as h-hell can do this!" He coughed, struggling to get one last glimpse of his frozen other half as he struggled to keep his slipping hold on the frame of the hatch with every merciless yank of his ribcage. "I-I love you! I love you so much and I know you can do this!"
Purple didn't know what to say, opening his mouth to cry out his response and letting it die as a whisper on his chapped lips when Red disappeared once more to his captives, hot curses sounding into the distance as he was forcibly taken from the only shining beacon of hope he'd been given in cycles. Purple felt every cell in his body light up with a desolate desperation to live for the sake of his mate, his hollow gaze slowly flooding back up to meet Del's as he wavered and drunk in a long, nauseating look at his naked form.
"Beautiful…you really are something, Nemi. Shame you'll finally be tainted by my spear." He said finally, turning for good and heading towards the hatch to follow the string of vicious snarls echoing down the corridor. "We shall be arriving on Judgementia soon, my dear, so I advise that you prepare yourself. After all, if you don't overthrow me in time, the last remaining member of the illustrious Lavender Fire will go up in flames."
Purple felt his hot breath catch in the back of his throat as he choked, the media rushing forward like ravenous beasts as Del took his entertained leave to shove microphones and live transmission cameras in his face, blinding him to the world as he turned and slowly set his provided, pathetically thin armor down on the disheveled bed.
Red would go up in flames?
What…what did that mean?
Did Del mean literal fire or something figurative?
He swallowed, taking a deep breath as he smoothed his hands over each and every perfectly placed scale of the deep maroon battle attire that would be the last uniform he was forced to wear, a sudden wave of thick, sober determination twinkling through the darkness flooding his senses and growing brighter with every passing second turned to a cycle as he fell away to the allure of violent tunnel vision. He would have to beat one of the most formidable, authoritarian Tallests in Irken history while knowing full well that it would be more than a stretch to make it out in one piece. He blinked, running over every beautifully tragic scar dotting Red's critical veins and nodding to himself when his nerves settled to a low buzz. He could do this. He could do this. They could do this. They would do this. Purple would walk out of this prison to crush it in his domineering grasp as the new acting Tallest of the Imperial Irken Empire ready to reform the broken system and take Callnowia to a bloody war they would never recover from.
I love you too, Red. Long live Lavender Fire!
Wow! Long time no see friends! I hope this was a good reintroduction to Fire in the Snow, and was awesome for me to get back in these boys' shattered minds. I love you all and seriously thank you for your patience! I will be posting updates for this on a regular schedule now on Fridays, because that's one of the days I have off! I hope you guys enjoyed the dark look into the past and are buzzing and ready for the epic, bloody, harrowing battle of a lifetime on Friday, August 7 at 10:00 pm CDT! I'll see you guys then and thank you so much!