Welcome back to our next chapter of Fire in the Snow! I guarantee all of you will hate me by the end of this because...it's going to get sad. Well, I won't keep you waiting any longer and let's get this done lovelies! I hope you enjoy, and I'm so thankful for all of your wonderful reviews! I read them all and recognize you all when you show up, so thank you so much for your continued support!
Chapter is unbetaed, so please expect some minor spelling/grammar/or slight redundancy in the text. Thank you!
Chapter rated M for graphic depictions of blood/gore/violence, character death, graphic depictions of death, brief heavy language, and general adult content.
Del cleared his throat, snapping eloquently for a glass of wine from a nearby service drone and smirking when it was passed up, hoisting it high over his long antennae as the whole of the mess hall hushed and waited with wide, glittering eyes and bated breath for what was to come.
"Good morning, my esteemed Armada!" He boomed, sucking in a deep breath to project his power and unnerve anyone who met his golden gaze with a fiery excitement that dug its way along their pulsing veins. "As most of you know, a critical period in our Empire's rulership is upon us! Twenty-three hours ago, I was challenged by Elite Officer Nemi of the Veloria region for my seat as Almighty Tallest of the Imperial Irken Empire!"
The crowd instantly erupted into a squabble of hushed whispers sliding over steaming breakfasts and white looks of appalled shock as Purple sunk deeper down into his heavy armor. He glanced up to where Del had stood, scratching at the lip of the table and pulling away in nervous frustration when he realized his sharp tipped war gloves had gouged tiny tracks into the metal. He shuddered at the façade of cool grace his Tallest was managing to project, blinking and staring out at the buzzing throng collecting like probing insects wanting nothing more than a glance at their sickening excuse for a leader. They had docked at Judgementia nearly thirty minutes ago and were undergoing customs as Del's personal cabinet worked on filling out the berthing agreements and allowed the ship to be scanned per protocol for any suspicious activity. In the meantime, Purple had been forced into his ritual combat attire, wincing at how brittle and cheap it seemed and stuffed into a bone crushing corset to top it off, his breathing restricted past the point of discomfort. He reached up and tugged at the chafing around his neck when the paneling of his protection began to pinch before scanning the crowd for the oddly familiar allure of striking crimson.
Where was he?
Red had been missing for a while now, lost to the system and swallowed up by Del's murky claws to be kept someplace bleak and desolate. There was no telling what he was undergoing, ideas of horrific torture razing Purple's already busy mind, a gooey, mushy cough to his left rocketing him back into the present as he stiffened and watched the hooded visage of Sen toy idly with her handcuffs. She looked filthy at this point, a lump of sentient flesh coming undone at the seams and leaking glittery, foul black blood to the floor as reluctant service drones caught it in trays. Thankfully, she was still somewhat alive; beaten and bruised beyond belief for information but never cracking when her ability to feel pain was dulled and stripped for good, nullified by the depraved scientific concoction splicing her blood into something artificially twisted. As Del continued his rant, Sen reached over with the toe of her heel, tapping on the top of Purple's steel combat boots from under the table and giving him a gruff grumble when he finally took notice through his screaming psyche.
"You…you're challenging him?" She sneered under her breath, frowning in distaste when a janitor stared up at her in awe from afar. "You've got to be kidding me. Why isn't Styx- er…Red challenging him? He has way more combat experience than you."
The inflection in her posh tone only heightened the crushing weight of Purple's stress, elevating his heartrate when he grew irreparably irritated with the whole mess. "He's not a citizen of the Empire anymore, remember? He's a defector and a murderer, meaning," he explained, tapping aggressively on the edge of the table as he growled, "that he isn't allowed to challenge a Tallest until he's been cleared by trial. Ugh, he's such an idiot."
Sen scoffed at his attempt to keep their relationship a careful secret through weak insults, shaking her head and sighing when a sticky piece of flesh landed on the tabletop in front of her. "Good grief…you two are really something. You don't have to lie to me about the weird thing you two call a relationship after what, three days of cuddling or whatever? I can't believe what's left of my existence is stuck in your hands."
Purple said nothing, watching Del's every move as he took sip after delicate sip through his fantastically built armor. His age didn't seem to hold him back, his towering figure the picture of impeccable health and superficial charm wooing the crowd and soaking in the genial respect they showered him with as he spoke his drawn out, methodical speech…or maybe they feared him. He couldn't tell, returning to his own drink and taking a tiny drink from the edge of the glass before scrunching up his face to the awful burn of stringent, sterile alcohol hitting the back of his throat and warming his spooch from within. How the hell was he going to manage this? There had to be a weak spot, images of detailed Irken biology coming back to Purple in surprising waves as he pinpointed every soft, fleshy weakness over the swath of skin he ached to dig his hands under. Del didn't seem worried in the slightest, glancing down intermittently as the Massive's docking protocol came to a close and was approved, the golden eyed menace clapping his gilded palms together to signal the beginning of the end for Purple and his bloodstained entourage. Sen watched with a complacent sneer, laboring to her wobbly feet when her personal guard jabbed her in the back and urged her on, slinging an arm around her to drag her on against her will as Purple swallowed hard and followed close at her heels. He didn't feel safe even when he towered over Del's personal guard, the dig and pull of his clinking armor deafening against the roar of slander and oppressive jeering he was met with. He kept his eyes to the floor and clenched his fists when he felt his jaw tighten on instinct as trash and leftover food was pelted over him like acidic rain, every hit another match on the now boiling pyre of sizzling, unfulfilled fury for justice he still didn't have.
Red was missing.
Sen was dissolving in her own blood.
He was going to battle with someone who was unkillable.
All of it was overwhelming, his pulse pounding through his system when they stopped at the gargantuan, reinforced docking doors to the transport pod that would beam them down to the surface of the highest court in Irken society, the very thought of standing before the Control Brains again making Purple's skin crawl with unease. The last time they had met, he was stripped bare and splayed for his cyclic virginity testing, the probing gaze of his almighty leaders' smoldering mechanical eyes invading his thoughts for months after they had thoroughly scanned him from within. All the more reason to win and destroy the very foundation of what made this Empire soil his innocence…if he could win.
"Hey!" Sen leaned over and hissed before she was shoved into the transport pod and forcibly sat down in a safety seat. She grumbled when her guard shot her a hot look and buckled her in, adjusting her strap far too tight for her liking and nearly suffocating her in the process. "Listen, Nemi. You know you can't win this, right? He's got your blood mixed with the purest Callnowian blood running through his hardware and he'll only regenerate."
Purple was instructed to sit beside her, shakily adjusting his own safety strap and glancing out the tiny window to his left before craning his neck for an inkling of a glance at the planetary surface below. He couldn't see much, a thick, pillowy blanket of ominous grey clouds covering his doom as the knifelike pinnacle of the sharp Spike of Judgement protruded up into the atmosphere and laughed back into his face. Sen was right; there was no biological way he could maim Del at this point and he didn't have any means of getting his skilled hands on the proper equipment to study the bizarre healing mutations latching onto his blood cells. Who knew his own purity would come at such a high price?
"Do you know anything about his skin? His organs? Anything?" Purple mumbled back, straightening up when a guard passed by to check the tension on their equipment before shutting the hatch. He noticed Del's own personal pod shoot down to the surface at lightning speed and prepared himself for the inevitable force that would be crushing down on his chest soon. "You're living…eh…somewhat, in this whole mess. Do you know any weak spots I can hit?"
Sen thought a moment, her silken hair reaching out for a quick sympathy swipe over his freckled cheek as her demeanor changed completely to something stoic and cold, chilling the atmosphere between them as she looked him over with her good eye from within her shadowy hood. "Del and I are different. I was given Red's stupid blood and it turned me into whatever I am now, but he was given pure Irken DNA. It doesn't even compare." She paused a moment, grimacing in disgust when another tiny morsel of flesh sluffed from the protruding tendons of her cheek and dripped down her front. "Hm…if only there was a way to ruin that bastard's blood by force or figure out a way to kill him with my bare hands."
Purple snickered nervously when Sen pretended to wring her hands in wrathful malice around Del's thin neck, slumping back with a sigh and jutting out what was left of her pouty bottom lip in irritated defiance. "Maybe if it was you fighting him, we would have a chance." He mumbled, bracing himself when the pod jerked and the telltale rush of stifling pressure bore down on him like an anvil. "You're immortal."
"You don't have to say it like that."
"Huh?"
"Like I'm some goddess or something. It's creepy."
Purple gave her a tiny nod and blinked, turning his attention back to the rapid rush of swirling haze and cloud cover racing past their window and quickly clearing to a low fog as they shuddered through the smoggy atmosphere. He'd been to Judgementia a few times in the past and always hated the stink clinging to the air and the buzzing static of industrialized machinery electrifying the air. It never felt grounded, stinging at his trachea with every inhale and washing over his antennae to finally hammer the nail of surety into the reality that he was going to be torn to pieces and used to fuel Del and Ipi's amassing armies. What gave them the right to take whatever they wanted when they didn't have the first inkling of sense on how to run a conglomerate of cultures that diverse?
"I could run it better…" He grumbled under his breath, jumping a bit when Sen looked over in passive confusion then turned away to rest her jawbone in her rigor mortis stiff fingers. "Sen? Are you scared?"
She shrugged at the question, expression remaining blank as she drummed her free fingers against the rubbery seat. "No. Why, are you?" She narrowed her black eyes and prodded back. "You're not afraid of a little death, are you? It'll be easy, like going to sleep."
"Geez, you really don't have any faith in me, do you?" Purple groaned, slinging his head in his hands and digging his claws into his weary eye sockets. "I was finally free and now I'm right back in the heart of this stupid empire and it's gonna kill me! I don't wanna fight, but I also don't wanna die! Not when I have something to live for now!"
"And what is that something?" Sen asked slowly, her flippant interest finally solidifying to something smooth and melodious, peaked as her wiry tendrils curled back up to lick at Purple's flushed face. "You've been an enigma ever since I've met you, Nemi. You always talk about yourself and how everyone else has wronged you but you never talk about what's so blatantly good hanging right in your face. You have an opportunity to better yourself and find your way through this whole mess for yourself and that idiot Red and all you're doing is crying about it! It's always complain, complain, complain. What are you going to do if you actually win? Complain your way to assassination as Tallest because let me tell you, in politics no one is going to have sympathy for you."
"You really think I wanna do this? I don't wanna be a Tallest." Purple countered with a snap, rolling his eyes when Sen stuck out her snakelike tongue. "All I want is to find Red and get out of here so we can never come back. I don't care about winning anymore, I just want him."
Sen slipped a bit when the pod finally broke the atmosphere and began to descend for their final landing, the daunting Spike of Judgement looming in all of it's immaculate, shady glory before them and begging them to step inside for their agonizing final hours. "So, you'd give up the safety of your own people for one man? You don't love him, Nemi. You've known him for less than a week and he stalked you for months; does that really sound like love?"
Memories of Red swathed in his mysterious, billowing coat flooded Purple's senses as the scent of calming herbal tea came back as a delicate phantom, passing into his chilly, shaking fingers as the kind man he once knew as a strange hero passed him the balmy cup after his attack. That was more than love. That was devotion, adoration, mutual respect for one another on a level he'd never known and never planned to in his hideously suicidal tendencies, but Red had pacified that with a single, reassuring smile. He was a blinding, broken bulb of light twisted into the wrong socket of Purple's closet but still shining through the brazen darkness that kept him prisoner to provide him with some sense of normalcy and respect for who they all knew that they were deep down inside. He saw him for who he wanted to be, not who the Empire said he was as a powerful sniper ready to destroy the enemy and take back everything they deserved to rule over together.
Together. What if they could rule together?
Sen waved a hand before Purple's stoic face as he was once again lost to his pounding thoughts, gibing him a slow blink when they finally landed hard on the metallic pathway to their doom. The landing gear shuddered and made contact, jolting the two and rocketing Purple straight out of his own mind and back into the battlefield as he began to panic once more, nowhere near ready for the bodily horror that was to slice through his skin and dismember him for the entertainment of the Empire he now hoped to rule for the sake of his own survival.
He couldn't lose.
He wouldn't lose.
Would he?
"Nemi…I…um….I wanted to say that I'm sorry for picking you." Sen mumbled under her blood slicked breath. "I had my reasons back when I did, but I never thought you would become wrapped up in a mess like this. All I knew is that they wanted to take samples of your blood to counteract disease, but I was wrong…and when I found out it was already too late." She sighed long and low, glancing up when Purple met her gaze and reached out to place a kindhearted palm on her knee for comfort.
"Don't worry about it. It's not your fault anyway." He replied genuinely, feeling a ripple of relief ghost his spooch at the tenderness he could share with his once future wife. "We were all played into this and in a way I'm happy you picked me now. I would never have met Red or had the opportunity to know the truth and probably would have died underground with the other five thousand Irkens they stole. We have a chance to stop this now, and that's thanks to you, Sen."
A fleeting, sad smile brushed over Sen's features as her hand met his, clasping around his fingers in a final hurrah before battle. "I was right…you would have been a wonderful husband." She paused, reflecting on his powerful, tear jerking words before swallowing down a gooey clot and hesitantly piping up once more when she finally found her voice through whatever was unraveling her cool. "I…I want to propose something to you, and I hope you say yes. From the moment I arrived here to see my father, I knew it would come to this, but I never anticipated it would be this soon. But…I want to do it to give our planets a chance."
"Our planets?" Purple repeated, eyeing the guards closely from across the pod when they began to perform their docking procedures. He quickly adjusted his thin gauntlets, searching Sen's mangled, fleshy face for any trace of emotion and setting on determination and resolve. "You…you do know something. Please, Sen, you have to tell me what it is! If I can use it in battle or-"
She smiled weakly and reached out, brushing over his lips and leaning in for a sincere, longing kiss for what she knew she would never have, hanging back when she felt Purple shudder in revulsion against her jawbone and settling to pressing their foreheads together instead. "I might know how to end this, but you have to listen to me very, very carefully, alright?"
"Alright."
"Do you promise, no matter what happens, that you'll keep fighting?"
"What do you mean-"
"Purple, do you promise?"
"Y-Yes, I promise."
Sen nodded against his skin, relishing in the contact before a fire sparked in her eyes and she snatched him gently by the jaw to hold his gaze, searching his wide, lavender eyes for surety before continuing. "Good. Here's what I want you to do."
"Let me go! You have no right by the court of law to even touch me!" Red shrieked like a caged animal, snarling and thrashing when cold, staticky air hit his jacket and chilled him to his toes. "I said, let me go you stupid asshole!"
Where were they? Where was this? He tried to run over the extent of his frustratingly blindfolded journey in his mind but couldn't think of anything besides the rough turbulence of landing as his transport pod pierced the atmosphere of somewhere he could only describe as Judgementia before he was thrown out to the street and practically dragged into someplace ominous and terrifyingly silent. He had been forcibly dressed in a scratchy, dry material and doused with something foul, liquid threatening to run into his eyes as he strained to see something, anything, through the thick metal of his bonds.
Nothing.
Was this the battlefield? He could feel soft soil beneath his feet and hear the gentle clang of boots hitting metal bleachers in the near distance as they filled, his antennae bouncing wildly in all directions before he yelped in pulse pounding shock as he was hoisted up into the air. He couldn't judge how high, flailing in furious panic before coughing sharply when two snakelike tendrils snuck around his ribcage and ruthlessly squeezed at his form, constricting him against something rigid and solid forced to his back and snapping hard against his PAK hardware. He gasped for breath, hacking when the same bitter scent he was doused in was slopped somewhere below him to allow acrid fumes to overtake him and taint what little air he could draw in. Shit. This was one predicament he wasn't prepared for. He'd been through murder, warfare, famine, but this…this felt like a formal execution. He grit his teeth when the smell subsided and writhed against the tight tendrils holding him still, trying to work a hand free so he could pull his body away from whatever dubious plot Del was planning for him; what did he say? Something about a stake?
Oh no.
Red hissed when someone reached up and pressed the safety latch on his blindfold, peeling it away as an unbearably bright light stung his retinas and forced him to shy away when he realized who was watching him from above. Three gargantuan fixtures hung suspended in a tangle of wires and animate cords curling lazily around gilled metal as they craned forward for a better look at the criminal they'd been hunting for cycles upon cycles. Smoldering magenta slits of eyes glared back through their shadowy lair in the ceiling as the sound of information whizzing through their code hushed the surrounding crowd to an excited murmur of anticipation. Red was oddly captivated, staring back as his jaw went slack in a mixture of awe inspired fascination and skin-crawling horror when the brutish monsters slowly began to descend above him for a better look at the sorry state he had found himself in, silently peeling away each and every layer of who he was as they invaded his PAK coding by force and ran through his memories for the most invasive, threatening display of power Red had ever felt. It was like a worm gnawing its way through his most private secrets, flipping through his cognition like a book as his mechanical ocular lenses sputtered and followed along against his will. His hatching at the smeetery in Naphrus. His incredible progress in the Academy before he was discharged for failing an IQ test. The drunken nights spent alone on the streets as he hunted through trash bins for crumbs. The brutal murder he'd committed in cold blooded fury for how desolate his existence had become. His forced, stiff dance with Sen before Ipi as she folded forward and kissed him for the first time. It was all so surreal, taking him on a journey of pain and despair when he realized he truly hadn't accomplished much in his young life as a defective, swallowing when the visions only grew deeper and more profound. The first time he realized he was attracted to men in his barracks followed by the moment he laid eyes on Purple from across the crowded mess hall of the Massive. Distinct, philosophical, unbelievably amorous contact in the form of tiny glances around corners and skimming reports of his medical checkups peaking and blooming when he brought him a tentative cup of tea after his brutal attack. Then came the rebellious Lavender Fire sweeping Purple away from the torment as the callous discomfort between them faded to tender, light touches and sighs leading up to…no!
"Stop! Get out of my head! T-That's private and you have no right to see it!" He demanded, panting when he felt the robotic behemoths slither back and allow him a bit of revere for what he wished to keep hidden.
He couldn't stand the thought of anyone else seeing Purple's body beneath him; not after the fundamentals of his partner's privacy had already been stripped to the bone. He was a respected scientist and a bloodcurdling sniper, not a piece of meat to be paraded on show even if it was in the privacy of his own thoughts. Fuck this place! Fuck whoever that was! Fuck the officers sitting on the edge of their seats in the bleachers ringing the indoor battlefield he hung over. It wasn't fair, Red renewing his sense of urgency as he fought to free himself, glancing down to take note of the glittering titanium pole he'd been strapped to by automated ropes holding him firm before freezing when he noticed Del and two other figures approaching from the distance. He winced when the crowd erupted in a fit of cheers for their maniacal Tallest when he gave a dainty wave and a wide, cheery smile, metallic armor gleaming in the magenta light cascading down over them all.
Then, he saw him.
Red felt his breath hitch before crying out on impulse, beyond thankful and flooded with brief relief when he noticed Purple was unharmed and slathered head to toe in a cheaper, flimsier version of Del's magnificent protection and hanging close at Sen's side as she struggled to walk with the protection of a guard.
"Purple! Purple I'm here!" He yelled at the top of his voice, laughing when his confused partner met his gaze and went to race forward, stopping when he realized who's presence he was in.
"R-Red! Thank Irk you're not dead, idiot!" He called back, shrinking down into his armor when Del shot him a blistering hot stare of disapproval. "I…I-I'll get you out of there, I promise!"
Red decided to keep his mouth shut, feeling safer already but quickly noticed the escalating situation when his pulse lurched in his chest as a guard harshly tugged Sen away to the sidelines by her bony shoulder and replaced her with an electric spear for Purple to wield in his hazardously slipping defense. No…no, no, no! His partner wasn't any good with close quarters combat and the Empire probably knew that from his Academy records, choosing to keep his apt trigger finger away from a plasma rifle and giving him the worst weapon in the whole of the military. It sputtered and died in his hands, returning to an inert spear as Purple smacked in frustration at the plasma coil in a desperate attempt to force it to reignite when the crowd began to lightly chuckle around him. Del, on the other hand, snickered and balled his long fingers into harsh fists, smacking them together and triggering a reaction in his gauntlets to pop open and reveal two blistering hot, laser guided plasma canons he could control with a leisure snap of his fingers. He aimed prematurely at Purple's chest for intimidation, squinting down his barrel as it heated and crackled in his grasp before pulling away when he noticed the pathetic battle stance his challenger had taken to prove he may be weak but determined, Purple staring his faux Tallest down when a wrathful need to dominate overtook him at his core and spread throughout his body. He itched for the challenge to commence, clutching tightly at the comfort grip of his long spear and brandishing it before him when an instinctive growl bubbled up in the back of his throat against his better judgement, garnering the attention of the spidery demons lurking above them as they silently moved and slid over for a better look at the unanticipated willpower peaking their sensitive interest.
Silence.
Complete, utter silence.
Purple dug the sharp toe of his boot into the ground to brace himself, building energy in his unyielding shoulders as he held his breath and felt familiar tunnel vision creeping in at the corners of his sockets. This was it, wasn't it? He would have to time this perfectly, breaking eye contact for a single sweep of a glance over to where Red had been strung up like a sacrifice over his funeral pyre, a guard standing hidden behind him to set ablaze the slow, smoldering liquid scattered at his feet. Sen was right. He would only have a few precarious minutes to free his stoic partner before he burned alive and was consumed by the justice system hanging silent above them, running over their uncertain plan once more in his mind and attempting to throw out his disabled PAK legs to no avail. He would have to do this with his hands and resolve alone, nodding to Red who visibly swallowed and shot him a tiny nod back.
Alright…let's do this.
"Almighty Tallest Del of Veloria, you have been legally challenged by Callnowian consort Nemi of Veloria for your seat of Almighty Tallest of the Imperial Irken Empire." A booming voice rang out in a hiss of fluttering, hot steam from above as the Control Brains finally spoke. "You are required by Imperial Law to accept this challenge with grace and dignity. Should you fall in battle, Callnowian consort Nemi shall take your place as acting Almighty Tallest and defector Styx of Naphrus shall be pardoned of all crimes domestic and foreign. Do you understand and accept your charge?"
Del grinned, sinking lower to the dusty ground as he snarled out a strident response of his own. "I, Almighty Tallest Del of Veloria, understand my charge and accept my challenge." A wild look sparked in his glowing, gilded stare as he spoke, warranting the compliance of their mechanical overlords as they moved to address Purple next.
"And you, Callnowian consort Nemi of Veloria, do you understand and accept your charge?"
Purple spoke without hesitation, every cell in his body screaming for him to race forward and finally get this horrific, life-altering battle out of the way so he could leave with his partner. They would leave together and find their way through this callous universe as one soul intertwined by a strange destiny he'd never expected to have, the gravity of his own seemingly foolish heroism smacking him hard in the jaw when he finally grasped the enormity of his actions. He had the whole Empire resting on his shoulders; billions of lives could be lost to forced medical altering of their fundamental DNA for the prospect of universal conquest in the worst of ways. Innocent smeets would choke on blood that wasn't their own as it was injected with sterile needles into their writhing bodies, business owners would falter and be stripped away to walk in the harsh lines of trench warfare they never wanted to witness, and Del and Ipi would become the soul dictators of everything they could possibly think of and more.
Never.
This was no longer Del's empire; this was Purple's!
A crackling wave of static blared out to signal the start of the battle, Del's razor sharp instinct for controlled warfare propelling him forward like lightning as he fired his first shot with a bloodcurdling screech unlike anything Purple had ever heard. He slid deftly out of the way and yelped when a searing bolt of crystalline plasma rocketed past his cheek and collided hard with the metal ring boxing them in as he fled Del's invasive barrage of rigorous, pounding, canon fire. A vicious blowback of sharp metallic shrapnel flooded the stadium as the crowds cheered and foamed at the mouth for Purple to be dissected alive by Del's eager claws in heated pursuit of Purple's hastily planned maneuvers he was making up on the spot, dashing behind Red's prison as another shot rang out and deafened him to the roaring boom around him. He blinked when heavy shock set in, clutching at the oil slicked pole as his antennae muffled and the world fell away around him to be replaced with a hazy, surreal landscape he couldn't comprehend. No! Get your head back in the game! He yelped when a nearby guard shot a single bolt at Red's now flailing feet, setting alight the flammable liquid to a low burn as Del hissed and grabbed Purple by the shoulder to fling him back several feet before going for his throat with his sharp claw guards, missing as he cried out and rolled to the side to lose his already unstable grip on his spear. Del landed a hard punch to his side for the theatrics of toying with his food, forcing Purple to scramble wildly for his weapon when he pinned him back hard to the ground and spat into his face to blind him. He delivered a swift kick to his enemy's abdomen, flipping him back with surprising strength as he fumbled gracelessly to his feet and watched for Sen's signal as he took off in a muscle burning sprint once more. He had to get Del in position, keeping a protective, watchful eye as Red heated up in his bonds and became frantic, deep azure flames licking and melting the soles of his rubber boots as he screamed for Purple to hurry up.
He was going to be burned alive!
Red dug his gooey heels into the base of the pool, curling himself up as high as he could manage as the slow burning liquid dissolved and obscured his frantic vision from the carnage he hoped would be avoided. All he could think of in the moment was Tak and Skoodge, the blazing heat stinging his skin and inciting a bottomless, frenzied terror to live when images of his past lover destroyed and charred burst through his psyche and tormented him from within as danger threatened to overtake him from the outside. He was paying for his sins against Lavender Fire, squeezing his raw eyes shut as the clanging metal of Purple's spear hitting Del's claws resounded like nails on a chalkboard and made him violently shiver. Every squirm only made his bonds tighter, choking him and forcing him to remain still for his agonizing fate as his partner labored and poured buckets of sweat to try and liberate them both for a better, brighter future. He wanted to jump down and pound back against Del's bruising offensive alongside him, squinting when a pang of distrust shattered the agony as he caught sight of Sen squirming on the sidelines and fighting brutally with her personal entourage of stifling guards , bathing in their vivid magenta blood before breaking free and racing as fast as her broken bones would allow to Purple's side.
What?
Wait…what was happening?!
"Pur! Pur watch-" He clamped his mouth shut when Purple glanced swiftly over his shoulder and nodded for Sen to take over, letting his jaw go slack in wide-eyed awe as his powerful partner slid deftly out of the way and allowed Sen to take over.
The Control Brains did nothing as the crowd hushed, obviously interested in the brazen turn of events when Sen's forearm collided hard with Del's swing, halting him in his tracks as he attempted to collect himself before yelping when her sentient locks coiled and writhed up into his face to constrict around his throat.
"You stole my life! You stole my mother from me and turned her into something I don't even recognize!" Sen screamed, forcing him to his knees as she squeezed ruthlessly around his windpipe, screeching when he sliced through her jet black hair, effectively severing it to her shoulder and tossing it to the side before she could evade his grasp. She threw her arms wide in knowing, stiffening when Del towered over her and kicking her heels off a final time for comfort. "Do it. I dare you."
It took everything in Purple's now nauseated resolve not to turn and flee when Del held his step-daughter's eye contact, reaching through her gooey abdomen as she gritted her teeth to feel for her spine, hooking his wiry fingers up into her ribcage and giving a final, brutal tug filled to the brim with pure, unabridged loathing for what she had become. He watched in shock when Sen's skin was stripped away in pools of glittering black, unnatural blood when her spinal cord was severed from within, reaching out when her father let go and allowed her to turn a final time before falling like a beautiful, trembling leaf to the ground. She took a final heave of a breath as a tiny smile crested and bloomed like a flower on her destroyed face, exposing her to the whole of the confused Empire over live broadcast as she finally passed on to whatever kindhearted deity was waiting for her in the misty clouds above.
Then…nothing.
Their plan had worked perfectly.
Sen was dead, a martyr for their cause that had Purple questioning his existence once more but flooding back into stoic resolve to live so her ruined reality wouldn't be in vain. He nodded his thanks to the limp hunk of flesh she had become at their feet, turning on his heel and racing back to where Red hung when he cried out in pain to the searing, white-hot flames singing his ankles through his boots as Del cleaned his hands in frantic disgust and confusion for what had just happened. Purple panted as he took the fleeting opportunity, rearing back and hoping Red was prepared for the fall when he snarled out a scream of a unconquerable growl before plunging his jagged, knifelike spear forward into the tangle of intrusive tentacles holding his frenzied love flush with his combustible stake, raking back and severing them as they fell away and writhed in the pit of hell blazing beneath Red's feet. He yelped and stumbled forward, Purple's nerves spiking and scrambling to grab him hard by the wrist before he lurched back into the all-consuming inferno as it finally caught and devoured the whole of the pole he'd just been tied to.
Red took a moment to catch his breath when his knees threatened to buckle beneath him in disbelief, meeting Purple's gaze with a nervous laugh of a smile. "W…w-wow." He managed to squeak out as he calmed, turning as Del finally collected himself and stomped out his exasperation before dashing back forward covered in sizzling, ashen blood. "S-Shit! What's the plan?!"
Purple grabbed him by the waist and tossed him out of the way when Del attempted to gut Red where he stood, stare snapping wildly to the pool of dissolving blood shrinking back around Sen's lifeless body. "There! We need her blood!" He thrust back with all his strength, forcing Del off and slicing his cheek through his mask with the tip of his spear, cursing hotly when his skin instantly mended upon contact. "We have to get it inside him somehow! Y-You can't let it dry up!"
Red nodded in bewildered confusion, slamming hard into Del's side and sweeping him off his feet as he scrambled to unlatch one of his gauntlet cannons from his wrist, crying out in agony when he received a hard, bone crushing punch to the eye and felt something crack under the sheer force of the blow. He reeled back, stripping free one of Del's gauntlets in the process and watching it skid back out of his good eye when his vision became blurry and darkened, thankful when Purple tossed his spear to the side and got the point before racing for the freed plasma technology and slipping his now bloodied fingers through the protective mesh. He felt it form to his wrist and vacuum seal to his bone structure as Red forced himself up in a mad break for Sen's drying body, warming the canon glowing in his wake and hearing his Academy instructor tell him to breathe and aim in the back of his mind.
Oh yeah…that was more like it!
His aim was perfect, landing a powerful hit to Del's thick shoulderpad and rocketing it off its opulent hinges to expose his dark undershirt, the recoil forcing him to skid a few inches before he fired again and clipped one of his Tallest's quivering antennae. He gave a cry of victory when Del yelped and felt his feeler dislocate, cascading to the battlefield as a distraction before growing back out of its empty socket to bring his already searing wrath to boil over in blind hatred.
"You think you can destroy me with my own technology you pathetic smeet?!" He barked, dancing out of the way as Red panicked and tried to figure out how to capture Sen's rapidly dissolving blood, resorting to bending against his better judgement and slurping it into his moist mouth in the distance. "You will never be anything more than an effeminate consort! You will never be a man! You will never be an Irken!"
"Shut up! You're not even living at this point so who are you talk you stupid bastard!" Purple countered, unsure if he should be proud or absolutely dismayed when Red turned and shot him a delighted look of puffy cheeked courage, a dribble of disgusting blood dripping down his chin. "You think you can take me after everything you and your cabinet has done to me?!"
He decided to distract his Tallest while Red crept along to somehow force Del to take Sen's blood, turning and throwing his arms wide when the crowd chattered in confusion, exchanging perplexed glances and whispers when they realized they had no idea what was actually happening before them.
"Yeah! You heard me! Your precious Tallest is a liar! He kept me prisoner on the Massive for two whole cycles and let his disgusting cabinet assault me over and over while I was waiting to be transported to Callnowia for an illegal marriage to an alien!" He jabbed a hot finger at where Sen lay, finally unravelling Del as he skidded out of the way when his swings became untamed and sloppy. "He murdered five thousand violet eyed Irkens in order to take their blood for illegal experimentation!"
"What?! What are you talking about?!"
"Experimentation?"
"We were told the Callnowian Conflict was over!"
Purple ducked once more, catching his racing breath as Red leapt forward and slammed back into Del's back, the counterweight of his form dragging him down as he struggled and landed hit after hit to Purple's side as he plunged his gauntlet into his Tallest's stomach and fired blow after sizzling blow to his spooch to no avail. His skin regenerated under his armor with every formidable thrust, fusturating him beyond belief as Red struggled with all his might to tug Del's protective visor free before throwing it over his shoulder. He grabbed him by the jaw, forcing his mouth open as Purple continued through his salty sweat.
"Yes, experimentation! Tallest Del has mixed Callnowian blood with pure Irken DNA to create a serum of life that made him immortal and is planning on using a low grade of that serum to force you all into a life of servitude as zombified monsters like her!" He jabbed back at Sen's lifeless corpse as gasps of tense disbelief and uneasy shifting lilted through the stadium. "Sen of Callnowia was a martyr for our cause to take down the most corrupt dictator in Irken history by sacrificing her blood to take down Del once and for all and save our people!"
Red finally pried Del's gnashing jaws open as Purple continued his rapid fire plasma fire to keep him immobilized long enough for his partner to sickeningly spit globs of thick, black clots and viscous cells into his mouth before forcing it closed and laughing with wild fanaticism as Del choked and sputtered on the nauseating taste.
"Tallest Del is a fraud! He's married to Ipi of Callnowia and fabricated the Callnowian Conflict in order to turn you all into his own personal slaves!" Red added, furious, fiery fanaticism for his cause blooming in his own bloodstream as Del suffocated and swallowed on impulse. "He-"
Purple froze and halted his offensive when Del reared back, blackened veins blooming over his mottling skin as bruises burst and flourished to the surface in a singular instance, turning his once diamond hard skin to mush as he rotted from the core and finally competed the noble sacrifice Sen had so graciously offered up on the transport pod. He yelped when his flailing fear collided with Red's chest, knocking him back and discharging a single, precise plasma shot to his shoulder to sever his arm cleanly from his socket. He stumbled back and hit the ground to go completely limp in a pool of his own gushing, impure blood as Purple gasped and let loose an agonizing screech of blind, red hot fury unlike any other as he kept up his assault, standing and going for his spear to enact the final blow he'd seen his enemy perform on Sen.
Del panicked, attempting to stand as his perfect form rapidly aged and withered, choking out a wheeze of a plead from below as he kicked and writhed like a feeble maggot plucked from the ground to finally receive the justice that had been coming. How dare he harm Red! How dare he take from him the one thing that made his life worth living!
"You stole everything from me you fucking monster!" Purple screamed, stomping down hard over Del's abdomen and listening to his spiked cleat tear open his protective corset to expose his soft belly. "I'll always be a consort, huh?! I'll always be some bride, huh?!"
"P-Please…Please, I'll step down!" Del pleaded in a cracked, gnarled tone as he clutched at his throat and tried desperately to reload his gauntlet for a final fire. "I-I promise…I-I'll leave! J-Just spare me!"
Purple shook his head when Red went completely limp to his side and turned cold, his ragged, pained breathing coming to a halt as the climax of the battle slowed and Purple finally took his vengeance for the two cycles of torment he was forced to face, relishing in the look of pure, untainted fear flashing in that stomach-turning gilt that tortured him for so long.
"Rot in hell! I'm your Tallest now!" He cried, forcing his spear down and listening to the satisfying snap of Del's ruined spinal cord snapping under the weight of his blow and immediately taking the light from his eyes as he sputtered and flailed a moment longer, going completely still in his grasp as the same impure blood leaked from his stomach and dissolved to fluttering dust.
It was over.
It was finally over.
The Control Brains hummed out their compliance from above as the crowd erupted into a frenzied fit of cheers as Purple dropped his spear to the side and spat in the face of his tormenter, heaving as his rage left him shaky and worked up before throwing his arms out to the crowd and wiping the gooey smear of blood from his cheeks. They chanted his name on a repeated, chaotic loop packed to the brim with excited expectation as Del's guard panicked and bowed to Purple's formidable presence, snuffing the pyre behind them when their mechanical leaders demanded it.
He…he won?
He had actually won?!
"Callnowian consort Nemi of Veloria, we see your victory against former Almighty Tallest Del of Veloria and bestow upon you the title of acting Almighty Tallest of the Imperial Irken Empire. May your reign be benevolent and just." The head brain boomed out with a puff of steam before retreating back up into their hide etched into the ceiling to allow their trained team of advisors to deal with the transfer of information and recoding. "Congratulations. Defector Styx of Naphrus shall be pardoned of all crimes and reencoded to the collective as a function member of Irken society. Thank you and long live the Imperial Irken Empire!"
Purple was acting Tallest?!
He couldn't believe it, his adrenaline manifesting as nervous laughter as he threw his head back and basked in the victorious melody of his name finally being spoken with respect and admiration as he spun on his heel to fold Red into a tight, embrace of triumph to prepare to take him away and premote him to his personal general. They had won! They had done it together with the help of Sen and…
Red?
Wait…hey…wait…this wasn't right. This wasn't right…no. What? W-What? Red?
Purple froze, lingering over the quiet body of his cold partner lying face down in his own coagulating blood as it oozed lazily from the empty socket of his arm.
Red?
He stooped in urgent disbelief as a team of advisors came to take him for role reencoding, gingerly gripping him by the shivering shoulder before he smacked them away and rolled his lover over to stare blankly down at his catatonic, peaceful face.
R-Red?
No.
No!
Purple dropped to his knees when a flood of emotion overtook him, scrambling to draw Red up into a limp, perilously heartbroken embrace as he smoothed frantically over his unresponsive cheeks. "R-Red? This isn't funny!" He cried when petrified tears pricked in the corners of his scratchy eyes. "Red? Red?! Styx?! You're ok! Y-You're ok, I know you are! W-We've…we've been through too much for you to leave me now…p-please…please you asshole, I love you!"
Nothing.
Why?
Was there ever a reason to the cruel fate he was constantly spiraling down as he was tugged up to a stand and turned to the crowd as he wept for his lost partner, pushing the advisor to the ground and folding back over the only man that had shown him any true kindness. He couldn't be gone. He couldn't leave. He couldn't be dead.
Why?
Why was he gone?
Why did he have to leave?
Why was he dead?
Purple refused to budge, holding Red's lifeless body close as he let out a wrathful scream of heartbroken, hollow emotion that hushed the whole of the crowd and turned the air frigid and bloodcurdling in his wake. What use was being Tallest if he didn't have his general? What use was being Purple if he didn't have his Red? He should have been the one to go…not his snarky, beautiful partner.
Why?
W-Why?!
He shook his head, pulling back as Red stared, blank and freezing, up at the tangle of wires their cruel overlords had disappeared into. There was no glimmer of jaded animosity shining in his retinas, only the dull, chemically induced color he'd forced himself to endure cycles in the past and the pale, almost gaunt lifelessness of someone lost to the void forever. Purple stood, mustering up enough strength to shakily clutch his long lost partner to his chest as he trudged on past the stadiums, taking a shuddering breath and refusing to listen to the team desperately attempting to gain his attention.
"S-Sir! M-My Tallest!"
My Tallest? Pathetic. He was no Tallest. He hadn't won anything, had he?
"Sir, please!"
"Shut up!" He snapped violently, glaring down at the tiny service drone trailing at his heels. "Don't call me that!"
The drone wrung her hands when she noticed his grip tighten on the corpse in his hold, antennae twitching in nervous discomfort before defiantly peeping up once more. "Our biology team, my Tallest, can…c-can try to revive him!" She stated, holding her ground when Purple shot poisonous daggers through her skin. "T-there's no guarantee he'll survive, but we have the technology to try and-"
"Do it. My first order as acting Tallest is the revival of Styx." He demanded, picking up his pace to the transport pod waiting outside as he briskly shot off down the long corridor he'd walked nearly an hour before. He felt taller somehow, leaner and meaner as Red's remaining arm thumped against his side and urged him to move faster for fear he would be lost forever. "Now! Get me to the Massive and get him in the med bay before he loses what's left of his bodyheat!"
Purple may be a warrior, he may even be a Tallest now, but he was first a biologist.
"Hurry up! I'm not losing him now; we're going to play God."
Oh boy...this one was hard to write. Do you guys think Red will survive and come back or...will he stay dead? Possibilities, oh devious possibilities! Have a wonderful day and I'll see you guys next time!
Note on updates: Thank you for being patient if I have to push updates a few days from the time I set. I am a working adult with a job and a partner, and I try to balance time between everything equally. These chapters take me 8+ hours of editing and planning to create, so they are no easy feat but I love them so much. I am determined to see this through, but sometimes I have to delay or change times because I work at Hot Topic and the schedule is very shifty there. Thank you!
Next Update Planned: Wednesday, August 19, 2020 by 10:00 pm CDT (UTC -5)!