Thank God for 24 hours in a day! Now I will baffle you with my superior
brain meats.
Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own Invader Zim or any related characters. I am entitled to creating Peprik. Yay for Nne.
I like to make my fics angsty an' keep them that way. An' some of you are right, maybe I am going a little hard on Pur. But Pur's my favorite Tallest also (my bishie ^.^), an' that's why I make him the center of attention...Even though that center is being the victim of an incurable disease...or is it? I know you Purple-lovers want to eat my head off, but be patient. I'm not promising any miraculous recovery (sorry, Kri...), but you'll have to wait an' see what happens.
I'll give you some hints to lower your suspicions. Maybe one of them is right...:
a. Red goes insane and founds a theme park named "I Am the Cheese Man"; Purple gets better but is fused with the test tube, so ultimately he is dubbed "Test Tallest",
b. Purple morphs into a hawk using the powers of a blue box* and becomes a super hero; the Massive crashes into a phantom planet and the Irkens are chased around by badly animated robots,
c. The two Tallests are transported back in time to stop the spreading of the disease; unfortunately, this happens on Earth in the time of the "cavemen" so Red and Pur have to try to lower themselves to the primordial ooze people's standards,
d. Peprik starts crying, a chunk of a diamond falls out of her eye; she uses it to heal Purple and restore peace to all. Theme music? "If you believe...in the power of love...you've got to believe...in the power of love...it brings meaning to each moment, it's what our hearts are all made of..."
Yeah. No brainer.
Keep reading! I enjoy your reviews and use the flames to burn writer's blocks!
Chapter Six: Operation
Purple shifted uneasily in the new test tube he had been transferred to several days earlier. Peprik had explained to him that the operation was going to take a while, and the tube he was previously in was too small for all the equipment they were going to use. This was similar to a thick, wide square, and Purple could barely move because he was on his back. He cursed to himself, wondering why it felt so constricting when it was supposed to be larger than the circular tube. However, he was relieved to be floating in a new type of liquid that was easier to breathe in. It was cold to the skin, but went through the lungs almost as easily as air.
The tube was flanked by his internal system monitors on the right and a life support unit on the left. The various equipment carts were scattered around the room. Purple amused himself by watching the doctors rush in, almost crash into them, and push them away into other doctors. But now, several hours before the surgery, hardly anyone was making a sound in the medical wing.
Purple crossed his arms and gripped his shoulders. They were talking about him, all right, just not where he could hear. Soon after Red delivered the news to him that he might have a month or two before dying, the medical wing Irkens told other Irkens on board, who then told others. Every Irken on the Massive knew about Purple's disease now, and they were unsuccessfully trying to get to see Purple's virus. Peprik and a few other respected doctors had forbidden Irkens to talk about it in front of Purple. Purple didn't understand why. It didn't really bother him.
He took a slow breath, a habitual process when he learned that if he breathed normally or faster than normal, his heart would start to palpitate and all hell would break loose in his lungs, sending him into a siege of inhospitable agony. Learning that took practice. The hologram screens that monitored his internal areas hovered in front of him. The thick white stuff now covered most of his aorta and upper lung area, with the unnatural black shadow below. The pressure build was minimal; that's what scared the doctors. It could gather to the point that the vessel would collapse before he felt the slightest bulk of the mass. Peprik had frankly told him that the operation had a slight chance of the operation not being a success, but that had worried Red more than it had Purple...
A door opened and closed behind him. Voices floated gently by, and the sound of a cart being wheeled in his direction immediately gave him a good guess.
"Neo, put the equipment over there. You, Xenro, get the anesthetic ready for administration. Oren, put the disinfectant...anywhere. Just not where we can fall over it."
More movement. Something was standing over him. Purple looked up. Red's claret eyes stared sadly down at him.
"Hey..."
Purple grinned weakly. "Secret operation?"
Peprik jumped up on the table next to Red, smiling. "Yup!" she quipped happily. "We don't want the press in on this. It might aggrivate your condition."
Purple rolled his dusty lavender eyes. "Oh. It's alive?"
Peprik slipped a pair of disinfected latex gloves on. "Oops. Did we forget to tell you? I hope it doesn't take too long...so we're starting three hours early...an' Red's gonna stay to watch!"
Purple's expression fell. "You...you are?"
Red nodded. "Wouldn't miss it for the world."
"I would prefer you did..."
Peprik pushed Red towards the door leading up to the upper observation room. "Don't worry. If he starts making faces I'll stick him with the tranquilizer."
"Good. Can you do that to me, too?"
"Already have." Peprik closed the door after Red.
Purple looked down. A needle was being withdrawn out of his arm by a robotic appendage. "Thanks for the warning."
"I didn't want you to get nervous."
Peprik began to prepare the machines for the operation. She connected a thin plastic tube to the side of the tube he was floating in and dragged her finger across a hologram screen. Purple saw a slit to the side of him open up, and light blue fluid flowed in and mixed with the stuff he was already "preserved" in. "This the knock-out stuff?"
Peprik nodded and slipped a mask over her face, hiding everything except her eyes. "You'll be out in a minute. Anything you want to ask before I go in?"
Purple nodded slowly. "...Will I be able to get out of this tube? I'm going to start pruning."
Peprik smiled, shown by the crinkling of the mask she wore. "I hope so, my Tallest."
Purple's breathing slowed, and he sighed and lay still. Peprik's expression fell. If this didn't work...
"...God, I hope so..."
o.O
Six Hours Later...
Peprik sat in the chair, convulsing and shaking her head from side to side. Her yellow eyes were swollen and dry, and she clutched her legs to her chest.
Nothing worked.
Oren and Xenro had departed to go explain to Red, but nothing would help.
The operation was a failure. Purple's aorta was too coated with the virus to remove quickly enough, and when she had tried to burn it off with the laser, the artery had ruptured and the black spores had poured out of the white mass and into his blood stream. Any time they could react to anything in his internal systems...and then...
"Damn you, Peprik. You're not worthy of the title," she hissed to herself, raking her hand across her eyes. "You..."
The alarm went off, stating that the anesthetic was wearing off. He was waking up...he would have to know...
Peprik looked at the newly-sewn scars on Purple's chest, black and pinched. His eyes were closed, but underneath the sunken lids were his eyes...unknowing...
The main door flew open. Red loomed in the doorway, his body hidden in shadows. Two crimson rectangles glared at her; she realized he was blaming it on her...
"Tell."
Peprik raised herself out of the chair and looked over her shoulder at Purple's still form. Her Tallest. She smiled grimly, ignoring the demands from Red. It was too late to save him. He would have to live the last months waiting for it to happen...and when it came...
She blinked back tears. When it came...
...She would be ready.
O.o
Nne is sorry for not updating in weeks!!! I had a writer's block the size of the moon on my head and it didn't go away for a while...so that's why this chapter's so short an' boring!
Purple: So make the damn thing better!
Nne: I'm building suspense! I promise the next chapter will be up soon!
Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own Invader Zim or any related characters. I am entitled to creating Peprik. Yay for Nne.
I like to make my fics angsty an' keep them that way. An' some of you are right, maybe I am going a little hard on Pur. But Pur's my favorite Tallest also (my bishie ^.^), an' that's why I make him the center of attention...Even though that center is being the victim of an incurable disease...or is it? I know you Purple-lovers want to eat my head off, but be patient. I'm not promising any miraculous recovery (sorry, Kri...), but you'll have to wait an' see what happens.
I'll give you some hints to lower your suspicions. Maybe one of them is right...:
a. Red goes insane and founds a theme park named "I Am the Cheese Man"; Purple gets better but is fused with the test tube, so ultimately he is dubbed "Test Tallest",
b. Purple morphs into a hawk using the powers of a blue box* and becomes a super hero; the Massive crashes into a phantom planet and the Irkens are chased around by badly animated robots,
c. The two Tallests are transported back in time to stop the spreading of the disease; unfortunately, this happens on Earth in the time of the "cavemen" so Red and Pur have to try to lower themselves to the primordial ooze people's standards,
d. Peprik starts crying, a chunk of a diamond falls out of her eye; she uses it to heal Purple and restore peace to all. Theme music? "If you believe...in the power of love...you've got to believe...in the power of love...it brings meaning to each moment, it's what our hearts are all made of..."
Yeah. No brainer.
Keep reading! I enjoy your reviews and use the flames to burn writer's blocks!
Chapter Six: Operation
Purple shifted uneasily in the new test tube he had been transferred to several days earlier. Peprik had explained to him that the operation was going to take a while, and the tube he was previously in was too small for all the equipment they were going to use. This was similar to a thick, wide square, and Purple could barely move because he was on his back. He cursed to himself, wondering why it felt so constricting when it was supposed to be larger than the circular tube. However, he was relieved to be floating in a new type of liquid that was easier to breathe in. It was cold to the skin, but went through the lungs almost as easily as air.
The tube was flanked by his internal system monitors on the right and a life support unit on the left. The various equipment carts were scattered around the room. Purple amused himself by watching the doctors rush in, almost crash into them, and push them away into other doctors. But now, several hours before the surgery, hardly anyone was making a sound in the medical wing.
Purple crossed his arms and gripped his shoulders. They were talking about him, all right, just not where he could hear. Soon after Red delivered the news to him that he might have a month or two before dying, the medical wing Irkens told other Irkens on board, who then told others. Every Irken on the Massive knew about Purple's disease now, and they were unsuccessfully trying to get to see Purple's virus. Peprik and a few other respected doctors had forbidden Irkens to talk about it in front of Purple. Purple didn't understand why. It didn't really bother him.
He took a slow breath, a habitual process when he learned that if he breathed normally or faster than normal, his heart would start to palpitate and all hell would break loose in his lungs, sending him into a siege of inhospitable agony. Learning that took practice. The hologram screens that monitored his internal areas hovered in front of him. The thick white stuff now covered most of his aorta and upper lung area, with the unnatural black shadow below. The pressure build was minimal; that's what scared the doctors. It could gather to the point that the vessel would collapse before he felt the slightest bulk of the mass. Peprik had frankly told him that the operation had a slight chance of the operation not being a success, but that had worried Red more than it had Purple...
A door opened and closed behind him. Voices floated gently by, and the sound of a cart being wheeled in his direction immediately gave him a good guess.
"Neo, put the equipment over there. You, Xenro, get the anesthetic ready for administration. Oren, put the disinfectant...anywhere. Just not where we can fall over it."
More movement. Something was standing over him. Purple looked up. Red's claret eyes stared sadly down at him.
"Hey..."
Purple grinned weakly. "Secret operation?"
Peprik jumped up on the table next to Red, smiling. "Yup!" she quipped happily. "We don't want the press in on this. It might aggrivate your condition."
Purple rolled his dusty lavender eyes. "Oh. It's alive?"
Peprik slipped a pair of disinfected latex gloves on. "Oops. Did we forget to tell you? I hope it doesn't take too long...so we're starting three hours early...an' Red's gonna stay to watch!"
Purple's expression fell. "You...you are?"
Red nodded. "Wouldn't miss it for the world."
"I would prefer you did..."
Peprik pushed Red towards the door leading up to the upper observation room. "Don't worry. If he starts making faces I'll stick him with the tranquilizer."
"Good. Can you do that to me, too?"
"Already have." Peprik closed the door after Red.
Purple looked down. A needle was being withdrawn out of his arm by a robotic appendage. "Thanks for the warning."
"I didn't want you to get nervous."
Peprik began to prepare the machines for the operation. She connected a thin plastic tube to the side of the tube he was floating in and dragged her finger across a hologram screen. Purple saw a slit to the side of him open up, and light blue fluid flowed in and mixed with the stuff he was already "preserved" in. "This the knock-out stuff?"
Peprik nodded and slipped a mask over her face, hiding everything except her eyes. "You'll be out in a minute. Anything you want to ask before I go in?"
Purple nodded slowly. "...Will I be able to get out of this tube? I'm going to start pruning."
Peprik smiled, shown by the crinkling of the mask she wore. "I hope so, my Tallest."
Purple's breathing slowed, and he sighed and lay still. Peprik's expression fell. If this didn't work...
"...God, I hope so..."
o.O
Six Hours Later...
Peprik sat in the chair, convulsing and shaking her head from side to side. Her yellow eyes were swollen and dry, and she clutched her legs to her chest.
Nothing worked.
Oren and Xenro had departed to go explain to Red, but nothing would help.
The operation was a failure. Purple's aorta was too coated with the virus to remove quickly enough, and when she had tried to burn it off with the laser, the artery had ruptured and the black spores had poured out of the white mass and into his blood stream. Any time they could react to anything in his internal systems...and then...
"Damn you, Peprik. You're not worthy of the title," she hissed to herself, raking her hand across her eyes. "You..."
The alarm went off, stating that the anesthetic was wearing off. He was waking up...he would have to know...
Peprik looked at the newly-sewn scars on Purple's chest, black and pinched. His eyes were closed, but underneath the sunken lids were his eyes...unknowing...
The main door flew open. Red loomed in the doorway, his body hidden in shadows. Two crimson rectangles glared at her; she realized he was blaming it on her...
"Tell."
Peprik raised herself out of the chair and looked over her shoulder at Purple's still form. Her Tallest. She smiled grimly, ignoring the demands from Red. It was too late to save him. He would have to live the last months waiting for it to happen...and when it came...
She blinked back tears. When it came...
...She would be ready.
O.o
Nne is sorry for not updating in weeks!!! I had a writer's block the size of the moon on my head and it didn't go away for a while...so that's why this chapter's so short an' boring!
Purple: So make the damn thing better!
Nne: I'm building suspense! I promise the next chapter will be up soon!