Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Invader Zim.
Chapter Two: A Nightmare
Yempt silently fumed as he accompanied Tah out of his former workplace. At first he'd attempted to run away from her, but that had only resulted in her carrying him along like a little smeet. Refusing to cope with that sort of humiliation, Yempt had finally agreed to follow her without a fight. However, he didn't have to be happy about it. He folded his arms and scowled at everybody who passed by, just to let them know he was not enjoying himself.
Tah had drug him to the restaurant and explained to his superior that he was now working for her, an announcement that came with no dispute. Yempt showed no disappointment that he wouldn't be missed, being as he never expected anything different. He just accepted the truth and begrudgingly followed his new boss down the road. What happened to him wasn't under his control anyhow.
Yempt's grim conclusions were interrupted when Tah glanced down at him and smiled. "So, where do you live?"
"What do you care?" were the first words out of his sardonic mouth.
"We need to get your things. You're quarters aren't safe anymore, so you'll be staying with me."
The former waiter stopped in his tracks and shot his companion a stubborn glare. "You want me to move in with you?" He cocked one brow and sniffed in disapproval. "Forget it. I already doubt your sanity, and I don't need to be prompted to doubt your decency as well."
Tah's maroon eyes were blank for a moment before they widened with the realization of what Yempt had insinuated. Then her eyes narrowed as a hint of worry began to lace her voice, "I'm sorry if we got started on the wrong claw, but I'm sure you're mistaken. Please just trust me - I'm trying to keep you safe." She let her expression fall into a lopsided grin, and Yempt began to sense that Tah was actually rather shy and awkward when it came to making new acquaintances. He had no intention of having her go through the experience of getting acquainted with him.
"Right or wrong, you can keep your claws to yourself." He swiftly turned on heel and began to briskly walk away, but it was no problem for her to keep up with her long, gangly legs.
"Come now, you don't want another laser incident, do you?" Yempt huffed slightly at the comment, but continued to ignore her. "I'm doing this for your protection. They've marked you for death, and I think you're going to need some help. You're quarters just aren't safe anymore."
"What, and yours are? If being seen with you means being marked for death, I'd think going to your quarters would be suicide." He inwardly smirked as he felt her roll her eyes. He was actually enjoying himself - this was the most social contact he'd had in years. Deep down, he was starting to believe that this crazy Tah wasn't really some criminal, but that didn't mean he was going to lighten his disposition. Although he by no means liked this person, he definitely didn't dislike her as much as he did everybody else. The fact that she seemed to want to help him worked to her advantage. After a moment of serious consideration Yempt pursed his lips and glared down at the trash-cluttered street. "Fine, I'll do it, but you'd better leave me alone!"
Tah smiled beside him, greatly relieved, and followed close behind as he led the way. She'd never met anybody quite like Yempt before. Certainly Clay had been rude when she'd first met her, and still was to tell the truth, but she was by no means hostile like this disgruntled waiter. There was something about him that didn't strike her as right - something in the way he seemed to frown at everything with a general air of discontent. Her mind clicked as she realized what it was. He was just so damned depressing!
She wasn't sure whether she felt sorry for him or just considered him to be a nasty little bastard. Either way, she stopped him before he opened the door to his room. She cleared the way and carefully opened the door with one of the extendable pod legs. She felt slightly embarrassed when nothing happened: no poisoned darts flew through the air and no deadly explosions pierced the calm. She was sure Yempt was pinning her with a condescending look - she felt it in the back of her neck. She quietly decided he was just a nasty little bastard.
They entered his rooms, which were even smaller then the ones Tah'd had as a student at the Soldier Academy. Not only that, but she counted four beds instead of two. It was then that she remembered that soldiers and other militarily important people generally got better treatment then the more utilitarian segment of the population. The place was filthy, dirty cloths and unwashed dishes everywhere. Tah supposed that the only somewhat clean area in the room belonged to Yempt, and she was right. He walked over to a tiny dresser and opened one of the drawers, pulling out a few sets of clothing. He set them on his bed and headed for the cleansing room to get some personal things. Tah took this chance to give a thorough examination to the room. She sat on Yempt's bed and let her gaze pan slowly from left to right. She saw a number of items of interests, including a bottle of Wintorian rum, a set of dusty bar bells, and a pile of saucy porn magazines. She wondered if she really wasn't doing Yempt a favor.
After the clothing and Yempt's personal cleansing things were packed, he was ready to go. Tah wondered at the miniscule bag he held as he impatiently waited to leave. "Aren't you going to bring anything else?" She supposed that he'd at least have a book or something he'd like to take along.
His impatient look only intensified. "No," he said in a tone that succeeded in ending the conversation. The two quietly walked out of the stinking rooms and made their trek to Tah's residence. Yempt was somewhat surprised when she took him to an even worse part of town and swerved to one of the more ill-kept docking bays. He glanced around anxiously, and actually leaned closer to Tah's side as his darting eyes spotted a number of aggressive-looking characters looming in the darkened alleyways. It seemed like hours before they finally reached their destination, and when Yempt first realized where that destination was a wave of sarcasm temporarily swept away all his fears. "You live in that?" They had stopped at a somewhat large Voot Cruiser. Living in one's ship was the equivalent to living in one's car and Yempt couldn't help but glower at Tah, as if he'd been tricked.
Tah glanced at him and then moved over to a disgusting man with a beer gut and a laser at his side. He was sitting nearby the ship, and Yempt wondered what Tah could possibly have to say to him. His eyes widened with disapproval as she slipped some moneys into his greasy fingertips. "Thanks, Varg. I really appreciate it."
"Is nothing," said the man. Yempt squirmed at his squeaky accent. "Is nothing at all." He grinned down at the moneys he'd received and tilted his head at Tah as he shoved them into his pocket and wobbled away.
"Is he what you call protection for your ship?"
Tah shrugged. "No one messes with Varg there. He's not too impressive himself, but he's the smuggling contact for a lot of fellows out here. If someone messes with him, he messes with them." Tah's explanation was mumbled as she fiddled with a code identification on her Voot. Once the ship beeped its approval, it asked for a rental scan. After that it asked for an identification card.
"Is this all really necessary?" groaned Yempt as he tapped his foot on the dusty ground. He frowned when she didn't answer him. After a series of security checks the door finally opened to the ship and they were allowed to step inside. He was surprised at the cleanliness of the interior of Tah's ship, and actually found himself pausing so he could look around. Despite his former opinion of her, the condition of her living space was enough to convince him that she'd recently been in strict military service. There were an inordinate number of books stacked about, and Yempt could only suppose that Tah was one of those silent, reading types. Indeed she didn't seem to have to need to make conversation as she began to meander about her 'quarters,' tidying up and setting things out so she could supposedly work. Yempt set his small bag on the floor and sat, watching her take out the piece of paper he'd given her. She stared at if for a moment and then bent over her notes. Yempt actually found that he was curious about what she was doing. "What's so important about this guy you're looking for, anyway? There's a lot of criminals out there - easier ones with bounties."
Tah's back hardened as the question was asked. "I was assigned to get this one in particular. A mission from the Tallest themselves."
Yempt was impressed, but refused to show it. He grunted and continued with his questioning. "But why this jerk? Tallest have some vendetta against him?" He crossed his arms. "If you don't tell me I'm not coming with you."
Tah sighed at his attitude, resigned to ignore it. "He's responsible for a variety of things. Drug running, assassinations, theft, forgery - you name it. You remember the hatchery disaster two years ago?"
"Of course I remember that." Even someone as cold-hearted as Yempt had been shocked to the core when that tragedy had happened.
Tah shook her head. "It was all because of insurance money. Someone got rich off of that!" She made a disgusted sound. "Around the same time as that I ran across a base full of thousands of ships. I didn't know it at the time, but that was a base of operations for - slave transport." She lowered her head back towards her work.
Yempt raised one brow. "Impressive." It was difficult to imagine such a diverse ring of corruption, but he had no choice but to believe this woman. He watched while she examined the paper, peering at the black slashes on its surface as if they were suddenly going to change. He eventually got bored again. "What is that?"
"It's a tip from one of the guys I ate with the other night. It's supposed to tell me where my final pray is - be the link to end this mess I've gotten myself into. But I can't figure out what it means!" She placed the paper delicately on the table, although it seemed more like she wished to throw it on the floor. She leaned back and rubbed her temples. "It's coded somehow, but I don't know what it means."
An amused sound escaped Yempt's mouth. "Feh. I thought it was your job to do stuff like that!" He could tell his comment had annoyed his new companion. She glanced over at him through the corner of her eye, eventually deciding to stand.
"You, do something. I've got some books over there. I'm going to go make a call." Apparently it was a private call, because Tah left through a door that led to another section of the ship, possibly her sleeping quarters. Yempt watched her go before sulkily scrutinizing the room. There were a lot of books, but reading had never been Yempt's thing. He'd always figured that if he were meant to do that sort of thing, he would have trained to be some sort of scholar. He slouched in his seat, which although wasn't comfortable was at least bearable, and drifted slowly to sleep.
Later that night Tah emerged from her room with a smile on her face and a song in her squiggly pooch. She absently played with one of her curled antennae as she stepped into the main section of her ship, pausing when she saw the small, slumbering Irken before her. It didn't look like he'd moved from when she'd left him, and she figured he couldn't be comfortable in a chair. She glanced around a bit before heading back to her room. She came back with a pillow and carefully maneuvered it under his head. She didn't want to wake him, but at least this way he'd be less sore when he awoke. With the way Yempt was already, she'd hate to see how he'd act after a bad sleep. She then stretched her long frame and went off to get something to eat. Once that task was accomplished she rubbed her eyes and began to feel a little tired herself. With a final glance at her guest she lumbered to her room and began to get ready for bed.
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Tah stood at her old work station and stared at the blank monitor. Upon looking down she noticed she was wearing the plain, black uniform of a researcher. She automatically sat in the empty chair and began to search around for her list of things to research, but there was none to be found. She looked from side to side, but the information wasn't there. Although it was impossible to do any work without a list of things to look up she decided to turn on her monitor anyway. Looking at its activated screen seemed to sooth her and she smiled with contentment. She felt safe and warm and happy before a hand reached forward and turned the monitor off. She followed the hand's arm to face Tzen, her former supervisor. He smiled at her with his jolly face, but Tah could sense he wasn't happy. "You shouldn't be working here," he said. "You need to go."
"I need to be here," she protested. She didn't know why she'd said that, but was controlled by more that just her rational senses.
"It's not your job." Tzen shook his head and placed a hand on her shoulder. Although he was so much smaller than she, he was able to lift her out of her chair, forcing her to stand. He motioned toward the door and Tah felt she had no choice but to do as he wished. She dejectedly left the room and found herself in Purple's quarters. She wasn't surprised that she didn't end up in the hall, although something in the back of her mind told her she should be. She felt something stroking one of her antennae and a bare hand came up from behind her to caress her cheek. The hand gently slid down her neck and playfully traced the line of her collar. She turned around and embraced the person behind her, feeling again the warm safeness that the monitor had represented. She glanced up to look into Purple's eyes, and felt a flutter in her squiggly pooch when he smiled down at her. They were now both sitting on his couch, like they had so many other times before, only now the couch was much longer and wider - more like a bed. It seemed natural when the both leaned back into a more comfortable position, Tah leaning slightly on Purple's chest. She turned to face him, and realized her hand was traveling up the side of his body. She watched her hand with curiosity, wondering why she didn't seem to have any control over its actions. She shrugged the worry off and watched as the hand made its way over Purple's robes, past his stomach and chest and curling around the back of his neck. She gently rubbed her thumb against his soft flesh, and she couldn't help but lean forward and kiss him. It was a strange kiss, a simple pressing of the lips where neither party made an effort to respond. Dissatisfied, she shifted her body to straddle him and smiled when she felt the lithe body under her shiver when her pelvis rested upon his. She lowered the rest of her body and rested her head next to him, snuggling with affection. Another shift occurred and Tah realized that her body was no longer the one on top. She shut her eyes and felt her fingers run down Purple's back. She felt a humid, spicy breath and realized that he was trying to kiss her. She opened her eyes only to scream out. The blue-skinned form of Montoy loomed above her like a venomous snake ready to bite. His disgusting, long black hair hung down, annoying her face and getting in her eyes. She quickly pushed him off and ran out of the room, terrified that the mercenary might follow.
She stumbled and found herself in a room of black. Something told her she was alone now. She rubbed her neck, trying to get the humid feeling of Montoy's breath to disappear as she looked around. Something about the texture of the ground she walked upon made her believe she was in some sort of cave. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness, and her feet had been correct - she was surrounded on all sides by brown, rock walls. She looked up and saw the blackness of space above her, dotted with the brilliant stars. As she stared up at them she thought they slightly moved and she wondered if she was inside some sort of asteroid. She pushed the thought from her mind. She couldn't be in an asteroid because there was a spring right beside her - springs didn't bubble up on the frozen surface of an asteroid. Tah quickly turned to look at the stream, recalling that it hadn't been there before she'd looked up at the sky. Perhaps she'd just missed it, but how could she have. She let her gaze become lost in the water's silvery surface and she was tempted to touch the dangerous liquid. She reached out her hand for that very purpose, and let the surface of her glove become engulfed - tempting fate. She was surprised to find that the water seemed cool through the protected layer of her glove. She pulled her hand out and looked up at the barren walls that surrounded her. With a sudden urge to escape, she let her pod legs emerge and help her as she climbed up the wall. When she reached the summit she gasped for breath, despite the fact she'd been under no real physical strain.
She looked up to find Yempt standing there, his arms folded and his face twisted in a sardonic frown. He looked at her with his dark green eyes. "You'd better give up," he said calmly, sure that he was correct.
"But I've already climbed up," Tah tried to explain.
He shook his head. "You're not going to make it." With that grim prophesy Tah lost her balance and fell backward into the cave. Her pod legs flailed about but weren't able to grab a hold of anything. She fell - fell - fell -
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Tah struggled and writhed in her covered, unable to kick herself free from them. She bolted up, realizing her body was slathered in sweat. She breathed deeply as she recalled herself from the dream. Fear encased her thoughts, and she held her head as she deeply breathed in the cool air of her bedroom. She'd had nightmares before, especially in the last year or so, and the same themes always rang in her head when she finally broke back into reality. She wanted a peaceful life. She didn't want to be afraid at every turn. She wanted to end the investigation. She wanted to be with Pur.
//Who here thinks Yempt needs a boyfriend? *raises hand*
Chapter Two: A Nightmare
Yempt silently fumed as he accompanied Tah out of his former workplace. At first he'd attempted to run away from her, but that had only resulted in her carrying him along like a little smeet. Refusing to cope with that sort of humiliation, Yempt had finally agreed to follow her without a fight. However, he didn't have to be happy about it. He folded his arms and scowled at everybody who passed by, just to let them know he was not enjoying himself.
Tah had drug him to the restaurant and explained to his superior that he was now working for her, an announcement that came with no dispute. Yempt showed no disappointment that he wouldn't be missed, being as he never expected anything different. He just accepted the truth and begrudgingly followed his new boss down the road. What happened to him wasn't under his control anyhow.
Yempt's grim conclusions were interrupted when Tah glanced down at him and smiled. "So, where do you live?"
"What do you care?" were the first words out of his sardonic mouth.
"We need to get your things. You're quarters aren't safe anymore, so you'll be staying with me."
The former waiter stopped in his tracks and shot his companion a stubborn glare. "You want me to move in with you?" He cocked one brow and sniffed in disapproval. "Forget it. I already doubt your sanity, and I don't need to be prompted to doubt your decency as well."
Tah's maroon eyes were blank for a moment before they widened with the realization of what Yempt had insinuated. Then her eyes narrowed as a hint of worry began to lace her voice, "I'm sorry if we got started on the wrong claw, but I'm sure you're mistaken. Please just trust me - I'm trying to keep you safe." She let her expression fall into a lopsided grin, and Yempt began to sense that Tah was actually rather shy and awkward when it came to making new acquaintances. He had no intention of having her go through the experience of getting acquainted with him.
"Right or wrong, you can keep your claws to yourself." He swiftly turned on heel and began to briskly walk away, but it was no problem for her to keep up with her long, gangly legs.
"Come now, you don't want another laser incident, do you?" Yempt huffed slightly at the comment, but continued to ignore her. "I'm doing this for your protection. They've marked you for death, and I think you're going to need some help. You're quarters just aren't safe anymore."
"What, and yours are? If being seen with you means being marked for death, I'd think going to your quarters would be suicide." He inwardly smirked as he felt her roll her eyes. He was actually enjoying himself - this was the most social contact he'd had in years. Deep down, he was starting to believe that this crazy Tah wasn't really some criminal, but that didn't mean he was going to lighten his disposition. Although he by no means liked this person, he definitely didn't dislike her as much as he did everybody else. The fact that she seemed to want to help him worked to her advantage. After a moment of serious consideration Yempt pursed his lips and glared down at the trash-cluttered street. "Fine, I'll do it, but you'd better leave me alone!"
Tah smiled beside him, greatly relieved, and followed close behind as he led the way. She'd never met anybody quite like Yempt before. Certainly Clay had been rude when she'd first met her, and still was to tell the truth, but she was by no means hostile like this disgruntled waiter. There was something about him that didn't strike her as right - something in the way he seemed to frown at everything with a general air of discontent. Her mind clicked as she realized what it was. He was just so damned depressing!
She wasn't sure whether she felt sorry for him or just considered him to be a nasty little bastard. Either way, she stopped him before he opened the door to his room. She cleared the way and carefully opened the door with one of the extendable pod legs. She felt slightly embarrassed when nothing happened: no poisoned darts flew through the air and no deadly explosions pierced the calm. She was sure Yempt was pinning her with a condescending look - she felt it in the back of her neck. She quietly decided he was just a nasty little bastard.
They entered his rooms, which were even smaller then the ones Tah'd had as a student at the Soldier Academy. Not only that, but she counted four beds instead of two. It was then that she remembered that soldiers and other militarily important people generally got better treatment then the more utilitarian segment of the population. The place was filthy, dirty cloths and unwashed dishes everywhere. Tah supposed that the only somewhat clean area in the room belonged to Yempt, and she was right. He walked over to a tiny dresser and opened one of the drawers, pulling out a few sets of clothing. He set them on his bed and headed for the cleansing room to get some personal things. Tah took this chance to give a thorough examination to the room. She sat on Yempt's bed and let her gaze pan slowly from left to right. She saw a number of items of interests, including a bottle of Wintorian rum, a set of dusty bar bells, and a pile of saucy porn magazines. She wondered if she really wasn't doing Yempt a favor.
After the clothing and Yempt's personal cleansing things were packed, he was ready to go. Tah wondered at the miniscule bag he held as he impatiently waited to leave. "Aren't you going to bring anything else?" She supposed that he'd at least have a book or something he'd like to take along.
His impatient look only intensified. "No," he said in a tone that succeeded in ending the conversation. The two quietly walked out of the stinking rooms and made their trek to Tah's residence. Yempt was somewhat surprised when she took him to an even worse part of town and swerved to one of the more ill-kept docking bays. He glanced around anxiously, and actually leaned closer to Tah's side as his darting eyes spotted a number of aggressive-looking characters looming in the darkened alleyways. It seemed like hours before they finally reached their destination, and when Yempt first realized where that destination was a wave of sarcasm temporarily swept away all his fears. "You live in that?" They had stopped at a somewhat large Voot Cruiser. Living in one's ship was the equivalent to living in one's car and Yempt couldn't help but glower at Tah, as if he'd been tricked.
Tah glanced at him and then moved over to a disgusting man with a beer gut and a laser at his side. He was sitting nearby the ship, and Yempt wondered what Tah could possibly have to say to him. His eyes widened with disapproval as she slipped some moneys into his greasy fingertips. "Thanks, Varg. I really appreciate it."
"Is nothing," said the man. Yempt squirmed at his squeaky accent. "Is nothing at all." He grinned down at the moneys he'd received and tilted his head at Tah as he shoved them into his pocket and wobbled away.
"Is he what you call protection for your ship?"
Tah shrugged. "No one messes with Varg there. He's not too impressive himself, but he's the smuggling contact for a lot of fellows out here. If someone messes with him, he messes with them." Tah's explanation was mumbled as she fiddled with a code identification on her Voot. Once the ship beeped its approval, it asked for a rental scan. After that it asked for an identification card.
"Is this all really necessary?" groaned Yempt as he tapped his foot on the dusty ground. He frowned when she didn't answer him. After a series of security checks the door finally opened to the ship and they were allowed to step inside. He was surprised at the cleanliness of the interior of Tah's ship, and actually found himself pausing so he could look around. Despite his former opinion of her, the condition of her living space was enough to convince him that she'd recently been in strict military service. There were an inordinate number of books stacked about, and Yempt could only suppose that Tah was one of those silent, reading types. Indeed she didn't seem to have to need to make conversation as she began to meander about her 'quarters,' tidying up and setting things out so she could supposedly work. Yempt set his small bag on the floor and sat, watching her take out the piece of paper he'd given her. She stared at if for a moment and then bent over her notes. Yempt actually found that he was curious about what she was doing. "What's so important about this guy you're looking for, anyway? There's a lot of criminals out there - easier ones with bounties."
Tah's back hardened as the question was asked. "I was assigned to get this one in particular. A mission from the Tallest themselves."
Yempt was impressed, but refused to show it. He grunted and continued with his questioning. "But why this jerk? Tallest have some vendetta against him?" He crossed his arms. "If you don't tell me I'm not coming with you."
Tah sighed at his attitude, resigned to ignore it. "He's responsible for a variety of things. Drug running, assassinations, theft, forgery - you name it. You remember the hatchery disaster two years ago?"
"Of course I remember that." Even someone as cold-hearted as Yempt had been shocked to the core when that tragedy had happened.
Tah shook her head. "It was all because of insurance money. Someone got rich off of that!" She made a disgusted sound. "Around the same time as that I ran across a base full of thousands of ships. I didn't know it at the time, but that was a base of operations for - slave transport." She lowered her head back towards her work.
Yempt raised one brow. "Impressive." It was difficult to imagine such a diverse ring of corruption, but he had no choice but to believe this woman. He watched while she examined the paper, peering at the black slashes on its surface as if they were suddenly going to change. He eventually got bored again. "What is that?"
"It's a tip from one of the guys I ate with the other night. It's supposed to tell me where my final pray is - be the link to end this mess I've gotten myself into. But I can't figure out what it means!" She placed the paper delicately on the table, although it seemed more like she wished to throw it on the floor. She leaned back and rubbed her temples. "It's coded somehow, but I don't know what it means."
An amused sound escaped Yempt's mouth. "Feh. I thought it was your job to do stuff like that!" He could tell his comment had annoyed his new companion. She glanced over at him through the corner of her eye, eventually deciding to stand.
"You, do something. I've got some books over there. I'm going to go make a call." Apparently it was a private call, because Tah left through a door that led to another section of the ship, possibly her sleeping quarters. Yempt watched her go before sulkily scrutinizing the room. There were a lot of books, but reading had never been Yempt's thing. He'd always figured that if he were meant to do that sort of thing, he would have trained to be some sort of scholar. He slouched in his seat, which although wasn't comfortable was at least bearable, and drifted slowly to sleep.
Later that night Tah emerged from her room with a smile on her face and a song in her squiggly pooch. She absently played with one of her curled antennae as she stepped into the main section of her ship, pausing when she saw the small, slumbering Irken before her. It didn't look like he'd moved from when she'd left him, and she figured he couldn't be comfortable in a chair. She glanced around a bit before heading back to her room. She came back with a pillow and carefully maneuvered it under his head. She didn't want to wake him, but at least this way he'd be less sore when he awoke. With the way Yempt was already, she'd hate to see how he'd act after a bad sleep. She then stretched her long frame and went off to get something to eat. Once that task was accomplished she rubbed her eyes and began to feel a little tired herself. With a final glance at her guest she lumbered to her room and began to get ready for bed.
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Tah stood at her old work station and stared at the blank monitor. Upon looking down she noticed she was wearing the plain, black uniform of a researcher. She automatically sat in the empty chair and began to search around for her list of things to research, but there was none to be found. She looked from side to side, but the information wasn't there. Although it was impossible to do any work without a list of things to look up she decided to turn on her monitor anyway. Looking at its activated screen seemed to sooth her and she smiled with contentment. She felt safe and warm and happy before a hand reached forward and turned the monitor off. She followed the hand's arm to face Tzen, her former supervisor. He smiled at her with his jolly face, but Tah could sense he wasn't happy. "You shouldn't be working here," he said. "You need to go."
"I need to be here," she protested. She didn't know why she'd said that, but was controlled by more that just her rational senses.
"It's not your job." Tzen shook his head and placed a hand on her shoulder. Although he was so much smaller than she, he was able to lift her out of her chair, forcing her to stand. He motioned toward the door and Tah felt she had no choice but to do as he wished. She dejectedly left the room and found herself in Purple's quarters. She wasn't surprised that she didn't end up in the hall, although something in the back of her mind told her she should be. She felt something stroking one of her antennae and a bare hand came up from behind her to caress her cheek. The hand gently slid down her neck and playfully traced the line of her collar. She turned around and embraced the person behind her, feeling again the warm safeness that the monitor had represented. She glanced up to look into Purple's eyes, and felt a flutter in her squiggly pooch when he smiled down at her. They were now both sitting on his couch, like they had so many other times before, only now the couch was much longer and wider - more like a bed. It seemed natural when the both leaned back into a more comfortable position, Tah leaning slightly on Purple's chest. She turned to face him, and realized her hand was traveling up the side of his body. She watched her hand with curiosity, wondering why she didn't seem to have any control over its actions. She shrugged the worry off and watched as the hand made its way over Purple's robes, past his stomach and chest and curling around the back of his neck. She gently rubbed her thumb against his soft flesh, and she couldn't help but lean forward and kiss him. It was a strange kiss, a simple pressing of the lips where neither party made an effort to respond. Dissatisfied, she shifted her body to straddle him and smiled when she felt the lithe body under her shiver when her pelvis rested upon his. She lowered the rest of her body and rested her head next to him, snuggling with affection. Another shift occurred and Tah realized that her body was no longer the one on top. She shut her eyes and felt her fingers run down Purple's back. She felt a humid, spicy breath and realized that he was trying to kiss her. She opened her eyes only to scream out. The blue-skinned form of Montoy loomed above her like a venomous snake ready to bite. His disgusting, long black hair hung down, annoying her face and getting in her eyes. She quickly pushed him off and ran out of the room, terrified that the mercenary might follow.
She stumbled and found herself in a room of black. Something told her she was alone now. She rubbed her neck, trying to get the humid feeling of Montoy's breath to disappear as she looked around. Something about the texture of the ground she walked upon made her believe she was in some sort of cave. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness, and her feet had been correct - she was surrounded on all sides by brown, rock walls. She looked up and saw the blackness of space above her, dotted with the brilliant stars. As she stared up at them she thought they slightly moved and she wondered if she was inside some sort of asteroid. She pushed the thought from her mind. She couldn't be in an asteroid because there was a spring right beside her - springs didn't bubble up on the frozen surface of an asteroid. Tah quickly turned to look at the stream, recalling that it hadn't been there before she'd looked up at the sky. Perhaps she'd just missed it, but how could she have. She let her gaze become lost in the water's silvery surface and she was tempted to touch the dangerous liquid. She reached out her hand for that very purpose, and let the surface of her glove become engulfed - tempting fate. She was surprised to find that the water seemed cool through the protected layer of her glove. She pulled her hand out and looked up at the barren walls that surrounded her. With a sudden urge to escape, she let her pod legs emerge and help her as she climbed up the wall. When she reached the summit she gasped for breath, despite the fact she'd been under no real physical strain.
She looked up to find Yempt standing there, his arms folded and his face twisted in a sardonic frown. He looked at her with his dark green eyes. "You'd better give up," he said calmly, sure that he was correct.
"But I've already climbed up," Tah tried to explain.
He shook his head. "You're not going to make it." With that grim prophesy Tah lost her balance and fell backward into the cave. Her pod legs flailed about but weren't able to grab a hold of anything. She fell - fell - fell -
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Tah struggled and writhed in her covered, unable to kick herself free from them. She bolted up, realizing her body was slathered in sweat. She breathed deeply as she recalled herself from the dream. Fear encased her thoughts, and she held her head as she deeply breathed in the cool air of her bedroom. She'd had nightmares before, especially in the last year or so, and the same themes always rang in her head when she finally broke back into reality. She wanted a peaceful life. She didn't want to be afraid at every turn. She wanted to end the investigation. She wanted to be with Pur.
//Who here thinks Yempt needs a boyfriend? *raises hand*