It's Never Too Late

By: Moojuice Nne of the Mayonaisse

Epilogue: Unfinished Business

Head Advisor Nim walked through the busy hallways of the Capital, his antennae rings flashing with each step he took. It was a Monday, which meant everyone that worked in the Capital was working frantically to meet deadlines that they should have finished three days before. There was hardly a room in the whole place that didn't hum with tension.

It had been nearly seventeen months since Tallest Purple had shot Ren and put an end to all of the confusion that was ravaging the planet. A new Advisory staff had been chosen; Nim had been placed at its head and seemed to be doing well at handling his post. Commander Yoma was restored to his former title as leader of the newly reconstructed Elite Forces. The Hangar had been quickly rebuilt so it could conceal the Massive as its repairs were being completed.

Nim, coming to his destination, turned around and called to his mate, who was quite a ways behind. "Potluck, hurry up! We're already late!"

Potluck wound her way over to Nim. She was sucking a cherry slushie through a green straw. She smiled. "Sorry! I was thirsty."

Nim rolled his eyes and grabbed her hand. "They're waiting."

"So? It's not like they've been waiting for three days…oh, wait, yes they have."

The Head Advisor placed his hand on the pad that was on the wall next to the entrance, and the door swung open. This room was quiet and sparsely populated, because only higher ranking officials were allowed in. There was a long table in the middle of the room surrounded by high-backed chairs. At the far wall were two cushiony leather chairs that were placed in front of huge, glass paneled windows. Red and Purple sat in each chair, a stack of papers between them. Purple was reading a piece of paper in his hand, and Red was reaching over to grab another off of the pile. He looked up and saw Nim and Potluck standing at the doorway. "Hey! Come in. We didn't want to stay in the offices. It's too loud out there."

Nim walked around the large table and stood in front of the Tallests. He bowed and said, "Sirs, Commander Yoma contacted me earlier. Most of the final repairs on the Massive have been completed, and it should be ready to go into deep space in a few more months. But, he had a question. He wanted to know if you wanted to go through with your decision."

The two Tallests looked at each other. Nim stood there quietly. Then, Purple leaned back in his chair and said casually, "Well, I've changed my mind. Why don't we leave it open? It's where we'll end up eventually. Think about it, Red. Where will we go when we die? They're not going to display us in the Capital."

"Wait—Purple, I thought we agreed!"

Purple glanced over at his partner. "I'm agreeing with myself."

The crimson-eyed Tallest opened his mouth to argue, then smiled and shrugged. "Fine, what the hell. Keep the Vaults open."

Nim bowed. "Yes, sirs."

He turned around and called to Potluck. "Come on, we have to go."

Potluck took the straw out of her mouth, saluted clumsily, and waved. "See ya later, guys!"

She turned around and almost walked into the wall next to the door. Nim, embarrassed, grabbed his mate's hand and dashed out of the room. Purple smiled and returned to reading the paper in his hand. Red looked apprehensively at the other Tallest. "Pur, why the change of heart?"

Purple yawned and dropped the paper he had been reading into the trash. "Because the other Tallests in there opted to be put on display so they could be seen. And, I want Irkens to read the epithet I'm going to put on your grave when you die."

Red narrowed one eye. "What are you going to say about me?"

Purple nonchalantly examined his hand armor. "I'm going to engrave 'Big, Stupid Moron' on the bronze nameplate."

"I am not a big, stupid moron!"

"Yes, you are."

Red lifted his head and laid his antennae back. "Well, at least I'd have more information about me than you did! All they put on your nameplate was your name."

"That's why it's called a nameplate."

Red snatched another piece of paper off of the top of the stack and began mumbling to himself. "Yeah, well I'm gonna do something to yours 'cause you're going to die first and I don't care that you called me a stupid moron 'cause I'm not…"

Purple smiled and continued to read. Tallest Red had become even more protective of his partner in leadership ever since Purple had been given another chance at life. They were hardly ever apart, which didn't bother Purple much, but he couldn't get most of his work done because Red was always complaining that it would be too hard. And Purple would repeat, over and over again, "Red, I'm not made of glass. I can work." And Red would never listen. The two Tallests still fought over everything that they shared, but they couldn't stay angry at each other for long. Instead, they just tolerated each other's presence until one or the other burst into laughter.

Suddenly, the door swung open, and Peprik dashed into the room. She was clothed in a causal white dress, and around her neck a small claret jewel swung from a petite golden chain—a symbol of engagement to another Irken. Her golden eyes sparkled with happiness, and she was laughing. She had come out of her state of suspended animation five months before. It had been hard for Red, who had grown extremely fond of her during his last adventure; as soon as she had woken up the Tallest had sprung the question to her. At first, it had upset the new Board of Advisors, because formal rules stated that the Tallest was supposed to be bonded to an Irken female of high status and the Tallest was supposed to manage the Empire well enough to split his attention between his leadership responsibilities and his mate. Red, of course, did neither of these, but Purple promised that he'd cover for Red if the other Tallest slacked—which he did all the time, anyway.

Peprik leaned against the door frame and pointed behind her. The hallway looked like it had been sprayed with white paint.

"You have to come out here," she gasped between waves of mirth. "One of the paper developing machines has gone haywire, and its spewing paper all over the Capital. Hee hee hee—everyone's who's trying to fix it is getting sliced to pieces with paper cuts …it's a melee!"

Red blushed deeply, but Purple leaned over and elbowed Red in the side. "You've barely seen her since you proposed," he whispered. "If you keep avoiding her she's going to decline, and then you'll be in deep shit."

"What's wrong?" Peprik asked, leaning against the table.

"Nothing," Purple answered, getting out of his chair and dragging Red to his feet. "I'm just trying to unfreeze the chicken."

Red was pushed towards Peprik by Purple. "Go on, you dense bachelor. You can't be with me all the time."

Peprik grabbed Red's hand and led him out of the room. "Thanks, Purple!" she called back.

Red looked over his shoulder, a nervous look in his eyes. Purple gave him the thumbs-up sign. "You'll be fine."

As soon as the door closed behind Red and his future mate, Purple fell back into his chair and thoughtfully put his chin into his palm. "To think that it would happen to Red," he breathed. "Incredible. The world amazes me sometimes."

"But, when is it going to happen to you?"

Purple's antennae twitched and his eyelids lowered halfway over his eyes. "I don't know. What are you doing here?"

A tall, dark figure was leaning against the wall next to a bookshelf stepped forwards. His head was hooded, and he was wearing a long black coat that dragged on the floor. A small silver necklace hung around his neck. "Oh, I'm sure that you'll fall in love soon, Oronu," he said in a sinister voice, pushing his hood back. The Irken's eyes shone clear, bright gray. Purple cringed. That color.

"Get out of here, Zen. You're not wanted."

Zen held up the small silver chain that hung around his neck and examined it coolly. . "My father gave this to me. He told me that when I became the Tallest that I would wear it as a symbol of my accomplishments. Now, I wear it as a symbol of revenge!"

The Tallest evenly eyed his unwanted visitor. "Isn't that surprising. Too bad daddy's not here to witness your so-called 'accomplishments,' which, by the way, probably aren't even worth mention."

I need something to breathe.

I will try not to burden you…

Zen brought his hand down on the table. His whole body was quivering. "My father's death will not be in vain. He wanted you dead for a reason, Oronu, and I'm going to find out what that reason is!"

Purple stood up quickly, drawing himself to his full height. He glared down at Zen. "First of all, I am your Tallest, and you will address me as such, Zen. And, secondly, your father's reason for wanting me dead was a load of bullshit about you being the rightful leader of the Irkens! Your father and his minions accuse me of wrongdoing—and then they try to kill me! Please explain that fuzzy logic to me."

"You wouldn't understand!"

"Of course I wouldn't! Because your logic can't be explained!"

Baby, don't shiver now.

Why do you shiver now?

I need something to fly over my grave again.

Zen walked around the table and stood in front of Purple, scowling. "I wish I had killed you when I had the chance!"

Purple's eyebrows furrowed for a second. "That was a long time ago, Zen. You should forget that ever happened."

"I still could have put you out of commission." Zen muttered.

"You and you father both failed! How many assassination attempts do you plan to carry out?"

Zen's knuckles turned white. "As many as it takes! You will die under my hand, Oronu. I don't care what you did in Operation Impending Doom I!"

"I figured that. Our alliance has decayed, that much is certain."

The gray-eyed Irken reached behind his back and pulled out a gun. Purple found himself on the verge of death again, this time with a handgun held up to his forehead. Zen's arm was trembling. His finger slipped through the trigger. "I am going to pull this trigger, Oronu, and you will be dead on the floor when your partner comes back into the room."

Purple's eyes narrowed. "Pull it, Zen. Come on; shoot me like I shot your father to death. I dare you."

Zen's face crumpled, and he threw the gun on the floor underneath Purple's feet. "I'm sparing you for now, Tallest Purple, because I want you to see hell before me. As far as I'm concerned, there never was an alliance. Oh, and this time, it won't be just you I'm after. Never turn your back to me, or else you're in for a very nasty surprise."

Zen spun on his heel and marched out of the room, his black coat billowing out behind him like a storm cloud. Purple watched him leave, then bent down and picked up the gun that his enemy had thrown down. He tapped on the handle, and the top of the gun slid off.

There were no bullets inside.

Purple sighed and threw the gun onto the table; it made an ugly dent on the highly polished wood. The Tallest dropped into his chair and put his face in his good hand. The dead arm, gray and lifeless, thumped against the arm of the chair.

Oronu…

Oronu has another definition in old Irken language…

Oronu means traitor…

Tallest Purple is a traitor….

The memory of his dark past was engulfing Purple's mind. He couldn't seem to remember all of the things that he had done, but Zen would surely make him remember. And now, with Zen angry, everyone would know what heinous crime Purple committed in his younger years.

"I didn't mean to…I didn't mean to kill him…" Purple whispered hoarsely, his eyes squeezed tightly shut.

"I can't let anyone know."

I will try not to worry you.

I have seen things that you will never see.

Leave it to memory me…

…I shudder to breathe.

FIN

HOLY CRAP, WHAT IS HE TALKING ABOUT?!?!

:) It's DONE. You didn't expect that curveball, did you? Usually, the Sequels don't fare as well as the originals. That was kind of a flat Epilogue, though. Oh, and to answer Ashsema's question about this being a Trilogy…yes, it is! The next fanfiction, entitled Last Stands, should be up in a couple of weeks.

Why did I not just make this a reeeeeaaaalllly long fanfiction and add the plot of LS to this one? Well, this fanfiction focused mainly on Purple coming back to life! But, the party's only halfway done!

I appreciated EVERY SINGLE ONE of your reviews! The two top reviewers were Ashsemaand Crusader Ari! Thank you so much for reading this fanfiction. Your reviews were priceless! To every other reviewer, A MILLION THANKS! Oh, and Sheepchi, thanks for your advice! There is no muffin mix! WITHOUT REVIEWERS, THERE IS NO FANFICTION! I love you all! Please keep reading my fanfics, or I shall melt away into nothingness!

I'm also writing another fic, called Sunburn! It will be up very shortly. It's going to be under the Zelda section, but Purple will be in it! I'm also making another Zim ficcy!

STAY SAFE, EVERYONE! I will see you very, very soon!!

Much love,

Moojuice Nne of the Mayonaisse