Author's note: This story contains long flashbacks, at least in the first few parts. It'll all make sense soon, I hope. I'll try to update as often as I can. R&R please!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my own made-up characters which are all the ones that weren't in the show, but everyone already knows this, right?
Purple remembered. Remembered the deep violet eyes and the tears that wanted to spring from them. He remembered what it was like to be small with a calming, protective shadow looming over him. He could still feel the warmth of his brother's body as he buried himself in the older Irken's chest, clinging to him with weak arms. That warmth was something he had grown accustomed to, something he had come to believe he couldn't live without.
Things changed. His brother left him. Left him when he said he never would. Purple remembered Mek trying to explain why he had to go, but Purple was too young to understand then. Mek said everything was going to be alright, that they would see each other again someday. Purple had seen something in his brother's eyes. Something that Mek didn't say but could still be sensed by the small child. "Be brave, Len," Mek's voice was choked and the violet eyes were glossy. Purple had known something was wrong but he never understood what it was. Now, years later, he realized what Mek had been keeping from him, what he couldn't possibly bring himself to tell the small innocent child Purple had grown from. When Mek was saying his last goodbyes, he knew he wouldn't be coming back. He knew he was going off to die.
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It was a strange place. The walls were thick and the ceilings were high. The young Irken that was Len followed the mistress to what would be his new home. He stayed close to her. She was tall, not taller than his brother, but still tall. She kept a slow pace, her eyes pointed forward down the long hall, but occasionally looking back at the young one and smiling softly. Her eyes were a deep maroon that matched her dress. She walked gracefully and proud.
Len caught glimpses into other rooms as they made their way down the corridor. Classrooms and labs, some with students, others empty. Every now and then he thought he saw a pair of eyes glance back at him. Then he would turn his head and stare at the floor.
This place was so huge. What was the reason for it? He was small. What could he possibly do here that would make a difference? Mek had brought him here before he left. He said it was a place where Len would be safe while he was away. Len could learn new things there and spend time with other Irkens his age. That's what Mek said, but Len didn't like it. Len had learned everything he knew from Mek. Mek was always there to teach him about their world, to guide him. He taught him who and what to avoid, and where they could find the best food.
The two brothers had lived on the streets. The run-down building on the outskirts of the city had been their shelter, four stories of rotting walls, creaking floors, and broken windows. Mek said he chose that building because it was the only one whose roof didn't leak. It was supposed to be a joke, even though Len didn't understand why.
The old office building was a distance away from the airfield and spaceport. In the evening Mek would sit in one of the windows on the top floor with Len sitting in his lap. They would watch the starships come and go, their metal glinting in the last of the dying sunlight, and the two would dream and fantasize about having their own ship, flying across the galaxy and visiting alien worlds. Mek would tell Len stories about their father, who had been a great warrior and skilled pilot. He told him his own memories, his father teaching him to fly various cruisers and how to fight hand to hand combat. Those were the things Len never had a chance to experience with his father, but would experience with Mek because he promised to teach him one day.
That was where Len spent his early childhood, in the run-down building on the part of town where no one went anymore. That was their home. They had it all to themselves.
Len looked around himself. This was not his home. Stone walls and arched ceilings, countless rooms and hallways. Their building had been simple, with one stairway leading to a different floor. This place was a maze. A cold, dark maze, filled with people he didn't know. Len realized he didn't want to be there anymore as the mistress opened the door to his room. She put her hand on his shoulder and guided him inside even though he didn't want to. The room was small with one window and a table and chair. The bed was off to the side against the wall.
"This is where you'll be staying," she said. Len did not look at her but stared out the window. His antennae sagged and he felt something hot and wet come to his eyes. The lady Irken knelt down beside him and turned him to face her.
"It's going to be alright," she said softly. "You'll make friends here and then everything will be fine, you'll see." She cupped his face in her palm and smiled. "Why don't you get some rest?" she said, motioning towards the bed. Len gave a slight nod and walked over to the mattress. The mistress pulled back the covers and waited until he was lying down comfortably, then tucked him in gently as a mother would her own.
"I'll have some food brought to you once you've slept for awhile," she told him. She smiled once more and then turned and exited the room, softly closing the door behind her.
Len was left to the memories that were swelling inside his head. For the first time in his life, he was alone. Mek was gone and he had been left in a strange place, surrounded by strangers. He desperately wanted to run away to the old building where maybe, just maybe, Mek would be waiting for him. But he was too afraid. He'd become lost in this maze of stone and metal. He would probably be captured and taken back to his room where he would be locked up forever.
Len pulled the blankets closer and over his head. The tears that were burning his eyes finally broke free of any restraint and flowed down his face. He slowly drifted into an uneasy sleep, dreaming about his brother and the adventures they had before this nightmare happened.
