Glass Room
Author's Notes/Warnings: There is violence in this chapter.. and some deaths.. I'd say more but I don't want to give anything too important away.
How many days had he been on the Massive? Lard Nar wondered to himself. He was walking through the halls, his limp barely noticeable anymore, and the lone Irken janitor mopping the floors was doing it's best to stay far away from the Vortian.
All of the Tallest's followers were careful to hide most of their hostility. They never spoke a word to 'the slave' and they always kept their distance. There was obvious resentment behind their hardened stares, but Lard Nar didn't mind it. As long as they stayed away, that was good enough for him.
The technician who had collapsed in Purple's room never reappeared. Even for an Irken, the injuries it had received had been substantial. Lard Nar assumed the poor creature had died shortly after Purple had removed it from his room.
The hall was eerily quiet. There wasn't even the usual sound of humming technology. Lard Nar shifted the snacks in his arms as he walked. These trips were becoming more and more frequent. It was tiresome.
"That's enough Red! I've had enough!"
Suddenly the quiet was broken by Purple's shouts.
"I didn't mean to!" Red stated loudly. "I didn't mean to do that, I swear Purple."
"You never mean to do any of it!" Purple continued to rant. "We lost another technician because of your stupid temper and now you have the nerve to barge into my room and start threatening me!"
"Purple, I promise..."
"You always make those stupid promises Red! Are you trying to piss me off!"
"Stop interrupting me!" Red barked. There was the sound of something crashing.
"So you want me to lose my freaken temper Purple! Congratulations, I just lost it!"
More sounds of a struggle ensued. Lard Nar carefully approached the metal door.
"I'm not taking it this time Red! I'm not your flurking punching-bag!"
When the door slid open, Lard Nar froze. Both Tallests were locked in hand to hand combat. The chair had been toppled over as well as the desk, the bed had been shoved against the wall, and there was blood spilt as well as broken screens from digital tablets and scattered pieces of technology covering the ground.
The Vortian stared for a moment. He wasn't exactly sure what to do. Oh well. His assignment had been to fetch snacks. There was no way he was getting involved in this mess.
He stepped around the two Tallests and the mess, dumped the snacks on the bed (because apparently dumping them on the floor was sacrilege), and was about to head out when he heard a sickening crack sound. He slowly turned to see that Red had gained the upper-hand on Purple and had struck the other Tallest's head against the wall.
Purple was dazed, but he wasn't willing to give up either. He lashed out at Red, landing a blow to his face and forcing the red clad Tallest to drop him.
Fury burned in Red's eyes. Purple breathed heavily and felt the blood dripping from the side of his head. Then he noticed Lard Nar and his eyes narrowed. "Get... out..." he breathed.
Red glanced over his shoulder and growled. "You never let anyone into your room, but you let that Vortian scumbag go anywhere it wants."
Lard Nar resisted the urge to roll his eyes. If that was the case, he'd be on an escape pod heading for Food Courtia by now. "Whatever, I was just leaving."
"No, stay," Red told him with a smirk. "Maybe Purple would behave better if I killed you first."
"Good luck with that one," Lard Nar said squaring his shoulders as he stood ready to face the Tallest.
Purple shoved himself away from the wall and wrapped his arms around Red's neck. The other Tallest flailed and shouted profanities.
"Get out, get out now!" Purple hollered.
Sensing the gravity of the situation, Lard Nar was quick to do just that. He breathed a sigh and rubbed his face. Ok... so he had nearly fought with the red Tallest... big deal. The door glided shut, and he stood back, waiting for the shouting and banging to stop.
A half-cycle passed before the sounds of fighting halted. The door slid open and Red staggered out looking a bit worse for wear. He straightened his armour with his good arm and ground his teeth in pain. "Blast... blast... dlark it all..." His face was bruised and one of his antennae was crooked, but other than that he seemed fine.
Once the red Tallest had disappeared down the hall, Lard Nar stepped out into the open and walked over to the closed metal door. There was no sound coming from inside. Purple had probably lost... he might also be dead.
Sucking in a breath, Lard Nar took a tentative step forward, and the door opened with a soft whir.
"Purple...?" he tried using the Tallest's name. The room was a wreck; the desk had been broken in half, and the chair was mangled and lying in pieces near the bed. The bed its self had suffered enough damage that it had collapsed, but that was fixable.
A weak moan alerted Lard Nar to the Tallest's presence. He carefully approached Purple who was lying in a pool of blood behind the remains of his desk. "What... do... you want...?" the Tallest questioned wearily.
"I guess I was curious to see if you survived or not..." Lard Nar admitted.
Purple chuckled. His eyes were closed, his face was bruised and swollen, there was blood oozing from the wound to his head, and he seemed unable to move.
"Don't get any ideas..." Purple told him with an edge of warning. He cracked open an eye in order to study the Vortian. It took a lot of concentration for him to focus on the blurred figure of Lard Nar. "I still got... the remote... you'd be dead... long before... you could do... anything..."
"I doubt you'll be able to blame this on the stairs," Lard Nar mused, ignoring the Tallest's threat.
"Oh... ha... funny guy..." Purple mumbled. "Nope... stairs won't... do it... need a medic or.. something... first..."
Lard Nar eyed the Tallest's pak. He wondered how easy it would be to take it and leave the Tallest to die... but even if Purple was weak right now, he was obviously on the defensive. He did not want to suffer a debilitating shock.
The former captain brushed the thought of killing Purple away. There would be other opportunities. "So... do you want me to get someone in here?"
"If you can... if not... bandages'll work..."
"Fine. I'll see if anyone is around," Lard Nar told him. "Wait here... oh right. That's not going to be a problem is it?"
"Real... jerk..." Purple sucked in a shaky breath.
In this messed up reality, Lard Nar did owe the Tallest a bit of a favour for not killing him, so he left the room and began searching the Massive for a medical facility. He found it a while later, on the third floor, at the end of one of the many long hallways, but it was closed down.
"Well if that doesn't beat all..." Lard Nar grumbled. "Stupid Irkens flying without an operational medical facility..." He hacked into the machine keeping the door sealed shut and figured out the code. It didn't take long for him to open the door that way, and once it was open he began searching for different things to use on the Tallest.
Maybe some poison..? no, focus. He shut his eyes and shook his head. There would be plenty of time later to kill Purple, he just needed to be patient. Bandages and painkillers would have to do for now. He grabbed a bottle of pain killers off the bottom shelf and took a half roll of bandages from a cabinet.
Good enough.
There were no janitors in the hallways... there wasn't a breath of anyone anywhere.
Then he saw the body of a small Irken janitor lying crumpled on the ground. His bucket and mop appeared to have been tossed a great length down the hall.
Ignoring the unconscious Irken, Lard Nar continued back to Purple's room. He came across two more beaten and bloodied Irkens before he reached the closed door.
Apparently Purple's efforts hadn't been enough to slow his partner down.
Again he was surprised at the general disorganization of everything in the room. He picked his way over the debris and crouched down next to Purple.
"So... the medics appear to have taken a vacation or something," he told the semi-conscious Tallest. "I scrounged these up from the medical facility." He held out the bottle of pills and the roll of bandages.
"That'll work..." Purple murmured as he slowly propped himself up. When he'd gotten into a sitting position, he shoved his shoulder back into place with a crack and held out his hand for the objects.
"Good thing... he didn't get hold... of you huh...?" Purple said quietly. Lard Nar handed him both objects and folded his arms across his chest.
"I guess, but you might not have gotten beaten quite so badly if he did."
Purple coughed a bit. Blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth. "Yeah... maybe... I'm taller and stronger... I can take more... of it..."
"Taller yeah, stronger, I'm not so sure," Lard Nar remarked. "How much voltage do you think you could take in a day?"
"Don't.. make me... laugh..." Purple wheezed. "It... hurts..."
"Anything to cause you pain," Lard Nar said. "Anyway, it's been grand, but I'm going to go pick some of the Irken's pockets. Maybe they'll have a key or something I can use later."
"Which ones...?"
"Your friend got a hold of two drones and a janitor outside."
Purple reflected over this for a moment. "Maybe the janitor... better chance he has... a pass...we don't have keys..."
"That's what I was thinking." Lard Nar looked at the destruction in the room before regarding Purple again. "Why is he like this?"
"Frustrated... me and him... we can't... be like... other Irkens... now..."
"But you're Tallests, Irk's leaders. You have everything you could ever want."
"Red was... more social than me... he misses... exploring planets... fighting enemies... hanging out with... fellow soldiers..." Purple winced. "It's just me... and him now... until termination... just us... no one can... come in..."
"You mean to tell me you're both isolated? The drones answering at your beck and call, and the Invaders and other Irkens that respect you mean nothing?"
"It's nice... everything an Irken... wants... but... no one else... can get close... respect... gets in the way..."
"But there have been other Tallests, and they seemed fine... well... I only knew Tallest Miyuki. She was a great leader."
"Never... asked her... did you...?"
"Well, it's not like I could really... I was just a scientist."
"Just a drone... just a scientist... just an Invader... no one can get close..." Purple chuckled. "Told you so..."
As Lard Nar was leaving, he reflected over what he had learned about the current Tallests. He knew they were younger than both the previous Tallests had been, but he still wasn't sure how loneliness could effect them when they had each other.
But they couldn't always be around each other could they? Being alone made them uncomfortable and moody, Red more so than Purple, but having no choice about always having to be together wasn't good either...
"What would be the answer then?" Lard Nar asked, standing out in the hall.
"Deal with it... until termination... then die," Purple replied managing a half-hearted smile. "No big deal..."
The Tallests were like glass dolls... everyone could look at them, but no one was allowed to touch. It was a very trapped existence...
Lard Nar began to wonder if he was the prisoner here, or if Purple was.
More Notes: So Purple got a beating. Normally he doesn't fight back. Stuff changes. Lard Nar also casually mentions his escape plans to Purple now. Well, it's kind of obvious he wants to escape anyway. By the way, that's about the extent of Red's rage right there. Kinda...
Oh, and Purple did know that the medics weren't there, but since he's in pain, he forgot. Anyway, that's just Purple's opinion on why Red is like that but... who knows if that's the real reason.
By the by. This is all seriousness, so they won't have a lot of resemblance to their carefree funny personalities on the show. That's probably become pretty obvious though right? Yeah. Cool. Alright.