Drakkon stood at the control console, adjusting the Spectrum's navigation as he unconsciously licked his lips. Damn but that kiss had primed him; it had been way too long since he'd tasted Red. He longed to feel that powerful, lithe body against his own.
The tyrant's mouth watered as he remembered the way Red's talented tongue knew just the right places to stroke as he knelt before his master's spread legs. Drakkon would recline back on his throne, fingers tangled in the thick grey hair, as his pet salivated over his erection. Such a good boy!
His gloved hand reached down to adjust his growing excitement. Now he had two Reds, one older and one younger. His Red would have teach the new one how to properly satisfy him and be obedient.
Now there was a sexy thought.
An abrupt noise pierced the air rhythmically then and a light began blinking on a screen to his far left. Frowning, he crossed the deck to investigate what that alarm indicated. He felt confused as he realized a pod had been deployed.
Turning sharply, he stormed down the deck to the control room door, his eyes narrowing angrily. Who could be stowing away and why? Then another thought occurred to him.
The little Omega! But he had left the duckling in Red's charge and Red wasn't drugged or restrained. There's no way his duckling would have been able to fight off his fearsome pet. He'd seen how vicious Red was in his cage fights.
Drakkon was so distracted by his frantic thoughts that when the door swished open, he was completely unprepared for the solid mass of black and grey that slammed into him. The tyrant's legs were knocked out from under him and he struck the floor hard, his back bouncing of the ground. The wind was knocked out of him and he gasped raggedly.
Pain fired through his head when a strong hand wrapped itself in his long hair and yanked violently. His body jerked backwards across the floor before the hair separated from his scalp. Fuck!
He swiftly flipped around to his feet, facing down a charging, growling Red. The evil Ranger's eyes widened in shock and his jaw dropped briefly at the deceit. He barely dodged Red's charge at the last second, rolling away across the hard floor.
"Fucking hell, Red! Goddammit! Enough! Stop this now!" he snarled, trying to undo the damage done by Red seeing his surprised expression.
Red executed a graceful flip as he kicked off the wall to face the mad man again. Growling loud, his head lowered threateningly; fists clenched tightly by his sides as he bristled at Drakkon. His lip lifted, showing his teeth.
But what most caught Drakkon's attention was Red's eyes. His good eye appeared almost black, his pupil dilated alarmingly. Pure, unfiltered rage glittered there. But instead of the blank staring, Red was looking at him directly in the eyes.
Alert and present now.
"Well, well, well," Drakkon grinned slyly. "Find your way back from Wonderland, Alice?"
Slowly, the tyrant regained his feet and squared off with his disobedient pet.
"No, I'll never be able to leave," the enraged combatant hissed. "But I've come to slay the Jabberwocki!"
Drakkon unconsciously licked his lower lip before he laughed mockingly.
"Aren't we confident, Red? I made you give in before, you psychotic bitch! Back down now or so help me, there will be nothing left in that head of yours except the ability to breath and blink! If you don't like being my dog, I'll make you my little ragdoll instead!" he threatened harshly.
A bizarre smile slowly lifted the corners of Red's lips as he stared unblinking into the mad man's eyes and threateningly advanced.
"What's the matter, Drakkon?" he taunted. "Too scared to play with your pet?"
The tyrant snarled back, angry at the disrespect.
"I see, then. Puppy wants to be frisky and have a little tug of war?"
Drakkon also started to approach the other man.
Red's gaze then moved up and down the psycho's body as the two began to circle.
"Come and play then, asshole. Really play with your pooch. No drugging me this time like a coward," he grinned.
"There's that smart-ass mouth. It always did get you in trouble. But I taught you a better use for it, didn't I, Red?" he jeered before his tongue prodded his cheek in a crude manner.
Roaring in fury, Red's fist flew toward Drakkon's smug face. The tyrant bounded back with a giggle.
"Struck a nerve, I see," he teased.
Red snarled and launched himself again at the monster. An explosive volley of punches and kicks were hurled toward Drakkon, who attempted to deflect and block. The other man's fury only enhanced his incredible fighting strength; the exploitive cage fighting over the years only honed his combat skills further.
Red was frothing at the mouth, snarling like a feral dog. Drakkon could now fully appreciate what those other fighters went through when going up against his pet. He had always dismissed his Sentries fear of Red as ridiculous and irritating. But now he could see how frightening Red could be especially when his mind was locked in his rabid dog aggression.
His fist crashed into the side of Drakkon's jaw, whipping his head around sharply. The evil Ranger snarled and spit blood from his mouth as he tried to stare his pet down. But again, Red charged forward, screaming an incoherent stream of curses and obscenities.
Evilly, Drakkon darted out of the way; drawing his boot back, he kicked viciously at Red's weaker leg. The blow landed and he laughed cruelly at the sound of the man's knee snapping.
He didn't have time to appreciate the success as the crippling injury only made Red roar more in fury than in pain. The injured man snarled and pushed off the ground with his good leg. He practically leapt onto Drakkon's upper body, knocking the asshole backwards.
"You wanted a fucking, goddamn dog, you piece of shit!" he bellowed. "Come on! Play with your 'good boy', motherfucker!"
Drakkon tried to grab Red and only succeeded this time in getting bitten; sharp teeth sank down into the white silk covering his arm. Red jerked his head sharply, tearing a chunk of flesh from the war lord's body.
The tyrant yelled in pain and managed to buck Red off him in a panic.
"Are you scared of me now, asshole? No drugs to slow me down," he raged. "Can't take me unless you play dirty?"
He crouched ready to pounce again.
"You held that over my head, rubbing my face in it, insulting my ability as a leader. And this whole fucking time, you had shot me up with a medication that slowed my thoughts and reaction time and finally dropped me."
Red's eyes welled up despite his best efforts to hold his emotions in check.
"You bullied me into believing I was at fault and that I deserved what you were doing to me. You made me want to be mauled and to feel all the pain. Because I was 'atoning'," his voice started to tremble at the memories that came rushing back.
It shouldn't matter but he needed to know straight from the monster's mouth.
"Why? Why mind fuck me? I get the torturing for battle tactics and getting information. But after that? Why not just kill me instead of putting in all this work to keep me alive and continue to degrade me?"
"Shut up, Red." Drakkon's muscles tensed under his white uniform.
"No, I want to know! You've fucked me up for the rest of my life! My social skills, my relationships… I'm just as fucked up as you! Is that what you were trying to achieve?"
"Goddamn you and that mouth!" Drakkon erupted, menacingly approaching his pet. "Despite what you think about me, Red, I have to admit that I grew to look forward to our visits."
"Yeah I'm sure. You loved making me scream," Red interrupted bitterly.
"It was complicated! Yes, I had to hurt you in the beginning so you would cooperate. I was very impressed you held out as long as you did. I really shouldn't have been; I should have expected it from you. You always did amaze me even if you pissed me off."
Red refused to look away and break their stare.
"So what you did after was a compliment?"
Drakkon looked almost sad for a moment before he shoved it deep down.
"I enjoyed our conversations. And our sparring. I did enjoy spending time with you without having to discipline you or train you. I could always come to you and confide things in you that I never told another person."
He paused, deep in thought.
"Sometimes, I came to you after I had nightmare after nightmare and couldn't sleep. I was pissed those things I experienced growing up still had power over me. Even with my powers."
He shrugged.
"Being near you at those times was calming. You were warm and safe. I used you as a shield. And I know I told you before, I found your body very alluring. It served me right that all that time spent together interrogating you and talking to you caused my stupid ass to fall in love with you. All of you, not just your body."
Red's emotions exploded and he jumped forward threateningly.
"You fell in love with me? Love! What the FUCK?" he roared, swinging a fist.
"See? I knew you'd react this way…" Drakkon started to hiss as he dodged the blow.
"No! Shut the fuck up and actually listen to me! Be brave enough to hear me this time!" Red's hands went to his head as more memories rushed past. He let out a frightened whimper.
The strangely, Red suddenly started laughing uncontrollably despite the entire situation. Gasping, he managed, "I'm going to fucking kill you!"
Red tried to stifle back his laughter, the moment passing. His brain still ached with the avalanche of memories threatening to overwhelm him.
"You are really going to claim you fell in love with me? How in the hell can you think that? If that shit is how you love someone…." He trailed off, shaking his head. "Are you even capable of love? I mean of someone besides yourself."
"I told you. You confuse me. I know what I set out to accomplish but in all those other worlds? We were like brothers, so close. I wanted that but I wanted more too. I considered killing you at different times, even before I became this way. And I couldn't."
Drakkon's face seemed to soften as he spoke.
"Once I got that information from you, every time I thought about executing you, I just couldn't go through with it. But I knew you would never stay with me willingly. I'd always have to restrain you and fight with you."
He frowned staring almost tenderly.
"I just couldn't give you up. I wasn't really alone because I had you. In some version."
Red stared sadly back at Drakkon.
"We are both fucked up permanently, aren't we?"
"I'm pretty certain, pet."
Nodding his head, Red seemed to resign himself before his eyes darted back to bore into Drakkon's. Sensing his pet gearing up to strike, the tyrant decided this tussle needed to come to an end. He grinned his possum smile as he brought his wrist up.
Red's hand moved oddly behind his back, a determined expression settling over his face in place of his raw, irrational rage.
Strange. No fear knowing that jolts of electricity were about to tear through his muscles and drop him.
Pressing the activator, time seemed to slow down. Red's hand began to swing from behind, something clutched in his fist. It was something Drakkon hadn't laid eyes on in ages.
He had a second to prosses the surprise when Red violently rammed his broken Power Sword blade into the tyrant's abdomen, his other arm snaking around Drakkon's neck and pulling him into it at the same time. Opening his mouth to scream, blood sprayed in a mist, splattering Red's face and upper body.
Well that was unexpected.
Drakkon was stunned as he looked down to see the Tyrannosaurus hilt protruding from his body. Wide, hazel eyes moved up to stare into Red's.
"I told you I was going to fucking kill you," he whispered into the mad man's face.
The shocked expression began to melt away into one of seriousness.
"How?" he choked. "The collar.."
Hooking a finger into his grey and black uniform shirt, he pulled the neckline away. No golden, jewel encrusted collar was present.
Drakkon looked puzzled and tried again to speak.
"Tommy," Red answered what he knew the tyrant was trying to ask. "Must have close enough to do the trick."
Rage twisted Drakkon's angular features as he felt himself going limp in Red's arms. Swiftly, his pet yanked the blade free and a mass of bloody intestines and gore bloomed like a rose through his uniform.
"Fucking…" he started to hiss, hating his younger even more than he thought possible.
Red dropped Drakkon to the floor of the vessel and moved to the control panel where he accessed the navigation system.
Cradling his exposed guts with one hand, the injured Ranger looked up at the other man.
"What are you doing? How do you know how to operate a ship?" he gurgled.
Glancing over his shoulder, Red grinned grimly.
"I spent plenty of years watching you, of course. As for what I'm doing. I've set our course into that dwarf star," he stated calmly, pointing at the flashing warning screen. "It's roughly the same intensity as Earth's sun."
"You're going to incinerate us both!" Drakkon screamed, clutching the bloody mass protruding from his abdomen trying to keep it from falling out.
Red chuckled softly.
"Yeah, well it's going to be hot where you're going, asshole. Better to start getting used to it."
Drakkon hissed venomously.
"What about you, Red? Going down with the ship, oh brave leader?"
Red shook his head, sadly; his grey hair brushed his cheeks. He gazed down to where Drakkon curled over on the floor.
"You killed me, remember. 'Jason' is dead. And I can't live as Red in a normal society. I have no way to come back from what you've done to me. So, like you said before, we are destined to be together forever. You mentioned a double cremation, I recall."
He moved to the floor then and pulled Drakkon into his lap, leaning his upper body against him. Humming softly, Red brushed Drakkon's hair out of his face.
"This is all I ever wanted, you know. But we were both stubborn asses," the evil Ranger wheezed.
More alarms began to blare and lights flashed chaotically.
Drakkon's body went slack against him with a soft exhalation. Moving his fingers down from the mad man's hair, he checked for a pulse in his neck.
Nothing.
The ship began to shudder and the temperature had started steadily rising. Red's brow began to sweat; beads of moisture rolled down his temples. His grey hair clung to his head heavily. He closed his eyes to await the inevitable.
A strange sound then caught his attention even with the clanging alarms. A sharp high-pitched bark from the door of the control room. Red's eyes opened and he searched through the flashing lights to find the source of the barking.
Sitting at attention, staring at him with bright golden eyes was some sort of animal. It's muzzle was pointed, the coat a midnight black. Curled around its feet, was a thick fluffy tail. Again, it barked at him.
Those eyes seemed so intelligent and intent on getting him to understand. Was this animal even real?
Releasing Drakkon, he allowed him to strike the floor face first; he hit with a satisfying smack. Pulling himself to his feet, he followed the creature as it darted through door into the corridor.