Did Purple think the sky should be that dark of a red? No.
Did he think the sky could be that dark? No.
Did he think something was definitely wrong, and that everyone he loved was in danger?...Absolutely.
Was the day of straight walking tiring? Yes.
Was he starving, probably dehydrated, exhausted, and in desperate need of some type of human contact?...Of course he was, in what world wouldn't he?
Was it worth it?...Maybe.
(It was totally fucking worth it.)
But there was nothing else he could really do when he had been taken eighty miles out of town. His elytra had been destroyed in the fire(thanks Luna), and he had no way of driving back into town because he was a fifteen-year-old kid with barely any driving experience.
He also didn't think he could trust himself behind a wheel, if crashing a plane was anything to go off.
And everyone he'd ever loved was currently in danger, and he couldn't just sit around and wait for help that would never come because the entire city thought he was dead.
So! That meant walking.
Lovely.
He's been having a wonderful week. His house burned down, he was almost murdered by Moon's psycho ex, he'd been kidnapped, nearly killed again, almost sold into a sex trafficking scheme, and whatever the fuck was going to happen the minute he set foot in Stick City.
…Yeah. He'd been having a wonderful time!
Thanks Luna!
(Stay dead this time, fucker.)
But Purple doesn't have time to focus on that now. He's lost track of time, but he knows he's close. He can feel it. He just knows that he's close.
He doesn't know what tells him that, but something tells him that he's close to the quarry. It would only be another couple of hours until he reached the city.
There, he could only hope and pray that he made it in time to rescue King and the others.
His legs are incredibly close to giving out, but he pushes forward.
Until he catches something.
"GET DOWN!"
"Second! Get out of there!"
"Jesus fuck, what is that thing?!"
"Sounds like a creature Purple beat the shit out of!" Green shouted, pulling Second to his feet. "Blast TNT at it or something!"
Purple stared at the mayhem for a moment, his fingers already wandering towards his bracelet.
He knew that the creature was. It was a Mimic.
…But why was it this far out of the city?
They're supposed to be in urban areas, like the city, according to Silver's research.
Why was it out here?
He shook the thoughts away, spawning in a grappling hook and shooting it towards the building. He grabbed a lasso and shot himself forward, wrapping the lasso around the creature's torso. He jumped down, pulling with as much strength as he could muster up. Green and Second appeared beside him, pulling against the creature with fishing rods.
Eventually, the creature stumbled, and Purple shot the grappling hook again, flew upwards, lasso in hand, and pulled it towards the water.
"Get back!"
Green pulled Second away just as Yellow shot TNT at the creature. It hit the being square in the back, giving Purple that last bit of strength he needed to pull the thing into the water.
The group sighed in relief, Purple jumping back down to solid ground.
Before almost immediately being tackled.
"What the hell happened?! We haven't heard from you in almost a week!"
"Calm down. I know, your all worried."
"You nearly murdered Green." Second quipped, pulling the brightly colored stick out of the way. "What the hell happened?"
"Short version is I was kidnapped by a fuckton of drug dealers, nearly murdered, the house burned down, King is currently off the radar, and I basically killed Luna after she tried turning me into a sex slave."
"What's a-"
"CHANGING THE SUBJECT," Green shouted, turning everyone's attention from Red back to Purple. "What do you mean King's off the radar."
"Well, originally I got told he was dead, and then found a way to contact him yesterday. Didn't catch his location, though."
"He's probably somewhere in Rocket Corp," Yellow theorized. "We've searched almost everywhere, and we can't find him. Chosen and Dark aren't reachable either."
"Meaning something's happened at Rocket Corp." Second suggested.
Purple's heart sank.
Fuck.
"But what about those red fleshy things?!" Green exclaimed. The ground shook as soon as he'd finished the sentence.
Purple's eyes wandered to the silhouette of the city in the background. He could tell that something large was stomping around.
"You mean those red fleshy things?" Second asked.
The group stared up at the beast. Purple's heart dropped.
"Fuck."
Heather smirked as the group was thrown in, one by one. The two leaders yelled protests, but were ignored.
"Now, now, Victim. You don't want the rest of your little family to suffer, do you?" Lavender's voice sounded from above.
Victim glanced up, and the tall orange stick tried to lunge forward. "Where's Purple."
"Why do you care?"
He snarled. "Where is my son."
"Oh, relax! I'm sure he's just fine!"
"Yeah, being sold around as a sex slave." Blossom quipped.
The father's heart sank. "A WHAT?!"
"She's joking."
"She better be."
Heather turned her attention back to her sisters. "What should we do with them."
Lavender chuckled. "Do not worry, dear sisters. I have a plan for what to do with them."
Heather glanced at her sister. "What does she mean?"
"Not sure, but she will show us soon enough."
The doors opened, and Heather's heart nearly sunk when the nearly entirely robotic creature walked in.
The orange stick backed up behind Victim and the others.
"Well, my dear, are you ready?"
"Yes."
"Excellent. Now, get your nephew and his friends. Do you understand your mission, Luna Star Ribbon?"
"Yes. I do."
"Excellent."