AUTHOR'S NOTES: First off, you will probably realize that this was not posted on FanFiction.net. I don't intend to have it posted there at any time, either. This was for reasons agreed to by myself and a few other parties, the identities of whom I will keep anonymous.

Secondly, whether you are for or against such pairings, the following fanfic is a sort of prequel to my previous Red/Purple lemon, "Nightfall on Irk One." This is a lemon, and between two (supposedly) male characters at that. There's also some smatterings of nonconsensual intercourse in this fic; if you continue reading this, consider yourself as having been warned.

However, though I have gotten requests to continue writing Red/Purple-based stories, I am almost certain this will be my last of such lemon-flavored fanfics about the Invader Zim universe. This is for several reasons, the most prominent of which are that (A), I don't feel entirely comfortable tampering with characters from the mind of Mr. Vasquez-- I respect his decision and reasons for refraining from including romance in his stories thus far; and (B), if I had to strain to try coherently finishing this story as much as I ended up having to, it's not worth the bother to write another sequel to this-- one that would probably end up being whatever my mind could scrape together, instead of a fully-thought-out story. (Insert your choice of 'boo' or applause here.)

OBLIGATORY LEGAL BLATHERINGS: The usual, really. Though the plot concepts in this fic (as well as concepts for alien anatomy systems) are mine, I make no claim that I own any of the Invader Zim characters. That honor belongs to Nickelodeon, or more specifically, Jhonen Vasquez and his Legion of Spiffily Suited Super Simian Crime Cripplers (TM)-- that is, the Zim staff/crew. Thanks in advance to all the people involved with this show for not suing me, should they happen to read this.

Anyhow, let's get this over with.
Lights... Camera... and...

-----

Power’s Price
by Apricot the Gerbil

The second of Irk's three suns had long set before the new rulers of the Irken Empire finally retired to their quarters, worn down from the celebrations of the day. It was still hard for the citizens of Irk-- much less The Tallest themselves!-- to believe that there were now two Irkens that would share the leadership of such a vast territory across the stars... but both Tallest Red and Tallest Purple, as they were now known, had kept any disagreement between them to themselves. (When the entire gaze of one's Empire was upon you, one had to keep up appearances, after all.)

But now that the crowds had gone, the Tallest were left in their room to discuss, free from the expectations of their people. As he had during much of the day, Purple fidgeted with his antennae, staying more or less silent. When Red finally hovered towards him, Purple turned to face his co-ruler, asking pensively, "Did you think they stayed up straight enough? I..I couldn't tell during the coronation... there weren't any mirrors around."

With a hint of a smile on his face, Red ran a spindly finger across Purple's left antennae, remarking, "This one was drooping just a bit later in the day, but I don't think anybody noticed. I still don't see why you were so worried about it the whole time. I mean, the ceremonies are over and done with! You can relax, you know."

Purple nodded slightly, averting his violet eyes from Red. "I know, I know... but you said it yourself a couple days ago-- how many male Irkens are born with purple eyes nowadays, compared to females? I wanted to make sure they didn't curl under. I mean, it wouldn't look that impressive to the Empire if their new Tallest had purple eyes and antennae that looked like a girl's, would it?"

"Tch. Yours don't curl that much... You've gotta loosen up, you know that?" Red muttered, shaking his head.

Purple sighed. "Sorry... It's just-- well... I really wanna make sure I do everything as best I can. I mean, there's no other rank in the Empire that has all Irkenkind watching every move you make!"

"You'll do fine. Just don't get so uptight about everything. If anything, the only way they will notice is if you keep fidgeting like you were all day," Red replied.

Purple lifted his head up, letting his antennae revert to their usual faint curl; a slight smile grew on his face as he looked towards Red. "Thanks. Although I was wondering if you could help me out with a few things. Nobody bothered to explain very much to me during the ceremonies today, so I was figuring you were the one to ask. I mean, you've been through the rites before."

Red scratched under his chin and shrugged. "I can try. What's been on your mind?"

"Well... I think I figured out how to use the hoverports on the armor, but why do we have to dress so different whenever we make public appearances? The column-waisted armor's kinda uncomfortable," Purple asked, tipping a finger towards the pair's pink and purple ceremonial garb that now hung in a corner of the room.

"Oh, that. Yeah, I'd agree with you there... but the thing is, it's what the people like to see. No other reason, really. They like to think of The Almighty Tallest as some huge, imposing figure. If they saw me-- well... US," Red quickly corrected himself, scowling for a second, "...the way we are right now, they'd have a fit. It's kind of funny... I don't think any Tallest has even had as thick a waist as that armor suggests."

"So it's all just to make us look more powerful?" Purple asked, a hint of disbelief evident in his voice. "Is that why they removed my thumbs, too?"

"That's about it, yeah. Some old thing the Irkens decided long ago, that The Almighty Tallest should be able to handle the empire even easier than all those below him or her," Red replied, rolling his eyes. "So what it eventually worked out to mean is that you lose a finger when you reach Invader or Commander rank, and another if you become The Tallest."

Purple rubbed the spot where his left thumb had been only that morning. "I still think they could've used some kind of anesthetic on it, after they knocked me out... it still stings."

Red leaned toward the violet Tallest, smiling as if at some private joke. "But being the Tallest isn't all bad, you know. You've seen by now what else the Robot Arms fitted you with when they took your thumbs, haven't you?"

Purple only paused, staring blankly at Red. "I don't think I know what you're talking about. The Robot Arms just gave me something to drink to knock me out, then I woke up and my hands hurt worse than I could ever remember..."

Red's smirk became a wide grin at this news. "Wow. They didn't tell you yet? I'd have thought you'd know about that by now."

"I told you they hadn't let me know about anything," Purple huffed, crossing his arms. "What's so important, that they haven't told me?"

He continued staring at his fellow leader, but instead of replying in words, Red hovered closer to Purple, unsnapping a latch over each of his shoulders and removing an armor-plate over his chest.
"This is what I mean," Red answered, his hands holding the light green, tube-shaped organ that his chestplate had previously covered. "You should have one where this is, too... I'm surprised they didn't let you know about it. The Robot Arms attach it during the same operation where they take your thumbs."

Purple's eyes opened wide in surprise; he shakily felt about his own shoulders for such latches, and found them in the same places. He unsnapped them, warily opening his chestplate... and simply stared at the organ that was now there, the metal stitches around the implant still lightly gripping at his skin. Purple allowed himself to gape a moment more before remembering Red was right in front of him, then snapped the latches back in place, slightly embarrassed despite himself.

"Heh... you act like it's something bad to see it," Red chuckled. "That's your ovipositor. Congratulations-- you're one of only two Irkens to have one, now."

“Ovi... 'Eggs'? We lay eggs?!" Purple said, more than a tad bewildered at this news.

"No, no, no. Calm down," said Red, trying to stifle his own laughter. "It's where the young Irkens get the taunt 'I'll lay eggs in your chest,' yeah, but The Tallest stopped doing that a long time ago. Heck, since we started letting computers do the busywork for the messy part of breeding. Although there is something they're still very good for."

"What do you mea--" Purple started to ask. Red, however, only smirked playfully, and led Purple's hand up to the tube hanging limp from his chest.

"Wouldn't you like to see what this does, instead?" Red asked. As he drew Purple's finger closer to the rounded opening of the tube, he continued, in the nearest tone to a purr that the Irken throat could manage. "If you help me show you, maybe I could help you along the first time you use yours..."

Purple looked apprehensive, but thought to himself that this was perhaps simply an undiscussed sort of ritual. He let Red guide his finger into the tube, and followed his fellow Tallest's instructions for how to move it once inside. Purple only began feeling uneasy when Red began to emit strange noises from deep in his throat as Purple moved his finger along the inside of the tube faster.

After a few more moments of Red's strange behavior, Purple found himself worrying about Red. The scarlet Tallest was beginning to cry, and his sweating face was skewed in a grimace, though his grin remained. “Are... are you all right? I can stop if you want,” Purple offered, hoping Red would take him up on the offer. The whatever-its-name he was holding in his hand had only begun to pulse harder, and now he could feel something starting to ooze out from it onto his fingers...

Red’s eyes opened, twitching slightly as he looked at Purple. His grin widened upon seeing Purple’s doubt; between breaths, he managed, “No-- no, I’m fine... better than fine. You’re doing great--ahhh!-- just keep going.” A few pleasured moans later, Red reached over to Purple’s hand, guiding it as he said, “If you could just-- like this--” and stuck Purple’s finger even deeper into the tube. Purple’s face paled in shock, but as he could see this action apparently only made Red all the more exited, he continued the motion, blushing as Red’s cries grew louder and harder to understand.

Finally, Red grabbed Purple’s shoulder with a weak arm. In a frenzied sputter, he yelled, “Now!...hold it shut now... I’m-- I-- ah!--”

Purple remembered Red’s instructions from before; he grasped the end of the shuddering tube and squeezed down on it just as Red let out a strained scream. Purple could feel something surge up against his hand from within the tube, but as Purple had just closed off the end, the substance inside only rammed against his hand and slowly oozed back to wherever inside Red it had come from.

Red’s face quickly shifted from its glazed, ecstatic look to one of annoyed pain as it returned. He scowled briefly and itched the base of the tube, then looked at Purple, who still didn’t seem sure whether to be curious or scared at what he’d just witnessed.

Purple shifted uncomfortably, gingerly lifting the still-swollen tube he was still grasping. “Can I let go of this now?” he asked.

Red harrumphed softly under his breath. “Sure...” he replied.

As Red took the tube away from Purple’s hands, he heard Purple ask, “Does it always hurt when you do that?”

“Heh. Not until the end, it doesn’t. But, then, what comes out of this wasn’t really meant to go back in,” Red said. Purple only looked confused, so Red continued. “You know the difference between male and female Irkens, right? And I'm not talking little things like curly antennae.”

“Um... sure I do! There’s... I know there’s males and females...” Purple answered, a bit embarrassed that he couldn’t think of anything else.

“You don’t know the difference, do you?” Red said, shaking his head.

“I... I....” Purple looked towards the floor. “...Well. No.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it. There’s really no difference anyone can see. Anybody who’s just woken up from the birthing tanks knows that. Heck, the tanks were built to make any sort of Irken breeding unnecessary.”

“But then why do you and I have these?” Purple said, tapping his own chestplate to denote the implantation behind it.

“Simple. Selective genes. Somebody found out, way back when, that unless the best specimens of Irken genetics were allowed to spread their genes, soon there’d be hardly any chance an Irken could grow over three feet tall.” Red paused to lay a finger aside his chin, tapping it absentmindedly as he continued, “I never did understand the details, but the computers only allow an Irken to have a chance to take gene samples if they reach Tallest rank.”

Purple still looked puzzled. “Take... gene samples...? You mean...”

Red smirked as he lowered an eyelid. “Screwing.”

He shrugged as he continued. “Okay, so technically The Tallest is only supposed to take samples from other new cultures, from new planets we conquer, that kind of thing. It’s a lot easier for the computers to figure out what to pass on from new races we find that way. Just drill into the subject, let the ovipositor inject the fluids so the computers can trace and analyze what it finds, and there you go. The buzz you get from it’s just meant to be a kind of bonus privilege for conquering a new race-- but what they don’t tell everybody else is that it’s just as fun to start the process along by yourself. One of the Tallest found this out a long time ago: you don’t need someone else to shoot into. All you have to do is rub the inside of the tube, and it feels just as good.”

“So why’d I have to stop it? That’s what I was doing when I grabbed the end, right?” Purple asked.

“Well, that’s just to make sure nobody else finds out we’re ‘abusing the privilege,’” Red smiled, marking with his fingertips in the air. “Not only does it tire you out if you let it all loose, but that stuff is impossible to clean out of anything it falls on. Hurts like nothing else as it comes back in, though...” he said, wincing in memory of the too-recent sensation.

“Wow. I never knew anything about this!” Purple remarked, shaking his head in amazement. “Although, from what you told me, I can realize why nobody’d tell us until we reached this rank.”

“That’s something I was going to mention...” Red said, turning to look Purple in the eyes. “There hasn’t ever been more than one Tallest before, either. Why did you think they just called us by our eye colors? Because they’ve always called whoever’s ‘The Almighty Tallest’ just that!”

Purple agreed, “I was wondering why they did that... Seemed like a hasty choice.” He then noticed the peculiar stare Red was directing towards him. “Red? Why are you looking at me like that...?”

Red’s smile glinted. “I was just thinking that we could... you know, try something out soon. Now that there’s two of us, and all.” He ran a spindly finger up Purple’s arm suggestively, his eyes never leaving the now-slightly-uncomfortable other Tallest.

Purple followed Red’s hand in shock, eyes darting to Red’s sly face as he asked in a trembling voice, “Red?! You’re not thinking of-- th-that we’d...”

“Why not?” Red answered, moving even closer towards his fellow ruler. “After all, I was nice enough to let you know all of this.” He raised his other hand towards Purple’s chestplate. “And just think! If it turns out well enough, neither of us would have to deal with sucking anything back in ever again...”

Purple shuddered, inching away from Red. “Now just hold on, Red! I--” he sputtered nervously. “Don’t you think-- th-this might be happening a bit too quickly?” Purple still wasn’t even sure what Red had in mind for him, much less if he should try it with someone he’d practically just met, Tallest or not. The idea that this could be just another Irken ceremony was quickly fading from Purple’s mind; only fear was replacing it.

Just as Purple began hovering towards the door in a dash, Red swooped over to him, grabbing his arms and pinning him harshly against the wall of their quarters. Purple opened his mouth to scream for help. As if predicting such an action, Red raised a hand to Purple’s mouth, trapping it shut with a single finger. He gave Purple a fiery glare as he said in an eerily calm voice, “I wouldn’t try that if I were you... It might be dangerous. I think you know what I mean.”

As Red’s hand returned to holding Purple’s other arm against the wall, Purple clamped his mouth shut. Still, Purple couldn’t help from whimpering softly as he strained against Red’s strong grasp, fruitless as his attempts were.

Red brought his face up against Purple’s, letting loose a slow exhale before telling him, “I know that we’re both the same height, but I was still The Tallest before you were. I should at least be able to have one last chance for you to follow orders. Now... you’re not going to run away, are you?” he asked, squeezing Purple’s arms harder.

Purple said nothing besides a high-pitched, trembling stammer, but his arms quickly went limp. Red nodded in approval and let go of one of Purple’s arms, bringing his hand down to unsnap Purple’s chestplate instead.

Purple only cringed as Red told him, “Trust me. When I’m done, you’ll be thanking me, I promise.” He closed his eyes tightly as he heard his chestplate clatter to the floor. With a shudder, he felt Red start to gently lap across his ovipositor with his tongue, and choked back a sob. He had to admit, the feeling would probably have been pleasant for him at any other time, but not like this... He continued to stand there against the wall, Red’s body pressing up against him as his tongue lapped on. He wasn’t sure whether to recoil from Red’s touch or to just give up and try to make the best of things, when he noticed that his captor had stopped. He opened an eye, and heard Red’s voice:

“Look. I know this probably wasn’t the best way for me to try this... I thought you’d be more up to it. But listen, you can either hate this whole experience and not let yourself feel a thing, or you can at least tell me what feels good. Either way, I promise-- if you don’t like this, you can rush out of here, scream bloody murder, and probably get me demoted to working on Foodcourtia. But just trust me, if this feels anywhere near as good as doing it solo, then we can both be happy. Okay?”

Purple looked at him for some time, a mix of terror and distrust in his eyes, until he finally slumped his head down defeatedly. “Promise promise?”

Red lifted Purple’s head up to meet his gaze. “Promise promise. Now. How do you want to try this?”

Purple’s face went blank. “I wouldn’t know! You should know that!” He sighed heavily, then continued, “What was it you told me to do to you earlier? Would we feel the same thing?”

Red shrugged. “Only one way to find out...”

Purple braced himself, then paused when no invading finger came. He looked at Red, who hadn’t moved.

“I’m waiting. You want me to try that?” Red asked.

Purple relaxed, if only ever so slightly. “I..I guess. Sure.” He closed his eyes and tried to focus only on the upcoming sensation, not his situation. Though he heard himself give a pained cry as Red slid his finger into the tube, he was actually surprised to discover that, barring the circumstances, it didn’t feel as bad as he’d thought it would...

“Could... could you try moving it around? --Gently, I mean!” Purple asked, correcting himself in case Red preferred it rough. He couldn’t remember what Red had responded to favorably earlier.

Red nodded his head with a grin and did as he was asked. He chuckled under his breath as Purple began to softly moan, a hint of a smile appearing on the corners of his mouth while Red continued the motion.

“You want more?” Red asked. Purple gave a faint nod of his head in response. Red pushed his finger deeper, tickling the inside of the tube in even strokes; he felt his own tube begin to throb as violet streaks of arousal began to appear across Purple’s.

Red listened to Purple’s pleasured mewlings for a while before holding his finger still. “Want to try linking up? That was the original point,” Red asked. He didn’t know how long it would be before Purple let loose, but he figured it would be soon... if Purple didn’t, he probably would himself.

Purple let his breath out in a burst as Red stopped, then nodded his head again. “I told you you’d get to like this,” Red smiled, lifting up his own ovipositor with his free hand. He savored the look on Purple’s face as he teased the violet tube with the tip of his own scarlet one, but was surprised to hear Purple yelp in pain as he began to force it in. “What? What’s wrong?” Red asked, confused.

“Not so hard-- you’re too big!” Purple whimpered, his eyes pinched shut. Red looked down at his own tube and cursed silently; as Purple hadn’t even used the new implant, the tube was still practically closed in on itself. Purple looked fearfully at Red, his voice wavering as he asked, “Please don’t force it! They don’t tear, do they?”

“Uh... not that I know of,” Red answered, a bit taken aback at how afraid Purple still seemed to be. He sighed, thinking for a moment, before taking Purple’s hand and leading it up to his own tube. “These things do start out a little tight... but, here. You can put it in yourself. Take it as slowly as you need to-- just remember, the farther in you go, the less weird it’ll feel.”

Purple hesitated at first, looking at the tube, then at Red, before taking a firm grip on the scarlet organ and sliding it ever-so-slowly into his own tube. A pause. And a bit further in, wincing. Further. Purple heard a satisfied sigh escape from his mouth; he looked at Red, noting by the look of his strained red eyes that the feeling wasn’t only pleasurable for himself. Purple eased the tube in just a tiny bit more, then asked Red, “Want to try moving it around again?”

“Sure, if you want... but I’m betting your hand’s going to get pretty tired if you keep holding it that tightly. I’ve got something else in mind. Let me know what you like,” Red said. Before Purple had time to ask what ‘something’ was, Red wrapped his two fingers around Purple’s tube and ran them slowly down across it. He smiled at he noted the squelching noise coming from where their tubes had already joined, as well as Purple’s guttural “Unnnghh...” during the motion.

Red chuckled at Purple’s now-sweating face, commenting, “Yeah, I think it’s wet enough by now. You just hang in there... I’m gonna try something hands-free this time.” Red leaned back slightly; his slippery crimson ovipositor followed, until it was partway out of Purple...

...only to thrust it roughly back into his partner's tube. Purple yelped in surprise, scrabbling his hands against Red's body, trying to push him away. With a teasing grin on his face, Red asked, "You're still okay, right?"

"You SCARED me!" Purple hissed.

Red shrugged. "Hey, if anything, that probably helped it open up. No time like the present to get you ready!"

Purple only sullenly remarked, "Mmh. Fine, I guess... Just let me know if you're going to slam it in like that!!"

"But it's still okay for me to keep going, right?" Red asked. Purple didn't respond beyond glowering bitterly at Red, but he nevertheless took a deep breath and braced himself in preparation. Red nodded his approval, then backed up for another thrust... and another... and another...

Purple grimaced as he felt the walls of his ovipositor stretch, trying desperately to accommodate this new sort of invader. Before long, Red seemed to be getting lost in his own sensations, as he began to ram his crimson organ into Purple with frenzied intensity. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but Purple doubted he could manage the words to tell Red anything at this point.

In fact, there wasn't much more on Purple's mind than what he was feeling at the moment. Red had already resorted to propping Purple up against the wall with a more-or-less steady hand, as his slumping partner currently showed no signs of remembering the posture expected of a Tallest.

"How're-- hhfh!-- how're you doing so far?" Red finally managed to ask between heaves.

Purple could form no more than a weak, wordless cry. He tried arching his back away to look Red in the face, but found that their tubes had already swollen to the point where pulling apart was nigh impossible. However, he acknowledged Red's question by grasping the back of Red's shoulder and pulling him closer. He couldn't help wondering to himself if this would truly leave him feeling as good as Red had before he'd had to stop... How Red was going about this encounter may not have been anywhere near how Purple would have preferred, but Red's motions were starting to feel unexpectedly pleasurable for the violet Tallest.

Red smiled and continued, his thrusts now probing deeper. Purple suddenly felt something inside his own body lurch forward after a particularly spirited push from Red-- his partner's tube was pressing up against a thin sac of some kind. Whatever it was, it was certainly sensitive; just the feeling of Red's tube brushing against it drove Purple wild.

It seemed Red recognized what his ovipositor had just touched. The scarlet-eyed Tallest's tense grin suddenly widened; where just a short while ago he had been ramming away with abandon, he instead shifted his approach to a gentle nudge against the sac every few seconds, as if trying to extend the moment.

And prolong the feeling it did. Every soft tap from Red made Purple quiver in ecstasy all the more, though it would be hard to decide if Red wasn't enjoying watching Purple's trembling face below him even more than Purple was relishing the sensation.

Even in his exited state, Purple could hear Red's voice whispering to him as Red paused in his motions: "I can tell by watching you... you can feel it, right? You should be able to tell when it's time... when you're going to let go. Just enjoy it while it lasts," he finished, pressing up oh-so-slowly against the sac as the violet Tallest moaned in anticipation, shivering not unlike an Irken newborn.

It was true-- Purple could feel whatever was being touched inside of him ebb and shift as it pulsed harder and harder, surprising him with how warm it was becoming so quickly. Whatever Red meant by "letting go" was about to happen any moment now... Purple was far from the capability of forming words, but he managed to clench onto Red's shoulder with his two fingers, a sign Red would hopefully take as a warning.

With one final, frantic cry, Purple's body jerked forward in a spasm; Red gasped out a slightly surprised "ah!" as a surging spurt of thick fluid burst from the sac and through his tube...

...and Purple slumped exhaustedly against the wall, gasping deliriously. Red braced his arms, trying to keep his partner upright, but soon gave up and let Purple slide down to the floor. The two waited there until their tubes were relaxed enough to slide apart without damage (including any suspicious stains on the floor).

Red laid a hand against his own chest; he was slightly surprised to find that, despite what must have been all the Tracer-fluid Purple’s system could hold squirted into him at once, his chest remained as flat as it always was. Although... there was something oddly comforting about the warm fullness Red now felt there, besides the fact that the recent deposit still tickled a bit. He smiled down at his panting partner, asking, “So... what do you think?”

Purple tried to speak, but couldn’t manage much more than a deep, pleasured sigh. His four fingers were clutched around his own glistening, spattered tube, which was still slightly crinkled across with violet streaks.

Red shook his head, shrugging as he continued. “Now, see? That felt even better than I thought it would. If you’d only listened to me in the first place, we wouldn’t have had to go through that scuffle beforehand.”

The violet Tallest closed his eyes for a short while, thinking this over. His breathing had calmed down before he finally said, “That might be true, but...”

As his words trailed off, Purple reached into the lowest of his three looping pockets and pulled out a small paperclip, tossing it over Red’s shoulder. Confused, Red’s eyes followed the tiny object flying across the room to land on the floor with a soft ‘clink.’

There was a snapping sound from nearby; Red turned back just in time to see Purple grip him by the neck, slamming the baffled Irken against the wall. “What the heck are you--” Red cried in surprise, only to see the glinting edge of a broken-off light fixture held inches away from his neck by Purple, who glared back coldly at the scarlet Tallest.

“I just wanna get one thing clear,” Purple said, his voice more icily threatening than Red could ever manage. His voice trembled in rage as he continued, shaking the blade before Red’s terrified face. “What we just may have felt as great as you’d said, yes-- but if you force me to do anything against my will like that AGAIN, the last thing you’ll be worrying about will be Foodcourtia.” Purple brought the sharp splinter of metal down to the level of Red’s tube, echoing Red’s words from before: “So you’re not going to try anything like that anymore. ARE you?”

Red gulped, then broke into a nervous smile. “No-- of... course not! ...O Tallest Purple...”

Purple nodded, smiling wide as he placed the makeshift blade on a nearby shelf. “Good. I’m glad we see eye to eye on the matter,” he said, retrieving his chestplate from the floor and hovering away towards the Tallests' stasis-chamber room. Red’s eyes widened as he saw how tired Purple seemed now. Perhaps the burst of energy he’d showed while threatening Red was only a feint... or was it?

Purple turned to face Red, continuing in his regular, calmer voice: “Let’s get some rest. We have an appointment to meet with the ambassador to the second planet in the HeadExplodia system tomorrow... and from what I’ve heard, you don’t want to anger them.”

Red nodded shakily, remarking, "I think you’re going to fit into this new rank veeeeery well," as he warily followed Purple's path. He made doubly sure to make it clear he had no intention of the two sharing the same chamber that night...

And so, the three suns of Irk set... The first day of the new Irken dynasty.


*end*