I dedicate this fanfic to all those who helped me work on it and especially Aliet Faslami, who lent me Ivy and the Student/Soldier thingy. If you haven't read her fics go, go and read them now!

Thanks to my buddy Ice Dragon for the paper clip suggestion.

On to the story, and don't forget to review! ^-^

AN#1: a cycle is equivalent to ten earth years...

AN#2: Those who want to know more about Ivy I suggest reading Jade Eyes, by Aliet Faslami.

Purple gazed out into the heavy Irken night thinking about the rebellion. And then, mainly about what the Student class was planning and it made his antennae fall, showing his fear. It made him sick and Red's shouts of conquest over the "inferior" races of the galaxy weren't helping his mood.

There had been talks of assassination among the Students-something that no Irken had thought of for at least three hundred cycles. Such primitive thinking was supposed to be below their superior race, but it wasn't.

"Hey Red?" Not taking his violet eyes away from the silvery moons he waited a moment. "Red?" Only after ten minutes had gone by did he walk, not hover, down the hall into his fellow Tallest's bright red room. Only half of the other Irken's body could be seen from where it stuck out from under his bed and Purple raised a would-be eyebrow in silent question.

"Ah ha! I found you!" Red crawled out of the dusty pit holding a shiny paperclip in his slender fingers. "I've been looking for this for days!" The flimsy metal bent in his grasp as he sat on the edge of his bed, shaping it into one thing or another quickly before his attention span became completely non-existent.

"Red?" Purple repeated again, this time very forcefully.

"What?" Crimson eyes narrowed in concentration as purple ones closed.

"If I told you that you could die tomorrow, what would you do?" He waited patiently for an answer and, receiving none, opened his eyes, staring with a loathing hatred at the paperclip, that was now shaped into a crude model of a voot runner. The Soldier was flying it around making little engine noises. Purple realized, with malice, that he had probably maintained his fellow Irken's attention for the first three words, and even then, maybe only his name. Showing anger that surprised even the soldier, Purple grabbed the paperclip/voot runner and flung it out an open window, vaporizing it with a laser grabbed from Red's arsenal before it hit the ground.

"Ooooh, nice shot Pur." He applauded lightly. "You didn't shoot yourself in the eye that time."

"Red, pay attention!" He calmed down remembering the other occupant who resided in the complex. "This is really important, please listen to me." The tone took on a pleading quality. "The Students, they're planning to further the rebellion. They're even willing to take it as far as going after your life." Purple swallowed, lowering his antennae even further. "They want you gone." Red stared for a minute then laughed.

"That's crazy! It hasn't been done for," He began counting, ticking the numbers off on his fingers, "a really long time!"

"Tok aman des, Mazae!" The only word out of the shouted sentence Red knew was his name, it was in the old tongue, and he stared, wondering what the Irken scholar had just told him to do. Being a member of the military he recognized an order when he heard one, modern or not.

"What...did you say?" Red asked slowly not wanting to annoy Purple further. It took a lot to anger the generally calm Tallest and now he was furious, though a bit curious as to why Red had asked what he just said...oh, now he knew.

"I said listen now or something like that, but anyway," he crossed his thin arms, "will you listen now?" Red nodded.

"The Students, not all of them, just the ones running the remaining coalition, have decided to do away with what they can't change; namely you." He put his head in his hands, antennae twitching with anxiety. "They don't trust the soldiers anymore; Tallest or not they will stop at nothing to get what they want." The red-eye was dumbstruck. So it was true.

"But, but we're beyond this, this, thing! Aren't we?" He stuttered. "I thought we did away with that, that sort of stuff." They sat in silence for a while and Red finally spoke, suddenly wary of the Irken he thought of as a best friend, though it had not always been so. "You aren't in this too, are you?" He asked softly, almost inaudibly. Purple stood straight, hurt evident in his deep eyes.

"I understand your suspicions but no, I'm not, never will be either." And Red believed him; instantly berating himself for even thinking Pur could do something like that.

"I'm sorry..."

"For what?" Their conversation was cut short however when Ivy entered the room. She had grown quite tall, still well under the Tallests though, for her young age and immediately lessened the tension between Red and Purple, even after they noted the fear in her green eyes and her antennae slick to her head.

"What's wrong Ivy-tam?" The familiar nickname calmed her some and the curly appendages lifted a tad.

"I, I had a bad dream." Whispering she came to stand between Red and Purple, giving them each a hug. "And I heard you both talking, about the rebellion." She hugged Red tighter. "Is Red in trouble again Pur?" The serene Tallest leaned down next to his student.

"No, and I won't let anything happen to Red either, 'kay Ivy-tam?" He brushed an antenna softly and the young female glowed under the attention. Until Red became serious.

"You need to go back to bed now, kay Vee?" Showing affection had never been one of the soldier's strong points but he wasn't that bad, at least around Vee. "Tomorrow I'll show you the bati staves."

"Night Pur, and by the way, that wasn't a very nice thing to say about Reddy!" Grinning meekly with suppressed happiness Ivy practically ran to her room, the bati staves were her favorite. The two leaders watched her go with apprehension. What would happen to Ivy? Was she considered neutral or a threat, being taught by a Soldier as well as a Student?

"What was she talking about Purple? What did you really say?" Purple waved a hand, determined to not let red digress away from the problem at hand.

"It wasn't important." Red wasn't convinced.

"One of these days I'm going to learn that stuff."

"Oh please Red, you don't have the attention span or patience for that. You'd end up blowing up the books or something." He laughed lightly. "And besides, you're much more suited to weapons and things." At the mention of weapons the two suddenly stopped talking. "I told security."

"Why'd you do that! I would have found out sooner or later, spies and thingies are keeping tabs on the coalition! Security will put you in containment for a while, you know that right?" A soft sigh escaped Purple's lips.

"Yeah, I know and I'm not looking forward to it either, but I swear I had nothing to do with it."

"I believe you. You're just not the type for something like that." Purple looked up, forlorn expression gracing his tired features.

"I didn't think the Students were either." Draping a long arm about his friend's shoulders Red steered the Tallest scholar into his room, the somber purple tones brightening its namesake's face.

"It won't be long, it's only for security measures, until you're off the stupid suspect list thingy. Maybe I'll come with you."

"Then who'd rule the planet?"

"Maybe I won't come with you."

"It won't matter that I'm Tallest in there. For the time being I'm a traitor to the Empire." Red glanced back over his shoulder before leaving.

"I'll look into it. If they hurt you or something you won't see them again, ever. Get some sleep, you look beat and I'll see you in the morning." His only response was a nod. Purple didn't know how on Irk Red could be so calm. Students were after his blood and it didn't seem to faze him at all, but then again they were just Students. Purple couldn't help being a bit offended at that. He was just as brave as the next Irken, why on their second mission he...

Purple, ever the opposite of Red was now turning into a nervous wreck.

As candidates for Tallests he and Red had become partners, knowing each other from almost as far back as the "cold, unfeeling robot arm." They hadn't always been friends but that had changed soon after their second mission together. Purple couldn't bear the thought of losing his best friend without feeling nauseas. Slumped in a chair his eyelids slowly closed and he drifted off into a fitful sleep full of nightmares and shadows of the past.

Hope I didn't bore you too much. A second chapter will be out soon if it's wanted. Thanks to all the peoples that read it and please review, they're so fun to read! ^-^