Shades of Purple

Forgotten

Hisss!

Tenn stepped back when one of the Slaughtering Rat People lunged forward to stand in front of her, baring its long teeth in a threat display. The rest were gathered around the gate, shooting her distrustful looks. Tenn wished she had re-installed her PAK-cannons before leaving the Massive, but at the very least, she had her PAK-legs to make a run for it if things got nasty.

"Stay back!" She growled, spreading out her PAK-legs to look bigger. The rat snapped its teeth in response.

Tenn looked around for any cameras, finding one in the upper corner of one of the pillars.

"Hello? Whoever's watching, tell Skoodge that Invader Tenn is out at the door!"

At first, nothing happened. Then a small latch in the wall opened a few minutes later, and a robotic arm came out; the hand was holding a yellow item with a strong smell. The rats instantly swarmed over to the wall and scrambled towards it, shrieking and growling.

Tenn spotted a familiar, chubby, shortie Irken burst through the front door, waving his arms happily. He was wearing a strange dark blue and white attire complete with a big hat.

"TEEEENNN!" Contrary to her expectations, Skoodge didn't stop and salute as most other Irkens did. Instead, he tackled her into a tight hug. "OhmygoshyoureherethankIrkIthoughtthelizardshadkilledyou!"

"Can't breathe, you idiot!" Tenn managed to say in-between heavy breaths, trying to slip off his grip.

"Sorry, sorry!" He released her. "But I'm glad to see that you're alright! When I heard that the lizards had kidnapped you, I feared the worst!"

"Kidnapped?" He must have heard the broadcast, which meant he didn't know what she was doing here.

"Zim even tried to offer himself to go save you, but the Tallest told him that he had to protect Urth. How did you escape?" Tenn smirked.

"You seem to forget I took down a Berserker by myself, dear Skoodge."

"Oooh, that's great! The Tallest will be so relieved that you're okay-!"

"No!" Tenn blurted out. "I mean, I'll call them later. I need to take a long break after having to deal with those nasty lizards. Hehe..." Skoodge didn't seem convinced. "Tell me about you! How did you end up here?" She glanced down at his costume. "And what in Miyuki's name are you wearing?"

"Oh, this?" Skoodge puffed out his chest proudly. "This is my new Napo Leeon outfit!"

"Napo-what?"

"He was a very short hyooman who ruled France and conquered lots of places! Can you believe it? He was short, and he was a leader! Can you believe it?!" Skoodge squealed happily. By now, she could. Urth doesn't precisely put any importance on height.

Tenn accompanied Skoodge on a walk around the gardens. She'd give the hyoomans credit; the place could actually hold a candle with the gardens in Irk's Imperial Palace. The only difference was that the plants were all of green shades (minus the colorful flowers), and the bushes had animal shapes.

To her surprise, the workers that tended to the garden were Slaughtering Rat People. Even more surprising, they were... docile. Now and then, Skoodge would give them an order, such as bringing her something to drink, and he'd provide them with a piece of smelly cheese as a reward. The ones who snapped their teeth were sprayed with a little water from a bottle.

"I thought they were extinct." Tenn pointed out.

"A few remained after the Organic Sweep on Blorch. I discovered that while not wholly sentient, Slaughtering Rat People are intelligent enough to perform menial tasks. I decided to use the remaining ones as a labor force. Being rodents, they have a strong affinity for dairy foods derived from milk, known as 'cheese' in some planets, especially if they have a strong smell.