Chapter Text
Purple wakes up.
Purple… wakes up?! They were supposed to stay awake and keep watch! They better not have missed Green! They didn’t mean to fall asleep!
Luckily, they can still hear a lot of noise from the Cafeteria, so it’s probably still morning… Or, well, it would be more distinguishable if space had any sort of atmosphere. All there really is to see outside is a bunch of stars. Purple’s not complaining, though. Stars are pretty cool.
Wait a damn second…!
“Red…! You moron, get up!” Purple shakes the crewmate who’s cuddled up next to them’s shoulder roughly, but Red doesn’t stir. Oh, they were always such a heavy sleeper! Once the motion gets a little more aggressive and violent, Red finally wakes up.
“O-Oh, Purps!” Red smiles, but then laughs nervously. “U-Um… I was sleeping with you for a very captainly reason. I… I wanted to protect you! In case Green really did show up!”
Purple’s about to start arguing with Red, yet shuffling from the vent gets them to shut up. They notice how Red looks like they’re about to say something else dumb, so they slap them to keep them quiet.
“Ow…” Red’s expression is now quite downcast. Purple shushes them, which earns an angry glare from the Captain. They luckily get the memo now, though, before they're subjected to some more abuse.
Purple watches closely as the vent creaks open. And FINALLY, the alien they’ve been waiting forever to find emerges from it. They look like they’re trying to be as quiet as possible, every movement very slow and calculated. They pull White’s body out of the vent and set it on the scanner, glancing around to make sure no one is watching. Purple raises a brow at White’s condition, though. Where is their head? Did Green bring it?
Purple’s question is answered in the most unfortunate way as Green dumps their backpack, the body part in question falling onto the scanner with a disgusting ‘splat’ sound. Purple gags at this, tearing their gaze away. Both of Red’s hands are over their own visor. When Purple looks back to check on them, there’s some sort of tug on their heartstrings due to Red’s fear. They sigh quietly, gently running their fingers through the other’s hair. “Hey. It’s gonna be okay. Promise.” They whisper. Red looks up, then nods hesitantly, scooting closer to Purple.
Green boots up the scanner once they’ve lined up where White’s head would meet their neck, and somehow, like some sort of sci-fi zombie movie, the two pieces are weaved back together with reformed matter. Purple gasps quietly, watching the scene. That’s… woah. That’s probably the one good thing MIRA’s ever done. And it’s super weird, too. Why hasn’t MIRA shared this with the rest of the world yet? This could change so many lives!
Purple’s train of thought is brought to a speeding halt when Red starts inhaling strangely. Their visor widens in horror as they shake their head frantically, waving away any possible dust they could breathe in. Much to Purple’s dismay, Red DOES end up sneezing. It’s kind of adorable, though. They sneeze like some sort of catmate. “...awwww…”
Red scoffs. “Not awww, I’m a very tough Captain…!” They whisper-yell. Any efforts to be quiet have now gone to waste, though, as Green seemed to hear everything. They quickly scramble backward, but trip over the scanner. Purple rushes forth from underneath the bed, grabbing one of their tentacles. Now they REALLY can’t get away!
“Freeze, Green! Your mysterious disappearance ends HERE and NOW!” Purple shouts, jabbing a finger into the other’s forehead repeatedly.
“Ow! Owww…! Do you always have to be so violent…?!” Green queries, trying their best to pull their tentacle away. Purple has some insane grip strength, though… “Why are you so strong?!”
Red shrugs. “I never found that out either, don’t worry. They broke my arm once while arm-wrestling… that’s the one defeat I can never come back from.”
Now Green looks absolutely TERRIFIED.
“Wh– You can’t come back from that, but you can come back from your entire crew DYING?!” Purple asks in absolute incredulity. “And you! Calm down! I’m not gonna break anything… yet! Unless you give me a reason to, you little worm farmer!”
“I promise I won’t…!!!” Green cries, putting both hands up in surrender. That’s when that snobbishly rich voice cuts through the atmosphere…
“Is anyone gonna explain to me what’s going on here?” White questions, crossing their arms. “And is anyone going to replace my glass? I can obviously afford to replace it myself, but someone here needs to take accountability!”
Everyone sort of pauses, exchanging looks. White points at Green, huffing dramatically. “And don’t think I don’t remember YOU! Have you always been a killer alien?”
“Um…” Green glances around, shrugging. “Recent… Recent development?” They grin sheepishly.
“That’s probably why you’re unpaid!” White claims, rolling their visor and storming out of the room, to which they’re immediately jumpscared by Lime.
The Medbay door automatically shuts before Lime can see anything. Which is good, because they'd probably go screaming about Green being back to everyone else.
“C-Can you let go of me now, please? I’m starting to get kind of nervous…” Green giggles, fidgeting with their fingers.
“Oh, I mean… I guess. Red, stand over that vent.” Purple points, releasing Green.
Red scoffs. “Hey, I’m the Captain! I’m the one who tells people what to do!”
“DO IT NOW!”
Red scrambles to stand over the vent, nodding fearfully
“Now, you’re gonna answer a few of my questions…” Purple sits Green down on the bed, dimming the Medbay lights and narrowing their visor at them. “And you’re gonna answer them honestly, or you’re gonna GET IT!”
“Get what…?” Green asks in horror. Purple places a hand on their chin, thinking for a moment. They reach for an IV pole and wield it like a weapon, which draws a shriek from the alien. “Okay, okay!!! I’m sorry!”
“Oooh, wait, can we play good cop bad cop?” Red requests, dragging a drawer over the vent so Purple can’t get mad at them for moving. Purple sighs heavily and nods.
“Fine. Whatever. Which cop are you?” Purple places their hands on their hips.
Red shrugs. “Well, you’re already very obviously the bad cop, so I can be the good one.” They propose. Purple just looks sick of everything already. “And since I’m the good cop, I get to talk first! So, Green, why are you a murderer?”
“That’s… really vague.” Green rubs the back of their head, averting their gaze.
“YOU’RE GONNA ANSWER THEM AND YOU’RE GONNA ANSWER THEM NOW!!!” Purple shouts, yanking Green forth by the front of their hood. Green nods immediately, and once Purple releases them, they take a deep breath.
“So you, um… you want the real reason?” Green confirms.
Purple makes a face. “Yes. That’s why we’re asking you.”
“Like… really really?”
“Yes.”
“For realsies?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re REALLY–”
“JUST SHUT UP AND TELL US ALREADY!!!” Purple cries, tugging on their hair.
Red smiles. “Green, you can tell us whenever you’re ready. Or me, if you think I deserve to hear it more. Since I’m the Captain.”
“Uh… okay, here goes…” Green glances between Purple and Red, pulling on their hoodie strings. “I just… I guess I was kinda mad and afraid when I hatched and realized the eggs were gonna be used for fuel. That I was gonna be used for fuel. I know I told you I like to kill, and that’s a part of it! But I was also kinda scared of making it to Industria and being burnt at the stake! So I made sure we would never get there…”
“So it was mostly for survival.” Purple summarizes. They suppose they understand Green’s motives a little more, now. They just wished they’d asked for help instead of murdering everyone.
Of course, it probably IS a little difficult to be a literal alien asking crewmates to help. Had Green asked Red, they probably would’ve ejected them on the spot, saying something about how MIRA knows best.
So they took that more aggressive route that guarantees safety.
They can’t blame them. They hated when Red took the easy way out, and they hated this entire experience, too.
But… it’s always for survival in a world like this. For Green, it was kill or be killed.
While Purple’s zoned out on their inner philosophical debate, they don’t initially notice that Green and Red are now casually conversing rather than Red interrogating them. Green’s ranting excitedly about the cycle of a worm’s life or something, and for once, someone is listening.
That someone is Red.
Usually Red would cut Green off just like everyone else when they started talking too much. But they seem to genuinely want to hear about something Green is excited about, and they look quite invested.
Purple eventually finds themselves listening in as Green rambles on and on about the worm farm.
If Black’s theory really is true, then this obviously isn’t the real Green, but an impostor with their memories. An impostor who shares the real Green’s interests. It’s a little sad to think about, so Purple tries to avoid diving into that too deeply.
“Oh, and I actually brought a worm!” Green adds, digging into their hoodie pocket. “Actually, the original Green did, but… look!”
“You took a petmate onboard too?” Purple queries, to which Green nods. Interesting. Why didn’t they show anyone before? They start to feel a little nervous as they study the worm Green holds. They… they really don’t want this little guy to end up like Heracles did. “You better keep a close eye on that thing, you know.”
Green tilts their head at first, but recognizes what Purple is really telling them. “Yeah, of course.”
Purple’s gaze traces over Green’s expression. Their mouth makes it a little easier to tell how they’re feeling. And that gentle smile they adorn doesn’t fail to make Purple’s heartrate pick up. They swallow hard, turning their head away and clearing their throat. “Now that’s enough of a break… we really need to ask more– Red?”
They glance around the room in search of their ‘good cop’ counterpart. Where did that idiotic Captain go…? After a moment, Green finally motions to the floor, where Red lies face-down. Purple kneels to examine them.
Out like a light.
They frown as they lift Red effortlessly, laying them down on a bed and pulling a blanket over them. Purple sits down on the floor against the wall, where Green quickly joins them. Whether it be out of really WANTING to be close to them or joining their side out of fear of what Purple will do if Green’s distant, they try not to read too deeply into it.
“So, um… Since you asked me a question, do I get to ask you one now?” Green queries. They look so hopeful. Purple’s not gonna kill that energy.
Purple shrugs lightly “...Yeah, sure. Shoot.”
“You care about Red, right?” Green asks, leaning against Purple. Purple tries to ignore how their face flushes at the physical contact. “I know you act like you REALLLLYYY don’t like them, but I always see you making sure they’re okay and being there for them…”
“That’s… real complicated. I thought you were gonna ask me my favorite food or something.” Purple huffs a laugh. “I… yeah. The simple answer is yes. I just find it kinda difficult to forgive them after what they put me through. The way I suffered because of what they did. It’s just not easy to see past that.” They gently place their hand atop Green’s, studying the sleeping Red. “I know they’re trying to change, though, and I’m thankful.”
“That's good, at least! And your story, in the Oxygen Room…” Green begins, sighing. “The one that was about you and Red. I feel really bad that I didn’t get to hear it…! I’m really sorry! Would you mind telling me again…?”
“Do you want me to just summarize it for you? It took a minute to tell.” Purple queries.
Green shakes their head. “No. I wanna hear everything. If you’re okay with that, of course!”
“...Alright, I don’t see why not. We’ve got time to kill.” Purple hums, feeling Green melt into their side more comfortably.
It’s kind of cute how intently Green listens the moment Purple starts talking. How their visor glimmers at the sound of Purple’s voice, and how heartbroken they look when Purple starts covering the tragic parts.
…damn it, Purple thinks they might be falling for Green! Which sucks, because they think they might already have a thing for Red!
This is REALLY bad!