Chapter Text
Red quickly takes charge and starts being "friendly" with the impostor.
What were they thinking ?! That was clearly and alien ! Green was freaking out. But upon further examination, it seemed like Red had some kind of plan here. Surely the captain knew what they were doing .. besides, the ghosts had bigger problems than that now.
Lime was breathing heavily, slowly rising from their mauled body. They look around frantically. They hardly even processed that the other ghosts were standing around them. They lock their focus onto Orange. That BEAST ! Orange was still staring ahead in blank terror and wonder, too dazed to realize that Lime was about to lunge at them.
Lime immediately tackles Orange and gets their hands around Orange's neck.
"Lime ?! G- GET OFF !" Orange shrieks, struggling against Lime. They had no idea what Lime's goal with this was, it's not like they could KILL Orange. They were both already dead.
Lime had hardly processed that they were even dead. Their first instinct was simply to continue fighting back against this alien.
The others quickly rush over to de-escalate the situation. Green pulls Lime off of Orange with minimal effort, considering they were one of the tallest/largest crewmates, and Lime was far smaller than them. Lime makes a GREAT effort of trying to escape Green, squirming as much as possible.
"Lime, stop ! Quit it ! Please !" Green begs, but Lime isn't listening.
Blue immediately checks in with Orange to make sure they were okay. After Orange confirms they're alright, Blue turns to Lime, who was still wiggling about in Green's arms.
"Lime. Please calm yourself, it's okay."
Lime stops immediately, and stares at Blue with horror. "Y- You're DEAD !" Lime had seen it themself. They had even been the one to discover Blue's body.
"Lime. Look around you."
Lime takes another look around the room. It was covered in blood, Lime's blood. Their corpse still lay dead on the floor. Lime stops fighting against Green. Green loosens their grip and lets Lime slide out of their grasp. White and Orange were talking in hushed voices in the background, while Blue and Green just stared at them with pity.
Lime slumps forward pathetically without a word. At least they seemed to have calmed down now .. ?
"... It's a lot to take in. I know. Please, just .. relax. We can explain everything." Blue attempts to soothe them.
"Hey, me and Orange are heading to the cafeteria to keep an eye on the rest of the crew." White calls out from behind Blue. White had their arm around Orange, a lame attempt to offer at least a little bit of comfort. Orange looked utterly traumatized, staring forth with a wide visor. White wanted to go to the cafeteria because they wanted to see what happened next. To them, the living crew was like a live drama show. Orange just didn't want to be in the same room as Lime anymore.
"Me and Green will stay with Lime. Please, update us on what we missed afterwards."
"You got it !" White looks towards Orange again. "Come on, I'm sure it'll get your mind off things." White was trying their best to distract Orange. They didn't like having to deal with all this emotional crap, but someone had to. The other two were clearly occupied with Lime, so it was now their job to babysit Orange.
Orange and White exit the room, and the focus is now back on Lime. Lime was still .. very overwhelmed.
"This ain't .. this ain't real. This isn't the afterlife I know I ought to get. Did I hit my head too hard in those damn vents ?" Lime rubs their head.
"It's real." Green mutters. "I- I'm real sorry, Lime .. I know you .. had your beliefs and all .." Green hesitantly reaches towards Lime.
Lime batts Green away. "You're not real. You're a damn trick, trying to gain my trust ! I don't need your pity !"
Green looks slightly hurt and backs away.
"Lime." Blue takes a deep breath. They didn't want to be harsh with Lime, but it might be the only way to get them to wrap their head around it all. They grab Lime by the shoulders firmly. Lime blushes slightly, but immediately snaps out of it. Another trick of this SIREN !
"You are dead. We're all dead. Me, you, White, even Green and Orange. As far as we're aware, this is it. This is where we ended up. The afterlife is a permanent purgatory. There is no trick. This is it."
"You aren't real." Lime repeats firmly. Now, it wasn't exactly because they actually believed it, but rather because they felt if they argued enough it'd have to be true. Eventually Blue would have to admit they were just tricking Lime, right ?
"I am real, Lime. And so is Green. And so are you. We are dead." Blue wasn't going to give up. Even if they were being a bit hard on Lime, it was important that Lime was able to grasp and understand the current situation.
Lime pushes Blue away from them, and just .. stares .. for awhile.
"... You're absolutely sure ?"
"Yes. I'm absolutely sure."
"Okay .." Lime thinks for a moment. "Then can you tell me what the hell is going on here ? Why is GREEN dead ? And ORANGE ?"
"You saw it for yourself, didn't you ? You were right about the aliens. The aliens killed and possessed Green and Orange, and are now using their bodies to trick the crew."
"DAMN ! I KNEW IT ! AND NONE OF THOSE FOOLS BELIEVED ME !"
".. Yes, that was very intelligent of you. It's a shame they didn't believe you." Blue was a tad relieved to see Lime so argumentative again.
"I would have believed you if I were alive !" Green adds in. They had been too awkward to speak for a moment there, but now that Lime was recovering steadily, they felt more confident. Gosh, Blue really had a way with words .. they'd managed to soothe Lime so easily. Lucky Lime, getting to be that close to Blue .. Wait ! No ! That was ignorant thinking. Lime wasn't lucky, they just had a pretty traumatic experience. Poor Lime ...
"Yeah, yeah, no need to tell me." Lime's ego was recovering quite well, at least.
There's a moment of silence between them.
"I'm sorry about that, by the way. I had to be harsh."
"Er .. don't worry about it too much, big dawg."
After another moment of silence between the three, Lime becomes more serious again.
"You said .. this is it ? This is all there is now ?"
"W- Well, that's my theory, at least .." Blue sighs. It must be hard for someone who's likely thought about the afterlife so much to be greeted with such a grim reality.
"I think you're wrong, doctor. Purgatory ain't forever, we just gotta find our purpose here. That's the goal. I AIN'T GONNA BE HERE FOREVER !" Lime states confidently.
Blue brightens up a little. Lime really was determined, no matter the circumstances. How admirable.
"That's a fascinating idea. I think it has some plausibility."
---
Meanwhile, the crew was escorting the newly discovered alien into the cafeteria, with hopes they'd figure out what to do when they got there.
White was strolling behind the crew casually, while Orange was anxiously fidgeting with their hands as they followed.
"Sorry Lime uh .. attacked you. That must've sucked."
"It's fine. I would've gotten them fired if we were still alive .. workplace harassment ..." Orange's reply lacked that usual insincerely cheery and formal tone.
Even if it was obviously fake and corporate-feeling, the jolly vibe was much more pleasing than this new attitude. It kind of weirded White out.
"Did Lime's whole freak out really scare you that badly ?" White tilts their head.
"No, no. Certainly off-putting, but that's not what I'm really thinking about."
The crew has finally made it to the cafeteria. After they all go through, the automatic doors slam. It's no big deal, since Orange and White just pass right through them. They'd gotten pretty used to passing right through walls and doors, it was like the perimeters of the ship didn't even exist to them anymore.
"Oh, is it about the alien thing, then ? Yeah, that was ... really gross, I'll be honest." White shivers as they recall the sight. Orange had been right in the middle of it all, which couldn't of been fun.
Orange hesitates, considering confiding in White about something more specific. Not only was it generally gross, but that was Orange's body. Orange watched as their own body was mutilated almost beyond recognition. And to make it all worse, it wasn't just terror that they felt, but amazement too. Why had they been mesmerized by something so gruesome ? It reminded them of a deep guilt that sat in their stomach ... something they didn't like thinking about. But there was no way they could tell White any of this. In fact, White might be the absolute WORST option out of everyone they could talk to. Besides, they really couldn't tell anyone about it all in full detail. That was their secret to keep.
"Yeah, that was definitely a pretty disgusting alien." Is all they can manage to reply with.
Red runs forward and kicks the alien right into the trash chute. Looks like they had figured out what to do about that.
"Hey, look on the bright side ! One less impostor to deal with now. At least the crew finally figured that out. That means less death now."
"You're right about that. Though, Green's doppelganger is really the one we have to worry about .."
"True." White sighs. "Green's is a total killing machine. I think yours just liked pretending to be you. Which is kinda weird. No offense, but if I could choose to be any crewmate on the ship, I probably wouldn't choose you."
Wow, what a totally nice thing to say right now. "None taken." Orange suppresses their agitation. White was kind of right, Orange did live a rather boring life compared to the rest of the crew, it didn't make sense to WANT to be Orange.
"Wait, pay attention, they're about to launch it into space !" White nudges Orange.
The crew each raise a hand in favor of ejecting the alien. Red pulls down on the trash chute lever with all their might, desperate to get this thing out of here as fast as possible. White and Orange, along with the living crew, focus their attention on the window in anticipation.
The moment the alien drifts into view of the window, it once again begins to distort Orange's body. What once was Orange turns into a mass of tentacles and flesh, wriggling about desperately in the darkness of space. It gurgles and wails, muffled by the vacuum of space and the wall of the ship. In an extravagant manner, it's gooey body explodes into a mass of organic goop that splatters all over the window.
Orange feels sick. They definitely should not have watched that. Oh gosh, they REALLY felt sick. They gag, hold their stomach, and lean forward.
"Woaaahh there .. uhm. There, there ...." White rubs Orange on the back awkwardly.
Green enters the room first, Blue and Lime following close behind.
"Hey ! How did- oooh .. yikes." The window is still splattered in alien remains, and White is comforting Orange while they fight their nausea. Green looks away from the window uncomfortably.
Lime hovers behind Blue. They refuse to look at Orange. They still didn't trust Orange, and honestly, they did feel a little guilty. It'd be awkward to interact with Orange at all after that.
"Oh dear .. Orange, are you alright ?" Blue worries.
Orange does not respond, obviously.
"Since we are .. no longer alive, I don't think Orange will be capable of getting anything up. Nausea is likely more of a mental thing in the ghost realm. They've just got to calm down and let it pass."
Now that they aren't the only one here, White no longer feels obligated to be the one to deal with this, and backs away from Orange. It wasn't anything personal, they're just REALLY bad at comforting people. Someone else could definitely do a better job.
"I can't imagine how that must've felt, Orange. It's okay .. just .. uhm .. relax .." Green mumbles, taking White's place next to Orange. They continue to give Orange words of comfort while the rest of the group talks.
"So, what exactly happened here ?" Blue questions White.
"The crew decided to kick the thing into the trash chute, then they ejected it. It exploded the second it touched space. It was kinda gross, and I guess the grossness was amplified for Orange, since it was literally their own body that exploded."
"I see ... it appears that their species is unable to handle the pressure of the vacuum of space."
Orange clears their throat and stands up straight. "I'm okay now. Thank you, Green." They sigh.
"No problem !" Green was glad they managed to get Orange to calm down at least a little. "Hey, if you ever need to uh .. talk .. I'm always here."
Orange hesitates, thinking of a response. "Thank you for the offer, Green."
Blue approaches Orange. "I'm terribly sorry, that must have been quite traumatizing. I'm also here if you ever need anything."
Orange blushes. Wow, even during the most terrible of times, it seems like they can't resist swooning at least a little bit. "Thank you, Blue."
Now that they weren't preoccupied with Orange, Green realizes that the living crew is no longer in the room. "Hey, where'd they all go ?"
"Mentioned somethin' about a celebratory party. Went off to prepare for it or something. 'Cept their making your replacement clean up the alien gunk." Lime finally speaks up. Apparently they'd been the only one to actually listen to the living.
As if Lime had summoned it, the remaining impostor emerges from one of the cafeteria doors, mop and bucket in hand. "How am I even gonna clean this .. it's outside the ship for worm's sake !" It complains. "Always making me clean up the messes .. it's no fair !"
"Jeez, it's really committed to the bit. It's acting like it's actually Green even when the crew isn't around." White comments.
Green looks slightly agitated. "Liking worms is MY thing .. it has no right to even talk about worms .. it's never even seen a worm, probably .."
".. Anyways," Blue shifts the conversation. "-on a more important note, I think we should all wait here for the crew to return. They likely won't be long."
---
Once most of the crew had returned, they all gathered around and started to talk amongst each other casually.
"... They're bein' far too friendly. It's weird. Somethin's up." Lime suspects.
"They just got rid of the evil murderer. Of course they're happy ! They don't even know there's another one, they assume they solved the problem." White argues.
"It's still weird ! People still DIED, and they're all happy as can be ! Who throws a PARTY after people DIE ?!"
"I threw parties all the time for everything ! My family threw a lot of parties. Parties for buying a new car, parties for buying a new house, parties for when babies were born, parties for when people died, parties for parties ..." White talks on and on.
"We get it." Lime groans. "But not everyone is a richie-mc-richface. I say somethin' more sinister is goin' on here ..."
"Like .. what ?" Green gulps nervously. What if Lime was right ? It WAS kind of weird they were being so friendly with one another when just a bit ago they thought any one of them could be a murderer.
"They've all got BRAIN PARASITES ! It's eating their brains and makin' em all mushy ... that's why they're so happy."
Green shivers. White notices. "Come on, you're not gonna tell me you BELIEVE Lime ? Green ?"
"I- I'm just nervous ! After all that's happened ... can we really say anything is impossible ?"
"That's absolutely ridiculous ! Mira hosts company parties all the time, this isn't anything unusual." Orange speaks up. They hadn't done too much talking until now.
Lime looks towards Orange and quickly looks away without responding. Orange also immediately looks away, a hint of fear in them when they looked at Lime. It was still pretty awkward between the two.
Blue narrows their visor. Orange and Lime should really make up soon, but that wasn't the main problem right now. "I think we shouldn't disregard Lime's suspicion. It is a bit odd they're so amiable. I believe it may be because of the trauma they all faced. In such a traumatic incident, they could be coping by being overly positive. Their trauma is shared, which could also allow for bonding between them."
The group seems generally more convinced the moment Blue speaks up.
Red and Purple enter the room. They were the last two to arrive. They appeared to be acting especially buddy-buddy with one another.
"SEE ! THAT'S WEIRD !" Lime yells. "I've spied on those two from the vents. They NEVER get along. They've got some kinda backstory with one another or somethin' .. they're usually hardly on speaking terms."
Orange seemed a little more willing to accept Lime's theory now. "I know the captain fairly well I'd say, and Lime is .. right." Yuck, it was AWFUL having to admit Lime might have truth to what they were saying. "Red's informed me that they have a past with the security guard. They never went into detail, though."
Red sits down with the rest of the group, who are sitting in a circle on the floor. As Purple walks over to join them, they stumble awkwardly. It was like they forgot how to walk for a second.
Blue narrows their visor again and puts their hand to their chin. This was definitely becoming strange. "I admit, this might be more than a trauma response. This behavior is highly unusual."
The crew was getting more and more strange in the background. They were doing .. who knows what. Notably, they were being very touchy with one another.
"I'M TELLING YOU, IT'S BRAIN PARASITES !" Lime throws their arms up and shakes their fists.
"What if the parasites are MORE aliens ?! Did they all get turned into aliens ?!" Green puts their hands on their head.
"If they got possessed we'd know. Cause, you know, they'd be dead." White reasons.
"Oh yeah. At least we know for sure they're alive .."
"Alive for NOW .. 'til the parasites fully consume their brains." Lime continues to spin their story about the brain parasites.
"Enough of the parasite theory !" Orange speaks up again. They were unsure if they should really be speaking directly to Lime, but they were really tired of the unreasonable parasite theory. "Doctor, what do you think ?"
"Huh ? Ah- Right." Blue had been deep in thought, they forgot they were a part of the conversation. "I still need more time to think about it. I want to keep examining the crew's behavior. Something is definitely not right."
"You're so smart, Blue ! I trust you'll figure it out." Orange giggles, blushing. That was probably a good thing, if Orange was swooning, it meant they were distracted from their earlier crisis.
The crew had now all sat down at a table with paper in front of them. They appeared to be drawing together. However, it was mostly scribbles.
"Can't even DRAW, for Christ's sake ! Definitely having their brains eaten right now."
Green looks over the drawings. Only one is actually decipherable- and it gives a hint to what the others are drawing. The impostor's was completely unaffected by whatever was causing this strange behavior. "They're drawing you, Blue."
Surprised, Blue drifts over to take a closer look. "Ah, you are likely correct. Good observation, Green."
"Check it out, I drew Blue !" Yellow giggles, leaning over the table in an odd way while holding up their "Blue" drawing. That confirms that, then.
"Blue is so great .." Brown adds, holding up their own drawing.
"I love Blue's torso .. !" Red giggles, doing the same.
"Mmmm .. I love Blue's bottom .." Purple mumbles.
"Don't let HR hear you say that !"
"They can't, cuz they're dead !"
The crew erupts into giggles.
Orange looks extremely offended. The crew didn't even care that they were dead. Their melancholy and distant manner from earlier begins to return.
".. Oh my." Blue, for once in their entire time on this ship, genuinely looked flustered. This was the only time Blue had ever shown any actual reaction to the crew's obvious attraction to them. It was a little awkward now that Blue was actually phased by it.
"Their blue skin is so life-like .. ! But ... Blue is dead ..." The impostor changes the mood by reminding the crew half of them were dead.
Blue suddenly focuses again. "Blue skin ... hm. Wait a minute !-"
"White, Lime, Orange, and Blue are dead .." Yellow interrupts.
Green felt a little hurt not hearing their own name on that list. It reminded them that the crew really thought that murderer was them. They didn't even know Green died. They had no idea what kind of terror Green had faced. Orange, on the other hand, was a little glad that Yellow had mentioned them by name. At least they were thinking of Orange.
The crew's happiness immediately turns sour as all of them think about the awful things that happened.
"Hey, none of that !" Cyan manages to hoist themself over the table. They bring back the joyful mood, and the group goes back to pretending nothing bad has ever happened.
Nevermind that.. didn't Blue have something to say ? "What were you gonna say, Blue ?" Green offers Blue a chance to speak again.
"I think I have an idea of what might be going on here. As we have established-"
Red jumps right off a table and onto the ground.
" .. Something is extremely wrong. I may not be correct about this, but I at least have an idea now."
"Better than no idea at all." White shrugs. They were getting somewhere now. "But, I gotta admit, it's pretty entertaining to see them act like a bunch of fools. Glad I'm not alive and experiencing that ! So embarrassing .."
"White ! What if something's seriously wrong with them ?" Green worries.
"CLEARLY something is." White snorts. "But whatever it is, it's pretty funny."
Cyan speaks up again: "Added weight, both societal and physical, is holding us back from pure unity ..."
"What's that supposed to mean ?" White tilts their head.
Cyan backs away from the rest of the group .. and starts taking off their clothes.
"wwwooAAAAHHHWOAHWOAH !!" White turns their head away as fast as they possibly can.
The entire group begins to follow Cyan's lead without a second thought.
"EEK !" Green dramatically throws their hands in front of their visor.
"NOT WORK APPROPRIATE !" Orange exclaims.
"Anndddd now the polite thing to do is turn the other way ...." Blue swiftly turns around. Lime and Orange follow their lead.
"What's gotten into them ?!" Green yelps, hands still over their face.
Blue clears their throat. "... I need to examine something." They look towards Lime. "Lime, would you accompany me to the oxygen room ?" Blue continues their earlier thought.
"Me ?" Why Lime ? Blue had plenty of other options.
"I'd like your help."
"Okay, but why me SPECIFICALLY ?"
Blue begins to drift towards the cafeteria doors. "I just want someone to accompany me, that's all. If you don't want to, that's completely fine."
For some reason, Lime was now determined to take the offer. "I NEVER SAID THAT ! C'MON, LETS GO." They hurry towards Blue.
"..Does that mean we have to stay here .. while all this is going on ..?" Green complains.
"Unfortunately, I would like if you stayed. You three should keep an eye on the crew." Blue responds without turning around. Various noises of displeasure come from the three forced to stay behind.
---
Blue and Lime are nearly to the oxygen room now.
"So .. why the oxygen room, anyway ? You haven't explained yourself."
"Something specific was mentioned that reminded me of something. I'll explain further in a moment."
Blue phases through the wall, taking a shortcut right into O2. Lime follows.
"Just as I thought ..." Blue sighs. The red alarm on the wall titled "OXYGEN DEPLETION" is flashing.
Blue points towards a warning label below the alarm. It reads:
HYPOXIA
SYMPTONS
L- LOSS OF JUDGEMENT
E - EUPHORIA
B - BLUE SKIN
"They've got Hypoxia." Blue concludes. "Something must've happened to the oxygen system. I don't doubt that the remaining impostor has something to do with this ..."
"Drats, no brain parasites." Lime says, as if they were EXCITED about the idea of brain parasites.
"No, but you were close. You helped me reach my conclusion. Don't discredit yourself." Blue turns towards the oxygen tank.
"Erm .. thanks." Lime replies awkwardly. They weren't used to being praised.
"I'm going to see if I'm able to examine the wiring inside. Something is likely wrong in there. If it was just a regular oxygen fail, then the alarms would have made noise to alert the crew. I can't open the hatch as a ghost, but I should be able to stick my head in there. It's going to be dark, though."
Lime was used to examining electrical equipment in dark spaces. That was their job, after all. "I can-" But before Lime can finish their offer, Blue is already crouching down and sticking their head through the metal part of the tank.
With their face in the tank, Blue's behind was now practically in Lime's face. Lime quickly averts their focus, opting to stare at the Hypoxia warning on the wall instead.
"I'll be honest with you .. there is a reason I brought you specifically." Blue's voice was slightly muffled as they spoke.
"I knew it ! You must have some kind of trick planned !"
"No, not a trick. I wanted to talk to you about something."
"About what ?" Lime was getting nervous now.
Blue retreats from the oxygen tank. "I think you should apologize to Orange."
"What ?! ABSOLUTELY NOT ! I don't owe anyone ANYTHING ! And I most DEFINITELY do not owe THEM an apology."
"Why not ?"
"I was only being reasonable. That alien looked exactly like them, so of course I was gonna attack them ! I was just fighting back !"
"But Orange didn't actually do anything to you, did they ?"
Lime struggles to reply for a moment. "... Okay, but it was still reasonable that I jumped at 'em. I'm not apologizing for being reasonable. If anythin', they should apologize to ME for scaring me !"
Blue sighs. "Orange looked petrified after that. They did have to watch their own body become mutilated right before you attacked them. It was a terrible chain of events for Orange, and they haven't been the same since. I think it would really help them feel better if you apologized. Besides, surely you don't enjoy how awkward it is between you too ? If you apologized, then things would be normal between you."
Lime thinks about it for a moment. They'd never admit it in a million years, but they did feel kind of bad about what they did. Being around Orange WAS really awkward. They didn't think apologizing would fully fix the awkward-ness, but it'd at least help .... Blue DID have a point here.
"Okay, okay ! I'll THINK about it. How about that ?"
"That's good enough for now. Thank you for considering it, Lime."
"No more chit-chat ! Did you see the problem down there ?"
"I .. think .. ? I'm not sure. It looked like the wires might be severed."
The doors to O2 open with a hiss, and Purple stumbles in. Their shirt is only half-buttoned up, and their tie was untied around their neck. Their belt was also missing. They were haphazardly humming some kind of song out of tune under their breath.
"Oh dear, poor Purple .. they're getting worse. At least their clothes are on now. Maybe they'll realize the oxygen is off while they're here."
"How much time do ya think they've got before they all kick the bucket ?" Lime questions. As much as they didn't trust the rest of the crew, the idea of them all dying to an oxygen malfunction really didn't sit well with Lime.
".. Likely not much." Blue admits darkly.
Purple shoves their face right up against the glass of the oxygen tank, still humming.
Something surfaces from the greenery and the bottom of the tank. Purple shrieks.
The scream catches Lime off guard, and they jump a little. "What the hell was that about ?!"
Blue looks into the tank. ".. It appears Purple was keeping a fishmate inside the oxygen tank. And without oxygen, it unfortunately passed away. Hm. I did find it a little odd that they were often in this room. Poor Purple."
Purple turns towards the flashing red alarm on the wall, suddenly acknowledging it. At once, they seem to snap out of their happy daze. They clamber around the room, still unsteady. They look over the Hypoxia warning and open a compartment on the wall to retrieve the back-up tank from inside and use it on themself.
Blue breathes a sigh of relief. "Okay, now Purple should be able to save the rest of the crew. I always knew they were competent."
"Meh, I guess they were less insufferable than the rest of 'em .." Lime (somewhat) agrees.
As Purple swiftly turns around and opens the doors, the lights across the entire ship begin to shut off one after another.
".. That's gonna be a problem." Lime gulps.