Chapter Text
It was so easy that Red almost couldn't believe it.
During the training courses that the crewmates were required to take before they were allowed to set foot on the ship, they were constantly badgered with how they should be incredibly careful in electrical in the case of an imposter boarding the ship. During every single lecture that went through emergency and imposter procedures, it was crammed into their heads so often that it was almost sickening to hear it repeated. At the same time, they had a good reason to urge this.
The electrical room was often referred to as the "Imposter's Playden." The sheer amount of tasks in the back behind a slab of wall, the way it was out of the security camera's view, and the vent in the back that made for a quick and smooth escape made the electrical room a deceiver's paradise and an astronaut's nightmare. The death count in that area served as a cautionary tale for the crewmates, and as Red observed, the smart ones left the tasks there for later and normally went there with a trusted buddy to keep watch.
Blue was not one of those smart ones.
Red was almost surprised that the rest of the crew didn't come bustling in when he slammed Blue to the floor, grunting and yelling, but there was a good chance everyone was up north or even asleep, considering how early it was. It was a lucky day and a lucky hour as he wrestled with the crewmate, shiny metal of the knife glinting in his hand.
Sooner or later, he was finally on top of him, struggling to bring the knife down to stab Blue as he resisted. The knife already had faded splotches of dried blood from when Red struggled to fully clean it without getting caught when he killed another crewmate just a few days prior. Red's other hand was grasping his shoulder with a death grip, and Blue's other arm was working on autopilot trying to move it away, most likely so Red wouldn't resort to strangling him if had he got frustrated enough, but every single bit of attention was focused on trying not to get stabbed in such a place where his killer could easily escape.
Blue was never exactly known for his intelligence. Back in training, Red caught on quickly on how much of a dolt that man can be, which is probably why he took the bold move of going into electrical alone.
"If I do them first, then It'll get them out of the way and I'll be at low risk when I do my other tasks," he'd always argue in that southern accent he'd constantly pride himself in having, "and if I get up early enough, the imposter wouldn't even be awake yet."
Despite those obvious faults, he made it up by being a loud and lively crewmate. He was friendly and got along well with the others, and hell, he even got a little bit close to Red for a while when Red accidentally locked Blue and him in storage. He was a wonderful friend to have, which was a pity considering present circumstances.
"H-Hold on, hold on, wait," Blue's voice was staticky like a buffering TV. Red most likely broke his helmet's microphone after he slammed him onto the concrete floor, a crack in the black-tinted visor leaving a stark white streak along the side of it.
For a few moments, Red's struggling didn't falter, but Blue's did. It was obvious, the crewmate was trying to manipulate him in order to attack him. He had been doing this for years, he knew how desperate humans get when they fear for their own lives, begging and bargaining in exchange for a nonexistence chance of mercy. During all of those encounters, though, the crewmates were usually loud and wailing to try and alert other crewmates of what's going on.
Not only was Blue almost silent the entire time, but he sounded almost calm, too.
The leveled tone in his voice was what stuck out to the imposter the most. How can someone be so calm fighting for their life? He had to have something planned, right?
"Just-Just give me a second to talk, man," Despite the crackling of his microphone, Red could tell his accent thickened. Blue was obviously worn out, chest heaving from the intense morning workout. Red had no idea why he stopped struggling as Blue loosened his grip on his wrist. He could feel the crewmate's legs shifting behind him, which caused Red to keep his grip on the knife tight.
"What," Red hardly realized how tiring it was fighting him until he noticed how heavily he was breathing, "what is it?"
"So like," It was impossible to see Blue's expression through the black glass, but he practically heard the smug grin, "what if we like, kissed right now? What would you do? And what would happen to me?"
Huh.
Huh?
Something he learned about the other man during that time in the storage was how it seemed like there wasn't a filter at all with his words. He constantly had the need to speak about the first thing on his mind, no matter what it was.
Which is why this shouldn't have came as a surprise for Red, and yet it did.
"No-I-what?" The pure confusion in his voice caused Blue to roar with hearty laughter, which, due to the microphone situation, was a rather unholy sound. He didn't seem concerned at all about his current situation, as if he still believed Red was just another crewmate and not a deceiving murderer trying to drive a knife into his damn chest. Hell, he almost wanted to stab him right then and there just to prove to him how serious the situation was, but for whatever reason, whatever godawful reason, he didn't.
"C'mon, just think about it! We're already, like, super close. All we'd have to do is take our helmets off and just go for it."
"We're not even allowed to do that unless we're sleeping."
"We're not allowed to kill people either, but look at you." Red grew more and more agitated by the second. Despite his chance to flip Red over and run off to alert the crew, Blue didn't budge from his spot. His hand was still gripping the arm that was latching onto his shoulder, but it wasn't cutting off his circulation like a few minutes ago.
It was so easy now. Just one quick swipe at the neck or a jab between the ribs and it would be over for the crewmate. All he needed to do was finish the job and scurry off into the vents. So why the hell wasn't his body moving?
He didn't need to answer that question right then, because the second he heard footsteps echo towards electrical, he practically flew off of Blue.
He quickly slid the knife towards the vent, which slipped through one of the slots with a loud clanking noise. Blue heaved himself up and started to dust himself off, looking over to electrical's entrance to greet whoever's there. Red was sweating bullets as he did so. It was all out of his hands now. The only thing he could do was pick a god and pray. "Ey, White! Good to see ya, buddy!" Blue chimed.
"Blue?" If the name somehow didn't give away her identity, then the high-pitched melodic voice did, "why are you all alone back here? And what's wrong with your voice?"
"Fell and hit right where my mic was.. Also, I'm not alone, Red's here with me," He pointed his thumb towards the other astronaut, and even though no one could see his face, Red was giving off the vibe that he was about to throw up, "he wanted a buddy to keep him company in case the imposter's still around."
Was..was Blue vouching for him?
Red was so stunned by that answer that he couldn't even pay attention to the rest of the conversation. Not that he could do so for any longer anyhow, considering how nauseous the adrenaline was making him. Sure, he's been killing crewmates for years on end, but he couldn't recall a single time he was this close to being caught. All Blue had to do was tattle on him and it would be over with, but it seemed that Blue kept on proving himself to be the dumbest motherfucker space had ever come across.
He hardly even noticed Blue waving goodbye to White before the astronaut walked up to him, and only snapped out of his dazed state when the crewmate slapped a hand on his shoulder. The imposter peered up. He had forgotten how much shorter he was compared to the other man. "You doin' alright there, pal?" He chuckled.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Red yelped, slapping his hand away and practically leaping to the other side of the room, "do you not realize what you've done? You could've ratted me out any second then and nobody would have to worry about this bullshit!" Never in his entire life had he been so angry at not being accused. Blue shook his hand, the slap must've stung, "you say that like you want to be snitched on."
"No one does, but-"
"Then I'm not doing it."
"Are you insane?" Red already knew the answer, "I already killed one of your crewmates," Red marched up to Blue and grabbed him by the wrinkled collar of his suit, pulling him down to his eye level, "one of your comrades, one of your friends, what makes you think I won't keep going?"
"Ok, first of all, Lime wasn't my friend and, frankly, that jackass deserved it," Red still couldn't believe what he was hearing, "secondly, even if I don't rat you out, I don't have anything to worry about. If you kill another crewmate then I can just tell the others what happened here and they'll immediately know you're the imposter."
"You say that like I can't just kill you right now."
"Wouldn't White suspect you then?"
Red blinked. For once in his life, Blue made a smart point. If the imposter took the chance and killed Blue, then White would have a reasonable suspicion since he was the only one with him. "I can just kill you later then."
"But you won't," Blue lightly shoved Red off of him with a grunt of protest from the shorter astronaut, "especially since you didn't do it before she showed up."
Red was gaping, struggling to find a retort that wasn't even present in his mind. Never in his goddamn life had he met a bastard so bold. Blue snorted at the lack of response, and slapped him on the back, making him jolt upwards. "Relax, this can just be our little secret. Snitches get stitches after all," with that, Blue walked out of electrical in a confident stride, leaving Red alone with his own thoughts. He felt like throwing things like a wild animal that was locked in a cage for years, but he was just staring wide-eyed at the entryway. This could not be a real person he had just met with his own two eyes, and to make matters worse, he knew his true identity.
"God damn it," Red pitifully groaned as he slumped against the wall and slid onto the floor, head (or helmet) in his hands. It only takes one slam of the emergency button and he'd be done for, and he just let the one person who figured him out waltz away like nothing happened.
For the rest of the day, Red was on edge. None of the other crewmates noticed of course, years of impersonation made him a master at hiding emotions, but he felt like screaming. He had goosebumps every time he saw Blue walk near the button, and tried his absolute best to avoid him as much as possible. He was waiting to brace for death whenever Blue finally decided it was time to end it.
Which is why he was so shocked when no emergency was called that day.