Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Black was tired, as he always was when he woke up without his casual cup of coffee.

He also woke up earlier than his other Crewmates, not by choice unfortunately, he would’ve slept in much longer if he had the choice but his nightmares had started to increase, becoming way worse.

So, here he was, in the Cafeteria at an unhealthy time of the morning, so early in fact that he had to carry a torch to tell where he was due to how dark it was, the light being the only thing that illuminated the otherwise pitch black room, with Black himself being way too lazy to manually turn on the lights from the breaker in electrical.

It was four in the morning, the lights wouldn’t turn on until the time reached nine, meaning that all power to the Cafeteria wouldn’t turn on until nine, leaving Black alone in the dark with nothing but his torch, his thoughts, and the incredibly strong urge to drink some coffee.

His flashlight flickered, Black feeling a slight sense of fear when he had to grab his flashlight and smack it a few times, for the flickering to truly stop, only for the torch to turn off for a few seconds, then return to normal, Black sighing in relief.

It was awkward to admit that Black hated the dark, the dark reminded him of way too many things that he wished he could forget, it reminded him that he was alone and that he was in danger, even if he knew that he wasn’t.

There was one person who made him feel safe, one person in this entire world who, regardless of where he was, Black knew it would be ok one day.

His name was Cyan.

Cyan was dead, was murdered.

The only evidence of Cyan ever existing and being more of a memory was the decaying blue flowers resting on the seat of the centre table, and the bloodstain directly beneath it.

Or maybe, it was his imagination that imagined the stain, despite the amount of times this place had been cleaned, even being cleaned by Black himself, he still saw it, the stain forever staying, whilst the body of Cyan haunted his mind like it was taunting him, a reminder that he was truly dead, and that it was all Black’s fault.

With shaking hands, he grabbed the flashlight and stood away from the Cafeteria table and walked into Weapons.

He didn’t realise how far he had walked until he found himself in Shields, sitting on the floor as he raised his head, staring out the glass ceiling and seeing the stars above.

He imagined that he wasn’t sitting alone, that he was watching the stars with Cyan as they tried to point out the constellations, their hands held tightly together as they just talked, Black’s head leaning on his side as he listened.

‘The stars are beautiful,’ Cyan had said at one point, just before his-

Just before they became a couple.

‘They are,’ Black agreed, staring at the stars before he turned to Cyan, his heart beating in his chest only to pause, when he met Cyan’s eye instead.

‘But you know, somehow I think you’re more beautiful’  with a gasp, Black covered his face with his hands as he blushed in embarrassment, feeling the urge to run even when Cyan burst into a wide smile, pulled him close, and admitted that he wanted to say the same thing.

They had been together for a year, a single year, and he loved every day of it.

Then he was murdered, leaving Black alone and alive with the knowledge that it was all his fault, the worst part was knowing that he couldn’t fix it.

He wonders if he died, and met Cyan again, would he forgive him?

He hopes the answer is yes.

He didn't know how long he had been sitting there until the lights had turned on with a small click, Black blinking back into awareness as he turned off his torch, stood up then made his way to the Cafeteria, seeing a small handful of the Crewmates seated at the benches.

On the bottom left side of the cafeteria were Pink and Purple, Purple waving when he noticed Black, Pink themselves too enraptured in a conversation with their partner to notice Black, only giving a quick wave when their partner, Purple, nudged Pink’s side with his body.

On the top left sat Lime, who was way too focused on a book that he didn’t notice Black, Lime’s brother Green was nowhere to be seen in the Cafeteria, Black assuming that he was still waking up.

On the bottom right side of the Cafeteria sat White, who was staring at his food with a conflicted-looking face as he poked it with a fork, giving a wave to Green, who just walked in from the Medbay, taking the table with his brother, Lime.

And, on the top left table sat Yellow and her Husband, Blue, who upon noticing Black beckoned him over with a wave of his hand and a wide smile whilst Yellow gave Black an exhausted yet genuine smile.

“I thought I was the only one who had a terrible sleep,” Black joked as he took a seat at the table, Yellow huffing a small laugh.

“Well Mellow was a particular pain to put to sleep last night, it was even worse trying to keep him asleep, he just kept waking up and crying for his mum,” Yellow was a rather gentle woman, whose motherly love tended to spread throughout the ship, whether it was to those who needed it or those who didn’t it never really mattered with her, she saw the crew like family and they saw her the same way.

“Speaking of, where is Mellow?” Mellow was an extremely active toddler, which made a lot of sense given that he was Blue’s kid after all, Mellow could often be seen running around the ship, his mother chasing after him as he would squeal with laughter, occasionally running into a wall or two.

And when he wasn’t an energetic ball of chaos, he loved to follow his parents around the ship as they did their daily chores, even chatting with a few of the other Crewmates the best he could with the words he knew.

“Sleeping, we’re going to check on him after breakfast, just thought it’d be good to give him some rest,” Blue responded as he took another swig of his morning coffee.

Blue was a rather good man, a man that Black personally respected with his natural leader-like authority as well as his overall good attitude that made him an amazing person to be around, mix that with his charisma and Black could see why Blue was amongst the most of the Crew’s favourite, most of them believing that he should be Captain, which in a way he was, being the Co-Captain in training of the Skeld, being taught under White directly.

Black personally agreed with that sentiment, and that a leader like him would practically fit the job, but he disliked the occasional toxic jabs that were directed towards White, their current Captain who was, according to some of the other members, ’lazy, uncoordinated and too inexperienced’ to accept the job which was just not true.

White was a good man, who was always kind to the others, even if they didn’t treat him the same way, even going so far as to hear a piece of criticism and improve it himself, making their lives on the Skeld more liveable, Black always brought it upon himself to treat him kindly, and he was thankful that his friends were doing the same.

Distracting him from his thoughts was Orange, who, upon noticing Black went from looking like an exhausted mess to practically overflowing with energy, his smile practically shining bright for all to see as he made his way to the table, standing next to Black, smiling before he seemed to remember something, his smile turning to a frown as he gave a half-hearted glare to Black.

“You” Orange pointed directly to Black, who froze then rose his head to see Blue and Yellow greeting Orange, who greeted them back with the same joyous tone from earlier.

Orange, in a way, kind of reminded Black so much of Cyan it hurt, with his bright, outgoing personality that drew him in like a blackhole, before Cyan’s-

He was best friends with Cyan, and then over time he became a friend to Black, who didn’t mind his company, he was the one who was always looking out for him, the one who would go out of his way to make sure Black felt ok.

It was both heartwarming yet so, incredibly annoying at times.

“What?” Black questioned with a yawn, debating on whether he should just sleep here, breakfast be damned.

“You’re coming with me,” Black turned to stare at Orange who stared back, his face serious, Black just rolled his eye as he stood, following Orange as he made his way to the Food Stall where a Crewmate would handle the food, that Crewmate being Brown, who looked like he’d rather be asleep than be here, but at noticing Orange he perked up, made his way to the counter and began to take orders.

“Morning you two, just the usual for today?” The pair nodded, trusting in Brown, the ship's chef, with their meals.

Brown was a bit more introverted than the rest of the crew, busying himself with cooking and any additional tasks that were given out but he was a gentle yet kind Crewmate, who would usually let out his anger and any negativity in his delicious, homemade (or was it shipmade? Because they sure as hell weren’t home) meals, he wasn’t one of Black’s closest friends but Brown was always the person who always offered to listen if there was anything that Black ever needed to talk about.

There usually wasn’t, it always made the other Crewmates concerned but there was nothing to tell them.

“Right, well it’ll be just a moment,” and with that Brown made his way back to the kitchen, Black made his way to the wall next to the stall, leaning against it as he listened to the sound of different silverware clanging together until it turned to soft sizzling.

It felt like a minute hadn’t even passed before the smell of the food started to reach him, was that garlic? Or onion? Maybe chives? He couldn’t tell, and he couldn’t wait to find out.

Leave it to Brown to go ahead and turn my normal order into a gourmet five-star meal, Black thought jokingly, a ghost of a smile tugging at his face.

There was a small thud on the wall as Orange took his place next to Black, he could feel Orange’s eye glaring directly at him, Black stiffening as he tried to ignore the uncomfortable feeling that prickled in his spine.

“You weren’t in your room when I woke up, where were you?” Great, here’s Investigator Orange, Black thought with a grimace.

“I was, I just woke up earlier than you,” his tone was neutral as he focused on the centre table, only to turn away when he saw those familiar flowers, he instead turned his attention to Green and Lime, the two brothers talking wordlessly as they indicated to a book, Black’s curiosity only slightly piqued.

“How early?” When Black didn’t answer, Orange stood away from the wall and entered his field of vision, blocking off Lime and Green’s discussion as he looked at Orange, who was frowning, yet he could see the concern in his eye.

“It wasn’t that early,” at Orange’s eyebrow raise, Black felt himself crumble to pieces internally.

“It was another nightmare,” he confessed, Orange’s body dropping as he reached forward.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” he felt a shudder shoot throughout his body, Orange backing off as he made his way to the wall again, Black feeling himself drift away only to be recentred when he felt a gentle hand place itself on his shoulder.

“Well you know I’m here for you, right?” Cyan used to say that also, Black thought, a bittersweet feeling blooming in his chest as he hesitated, before slowly nodding, not just as an acceptance but just to see Orange smile.

Then, there was a ding of the Cafeteria bell, a small voice calling Orange and Black’s name as they made their way to the stall, grabbing their meals and heading towards the upper right table, taking a seat as they started to eat.

Black’s meal was a plate of Hash Browns which shined with some type of grease that had the mild scent of garlic and the yellowish tint of what appeared to be butter, then sprinkled with small, green, ‘o’ shaped chives.

Then there was the salad, it was different from yesterday's pumpkin and quinoa salad and was this colourful mass of weird, white cheese that had been cut into squares, Feta, Black’s brain supplied as he took a bite.

It also had olives, purple onions, tomato and cucumber that had Black making a face as he began to immediately dig through his salad, picking out each piece and putting it to the side, only to see Orange staring at him, no, the cucumber, with an unspoken question in his eye, Black handing every piece to Orange, who happily scoffed them down whilst Black felt his stomach lurch in disgust.

“I don’t know how you can even eat that,” Black directed to Orange, who just blinked with a fork full of bacon and eggs.

“You know I mean the cucumber right?” Orange’s eye widened in recognition before he went back to chewing his mouthful, Black chuckling.

“You are an absolute mess,” was all Black said before he felt a light punch to his side, Orange giving a humoured smile as he swallowed.

“Just focus on your food and I’ll focus on mine, idiot,” with a grin, Black cut a portion of his hashbrown, practically melting when the flavour hit his tongue.

“You know Orange I think I have to agree with Black, you are a mess,” Orange let out a rather offended noise whilst Yellow just smiled, her Husband letting out a quiet round of laughter.

Eventually, breakfast was finished and Black stood, taking his tray back to the counter, a shouted ‘thank you!’ being heard from within the kitchen.

With a lack of anything to do, Black then made his way back to the table and took a seat, only lasting five minutes before getting bored and standing again, announcing that he was going to go on a walk, Orange pausing from the food he was eating to give Black a thumbs up, a wide grin on his face.

“I’ll catch up with you later,” he promised Orange, waving goodbye to Yellow and Blue as he walked down, passing through the admin doorway and going down until he was in storage and staring at the pile of boxes in front of him.

The boxes were the ship's supplies that contained things like spare parts for repairs if said ship was ever damaged, it was barely used as White made sure that it was kept in good condition.

It made it an amazing place to hide out when he was bored, he’d even sleep there sometimes when the boredom got so bad, oftentimes being woken up by the other crewmates who noticed him, or by Black himself as he almost fell from the height.

He rolled in his sleep ok? And it didn’t help that the ship got bumpy sometimes.

Placing a hand on the boxes, he pushed himself upward, climbing until he reached the top, losing his footing for a small moment when he stood, feeling the ship move beneath him.

Taking a seat, he leaned his head back on one of the boxes, staring out in front of him and seeing the stars ahead of him, the sight so incredibly beautiful yet boring all at once.

Space was gorgeous, don’t get him wrong, it was one of his favourite places to be, yet it reminded him of what he was truly missing, a home, if he ever had one in the first place.

It doesn’t matter now, the ship is my home and the Crewmates are my family, yet a sense of unease made his gut churn uneasily.

Would they still be your family if they truly knew you? 

He didn’t like the fact that he didn’t know the answer, more than anything he wished that it would have been an instant yes, like he had always imagined, that these Crewmates would see his past, who he truly was and still treat him like how he was already treat him, even if he doesn’t deserve it.

He loves them, he just hopes that they love him in return.

With a sigh, he closed his eye, imagining that there was a weight next to him.

He imagined Cyan, Cyan and his kind words, Cyan and his charming humour, Cyan, the person that Black loved- still loves.

He imagined grabbing Cyan’s hand, he imagined his partner’s voice as he rambled to the empty air, thinking that Black was asleep to the world but, rather, tuning out everything to be there with Cyan.

God, he missed him.

We’ll meet again one day, he thought with an ache in his heart, and maybe then, you’ll forgive me.

There was a small ping on his watch as the screen lit up, it made Black’s eye open as he jolted upwards.

It's way too early, he thought with fear in his heart, yet he hoped that it was just the tasks being assigned, he prayed that it was White breaking schedule just for today, please-

Bile rose in his throat as he stared at the small screen, seeing a familiar notification that he wished he hadn’t memorised.

Report ASAP it would read, the words practically engrained in his mind with how frequent it was.

Scrambling his way down the boxes, he gave a glance left and right before he stepped into the room, the door sliding shut behind him as he headed towards the small office chair, taking a seat in it as he turned towards the radio, his hands shaking as he grabbed the dial and turned it.

“-Is this thing on? Rose?” There was a pause as Black practically jumped from his seat, frantic hands searching for the microphone, “Black? Report”

“Yes, I’m here, I just wanted to ask why are you-“

“I came here for a report and a report only, don’t waste my time”

“Sir it won’t happen again” There was a creaking of a chair, Black trying to imagine what his employer was doing, only stopping when his hands began to shake.

“Get to the report already”

“No new casualties, other than-” his voice caught at the end and he gulped, fighting back the ache in his chest, “-Cyan”

“So you are reporting no new deaths, is that correct?” The voice was devoid of any emotion, Black couldn’t tell if it was a good or a bad thing.

“Yes sir, but-”

“Yesterday, you said you had a plan, the day before that the same thing, and the day before that, all those days before, do you really have a plan?” and wow he did not sound happy.

“Yes Sir I do, it's just a long plan and the Crewmates are rather smart, they are skilled-”

“Why do you stall?”

“Sir?”

“If this plan was a good one, this entire ship would be dead by now, and if it wasn’t you’d make a new one, I know when someone’s lying to me Black, and I think you know what happens when you do”

“I am aware Sir, believe me, I do have countermeasures in place for if this plan were to fail, which it won’t, I just need more time-” There was a disappointed sigh, the noise turning to static for just a small moment and Black cut himself off, fidgeting with his fingers nervously.

“If there are no reports of a death by tomorrow, I will be forced to use other countermeasures, and we both don’t want that”

“Wait-!”

“Goodbye Black, do not disappoint me” Then, the line returned to static, Black sitting there in shock, staring at the microphone.

He was numb when he changed the dial to the original channel, his entire body shaking as he stepped out of communications, it wasn’t until he reached shields and could feel his quickened heart and his air-deprived lungs that he truly noticed he was on the borderlines of having a panic attack, even a walk down the halls, something that usually calmed him couldn’t help, and it wasn’t until he tasted an acidic yet sour taste in his mouth that he realised it was all pointless.

Hands over his mouth, he began a desperate dash, passing by a few Crewmates who called his name, even some of them following Black. He passed through the cafeteria, ignoring the concerned voices of his friends as he continued to the Medbay, fell to his knees at the toilet and threw up.

There were several shouts accompanied by the rushing of footsteps as he was practically dragged to the scanner but he felt numb, even when Orange grabbed him tightly, crushing his hands as he held Black up on weak knees whilst Yellow rushed out the door, going to find Coral, the ship's medic, the Medbay doors sliding closed with a gentle whir.

Usually, he would be fighting to escape their hold, the embarrassment over having to be held like a child but he couldn’t even lift his hands, he couldn’t even crack a gentle smile assuring them that he’d be ok, Black’s not sure they’d believe him anyway.

So instead he just closed his eye, letting himself go limp in Orange’s hold.

Then, the doors opened again as Coral rushed towards the scanner, pressing a button and waiting with bated breath until the scan finished, with two quick beeps that had Black opening his eye, Coral looked at the results with an almost calculating look.

“What? What’s wrong?” Orange immediately questioned, his hold on Black tightening.

“...Nothing,” she said, despite the calm tone in her voice. Orange stiffened.

“What do you mean nothing? There’s clearly something wrong!”

“Well there’s no reported injury, no sickness or virus, he’s all clear,” Black felt exhausted, almost like the void itself was trying to drag him away, Orange staring down at him with deep concern in his eye before they snapped to Coral.

“Scan him again,” Orange demanded.

Black knew that the only thing that stopped him from getting up there and starting the scan was Black himself, who held a weak grip on Orange’s hand, Orange himself squeezing his hand in return, his face worried yet so incredibly determined.

“You know it would be pointless,” yet with a single glare from Orange Coral scanned again, Black hearing the same two beeps from before, Orange looking conflicted again whilst Coral’s face lit up in understanding.

“Just because nothing showed up on the scan doesn’t mean that there’s nothing wrong, at least let me talk to Black” Coral explained with a pleaful glint in her eye that Black ignored, instead forcing himself into a sitting position, only for a wave of dizziness to overcome him making him collapse back into Orange’s chest.

He tried to push himself back up again, only to be pulled back by Orange, his heart quickening as he tried to pull the hands off of him without much success.

“Lie the hell back down you idiot! You are not fine” Orange hissed, although worry leaked in the way his hold tightened around Black and the eye that just wouldn’t stop staring, not even disappearing for a single second.

The sentiment although sweet made him want to break down into tears and apologise, apologise for hiding something so major from them, apologise for lying to them, apologise for everything that he had ever caused. 

Yet, selfishly, he knew that if he confessed he would be called out as the monster that he knew he was, he just wanted to keep this. 

Yet, without saying anything he dooms everyone, and they’d die.

But they couldn’t, they wouldn’t-

Suddenly, the gentle hands felt way too tight and he tried to squirm out of the grip, his breath coming in wheezes only worsening the more panicked the other Crewmates sounded.

“Black? Hey it's ok it's me- it's me Orange”

“Give him space!”

“Breathe- you’ll be fine just breathe-” The voices were melded into one, all of them doing nothing to calm him down, and all he felt like doing was tipping his head backwards and letting space take him, as it slowly suffocated him just like-

-She was screaming, practically pounding on the glass, trying to shatter it as she begged for her life.

‘I’m innocent! Please don’t-’

The airlock opened, the space itself taking her as she floated alone, the rest of the crew throwing praises at a job well done, another Imposter was gone and killed.

They were wrong.

They all died and Black-

-Blood on his shaking hands as he reached forward- 

“OUT!” There was a roar, a blur of colours that he couldn’t recognise as he-

-’ Cyan!’ He screamed as he pulled his partner to his lap, his blood-

He was-

Dying, he was dying-

“Breathe Black, breathe,” with a gasp, Black cowered to the closest corner of the wall, his head whipping around wildly as he tried to hide away from Coral who just watched, never reaching.

“I know you’re scared and I’m sorry, that must’ve been a lot but you’re safe” Her eye was wide and she sounded nervous, but whether it was for her or Black’s sake she tried to stay calm.

“What’s happening to me?!” Black choked between breaths as he hid his head in his hands, gasping as memory upon painful memory kept returning.

-He was screaming as they dragged him back, he had been-

White walls, white floors, white sheets, white lights, white coats, everything was white and he couldn’t escape it all.

“You’re panicking, just breathe, in for three” She took an exaggerated inhale, raising three of her fingers, and holding it.

“Then out for three” and with a whistle to her breath she dropped her fingers, one at a time until she started again, Black trying his best to copy but it came out shaky.

“Good, good, keep going, I’m proud of you” he doesn’t know how Coral could be proud of him, given the fact that he clearly couldn’t breathe, each inhale getting sucked away in another wheezy exhale.

-Another blow to the stomach, the air leaving him as he coughed, blood dripping from his mouth yet he didn’t give up as he leapt at the Imposter blocking his way to freedom-

-White walls, white floors, white sheets-

-How long had he been here?

-He can’t remember.

“Breathe, again Black breathe,” he gasped, his face wet as Coral kept speaking, her voice barely heard as-

“Let me out!” he screamed as he pounded on the glass, the effort pointless.

Nobody could hear him here within these white walls, white floors-

“You’re doing so well, just a little more you can do it” With another gasp, he found that the breaths he had been desperately trying to keep managed to stay, his chest in less pain than it was before, yet he was still shaking as he still stayed hidden, his head safely hidden in his hands and knees.

“You did it,” even though it was just three words, he couldn’t help but feel warmed, even if it was just by a tiny bit.

“You helped, all I did was cry like a little kid,” he confessed, Coral clicking her tongue in disapproval.

“Everyone cries, it doesn’t make them any weaker than they are now” he personally disagreed, he felt like he wanted to disappear and never return.

Yet, he stayed silent and just closed his eye, listening to each breath in his lungs as he tried to get rid of the lingering fatigue and dizziness.

“Do you want to talk about it?” 

“Huh?”

“What happened, do you want to talk about what happened?” Coral questioned, her voice calming.

“Nothing happened,” he defended, bristling uncomfortably.

As if sensing his discomfort, there were no other questions or words, the pair just sitting in silence, which was then later broken by both Black and Coral watches pinging.

“Is that-” he questioned, trailing off with a lump in his throat.

He knew it was the tasks, he knew that his employer wouldn’t call until later tonight he promised.

But what if he lied?

“It's White, he wants to meet us in Admin”

“So task assignments?”

“Yep, task assignments” Coral stood, stretching her back as she looked to Black.

“You ready?” And he too stood, following Coral out the Medbay, into the Cafeteria until they made it to Admin where Purple, Pink, Green, Lime, White, Blue and Brown were waiting.

“Where’s Yellow and Orange?” Black questioned, as he shoved himself into the already crowded Admin room, shrinking upon himself in a pathetic attempt to take up less space.

“Yellow’s heading towards the Dormitory to wake up Mellow, as for Orange he should be here soon, we can wait for them both” White explained, standing at the left side of the table, the one that was closest to the door.

There were more grumbles of protests as another member began to walk through the room, Black ignoring it until he saw Orange in his peripherals, dead set on making his way to Black.

“You ok?” Orange questioned when he finally reached Black, Black himself wincing when he felt eyes on him.

“I’ll be fine,” Orange looked sceptical, which understandable, Black knew he was lying too but regardless his best friend said nothing as he stood next to Black.

Eventually, Yellow made her way to the room, with a sleepy Mellow reaching towards Black, babbling the entire time, only to be shushed by Yellow.

“Sorry for the wait,” she made her way to Blue, who took Mellow into his hands, kissing the toddler's forehead with a wide smile.

"You're fine, we’re all here and that’s what matters, let's get started,” and with the push of a button, the table came to life, displaying an accurate replica of the Skeld, their ship.

“So, unfortunately, I’ve discovered that we have some pests on the ship,” there were some groans, White smiling apologetically as he continued, “they’ve been chewing through some of the wires so they will need to be fixed”

“The pests will also have to be exterminated whilst every, and yes I mean every part of the ship has to be cleaned, including the vents, it’ll be a big day but with the tasks split between us all we should be finished as quick as possible” White continued to tap away at the screen below him, certain points on the Skeld replica highlighting red.

“Also it's time to realign the engines output again, it's been approximately a month since the last one so the ship will shut down for about a few minutes, whoever has that task though please reach out to me before that does happen” with a final touch of the screen the replica disappeared.

“Also before we adjourn this meeting, Team Mira HQ has reached out to us about a business proposition, they want to meet up tomorrow” there were a few whispers, Black himself feeling uneasy.

“What would they even want to meet us for?” Purple murmured, the other members looking thoughtful. 

“They didn’t clarify, they just said they had a proposition and that was it,” the room exploded into disapproval, Black wincing at the sudden change of atmosphere.

“You didn’t even ask what their proposition is and you want us to, what, trust some strangers we haven’t even met?!” Pink roared, being held back by Purple when they tried to advance towards White, who stood his ground.

Black hated what was happening, he hated the fearful and aggravated faces of his fellow Crewmates, he hated how he himself felt scared.

“They seem to be nice Crewmates with good intentions” 

“So were the last people we trusted and their advice almost killed us! Have you forgotten about Cravel already?” Before Pink had even mentioned that planet Black was stiffening as every part of his body froze in place, he remembered that trip, he remembers-

The Rockmelts had surrounded them, they were all close to death, Black had never been more frightened.

The Rockmelts growled once, then twice, Black reaching for his knife as he stepped forward, ready to face them completely, he turned back to face a frightened Banana and Tan, ready to tell them to run-

A wave of water soared over him, practically drenching the trio as it landed on one of the Rockmelts, turning them from a monstrous amalgamation of goo and rocks to a pathetic pile of dirt on the floor, the second and third Rockmelt dashing away with a whine.

“Well, now I know why they had 'melt’ in their name," Cyan said as he stood in view, both of his hands tightly held onto a bucket as he turned to the trio, Black’s heart still racing.

“You all ok?”

“That was what drove Banana and Tan to retirement, they said that that alone was the most traumatic event they had ever witnessed!” Pink shouted, their voice wobbling as tears streamed from their eye.

“But they weren’t wrong about that place being filled to the brim with fuel, if it weren’t for them we probably wouldn’t be here now, they saved our life and I’m forever grateful for them,”

“We almost died because of them! And all for what? A measly amount of fuel”

“That fuel filled three crates”

“It wasn’t worth it,” with a sob, Pink’s agitation melted away until they were pulled into a side hug by their partner, “it was never worth it” 

“Well it was an accident and we’re all fine now, White learned, we all learned, let's move on” Blue spoke, the rest of the crew’s face twisting in conflict as they grumbled before falling silent.

Black took a deep breath, trying to settle his nerves as he shifted uncomfortably, feeling Orange and Coral’s eyes on him.

“Well, as per usual tasks will be assigned on your cards, swipe them on the card reader to read what yours is but so far there’s no new updates, be prepared to visit Team Mira tomorrow, any questions?”

“How can we trust them?” Black questioned, the rest of the crew turning to stare at him, a few with wide eyes, he even surprised himself by how loud his voice was.

“We can’t,” Even White’s face was stuck in a grimace, looking apologetic, “but that doesn’t mean I’m going to give up, I’ll keep reaching out to see if they will actually answer my questions, once I get a response I promise that I will answer every question you have.”

The entire room was frozen, everyone looking either shocked, fearful or angry, some even had all three, Black just wanted to cry.

“Meeting over, I’ll see you all here tomorrow,” White walked out the room, his body tense whilst Black stared at the floor as he ignored the voices that just felt all too much in this moment.

“I wanna get out” Black whispered to the air, his chest feeling tight as his hands shook, Orange glancing to Black.

“You ok?” He asked in concern, Orange nudging Coral to garner her attention.

Black couldn’t muster up the energy to utter a single word, he felt paralysed, even when Orange and Coral gently grabbed his hand, leading him out of his room whilst he robotically walked on, not even acknowledging where he was going until he saw the flowers, gasping in recognition as he tried to squirm away.

“We’re just going to our bench you’re ok, the one in the top right can you see it?” Coral whispered, Black turning his head to see their table, letting out a small breath as he sat, staring at the blue countertop.

“Is he ok?” Orange asked Coral, his hand reaching to Black only to pull away when he violently flinched.

“What do you think?” Coral deadpanned, Orange shrinking into himself.

“Sorry” Orange glanced back to Black, who, no matter how he tried, couldn’t stop staring at the table.

“What’s wrong with him?”

“I don’t know”

“What?!” Orange hissed, the tone itself causing Black to tighten his grip on the table, almost curling into himself, Orange noticing this as his voice softened, yet he still sounded tense “But you were supposed to talk to him!” 

“I tried, he doesn’t want to talk about it”

“Ok that’s-” Orange cut himself off as he stood, his hands flying to his head as his fingers dug in, “that’s fine-”

“Settle down,” Coral stood too, her hands on Orange’s hands as she pulled them off, guiding Orange to the table again, where he sat down, fidgeting with his fingers.

“I’m just worried,” Orange blurted in a confession, Black should be worried but he felt nothing as he stared at the table, body tense as he shook.

“Me too” Coral sighed, Orange deflating.

“I’m sorry”

“You’re fine, just try not to hurt yourself,” Black’s nails were practically digging into the table, he wouldn’t be surprised if he scratched it.

-He hissed as he applied pressure to his knee, trying to stop the bleeding.

Banana and Tan were sobbing as they hugged each other in comfort, the Dropship echoing every noise, including his muffled curses as his injured knee throbbed in pain.

Cyan was in the cockpit, driving the ship out of Cravel’s harsh atmosphere meaning that Black had him and only him to rely on for now, he didn’t mind though, Banana and Tan were having a tougher time

“Black? Are you ok?” Cyan ended up asking as he stood out of the cockpit, Black mentally cursing as he tried to hide his injury.

“I’m fine, shouldn’t you be driving the ship?” he asked Cyan in a poor attempt at deflecting the focus away from him, the Crewmates eye narrowing in suspicion before he focused on Black’s injury, which was poorly hidden behind his right leg.

“You’re hurt, also the ships on autopilot” Cyan responded as he took a step forward, Black jumping to his feet, keeping his weight off of his injured leg as he held out his hands, awkwardly smiling as Cyan’s eyebrow raised in scepticism.

“I’m fine really!” He tried to assure Cyan as he took a step forward, Black taking a step back and realising way too late that he left his injury exposed, Cyan focusing on the injury as his face hardened in concern.

“Did you seriously try to hide an injury?”

“...I didn’t want you to worry,” Black admitted with an embarrassed blush, Cyan's face softening.

“Well I’m always going to worry about you” Cyan murmured back, his tone fond yet filled with so much care that Black softened.

He wanted nothing more than to run into Cyan’s hands and have him hold Black.

“Let me take care of it” 

“I can do it” Black mumbled, yet not protesting as Cyan went back to the cockpit, grabbing a small medical kit and waving his hand for Black to sit down, Black huffing as he sat on the floor and feeling Cyan’s gentle yet warm hands rest on his leg, Black wishing that the touch would last forever.

“Hey, how are you doing Black?” And in walked Yellow, Mellow held tight in her hands as she took a seat, Black still not taking his eye off of the table.

“Not doing well,” Coral admitted with a sigh, “just try to give him space he’s going through a lot”

“Mellow, I’m sorry baby but you can’t talk to Bla Bla, he’s-” Yellow hesitated as she stared to Black with worry in her eye.

Yet Mellow ignored his mothers warnings and tried to wiggle out of her hold, much to everyone’s protest, and eventually with a shriek he managed to get free then rushed his way to Black’s knee, resting his head on it as Black stiffened.

“Mellow! No!” Yellow scolded in a hiss, reaching for her son only to pause when Black slowly moved, wrapping a hand around Mellow, his eye not leaving the table.

“Bla Bla!” Mellow giggled, Black’s eye slowly turning towards the toddler as he wrapped his other hand around the kid until he was hugging him completely, his body shaking as he took a shaky breath, his eye already filled with unshed tears. 

‘I’m here,’ he wanted to say so badly, but the only noise was a pathetic sob that had every member's head turning to his.

“Black? Do you want me to get Mellow?” He shook his head, curling into himself as he cried.

“Black can I-” Orange trailed off when Black held out one of his hands, Orange wasting no second to join in the hug.

“You’re ok, alright?” Orange reassured, not caring for Black’s lack of response as Orange rubbed a gentle hand on his back, Mellow twisting in place so he could hug both Orange and Black at the same time.

Eventually, he felt another pair of hands wrap around him, then another as he was covered in a cocoon of comfortable darkness that made Black close his eye, his breathing slowing as he let himself be comforted.

*+*

After Black had calmed down, he and his friends had made their way to Admin, where they were stuck in a lineup, the room feeling a lot less crowded than it had been earlier.

As usual, Pink was in front of the cardreader, cursing it out when it didn’t read the card immediately, Purple doing his best to help yet remaining unsuccessful.

It sent him on edge every single time, and if it weren’t for Orange by his side he thinks he would have ran out of that room and hid away, but his discomfort never went unnoticed by Orange, who would gently squeeze his hand as if saying ‘I’m here’.

“Did I ever tell you about our old Captain?” Orange eventually asked, so out of the blue that Black couldn’t help but turn his head to his friend in confusion, his attention on Pink disappearing.

“Clearly I didn’t,” Orange let out a fond smile, “his name was Maroon, and just before I came to work on the Skeld he ran our mission on Polus, its where he found a Magmate”

“The Magmate was shivering in the snow, the lava spitting it way too far for it to ever go home, so Maroon decided to keep it, even I don’t know how,” at Black’s wide eye, Orange grinned, putting his hands in front of him as he continued to explain.

“At first it was the size of a droplet, it was insane how he never lost it in the first place! But upon feeding it some fire and boom, it turns into a thing the size of a housecat, then it never leaves him, Maroon even calls it Frostbite for some dumb reason, he says that it was because it ‘chased away the cold, like it was eating it!’ “ Orange chuckled, Black himself smiling.

“It's been a year since we’ve seen them both, but I think they’re doing well, I wonder how Frostbite is doing now he must be massive, Maroon retired after a while complaining about his back, personally I think it was just him wanting to have Frostbite to himself,” it wasn’t until Orange got to the cardreader when Black realised what that rant had been about, his chest feeling warm at the thought.

“I told him that he should have named him something like Flame or Burn, something that would actually make sense and in retaliation he put me on trash duty, freaking trash duty! That place is so big to clean, and when I complained to Maroon he laughed, he laughed , told me that I’ve ‘never had to clean up anything until you work on the Airship’ , what the hell kind of response is that?!” 

Eventually, there was a beep, Orange taking a step back as Black took a step forward, until he was standing in front of the reader, staring up and seeing Coral who gave a thumbs up in support.

Still, his hands shook as he grabbed the card from his pocket, holding it up to the reader and swiping, the reader giving a harsh beep with a quick flash of a red light.

“I’ve personally never been aboard the Airship before so Maroon was kind of right that I’ve never cleaned up anything but that place must not be as huge given the fact that it took about three years to make, and that was by machines! It wasn’t even handmade!”

“Oh no the Airship is massive trust me, we actually managed to lose one of our Crewmates for a whole day due to the sheer size of it, we found him though, got him some food and water and now he is fighting to make the buddy system a legal requirement on every ship,” Coral spoke up, Orange’s attention getting taken away from Black, who took a breath, trying to steady his grip as he swiped again, the red light blinking.

“Nah I don’t believe it,”

“Believe me, ask Yellow! She was with me when we were on the Airship”

“She’s in the Cafeteria” Coral rolled her eye whilst Orange just looked on, Black swiping again.

“When you see her again obviously you idiot,” yet her voice was fond.

“Well I knew that I just-” Orange was cut off when the card reader beeped again, this time the light blinking green instead of red, Black pocketing the card again as he looked at his watch which had a small amount of tasks on them.

Moving his way away from the card reader, Coral took the place and swiped the card, the light blinking green.

“First try,” Coral spoke, grinning.

“Show off,” Orange joked, Coral lightly punching his side.

“Well, I’ll be off, I gotta do my tasks but I’ll see you both around lunch time” with a wave, she walked out of admin then up into Cafeteria.

“Well, we have tasks to do also, why don’t we do them?” With a nod, Black waited for Orange to make a move, his best friend staying in place, Black looking confused.

“You do your tasks first, I’ll follow along,” he hesitated before nodding, staring down at his watch, then showing it to Orange, who made a face.

“They aren’t as important, so I guess they can wait,” Noticing Black’s confusion, Orange rolled his eye.

“Follow me, we’re going to get some breakfast”

“But I already ate,” Black whispered, pretending to not notice Orange’s relieved smile.

“And most of it went to the toilet,”

“But Brown’s doing his tasks”

“And I’m sure he won’t mind if we ask him, you’ve gotta be hungry, right?”

“But I ate?”

“And you lost most of it in the toilet, it won’t hurt to eat something”

“But what about our tasks? Won’t White be mad?” 

“Well he can wait” and Black didn’t attempt to stop Orange as he made his way to the Cafeteria, waving to Yellow who waved back, Mellow sitting in her lap.

“Don’t you have tasks to do?” Black questioned Yellow, who shook her head.

“I haven’t got mine yet, it's Blue’s turn to go first then it's my turn, I’m waiting for breakfast, want to join us?”

“No thanks I got-” he was cut off when something stomped on his foot, the pressure light enough to not hurt yet firm enough to be a warning, Black cutting himself off as Orange nodded, his smile a forced one.

“We would love to,” With a grumble of disapproval, Black followed Orange then sat back down at their bench, Mellow immediately breaking free of his mothers hold to go to Black, climbing into his lap and practically planting himself there.

“Well now I can’t leave” Black grumbled, Orange grinning.

“I’ll get your food for you” Orange promised.

“Ugh-” Black groaned, his head falling forward until it hit the countertop with a gentle thud, Orange patting his shoulder.

“I’ll be back soon, want the usual?”

“But I’m not hungry” he tried, turning his head to the side to see Yellow, who watched on, her eye crinkled in amusement.

“So I’ll get something light, ask Brown to order a small portion,” Orange left, Black groaning.

“You don’t have to bother him, it's fine! Besides I won’t have much” he yelled towards Orange, seeing Brown poke his head out of the booth.

“Can’t hear you! I’m too far away!” Orange shouted back, his voice echoing across the Cafeteria, Brown laughing as Black let out a curse, which had Yellow click her tongue as she motioned to Mellow.

“Sorry,” he whispered, Yellow rolling her eye.

“At this rate he’ll be swearing before he learns to say mum, you’re just as bad as Blue” Yellow half joked with a smile on her face.

“G- Wow I’m sorry, I swear I don’t usually swear” Black admitted, scratching the back of his head as he grinned sheepishly.

“No need, my Husband swears like a sailor if he so much as stubs a toe, even if you swore regularly it's ok, Mellow knows that they are ‘adult’ words anyway” taking the hand away from his head, he reached for Mellow’s head, ruffling it, Mellow himself squealing with giggles as his tiny yellow hand swatted Black’s.

“Besides, everyone knows that they’re the minor swear words anyway,” Yellow joked.

“But still I-” he was cut off when a tray of food, the exact same meal as earlier entered his vision, Orange sliding what appeared to be Mellow’s food across to Yellow.

“His is normal?” Yellow questioned as she hesitantly poked at Mellow’s food with the spoon.

Mellow’s food looked normal, about as normal as fruit and yoghurt could be, but with Brown’s cooking it was unsure what could be hidden there.

“Yeah, believe me it was a battle to try and keep it that way, Brown kept pestering me to ‘at least add some cinnamon on it!’ I had to remind him that Mellow already dislikes him for adding broccoli to last night's dinner, he doesn’t need more reasons for Mellow to avoid him altogether”

“He doesn’t like spice,” Yellow sighed, “did my talk mean nothing to him?”

“He’s just passionate about his food that’s it, I’m not sure Brown has ever made a ‘normal’ dish in his life” Black admitted, picking up Mellow and holding him out towards Yellow, the toddler fussing until he saw the food in front of him and settled, grabbing at empty air.

“I think the only thing he did add was honey” Orange tapped at Black’s tray, Black grumbling as he took a mouthful of his own food.

“Mellow might like that, I’m not sure he’s had honey with his fruit and yoghurt yet,”  Yellow held the spoon out towards Mellow who took one look at it and crossed his hands with a pout, shaking his head.

“Mellow, you’ve had honey many times, you know what it tastes like,” Yellow tried, holding the spoon closer whilst Black just watched, taking another mouthful to hold back the way he wanted to burst into laughter when Mellow let out a furious noise, waving his hands at the spoon as if trying to shoo away a bug.

“Mini Yellow,” and there’s the full name, Black thought, the icy tone of Yellow freezing him in place, whilst Mellow continued to carry on.

“Ok, what if we try a tiny bit? Would that work?” Yellow tried, Mellow looking thoughtful for a small moment before he shook his head, Black taking a sip of his coffee.

“This will take a while,” Orange whispered to Black, who snorted into his cup.

“Nah this is just a Typical Tuesday” Yellow still continued to feed Mellow, who finally took a mouthful and tried to reach for more.

“Isn’t it a Monday?” Black half joked, Yellow letting out a chuckle.

“True” 

Eventually, Black had finished eating, sending a small mental apology to Brown for his wasted food as he dumped the leftovers into the chute then returning to the table.

At least I finished my coffee.

“You know you both should go, I have a feeling we will be a while”

“You sure? We could do our tasks altogether,” Yellow shook her head.

“No, Blue and me have this thing with Mellow where we let the other complete their task and when they are done we swap, today is Blue’s turn, I’m waiting for his tasks to be finished,”

“Can’t you just do tasks with Mellow?” Orange asked, his tone not malicious but rather curious.

“We use to, but it's difficult to try and fuel up an engine when your kid touches everything, tries to run away, gets bored then cries because he isn’t getting the attention and can’t help on the ship,” Yellow grabbed the tray and put it on a clear seat for Mellow to reach whenever he wanted, giving him the spoon so he could do it himself.

“To be fair, he hasn’t done that for a few months and he’s getting better, but for now I’ll let him finish his food before we join you”

“Ok, well I guess we better get started” saying a quick goodbye to Yellow and Mellow, who reached for Black and gave him a hug before pulling away, Black following Orange as they walked from Cafeteria to Storage.

“What tasks do you have?” Black asked Orange, who had stopped by the pile of boxes before climbing to the top, Black offering his hand for support when Orange wobbled.

“Well it's nothing too important, I have to fuel the ship, although I have no idea why they kept the important supplies at the top”

“Well I mean how else are you supposed to grab the important supplies from the bottom? That’d make the entire pile collapse, also I think that fueling the ship is pretty important,”

“True, but it's not as urgent” Orange’s voice echoed from where his head was inside an empty crate.

“I think that that would be the most important thing,” Black held out his hands when Orange wobbled, ready to catch him if his friend did ever fall, only putting away his hands when his friend landed on solid ground.

“Pfft- nah” Black rolled his eyes, following Orange when he began to walk his way into the hallway connecting Storage to Lower Engine, making their way past Electrical, then Lower Engine until they went up, passing both Reactor and Security until they made it to Upper Engine, Orange dropping one of the canisters with a thud.

“God those are heavy” he complained as he loosened the lid on the canister, before picking it up again and pouring half down the funnel, his hands shaking the entire time.

“Here,” Black placed his hand beneath the canister as support, Orange giving a thankful smile when his hands stopped shaking, Black only letting go when Orange tilted the fuel away from the funnel.

“Thanks” 

“No problem, you need a hand carrying it?” Black reached for the fuel yet didn’t grab it, Orange shaking his head.

“No, it should be good to carry till I get to lower, then afterwards I’ll find White, let him know that I’ll align the engine output” the pair began making their way to Lower Engine, Orange eventually stopping in front of the funnel as he poured the remaining fuel.

“Are those seriously your only tasks?”

“No, I’m helping Purple repair all the wires in Storage, Admin and Cafeteria, and I mean all” Black let out a whistle at the thought of the tasks, Orange giving an exhausted smile before focusing on the pathway again.

It wasn’t until they were in Shields that they started to hear voices echoing down the hallway, they sounded deep in discussion that Black couldn’t help but throw a quick glance to Orange, who gave an unsure glance back yet didn’t stop as they both walked through the hallway, only stopping when they were outside Navigations.

White was leaning against a wall whilst Blue had his head in the wire panels, his voice slightly muffled as the pair had a conversation, not noticing Black or Orange who were awkwardly hiding in the hallway.

“-not responding don’t you think that’s a good reason to not accept? It sounds like a sketchy offer” Blue spoke, a small spark lighting up the wires whilst Blue cursed, White stepping away from the wall and crouching in front of the wire panels.

“You ok?” What are they talking about? He wondered.

“I’m fine, it's just busted back here, pass me the soldering Iron would you?” White stepped into Navigation, coming back out with what must be the soldering iron as he passed it to Blue’s outstretched hand.

“Thanks,” there was a sizzling type of sound as Blue continued to work, the stench of melting plastic filling the hallway as both Black and Orange’s faces scrunched up in disgust.

“Back on topic, it's not like they are refusing to communicate its more that they’re refusing to elaborate, they told me they had a business deal and that was it, they said they’d rather discuss this in person”

“And they won’t bother negotiating”

“No, they haven’t responded to my last message, granted it was sent like twenty minutes ago” there was a hum that was quickly cut off by the sizzling of the soldering iron again, Orange taking the opportunity to walk out of his hiding space, Black following.

“Oh Orange! And Black! What are you both doing here?” White asked, an obvious strain to his voice, Blue managing to hit his head, seemingly startled by the new voices as he peered out of the paneling to face the pair.

“We were going to align the engine output, we just needed to seek you out first” Orange shifted uncomfortably, Black giving a small wave to Blue who gave a small nod before continuing his wiring, Black curiously taking a step towards the paneling until he peered inside.

It was a mess to put it simply, what was once an organised collection now looked like a jumbled mess of tangled wires, some of them had been repaired however most of them hadn’t been reached yet, either having collapsed, been bitten through or just beginning to get sorted out by Blue.

“Need a hand?” Black offered.

“Nah, I’ll be good, besides I got White with me” Blue answered, his voice barely audible over the sizzling of the soldering iron.

“Well if you’re good then I better be on my way, I got some tasks to do”

“Aww really? Don’t you want to hang out some more?” Orange pleaded.

“Well I’ll join you for the engine output but that’s it, then I need to go”

“Fine, but we better go now, White agreed to temporarily shut down the engines until we are done but we should hurry” 

“We’ll see you soon White” Black gave a farewell to the pair, White waving whilst Blue just let out a muffled noise that Black couldn’t understand.

They made their way up to Weapons where Mellow was playing with the training mode of the lazer, the toddler not even looking away from the screen as Black waved, Yellow letting out a laugh as she herself waved to the pair.

Once they had made it all the way back to Upper Engine, Orange grabbed a small clipboard and pen from the wall, blowing on the paper to get rid of the dust that had been building up.

“White was right in saying that we needed to align the output, it looks like this hasn’t been touched in ages” Orange made his way to the screen on the side, Black practically pressing his face to the window to watch the engine as it moved up and down.

“Well to be fair the ship hasn’t been cleaned in a while,” Black felt himself be gently pushed to the side as Orange came to the window, taking glances between the engine and the paper before he pressed the button on the pen with a click and scribbled something on the paper.

“Which is a perfect ground for pests to repopulate I guess, no wonder why White is making us do more tasks today” seeming satisfied with the test, Orange tucked the clipboard beneath his hand and made his way to Lower Engine where he, just like Upper Engine, went to the screen, pressed a button then made his way to the window.

“After this the cleanups might be more of a regular thing” Black watched as the engine moved up and down, Orange groaning, the noise making Black turn to look at him in confusion.

“The engine looks fine?” There was a click of the pen as Orange scribbled something onto his clipboard.

“It's not the engine I’m complaining about, it's the tasks, are you telling me this awful cleaning stuff is going to become a regular thing?”

“Probably, but in small amounts obviously, like maybe each room getting mopped each week or something, same as wire checks and vent cleanups-”

“So a regular occurrence?” Orange repeated, his eyebrow raised as his hands crossed, Black looking away, his face flushing in embarrassment.

“...just not this intense” he clarified, the pair falling in silence a moment afterwards, even as Orange walked to the Upper Engine to put the clipboard back where it belonged, even as they passed through Cafeteria, Black’s hands fidgeting nervously the entire time.

The only time they did speak was a quick hello to Yellow and Mellow when he actually noticed Black and Orange before turning back to the practice simulation and when they reached Navigations, notifying White that he could turn on the engine again and that the output was a success.

It wasn’t until the pair made their way to Weapons, the doorway of the Cafeteria being visible that Black stopped.

“I should go” his voice was a low whisper, which was useless given the fact that Yellow and Mellow had left, meaning that he and Orange, who had stopped at the doorway and turned to face Black, were the only ones in the room.

“Do you have to?” Orange looked so hopeful that Black would just decline, it hurt Black a little knowing that he wouldn’t.

“Well my tasks will probably take a while anyway, the earlier I start the better”

“I could use the company” Orange tried again.

“I’m sorry,” he went to walk into the Cafeteria when Orange grabbed his hand, Black trying to drag his hand away from the strict hold.

“Why do you feel like you need to do everything yourself?” Despite seeing Black’s discomfort and the way he had frozen, Orange didn’t let go, it made his heart quicken as his fears began to take hold.

“Let go Orange,” he gently asked, despite the way Black had wanted to run away.

“You know you don’t have to be alone, you know I’m here for you always” Black didn’t respond, Orange’s face falling, “right?”

“Orange I-”

“I’m your friend!” In Orange’s panic he let go of Black’s hand, yet he didn't run away.

“You are”

“Are you not mine?”

“No, never, what gave you that idea?!” Black’s voice raised just the slightest inkling before he curled into himself, Orange turning his back to Black to look at the stars outside the see through windows.

“I see you Black, I see the way that your always falling asleep at the table because you struggle to get some good sleep despite the fact that you keep saying that you do, I see the way that you space out when we talk, I see the way that you can’t enter the Cafeteria the second that you see those flowers” upon the mention of the flowers, Black felt his throat close up as he took an uncertain step back, Orange staring back to Black with tears shining in his wide eye.

“I think I get it now” he didn’t know what scared him more, the thoughtful look in Orange’s eye or the fact that Black, himself, realised that Orange was right.

“Stop, please” Black pleaded as he took another step back, Orange crying as he took a step forward.

“The reason why you can’t go to sleep, the reason why you wake earlier than the others-”

“Stop-” 

“-The reason you’re so spacy, the reason why you’re so empty-”

“Please-” he felt like crying, he felt like running, he felt a bunch of things but he remained frozen.

“-Its about Cyan’s suicide, isn’t it?” Orange concluded, Black letting out a quiet gasp at the mere mention of Cyan’s name.

Murder, he wanted to correct, he felt like screaming it to the world, sobbing on the floor as he pleaded for someone who would never return.

It's all my fault.

“Black?” At the mention of his name he felt himself tense, Orange taking another step forward until they were a single stride away from each other, Black’s heart pounding.

“Do you fear that you’ll lose us too?” And like a shot to the heart Black stumbled backwards, Orange’s face going panicked as realisation set in for the both of them.

“You won’t! You know you won’t,” Orange tried keeping his voice level but even Black could hear the strain to it.

When Orange took a step forward, Black took a step back until he was in the Cafeteria, and he cast a quick glance backwards before flashing back to Orange, who had stopped moving closer and just watched on in worry.

He cast another glance backwards, this time much longer than the others and the room was clear other than-

His eyes landed on the flowers and he trembled as he took a shaky inhale in, before he turned to Orange for a final time, his eye filled with unshed tears that had Orange take a step forward, that movement alone being the thing that, finally, spurred Black’s body in motion as he ran.

He ignored the shouts of his name, the blur of colour of the other Crewmates as he ran through the ship, not even looking where he was going until he dove into Electrical, taking a step into the dark, into something that would have usually filled his body with terror but all it did was bring him a sense of comfort as he retreated further, stumbling upon the familiar, metallic feel of the vent below.

He heard voices, only hesitating for a single moment before he pulled the vent upwards and dove into it, the grate of the cover slamming back down as Black scurried away from the entrance, hand on his mouth as the darkened room flooded with light, tiny beams flooding through the grate.

“I swore he ran in here” Black heard Green say, a contemplative hum accompanying the voice.

“Maybe he ran further?” Lime responded, Green sighing.

“Unless…” light poured in from the grate again, Black shuffling further into the dark as he tried to stifle a whine, Green was looking right at him, he saw him, Green saw him and he had to run, he wasn’t safe-

“No, I think you’re right Lime, we should check storage” and then the light left, the room falling into darkness again, Black slowly taking his hands away from his mouth when he was certain the course was clear.

For once, the darkness wasn’t as scary as he thought, it felt safe, reassuring in the way that he knew that nothing could see him, nothing could see him as he cried, the sobs muffled as he pressed his hand to his mouth once more as he awkwardly crawled through the vents, freezing when he heard Orange’s voice.

“Did you see him come this way?” Black cautiously peered towards the grate, squinting as light hit his eye, making it water all over again.

“No, why?” There was no mistaking that voice for anyone but Coral, Black watching as she turned away from a rather complicated machine and pressed a button, the vials disappearing as they went down, to where Black didn’t know.

I wonder what she’s working on.

“He- I-” and then Orange burst into tears, Black wincing.

“Ok ok, you don’t have to talk about it just sit down” Black watched as Coral guided Orange to the medical beds, the pair sitting down as Orange curled into himself.

“I messed up,” Orange confessed in a sob.

“What did you do?” Coral sounded calm but Black watched as her body tensed.

“We had an- I- confronted him, I confronted him and he ran away, I told him about what I think about how he’s feeling, about- about Cyan” Coral stiffened completely as she let in a shaky breath, Black himself copying.

“That’s not good” 

“And now he’s gone! He ran away and I can’t find him!" With a sob, he fell towards Coral who just opened her hands and hugged him, Black’s heart lurching painfully as he felt his eye begin to water, he tried to get it to stop but he couldn’t so he just backed away until he found himself beneath Security.

The room was empty and Black curled beneath the grate, trying to stop the tears from falling.

“Cyan” he whispered, the noise barely audible as he cried, squeezing his eye closed as if that alone would stop him from crying.

I wish you were here, a bright light made him snap his eye open in panic, fearing that he had been caught but there was nobody staring at him, no torch shining in his eye, there was just his watch which glowed a bright light, the colour itself making his heart fall.

Please no, lifting the watch to his face, he sighed in relief when he saw no new notification, it must have activated when I moved my hand, there’s nothing new yet.

Other than my tasks which I have not read yet… tapping the screen, a small list of tasks appeared, Black reading through the surprisingly short list.

Clean the vents was one task he was not looking forward to, with all the vents and how they were connected it was probably going to take him five to six hours at best to try and clear them all, he felt particularly uneasy upon reading that he had to Mop the Cafeteria also.

I wonder if that last task was purposeful, because White wouldn’t randomly give me that task after… 

It must be purposeful, but why? With a sigh, he cautiously opened up the vent once seeing the area clear then made his way out of Security, up to Upper Engine, passing by Medbay where he swore he could hear Orange sobbing and into Cafeteria, his heart hurting upon seeing the centre table.

Brown, Pink and Purple both saw Black when he entered the Cafeteria, the pair bombarding him with questions that he didn’t have the energy nor care to answer so he just waved them off, letting them know that he had tasks he needed to do and asked Brown where the rubbish bags, handheld vacuum, dustpan and pest trap was to which he handed them off, not without asking a question as to what he was doing.

‘Do you need help?’ Brown had asked, Black shaking his head as he took the stuff, saying a quick thank you before making his way to Upper Engine, opening the vent grate and diving in.

This is gonna take a while.

The Upper Engine vent was relatively clean, same as the Lower Engine vent meaning that he didn’t have to do a lot of cleaning, other than catching a mice and putting it in the pest trap it was relatively boring, same being said to the Electrical, Security and Medbay vents, Black catching a total of six mice between those three, the pest trap getting relatively full at one point that he had to get out of the Medbay and dump off the trap behind the Kitchen, swapping it for an empty trap.

It was lunchtime around that point with everyone eating their meals, and despite Brown’s offer to make a meal Black declined, so caught up in his tasks that he didn’t see the way Orange’s face twisted in worry as he made his way to Weapons, jumping into the vent and continuing his cleaning.

The Weapons vent itself was clean, it wasn’t until he got to Navigations when the true filth came around, Black finding a fallen pizza slice that was more mould than food at that point, the smell of it alone making Black cough as he picked it up, tossing it into the trash bag as he carried on.

Jumping from that vent, he went to the other Navigations vent, feeling a sense of relief when that one was relatively clean, the only thing Black could find was about six paperclips, a mouse and, surprisingly, a tennis ball.

Mellow might like that, he thought as he pocketed it, continuing on his way until he got to Shields, jumping out of the grate.

The lights had dimmed to an unreasonable amount, Black realising that it must be around six maybe seven at night, meaning that he had been working for about eight to nine hours without rest, and it showed in the way his aching back popped when he stretched.

I should take a break sometime soon, he thought as he made his way to Storage, ready to go to Cafeteria before he froze in place, just outside Admin.

…maybe after I do the other vents.

It wasn’t like Black was trying to avoid the other Crewmates or Orange, especially Orange, it was just the thought of stepping into that room where almost everyone was worried about him was way too overwhelming.

Besides, White won’t like it if I I haven’t completed my tasks, he tried to reason to himself as he dove into the Admin vent, clicking the torch until the vent flooded with light, Black putting the torch in his mouth as he crawled his way through.

Overall the Admin vent was tidy, other than some dust there wasn’t much he didn’t have to do, especially once he reached the Hallway vent where that was at the same state as Admin, it wasn’t until he reached the Cafeteria vent that he had the worst cleanup experience of his life.

If Navigations, the one with mouldy pizza, was the worst vent he had encountered then this easily won the ‘filthiest vent award’, there were small piles of food that sent an absolutely awful stench whenever Black tried to breathe in.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, there was a family and yes, Black means a family of mice waiting at the end, about eleven to twelve mice in total lying directly in front of the food.

There was only one adult in the group who, upon seeing Black, immediately tried to scurry away, getting caught in a quick snatch of Black’s hands, the mouse squeaking in shock as it tried to wriggle away, even biting Black’s fingers at one point causing him to almost drop the mouse as he put it in the trap.

The babies weren’t as bad, but he felt even worse seeing something as small and vulnerable as them unable to defend themselves as they tried to blindly crawl away from Black’s hand, Black dropping them in the trap with an apology.

Then, after he was sure each mouse had been caught he had to clean up the food, the stench and the texture of the food alone making him nauseous until finally, it was all clean, Black face planting to the floor as he took a sigh, the smell from before being less pungent than before yet still making his eye water.

He was almost about to jump out of the vents when he heard some voices.

“Orange, you should probably get some rest” it was Coral, Black peered his head towards the grate to see Orange sitting at the usual table, his hands crossed as there was a tray of food beside him, Black’s heart twisting when he noticed who it was for.

“No, he hasn’t eaten dinner yet and I won’t sleep until he does” Orange said stubbornly, even as he yawned, his eye threatening to close out of exhaustion.

“But wouldn’t Black want to know that his friend is sleeping? He cares about you and it would make him happy to know that you’re taking care of yourself,” Coral tried, Black slumping in place as he seemed to consider jumping out of the vent for a moment.

“I- no, I need to know that he’s ok, he hasn’t eaten lunch or dinner, he’s been doing an insane amount of tasks and I just can’t- you get it, don’t you?” Orange tried, sighing as he dropped his head into his hands, Coral wrapping a hand around him, pulling him into a side hug.

“I do, but Black’s already stressed enough, maybe seeing an empty space for him to eat in peace would be good for him, I know you’re trying to help and he’ll appreciate it but let's give him some space, what do you say?”

Please, Black pleaded, watching as Orange sighed before he stood, Coral standing with him as they left, leaving the Cafeteria empty.

After gaining the confidence and knowing that the Cafeteria was clear, he jumped out of the vent, dumping his equipment in the kitchen as he made his way to the usual table, his stomach growling when he spotted the food.

I could use the break, it wasn’t until he took a seat when his watch lit up, Black staring at the screen only for his heart to quicken when he read the words Report ASAP .

Dropping everything, Black rushed his way to Communications, wasting no time as he collapsed in the chair, putting on the headphones then changed the channel.

“Hello?” There was no noise, that alone sent Black on edge, he had to resist the urge to let out a sigh of relief when there was a creaking of a chair.

“You’re late, that’s unlike you”

“I was just doing tasks, sir” he froze in place when his employer became scarily silent, and he realised just a moment too late the implications of what he had said.

“I mean I-”

“So you’ve become one of them now?” His employer’s tone was icy, it sent chills up Black’s spine and he fought the urge to run.

He could have corrected himself, he should have corrected himself, and maybe it was the late night, or the lack of food that made him more bold but he just cursed silently as he slammed a hand against the table.

“I always was, I will never hurt this crew, you can’t make me”

“You know what happens when you don’t” And boy was Black towing a dangerous line here, one wrong word could put him and everyone else in danger, and maybe it was the lack of rest that made him so bold but for once, he felt more confident than he ever had before.

“You won’t be able to do anything because I’m in space and you’re on a planet that’s a billion light years away from you, you have no power here and you know it too, and when this is all over I’m going to hunt you down until I see that you’re either dead or rotting in a cell” there was a snort, then a low laugh, the noise alone making Black tense up as he clenched then unclenched his fists.

“Don’t think we are giving up, your empty threats mean nothing”

“Same for you you bastard, listen to me when I say this, I am done listening to you, I’m done fearing for my life, I’m done being scared by empty threats, you will never hurt them, I will never hurt them and you cannot do anything, and I think you know this also, I don’t care what you do to me but just know that if you mess with them you mess with me, and I’m not merciful like they are,” there was silence, Black’s heart racing. 

“So you haven’t killed anyone?” Was all his employer said, his tone icy and Black laughed at the image of his employer gritting his teeth.

I hope he chips his tooth too.

“No,” and with that he reached towards the button, ready to change channels only to freeze when his employer spoke again.

“Should have known you were useless,” despite his victory, the words felt like a stab to the heart, “You’re fired.”

“Good,” 

“We have someone better for the job anyway,” Black froze as his heart skipped a beat.  

“W-what?” the line turned to static, the noise itself making Black curse, “answer me you bastard! What do you mean by that?!” 

There was no response other than another round of static, Black’s hand tightening around the comm as he fought the urge to throw it, feeling a fierce anger yet, underneath it all, a fear so great that it made him want to collapse to the ground.

It's an empty threat, he tried to comfort himself as he stepped out of the office, his hands shaking as the lights shut off, plunging the room in darkness whilst Black fumbled to grab his torch, the time on his watch reading 10:00pm, they wouldn’t.

He made his way to the Cafeteria, stepping into the kitchen as he jumped at every noise and every shadow that looked almost eerily like another person, he eventually found the mop and bucket, filling it with warm, soapy water as he tried to busy himself with his final task.

It's an empty threat, he tried to reassure himself as he placed the bucket beneath the tap, watching as hot water poured from it, eventually turning it off when the bucket itself became full.

There would be no way that they could anyway, we’re in space for god's sake, in a place where they couldn’t even reach us, he was reminded of the fact that, the ships location was always known, that no matter how safe he was it only took a single mishap for his employers to know the location, to find not only Black but his friends, who were blissfully unaware of what could happen.

With shaking hands, he grabbed the mop, dipping it in the water then practically slapping it on the floor, creating a giant splash of water that he quickly tidied up.

It was dark in the cafeteria, even with his flashlight he felt way too exposed, vulnerable to the invisible threats that he couldn’t even see.

Every single noise that the ship made had him spiralling, despite how hard he tried to focus on his task he couldn’t stop thinking, thinking about his employers and their threats.

It was terrifying to think that, maybe, they had been serious.

He needed Cyan-

Cyan was dead-

He was alone-

Black was dead, good as dead, dead dead dead-

Drop the mop in the bucket, pick it up again, sweep, hold back his panic, stop himself from crying, stop himself from making noise because if they heard then they’d know something was wrong and if something was wrong then they’d know, they’d know.

With a gasp, he found himself at the bottom of the Cafeteria, the open doors of the Admin hallway seeming less like a hallway with how dark it was, the black void slowly swallowing the ship and everyone inside of it-

Stepping back, the doors closed with a soft whir, startling Black as he practically jumped away from the dark, abandoning the mop and hearing a large clatter when it hit the ground.

He didn’t realise how far he had been running away from the source until he ran almost directly into a bench, Black reaching for his torch when he stopped, realising that it wasn’t there.

The torch was on the table to his right, illuminating the two tables on its left, Black’s heart missing a beat as bile rose in his throat when he turned towards the light, then down just slightly until he saw a table just below the light.

Placing his hand on the seat, he almost jumped away when he felt a cold yet almost plantlike feel, only pausing and holding back the way he wanted had to burst into tears when he noticed where he truly was.

The Centre Table.

The table that-

Cyan’s table, Cyan and Black’s old table, where they use to sit together before he-

Died, because he was dead.

He felt sick.

A decayed, blue-brown petal fell to the floor, making Black cry as he moved his hands off the flower, scooping the fallen petal to his hand as he held it to his chest.

“Gods Cy, I’m sorry, Cy-” he quietly sobbed, as he lowered his body to the floor, his head meeting the cold tiled surface of the Cafeteria floor.

Despite being cleaned many times, even being cleaned by Black himself, he swore he could still see Cyan’s blood staining the cream and coffee coloured floor below him, and although the sight made him sick to the stomach, he couldn’t help but shuffle closer, leaning his head in the centre of the stain, imagining that, just below his head, was Cyan’s chest.

If he tried enough, he could imagine that his own heartbeat was actually Cyan’s, that the rise and fall of Black’s chest was Cyan himself breathing, that he wasn’t dead, that Cyan was placing a hand on Black’s back, rubbing gentle circles as Black cried.

“I let you down” he whispered to the empty air, his tears joining the stains below as he shook like a leaf, curling into himself as if that alone would stop it.

“I should’ve-” his throat caught on a gasp, “I should’ve saved you, I could’ve saved you”

He hugged his knees, pulling it closer to his stomach as he tucked his head to his knees, closing his eye to avoid the failure and the fact that, when he opens his eye, Cyan won’t be there.

“I messed up, didn’t I?,” there was no response, he knew that there would never be.

“If you could hear me, would you forgive me?” Was the last words he muttered before he fell to sleep, letting the exhaustion finally take over.

And, if he imagined hard enough, he swore he heard a whispered ‘yes’.

Chapter Text

It was another restless night of Black tossing and turning, unable to close his eye and drift off to sleep.

He tried though, he tried to close his eye and keep himself still to not wake up the Crewmate next to him, but when the blankets began to shift Black knew he failed.

“Black?” At his name, Black stilled, Cyan placing his hand on Black’s side and rolling him over until they met each other's faces.

“Are you still awake?” Cyan asked, his voice filled with concern.

“I can’t sleep,” Black confessed, closing his eye as he curled into himself, shame bubbling in his heart.

“I woke you up didn’t I?” It wasn’t a question but an admission, Cyan letting out a soft sigh as he stretched, his foot hitting Black’s knee.

“Yeah, yeah, you did, but I forgive you” Cyan rested his head on Black’s side, Black feeling his face warm as he grabbed Cyan’s hand, the Crewmate lightly squeezing it, “want to talk about what’s keeping you up?”

“I can’t” but I want to, he wanted to say, yet he didn’t, Black’s heart lurching with guilt as there was no response from Cyan, the guilt worsening when the blankets got thrown back, Black sat up as Cyan stood, blindly reaching for a torch when he eventually found it, clicking it on before he turned back to Black expectantly yet patiently.

“Where are you going?” Black whispered, sliding across the bed until he stood next to Cyan, who had his hand held out, Black taking it and holding it.

“To Shields” despite the questions in his mind Black wordlessly followed, leaving his torch behind as his heart hammered in his chest.

Cyan let go of Black’s hand for just a moment as it reached into Cyan’s pocket, Cyan pulling out his ID as he slid it into the reader before pocketing it and reaching for Black’s hand yet again,.

As the light on the card reader turned green the doors quietly slid open, revealing a small hallway with about fifteen closed doors to different bedrooms, Black feeling himself tense at each loud footstep he and Cyan made, the hand in his gently squeezing, Black squeezing it back to hide his nerves.

“You’re ok,” Cyan gently soothed when they had finally left the Dormitory, the doors sliding closed, although the noise was quiet it still made Black tense.

There were three different hallways, each one of them having different coloured words and arrows pointing to each direction, the hallway on the right had an arrow and the words Reactor both painted in green, the hallway straight ahead having an arrow and the words Cafeteria whilst the hallway on the left had an arrow and the words Weapons written in blue.

They went straight through the Cafeteria hallway, passing by the Kitchen and finally stepping out into the Cafeteria which looked eerie without the lights or the people there, Black feeling a shiver slither its way through his spine.

“Why didn’t we just go towards weapons?” Black questioned Cyan when they both went down towards the Admin hallway and into Storage, Black’s head scanning every single shadow warily.

“Didn’t really think of it to be honest”

“Of course you didn’t” Black teased with a roll of his eye whilst Cyan let out a laugh that eased some of Black’s nerves, removing some of the tension in his shoulders.

Eventually, they made their way to Shields, Cyan taking a seat on the ground with Black joining him.

“So we came to Shields to…?”

“Sit, and stare” Cyan leaned back until his head leaned against the floor, Black feeling confused at the response.

“Stare at… what?” He felt the hand gently pull Black closer, Black taking the hint and scooting closer until he was next to Cyan, putting his head on Cyan’s stomach as he stared up, feeling Cyan’s hand gently press to Black’s own stomach, the motion burning the last remaining butterflies that ever remained in his gut.

“The stars” Cyan raised his free hand and spread them lazily upwards, Black seeing small and white dots pasted on an inky space sky.

“We see them everywhere though” Below his head Cyan chuckled, Black feeling himself get jostled yet he didn’t mind.

“But you haven’t seen these ones”

“They’re stars” Black deadpanned, yet he couldn’t tear his eye away from the view above.

“Well yes, they’re stars, but they’re fun to look at, it's kind of like watching clouds in a way, sometimes it's just fun to sit here and see what I can find, sometimes I even find a constellation, those are fun to look at” Cyan’s hand rose again, pointing to one particular star, Black following his finger as it trailed to another star, then another and so on until the finger pulled away, leaving Black incredibly confused.

“You just showed me a line”

“Or is it a worm?” Black turned to look at Cyan, who was grinning cheekily.

“Seriously?”

“Look every star isn’t a constellation, sometimes you just have to imagine they are” Black let out an amused smile as he looked away from Cyan and back at the stars.

“...Well what do you think the worm’s story is?” 

“Well I like to imagine that this is a tragedy forever immortalised in the stars, this is the worm before it was found by the bird” Black was silent for a moment as he stared at the ‘worm’ then back to Cyan, feeling mildly concerned.

“God you’re dark” Black mumbled, snorting in amusement whilst Cyan just shrugged, the grin on his face remaining.

“Well you wanted a story, so I gave you one” Was all he said as he gently flicked the back of Black’s head, Black gasping in fake offence as he turned towards Cyan and lightly flicked his head, the Crewmate just giggling.

“Are there any other constellations you can find?” He asked, Cyan humming in thought as he turned back towards the stars before he let out a snort of amusement which turned into barely audible giggles.

“What?” with a lack of anything to say, Cyan just raised a finger, tracing a certain combination of stars which Black didn’t recognise at first, turning to Cyan, his partner letting out silent wheezy laughter which had Black turning back to the constellation again, trying to trace back the exact image that Cyan had once shown before his face narrowed in confusion.

“Oh my gosh what is it?!” Black asked Cyan, who didn’t say anything as he curled into himself, still quietly wheezing as Black just looked confused yet still felt his face pull in a smile at his Partner's stupid yet incredibly contagious laughter.

“I don’t know! I don’t know!” The pair broke into a stupid fit of giggles, Black even slipping off of Cyan’s stomach, his head falling to the ground, a dull pain shooting through his body but it quickly got replaced with laughter as the two of them just wheezed, finding their own ridiculous constellations and making their own stories to go along with it, Black’s favourite being about the sentient blob that befriended the living brain eating slug.

Eventually, the laughter died down, and the two returned to how they were before, the pair moving away from their constellations and talking about their own stories, Cyan sharing fond memories of his family whilst Black, hesitantly, shared his own stories, at least the good ones he remembered anyway, he told Cyan about his adventures that he had gone on including his memories with Mira HQ, about the one Crewmate who burnt his croissant because he brought it a bit too close to the reactor until he eventually turned over and saw Cyan struggling to stay awake, his eye fluttering as it threatened to close, Black himself fighting off the same fatigued feeling.  

“We should probably go back to the Dormitory,” Black whispered into Cyan’s forehead, the Crewmate groaning as he rolled over, pressing his face into Black’s chest.

“I really don’t want to” Cyan mumbled, his breath tickling Black’s chest and sending jolts up his spine.

“Neither, I could sleep right here” he admitted with a blush, pressing a hand to his Partner’s back as he pulled him closer to his chest, pressing his own head on top of Cyan’s as he sighed in content, smiling the entire time.

“Then why don’t we?” Black two hands creep to his back, pulling him closer to Cyan who’s leg had tangled with Black’s own legs, the pair just holding each other as Black felt himself drifting off.

“Because the floor will definitely hurt” Black tried to argue, yet another part of him didn’t care, he just wanted this, he loved this, he loves Cyan, he would sleep anywhere if it means that he could be held like this, hell he’d skip sleep altogether if he gets to hold Cyan like this.

“Well it doesn’t hurt now, besides I really don’t care today, I just want to sleep” there was a moment of silence between the two, Black not hearing anything besides Cyan’s gentle breaths, the warm air heating Black’s chest.

“Well I can carry you to the Dormitory” Black offered after a while but there was no response, Black hearing Cyan’s gentle snores beneath him as he gently smiled, rubbing a hand on his partner's head before he eventually came to a decision that had him sadly pull away from Cyan for just a moment as he sat up.

I’ll carry him to the Dormitory anyway, he won’t be happy to wake up with a sore back he thought to himself as he gently scooped Cyan into his hands, his partner sleepily mumbling something incoherent as he leaned his head closer to Black, whos heart fluttered at the touch before he turned to the torch to the floor, feeling dread at the awkward situation he had gotten himself into.

Awkwardly leaning down, Black tried picking up the torch with minimal success, Cyan mumbling something unintelligible as Black whispered a gentle apology, stopping his movements as he straightened back up, staring at the dark hallway and debating on whether he should just walk in the dark before deciding against it, trying to pick up the torch again only to stop when Cyan shifted in his hands.

How in the world am I supposed to pick up this torch? He asked himself, debating on whether they should actually just sleep here when an idea came to mind, a risky idea that froze Black in place completely.

He stared at the hallway, then the torch, then back to Cyan who was asleep in his arms, Black mumbling a small curse before he opened his mouth and stretched out his tongue, aiming it towards the torch as his tongue wrapped around it, the metal tasting weird on his tongue as he lifted it off the ground, holding it beside his head as he looked down at Cyan, who was still sleeping through it all.

Fighting back the fear, Black gently pressed Cyan’s head to his chest before making his way through the hallway, the torch illuminating his path until he stood directly outside their room, Black pausing at the doorway when he remembered that he needed to grab the ID.

Resuming his struggle yet again, Black tried not to disturb Cyan too much as he managed to reach a hand into his own pocket, pulling out his ID and sliding it in the cardreader, the door sliding open as Black glanced down to Cyan, who was still asleep to the world, that alone making Black sigh in relief as he stepped inside the room, the door sliding closed as he placed Cyan on their bed, tucking him under the blankets as he placed the torch back on the table and climbed into bed, his tongue turning the torch off before he closed his mouth

Standing up, Black scooped Cyan into his hands, his partner mumbling sleepily as they shifted, Black murmuring a gentle apology as he awkwardly leaned down, grabbing the torch with his hands and made his way up towards Weapons, stopping by a section of the wall and sliding it, stepping inside the hallway then closing the wall before he, finally, made his way to the Dormitory door and outside his room.

With whispered curses and a lot of struggle, Black managed to grab his ID and slide it in the card reader, the door quietly sliding open as he stepped inside, the door closing behind him as he made his way to their bed, placing Cyan on it and pulling the blanket over his partner, pressing a kiss to his forehead before making the way to his side of the bed, clicking off Cyan’s torch and placing it by his bedside table before he, too, slid beneath the blankets with a content sigh, rolling himself over until he was facing Cyan, who was still asleep.

Closing his mouth, Black shut his eye, waiting for sleep to take him but he just didn’t feel right, his mind kept wondering if Cyan had seen him, had seen his mouth and his tongue and had connected the dots or, worst of all, hated him for what he was.

Black froze, holding his breath when the blankets shifted, Cyan reaching out a hand, the hand reaching for Black’s back before he gently pulled him to his chest, Black holding his breath the entire time, only releasing it when he shifted for a final time, leaning his head against Cyan’s chest and closing his eye.

“I love you” he whispered to Cyan, Black’s heart practically skipping a beat when a kiss was placed on his forehead.

“I love you too” Cyan whispered back, Black feeling so content that he couldn’t help but wrap his hands around Cyan’s back, pulling him closer, “I’m glad you’re-”

“-here!” There was a hand placed on Black, gently shaking him awake, the motion startling him entirely as he jolted to a sitting position, practically shoving himself away from the touch as he fought the urge to reach for a weapon as Green stared at him.

“You’re awake, good” Green huffed as he crossed his hands across his sides.

“How long have I been out?” Black questioned as he stood up, stretching as if that alone would take away the pain in his spine.

Why was I sleeping on the floor? He managed to ask himself, trying to clear away the fog in his mind.

“I dunno, you’re the one who fell asleep without putting away the mop and wasting the batteries on your torch” Green hissed, Black wincing as he felt his face flush in embarrassment.

“I’m sorry-” there was a sigh that had Black staring at the floor.

“You’re lucky that you actually cleaned the damn place, I’d be more annoyed if you didn’t” Green admitted, “Your torch is on charge right now, it’ll be fully charged in about an hour, also don’t worry about your cleaning supplies they’ve been put away”

“Thank you”

“No worries, I hope you don’t mind me asking though, what were you doing sleeping on the floor”

“Oh I- I think I finished cleaning and felt tired so I fell asleep”

“Well yeah I assumed that but what were you doing sleeping on that part of the floor” at Green’s question, Black turned his gaze to the floor only for his face to twist as he struggled to recognise the awfully familiar pattern of the flooring with the stain on the floor, it wasn’t until he took a step back, then another to truly realise where he was.

“Oh god did I-” the memories from last night came flooding back, Black’s heart quickening as he took a shaky breath in.

“But why?” Green quietly asked as he stepped closer, Black taking a step back.

“I-”

“Black! You’re awake!” Came the voice of White as he stepped into Cafeteria and placed a hand on Black’s back, either completely ignoring or remaining oblivious to Black’s discomfort and panic.

“Phenomenal work with the cleaning by the way, thank you for catching those mice” White praised, the hand on his back giving two pats before it pulled away, White’s joyous expression changing when he took a look at Black’s face.

“Are you ok?”

“I’m fine” Black hissed out as he took a step away from the group, out of Cafeteria and making his way towards Shields where there were, thankfully, less people and less noise.

He ignored the way he froze when passing by Communications, trying to convince himself that the silent chatter from the radio wasn’t his employers, that Orange and Black’s argument never happened, that Cyan was still alive-

He dropped to his knees at shields, trying to fight the tears in his eye as he took a shaky breath in and craned his head to the starry sky above.

Black didn’t truly care at this point to stop and try to make out any constellations, the thought of constellations alone made him want to cry but he forced himself to take a breath, close his eye and imagine that it would one day be alright, because he had Cyan.

Cyan who was- 

Dead because he was killed-

It’ll be alright, Black tried to reassure himself, taking another gentle breath as he tried to slow both his racing mind and his racing heart all at the same time.

But it wasn’t because Cyan was killed and his employers-

A breath in, he felt the pain and fear and sorrow, a breath out and he forced himself to forget it all.

He couldn’t forget Cyan, he refused to-

He opened his eye, seeing the space above as he got up from his knees and stood, finally leaving the room as he forced himself to forget everything, even if it was temporary, because even he knew that he couldn’t escape from himself or his memories.

Making his way to the Cafeteria, Black could feel everyone's attention being focused on him, he could feel his heart twist painfully when he saw Orange who stared at him with such concern that Black couldn’t do anything but turn his face away, completely ignoring him.

He couldn’t see the hurt on Orange’s face, but he could imagine it, and that alone made him want to go right back there and apologise, to cry-

He took a breath in, then out, and he was fine.

Making his way to the front of the Kitchen, Black hovered his hand over the bell only to hesitate when he noticed Brown was busy with something else, so he just leaned against the wall, staring out the window and at the spacy sky until he eventually heard Brown calling his name.

“The usual?” Brown questioned, Black nodding, half expecting him to go back to the Kitchen but feeling surprised when he stayed, giving him a deep look.

“You ok?” Black asked, Brown’s eyebrow raising.

“Real question is, are you ok?” Brown said instead, Black’s hands clenched into fists for just a second before he let out a breath, the fists unclenching.

“I’m fine, I just want food” Black couldn’t help the prickle of annoyance that leaked through his voice, but with another breath he settled, “sorry”

“Everyone just worries about you, including me” then Brown turned away, Black going back to his spot on the wall as he closed his eye, letting the noises and smell of the food fade to the background.

He heard Brown call White’s name, White thanking Brown for the food, Pink and Purple ordering their own meal then leaving, their conversation about Pink’s dream slowly fading into the distance.

Eventually, Brown called Black’s name, Black taking his usual meal with a coffee and heading towards his usual table, freezing when he saw Orange, who looked troubled as he picked at his food, ignoring the chatter of his friends which was so unlike him that Black instinctively stepped forward, only to hesitate.

Their argument was still fresh on his mind, and despite how much he tried to pretend that he didn’t care he couldn’t handle the hurt on his friends face, so with a breath and one last look at Orange, he made his way to the table at the bottom left which, usually, only Green and Lime would be seated but today, Purple and Pink was joining them.

“-I was floating in space trying to find Purple when I found him, except when I reached him I was a ghost, and then I-” Pink stopped when they noticed Black, looking surprised, the others noticing him and awkwardly shuffling aside to make space, Purple offering a hand to an empty spot whilst Black sat down, thanking Purple.

“Are you-” he heard Purple ask in a tone that had Black stiffening.

“I’m fine” Black grumbled, taking a breath as he grabbed a spoonful of his salad, a fruit salad with yoghurt.

The Crewmates at the table were silent for a moment, giving each other a look before they fell silent, going back into conversation although awkward and rather forced, Black would have rather been anywhere else.

It seemed as if the others noticed too because as soon as they had finished their food, they eventually waved goodbye and left the table with excuses that they had things to do, Pink and Purple both saying that they had some stuff they needed to do, whilst Green and Lime were saying that they wanted to read someplace quieter than the Cafeteria.

It didn’t really matter though, he didn’t care.

He did though, and it hurt.

He took a breath in, then out, continuing to eat in silence whilst he tried to ignore the fact that the Cafeteria was not only quieter than normal but colder, isolated even.

It, in a way, was almost like that night they discovered Cyan’s body, except this time nobody was dead.

He remembers-

Black’s hands were shaking and wet with blood as he led the crew to the Cafeteria, they had never been more silent.

Black had intended to only wake up Coral, tell her what happened but the only noise he made was pathetic gasps for air mixed with sobs that eventually woke up the others.

The only person who didn’t see Cyan’s body was Mellow, and Black thanks the gods for that mercy, he thanks the gods that Mellow didn’t hear Orange’s strangled gasp when he saw his friend crumpled to the floor with a knife sticking in his chest, didn’t see the way the other Crewmates froze in place when they noticed the pool of blood beneath Cyan, Coral and Black making their way to the centre table.

Mellow didn’t see the way Black had cradled Cyan’s head in his lap, or the way Coral was frantically checking for a pulse only to find nothing, dropping her head as her shoulders shook with each sob.

“I’m sorry” he had heard her say to Black, those two words shattering something in Black as he realised the truth.

Mellow missed the way Black had pressed his head to Cyan’s side and screamed, whilst the rest of the crew cried in disbelief.

Black took a shaky breath in, his vision blurring as he closed his eye with an exhale, balling his hands into a fist to hide the way they shook.

He tried to hide the shaking with another mouthful of food, even freezing completely when he saw a Crewmate walk to the Kitchen in his peripherals, exhaling when nobody seemed to thankfully notice.

They had held a funeral, Black finding the prettiest flowers he could find and placing it at the centre of the Cafeteria table, taking out one of the flowers and putting it in Cyan’s hands, pressing a kiss to his forehead, Black’s eye never leaving the stain on the floor.

He remembers collapsing to the ground when Cyan’s body, which was wrapped underneath a blue blanket, was gently placed in the airlock with so much care, the flower peeking out.

He remembers weeping when White pulled the lever, Black watching as the void itself took Cyan away.

“He’s with the stars now” he heard someone whisper, who it was Black couldn’t remember, nor would he care to remember.

He didn’t want the stars or the void to have Cyan, he wanted Cyan here with him, and he’d never get it back again.

Black stood abruptly abandoning his tray as he went to leave the Cafeteria, only to be stopped by White who seemed to appear from nowhere, startling him.

“What do you need White?” He tried to be polite but even Black could tell that he was being the exact opposite.

“I need your help” 

“Why don’t you ask Blue for it, or Green, or literally anyone else, I don’t want to help” He walked out of Cafeteria into the hallway that led to Upper Engine, expecting White to just leave only to hold back a groan when he heard a pair of footsteps following after him.

He peered into Medbay, seeing Coral who was fixing up the bedsheets of the medical beds, so focused on her work that she didn’t even notice Black or White walking by the hallway.

“Ok you’re right but I want you to help, Captain’s Orders and all” Black was thankful that White couldn’t see the way he rolled his eye.

Stepping into Upper Engine he turned down, hearing both Pink and Purple’s voices from within Security, saying something about ghosts, were they still talking about Pink’s dream?

He cast a quick look into Reactor, finding the room empty, then a quick look into Security where Pink was watching the Security Cameras, Purple sitting on the floor as they talked, Purple giving a wave to the duo, White giving a wave back whilst Black just left, satisfied with his checking.

“Are you looking for someone?” White asked when they made it to Lower Engine, Black staring at both sides of the room and finding it empty, Black leaving the room as he headed down the hallway that connected to Storage then up into Electrical.

“What do you need?” he asked White, the sound of his voice spreading through the room and startling Lime, who was sitting in the centre of the room with his laptop screen blaring an ungodly amount of bright light, Black shrugging as he left the room.

“Your help” White responded, Black holding back a scoff as he rolled his eye.

“Yeah I know that but what do you need help with, I’m kind of busy here White I don’t have time for this” He made his way to Storage, seeing no one as he went to go down, only to see White go up, a hand beckoning for Black to follow, Black holding back a growl as he followed the Captain.

“I want your help at Mira HQ today” White said the second that they stood in Admin, Black almost stumbling over his own footing in surprise. 

“Why me?” he asked, Black staring at the map and taking notice of the heads that were displayed in each room. 

There was one head in Medbay, Coral, two heads in Security, Purple and Pink, one in Electrical, Lime, two in Admin, Black and White, and three heads in Cafeteria meaning-

“Well you know how risky this day will be, so you must know what could happen at Mira today, besides I could use the company”

“Why are you asking me and not Blue? He’s your friend and much better company than I am” a head in Cafeteria disappeared, Black hearing footsteps right outside Admin before another head on the map was added, Black turning his head to see Blue peer in the room, waving.

“I heard my name get called, did you need me?” White shook his head.

“Nah, not really, I’m just talking to Black about Mira”

“Anything I can help you with?” 

“Actually there is one thing,” White waved his hand, Blue stepped into the room and took a seat at the chair in the middle, his attention focused on the Captain, “Black insists that you'll be better company, what do you think?”

“I think he’s a liar” Black turned his head away from the map to stare at Blue, feeling offended when White began to snicker.

“I am not a liar!” Black tried to defend, Blue rolling his eye whilst White just giggled.

“Sure sure says mister ‘I am terrible company and nobody likes me’ “ Blue stood from his chair and walked over to Black, ruffling his head whilst Black just grumbled, Blue looking serious for a moment as he leaned closer to Black.

“We enjoy your company and we always will” Blue murmured, Black turning his head back to the map in an attempt to distract himself from crying, gods I’ve been doing that a lot lately.

“What are ya looking at?” Blue questioned Black, ruffling Black’s head when he didn’t get a response, Black just swatting at the hand as Blue chuckled, taking his hand away from Black’s head as he stood next to Black.

“The map, trying to see where everyone is, Coral is in Medbay, Purple and Pink are in Security, Lime is in Electrical, me, White and you are in Admin but I don’t remember who’s in Cafeteria, I know Brown is still in the Kitchen but I don’t know where Orange, Green or Yellow are, I know Mellow’s still asleep and in the Dormitory” Black murmured.

“I think Orange is the one who’s been doing laps from Weapons to Shields here, he’s a bit stressed,” although brief, Blue gave Black a concerned look that had Black stiffen, forcing himself to focus on the map below to avoid the guilt that was eating away at him.

“Green is still at the Cafeteria, I think he’s going to make his way to the Cafeteria soon, Yellow’s heading back to the Dormitory to check on Mellow but after that she’ll probably stay at the Cafeteria until Mellow wakes up” 

“Thanks” Black mumbled, Blue giving a small smile.

“Not an issue”

They fell silent for a moment, Blue stepping away from Black’s side to go to White, the pair murmuring to each other, Black not caring to tune in as he stared at the map again until the murmurs stopped, Blue stepping away as he returned to the centre of the map, glancing to Black before they glanced to White a second later.

“Right, so what’s the plan for Mira?” Blue asked, Black turning his attention away from the map to stare at White, who was staring directly at Black, who just blinked in surprise as he realised what White was implying.

“What” Black said in disbelief, White and Blue’s gaze not leaving Black’s.

“Well we are going to Mira for a business proposition that they refuse to elaborate on, and I don’t know what to expect, neither does Blue but you seem to be the more cautious type, do you have any ideas?” Black hummed in contemplation as he closed the map of The Skeld.

“Did they manage to send us a file of Mira HQ or just coordinates?”

“They sent us the map thankfully so at least they were somewhat cooperative, they also sent us the coordinates, do you need both?”

“For now I’ll need the map but have you made sure the coordinates were legit and not another location to a Death Planet?” White seemed to tense before giving off an awkward smile, Blue facepalming whilst Black just groaned.

“Give me the coordinates, I’ll double check that they match,” Black said to both White and Blue, the pair of them nodding as Blue walked away from the table and took a seat at the first computer, the keyboard tapping away as he searched for the coordinates before stopping.

“Did you send the coordinates to the Autopilot yet White?” Blue asked aloud, not taking his eyes off of the screen, White shaking his head in response, Black sighing in relief.

“White said he didn’t so I think we’re good for now” Black said to Blue when he realised that White hadn’t given him a verbal cue.

“What’s the issue with not double checking coordinates anyway?” Blue questioned, both White and Blue’s face turning sour.

“Remember Cravel?” Black saw the pair of them stiffen before White turned his face down to the screen, Black doing the same when the map made a ping, the coordinates popping up on the screen below him.

He heard the squeaking of a chair as Blue got up from his seat, making his way back to the map.

“Well it's good to double check that the coordinates are legitimate to the one displayed on the map of Mira HQ, just in case there is an error in the system or the coordinates don’t correlate or else you’ll end up in a place that is either not the one we wanted to go to, it's the reason why most Captains don’t rely on Auto Pilot anyway just in case of sabotages.”

“Sabotage?” Blue questioned, raising an eyebrow in scepticism as he stared at Black, who stiffened in place as he felt his mouth completely dry.

“Sabotage, usually it's an Imposter’s easiest way to kill an entire crew in one swell swoop without them even knowing, it's why the ship cannot be started without a Captain’s Code, some more highly advanced ships have a door and lock on Navigations, this one isn’t as high tech though so there’s no lock on the doors, only a lock on who gets to access the wheel, which would be both of you in this case”

His first sabotage, although minor, wasn’t by Black’s own accord.

He remembers how he and another Imposter, he thinks it was Maroon, were hiding behind some boxes when he heard a voice whisper to do it.

With a shaky finger, he pulled up the list of sabotages on his watch and pressed on the Lights, the Lights completely shutting off with a click, he heard the Crewmates mutters of confusion only to be drowned out by fear when there were gunshots echoing throughout the room.

One Crewmate spotted Maroon slit someone’s throat, and their mouth opened to scream only to be drowned out when they met the same fate as their friend.

Then, the lights turned on, Black trying, and failing to stay centred enough to run, Maroon eventually having to grab Black’s hand and drag him away as they ran, diving into a vent until the sound of a Report blared through the ship, forcing the pair of them to leave and face the grieving Crewmates.

Three people died, those were the first three deaths Black had ever witnessed.

“Black? You ok? You zoned out” Blue asked in concern, Black taking a breath. 

“I’m fine, just caught in my head is all” he brushed off, trying to fight off the feeling of blood on his hands as he focused back on the screen, checking the coordinates digitally and when seeing no error he read each coordinate in his head, the numbers matching those of Mira HQ.

“Good news is that these are legitimate coordinates,” Black watched as both of the tension from Blue and White dissipated, the duo relaxing.

“So when double checking coordinates, it’s good to cross reference the coordinates with the device and also your mind, just in case the device is either damaged or sabotaged, I usually do it after testing the device though” Black explained as he clicked away from the coordinates and opened the map, the hologram of what looked like a bunch of skyscrapers merged together being projected.

“I’m assuming this is Mira HQ we plan on going to?” Blue asked, White nodding as Black stared at the familiar map, his mouth feeling dry.

“Your new assignment is to kill the team of Mira HQ” his employer demanded with a hiss, Black wincing.

“Can’t we just-”

“You got it boss” the other imposter, Brown, told the comm, his claws digging into Black’s back, a silent threat for him to shut up.

“Well, this place has multiple floors with Level 1 being our meeting place so we’ll be landing about here” Black zoomed into the map where there was a small holographic Landing Pad, “It lands directly on the Launchpad which is outside, it also gets very windy at some points so its best to stay away from the edges”

“Ok, anything else we should know?”

“All the vents are connected,” and, for some reason, that was the scariest thing about Mira HQ, the fact that anyone could be lurking and they would never know, unsuspecting to Imposters who search for an opportunity to kill.

“There’s also no doors besides Decontamination and the Balcony so no way to get trapped in, they also have these things called sensors, they have them located here, here and here, it will log whoever passes by them on the monitor in Communications, the logs will only be wiped if Communications goes down, whether by sabotage or an error it doesn’t matter”

“Why are the sensors so important anyway?” White asked, Blue looking to Black for answers as he too looked confused.

“Well the sensors let you know which direction someone goes just in case someone-”

Black wasn’t caught because he used a vent, his partner, however, wasn’t lucky.

He should have sabotaged, he should have stopped them, but when everyone had discovered the body with the sensors indicating that Brown had last been in that direction it was hard to defend him.

So with a sorrowful look, Black voted for the imposter, who was betrayed and furious, lunging for Black who took a step back, two Crewmates grabbing his hands and dragging him towards the Balcony before tossing him off.

He died screaming that Black would pay for this, that Black was a traitor, the Crewmates didn’t listen, Black had been cleared.

They should have listened, they should have listened to the other Imposter but they didn’t.

Black wasn’t a killer, he never was, he didn’t want to finish the job but the memories of what happened if he didn’t were fresh on his mind, it made every part of Black hurt at each memory.

So when the Crewmates were sleeping he sabotaged the Oxygen, the loud noises of the sirens startling the crewmates from their sleep whilst Black, Yellow, Pink, Red and Lime barely escaped, forced to leave White, Blue and Orange, who were insistent that the data was too important to lose, behind.

They thought they could fix the oxygen and get the data in time, Black praying that they could.

They could never fix the oxygen in time, Black watching from within the safety of the departing Dropship as Mira HQ faded into the distance.

He couldn’t forget the sound of the Crewmates grief, or the way they had stared at him with such hurt yet trusting eyes as Black promised that it would be ok.

“-lost, they are the only way of keeping tabs on where a person is as Mira doesn’t have security cameras.”

“Wow, you really know a lot about Mira, did you used to work there?” White asked, Black clenching his hand into a fist beneath the table before they settled again, the motion still bringing a concerned glance from White and Blue.

"There are only four survivors of Mira HQ” Black whispered into the communicator, the muffled sobs of Pink being heard from within the dropship.

“Then kill them” hissed his employer, Black’s hands balling into fists as he grit his teeth, trying to calm his anger.

He wasn’t a killer as he told his employers multiple times, they never accepted that answer despite Black’s reasoning.

“I can’t or my cover will be compromised sir” there was a low growl from the other side of the communicator, Black tensing.

“Where’s Brown then, they were your second Imposter what happened”

“Their cover was compromised and they were voted off, before they died they-” Black was cut off when the sounds of footsteps were heard from within the ship, he hung up the call just as the cockpit door opened, revealing Yellow.

Black felt himself soften as the Crewmate still shook, his eye puffy with tears.

“Did you make the call to Polus? We really need to-” 

“Ehh kind of? It was more of an internship,” Black shrugged in a weak attempt to ease the tension, “I didn’t stay long” 

“Bad team?” They were the nicest.

“Yeah, something along those lines” he didn’t say another word about the team as he went back to the model of Mira HQ.

“I recommend we stay in teams if we plan on exploring Mira HQ, a minimum of two people per team just in case anything does happen like getting lost, it's also best to have a meetup point where we can all regroup in case anything does happen, which I doubt it will!” He tried to explain when he saw White and Blue’s fearful faces, “Also keep an eye on the Dropship, I doubt they’d do anything to it but it's best to make sure that nothing happens, don’t accept their ship diagnosis or them fueling your engine”

“Maybe you should lead this one then” White said with a hum, Black closing the map as he stared at White, blinking in surprise.

“What? No, trust me I’m not a leader,” Black protested as he stood away from the map, one hand rubbing the back of his head as the other tried to wave away the words like it was an insect.

“Besides, you and Blue are our Captains as far as I’m concerned, I’m not a Captain and I’m not sure I’d ever like to be, you two should be the ones to lead us, not me”

“Will you at least sit through the meeting with us? It would be nice to have some insight from you”

“I thought we were all sitting through the meeting though, are we not?” Black questioned.

“Well the meeting is optional for you guys, I didn’t want want to force any of you to sit through a business deal”

“Well it's not like I plan on doing much anyway so I guess I’ll stick with you guys, unless you have different plans”

“Well it's probably a better idea to discuss it with the crew anyway,” White gave a look to Blue, who stared back in confusion before his face turned into recognition, then back to confusion.

“Wait now?” He asked, still looking confused.

“Well that’s the plan anyway” Blue shrugged as he made his way to the doorway, giving a quick glance towards Cafeteria then stepping back into Admin with a sigh.

“Well waking up Mellow’s going to be a pain” 

“Mellow doesn’t have to come along for the journey, he can stay behind with a Crewmate if it makes you more comfortable”

“Nah, I have a feeling Mellow would love to explore someplace new, I hope you don’t mind if I stay with Yellow and Mellow when we get to Mira HQ though? At least until the meeting begins anyway” White nodded, Blue giving a thankful smile.

“I can switch places with you if you want Blue, at the meeting I mean” Black offered with a shrug, Blue humming in contemplation before he shook his head in refusal.

“As much as I hate meetings I want to sit through this one, but I’ll talk to Yellow and see what she thinks before I make the plans so I’ll get back to you”

“Alright, well in that case I’ll wait thirty minutes before the meeting begins, no need to round anyone up yet”

“Thanks” Blue said, his face dropping into a relieved smile, White smiling in return.

“No problem,” with a wave goodbye Blue left the room, White turning to face Black,  “we’ll meet back here in half an hour, until then relax” 

Black nodded, White leaving the room whilst Black stared back at the map, feeling hesitant.

How would I even spend this time? He wondered as he clicked on the map again, the 3d holographic view of Mira HQ appearing again.

<><><>

“It's so earlyyy ” Pink complained from within the Dropship, groaning as they slumped their head on Purple’s side.

After having a quick meeting which was, miraculously, only interrupted three times by a grumpy and terribly sleepy Mellow, the crew had come up with a plan for Mira and were thankful that, at least for today, there were no tasks, Coral and Brown taking the opportunity to stay behind and take a little break, leaving Orange, White, Blue, Black, Yellow, Mellow, Green, Lime, Purple and Pink to come along for the meeting.

Granted though, they were all still rather uncomfortable with going to Mira, Black feeling slightly guilty that he was the cause for most of their unease.

“Why would we even need to keep an eye on the vents? Surely they wouldn’t call us over to kill us”

“No security cameras?! It sounds unsafe”

“I don’t trust them”

Yet despite their concerns, and how much Black tried to ease all of them, they were still persistent on coming along, trusting in White, Blue and, weirdly enough, Black, to keep them all safe.

In a way it felt nice to know that they trusted him, he just hopes that, for today at least, his cautions will remain just that, cautions.

“Hopefully the meeting won’t be too long ” Yellow tried to reassure Pink, bouncing Mellow on her hip to stop the toddler from fussing.

“Did we really have to leave at eight in the morning?” Pink ended up asking, their voice muffled from where they were leaning against Purple’s knee.

“Maybe the time was a bit overkill” Blue admitted, rubbing the back of his head nervously whilst Purple raised an eyebrow, their hand

“How far away are we from Mira HQ?” Green questioned, Blue sighing as he rubbed his face with his hand.

“That is a good question, I’ll check in with White” Blue stood from his seat and made his way to the cockpit where White was driving the ship, the door opening as Blue stood inside, the door closing a moment later.

“So, now that Blue’s gone, that just leaves one more question, what’s the group set up? I plan on staying with Lime” Green answered, his brother looking bored.

“Well I think it's kind of obvious who I’m sticking with,” Pink piped up, their hand squeezing Purple’s.

“Me and Pink will stick together, maybe we might hang out with Green and Lime at some point if that’s fine with you two” Green and Lime gave each other a look for a small moment before Green turned their attention back to Pink and Purple.

“It's fine” Green eventually said, Black turning to Yellow in a silent question.

“Well me, Blue and Mellow will be staying together until Blue has to go to the meeting if anyone wants to join me afterwards”

“Sure, I got nothing to do” Orange said with a shrug before he stared at Black, “do you-”

He was cut off as the cockpit door opened, Blue stepping out of the room.

“We’re about to enter the atmosphere now, it's gonna be a bumpy ride though so buckle up” Orange seemed to deflate sadly, Black taking a step forward only to turn his attention to Blue when the Co-Captain spoke again.

“Did we organise a group set up?” Blue asked, staring directly at Black who focused away from Orange to look at Blue, nodding in confirmation.

“Yes, they’ve all got partners” 

“Good, now sit down” with a nod Black took a seat and strapped himself in, watching as Blue helped everyone else get to their seats and strapped in before he made his way to his wife and son, sitting next to them whilst Yellow held Mellow tightly.

The ship began to rock from the turbulence, at first slowly but then getting harsher to the point that Black ended up digging his hands into the cushions to steady himself until, finally, the ship settled and with one final jerky movement and an awkward thud, the engine shut off.

The crew began to unbuckle themselves from their seats, White stepping out of the cockpit as he headed towards the access ramp, his head turning to face the other Crewmates.

“Are we all ready?” Although there were a few uncertain shuffles and murmurs, the crew nodded, Black’s heart racing as White turned back to the lever and pulled it.

With a quick hiss of air, the access ramp began to lower, the quiet clicking sounds of chains echoing within the ship until the ramp finally hit the ground with a silent thud, White walking forwards whilst the rest of the Crew followed along.

At the doorway of the Dropship stood two Crewmates, Maroon and Banana who were eyeing both the ship and the crew with suspicion, until their eyes landed on White and their faces changed into one of recognition.

“I’m White, Captain of The Skeld and this is my Co-Captain Blue” White explained as he reached out a hand for Maroon to shake, then moved onto Banana as they shook hands.

“Well thank you for accepting our offer, I’m Maroon, a guard at Mira HQ and this is Banana who is also a guard of Mira, our leader Grey will be honoured to meet you all” and with a wave of their hand, Maroon led the way, the rest of the crew following in silence except for Mellow, who was screaming in excitement at every new sight.

The glass doors of the Launchpad opened, the crew stepping inside onto a green carpet, the whistling of wind outside sounding oddly close to the wails of ghosts, the wind only stopping when the glass doors closed.

On the wall there was a small keypad, which Black knows is for the oxygen, next to the words ‘Mira LVL 1-11’ and some rather sad looking plants with only a few small green leaves, Black stopping in place when he saw four different photo frames, all of them having a different selection of Crewmates, Black freezing in place when he recognised the Crewmates in the third photo.

“Is that-”

“Hm? Oh the photos, yeah that’s an image of the teams of Mira HQ, it's a truly sad tale on what happened to team number three though, their leader Purple was killed by an Imposter, Brown, who got voted off,” Banana spoke with sadness in her voice, stepping back as she let Maroon, who had stepped forward, say the rest.

“Yet despite being dead the oxygen was sabotaged, Orange, Blue and White died during that sabotage whilst Pink, Yellow, Red, Lime and Black escaped, only to be killed on Polus three days later, Black nowhere to be found” Black felt his mouth go dry as he stared at the faces of the former crew.

“They found out who the killer on Polus was, it was Rose, but they’re still trying to find who sabotaged the O2 system back here,” Black could feel Maroon’s gaze on him but he forced himself to remain neutral as he stared at the photo. 

“I keep forgetting that this is the place where the massacre happened” Yellow piped up, her voice filled with sorrow whilst Black fought back tears.

“They never deserved it” Banana whispered.

“Agreed” Black replied, his voice small as he blinked in an attempt to clear his eye from the tears that blurred his vision before he turned back, Maroon clearing his throat as he continued, the crew slowly following afterwards.

It wasn’t until they reached the end of the hallway where Maroon stopped, Banana stepping forward into the group as they shared hushed words before they split apart, Banana going up then turning right when he reached the middle of the upside down ‘Y’ shaped hallway.

“Welcome to Mira HQ by the way, I know it doesn’t look like much at the moment but I promise we will give a tour when we meet Grey but it truly has been an honour to meet you all” Maroon said with a smile.

“Likewise” White said, his voice neutral yet not unkind.

“Tell me, what’s it like to live upon Skeld? I’ve heard tales of the missions that you all go on and I’ve always wondered what it's like”

“Well it's- uhh-”

“Boring, so incredibly boring” Pink whispered, Black having to suppress a snort of amusement.

“Well that’s one way to put it but yeah it isn’t as fun as they make it out to be, the best times are when we’re visiting other planets” despite it all Maroon leaned closer, it looked like they had sparkles of wonder in their eye.

“What do you even do?” They asked, their voice a gentle whisper.

“Mostly just research, exploration, transportation, really anything that we’re hired to do I guess” White responded with a shrug, Maroon just looking excited as their hands waved.

“Really? That’s what you do? It sounds awesome!” They said loudly, their voice echoing through the hallway and causing a few of the Crewmates to wince, Maroon in turn taking a breath as they cleared their throat, “sorry”

“Yeah not if you do it for like a year straight, it gets boring real quick” Maroon looked like they were ready to speak again when they spotted Grey and immediately straightened, giving a small nod to their leader before they split apart, giving a quick farewell to the team as them and their friend Banana went back from the way they came.

“White and… Crew,” Grey gave a quick look to Black, who shifted uncomfortably under the gaze, before he looked back to White with a smile,  “welcome to Mira HQ! Thank you for making it.”

“Thank you for- uhh- reaching out I suppose” White said as he held out a hand, Grey taking it and giving it a firm shake, Black noticing the tension in White’s body whilst Grey simply either didn’t notice or chose to ignore.

“Let me give you the tour and give a proper introduction to the team, you’ve already met Maroon and Banana so there’s no need to introduce you to them” and with that Grey began to move, the crew giving each other a quick glance before they followed after the leader.

“Over at the right here is the Medbay, this is where you’d usually find our doctor Brown” Grey took a step into Medbay, the rest of the crew crowding into the room and being caught in awe at the seven high tech medical beds placed across the room.

“It looks like a really small work place” Blue murmured, Black personally agreeing with him.

“Well there aren’t usually many instances of Crewmates needing to use the Medbay, besides it works for now” Grey said, his smile strained as both Black and Blue exchanged a look, Grey letting out a breath before he left the room, the crew following as he went up then turned right into a barely lit room that Black had come to recognise as Communications.

“And in here is Communications, there’s not much to really say about it other than the fact that its where we communicate to other teams, like yours” Lime made a curious noise as he stood forward, drawing himself towards the computer, only to be whisked away when Grey exited the room, Green beckoning his brother over with a harsh whisper.

They walked straight to the room directly opposite of Communications, Grey stepping in as Yellow gasped, taking in the surroundings with interest.

“The design in here is gorgeous” she exclaimed as she looked in every direction, blushing in embarrassment when she noticed someone sitting on one of the purple seats in the upper left corner.

“And this is what we call the Locker Room, each member of Mira has a locker of their own where they store their things, it's also where our scientist Tan can be seen hanging out when he’s taking a break from the Laboratory” Grey was staring directly at the Crewmate in the corner who closed his book and stood, making his way over to the team with a smile.

“That ‘scientist’ in question is me, Tan” the Crewmate, Tan, said as he gave a wave, his face lighting up when Mellow waved back, “its an honour to meet you all”

“I’m just showing them around Mira, if you want you can lead the tour through the Laboratory, Reactor and Decontamination as that’s your department” Grey offered, Tan lighting up in excitement as he took his place next to Grey, only for the excitement to dissipate when he took a look at the crew.

“You ok?” White asked, Tan giving a swift nod as he scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

“Just nerves is all, I’ve never lead a tour, especially one as large as this” 

“Well we don’t judge” Orange spoke up as he took a step forward until he was in front of the group, “I’m Orange, it's nice to meet you Tan”

“Likewise” said Tan, Grey humming as he stared at the crew, Black feeling Grey’s gaze pierce him directly.

“I just realised you never introduced your crew White, maybe you should” at Grey’s words White turned his gaze towards the ground, Blue stepping in front of White as he smiled, however Black knew that it wasn’t genuine.

“It's not his job to introduce everyone, but regardless please forgive me for my lack of manners, I’m Blue, the Co-Captain of Skeld” Blue held out a hand, Grey glaring at it for a moment before he took it and shook it with a smile that made Black feel uneasy.

He tried his best to make himself as unnoticeable as he could as he shuffled towards White, who noticed Black and focused his attention on him.

“I don’t trust Grey,” Black whispered to the Captain, White sighing.

“He does seem rather unfriendly” White agreed, Black wanting to say more only to stop when Grey’s gaze was focused on him and him alone, Black straightening out as he fought past the nerves and stood forward with a hand outstretched.

“I’m Black, it's nice to meet you Grey” 

“It's my honour” Grey mumbled as he took the hand with a displeased expression, Black trying to hide his own displeasure with what he hoped was a gentle smile.

“And over there is Green and Lime” White said as he waved a hand to Green and Lime, who were hidden at the far back.

“And I’m Purple,” Purple said as he whispered to Pink, who grumbled something unintelligible in return, Purple not looking deterred however as he turned his attention back to Grey, who had his eyebrow raised, “this is my partner Pink.”

“And I’m Yellow, this is my son Mellow” Yellow said as she tried to reach out a hand, only stopping when she noticed Mellow in her hands and she smiled apologetically, Grey shrugging.

“We also have Brown and Coral but they aren’t with us today”

“And why’s that?” Grey questioned, Black raising his eyebrow at the almost accusive tone.

“They wanted a rest day in their words so they decided to stay on Skeld” 

“Oh” and the tenseness in Grey’s body disappeared completely as he fell silent again, Tan glancing away from the Leader and back to the crew.

“Well, with introductions out of the way I guess I’ll show you around,” Tan took a step forward until he made his way to a button, his hand reaching out to press it before they paused, seeming to have remembered something and turned back.

“This is Decontaminations, as the name suggests it decontaminates you of any foreign substances that could be harmful for our research in the Laboratory, it will spray you with some water but that is it, it isn’t painful but if anyone is uncomfortable it's best to stay behind” the crew gave each other a look before they all turned back, all of them shrugging as Tan gave a nod, pressing the button.

There was a gentle whirr of machinery as a large glass door slid down into the floor, revealing a long metallic hallway, Black’s heart pounding anxiously as he watched the small, blue lines slowly disappear until there was none, the door rising back up until they were all closed in.

Black kept his eye on the vent at the floor, only wincing slightly when there was a hiss as the sprinklers turned on, Mellow screaming in delight as the room began to fog up, Black turning his attention back to the crew when he heard footsteps, fearing the worst only to settle when he saw that it was Tan, who waved a hand in encouragement for the others to follow. 

Eventually they made it to the otherside of the door, waiting for the mist to slowly clear and the sprinklers to stop, Tan looking to the floor as they waited for the blue starburst to appear again before pressing the button and opening the glass door.

Stepping out of Decontamination and into a barely lit hallway, Tan turned left until they made it into the reactor, some of the crew gasping in wonder at the large, glowing electric ball that was being contained in the centre of the room.

“And this is the reactor, I recommend not stepping any closer to the centre of the room as the energy that is harnessed is a bit unpredictable, there’s not really a lot to show here”

“So is all your power centred around that?” At Tan's nod, Green took another step back whilst Tan snorted in amusement.

“Yeah I understand it's a bit overwhelming but believe me its contained and mostly safe, the worst thing it's ever done is give me a tiny shock but that’s about it, nobody has ever died to that thing before,” Lime stepped forward, Tan stepping forward and cutting off his path, “but I’d still stay back just in case”

“But you said it's safe?” Lime exclaimed as he tried to take another step forward, Tan grabbing Lime’s hand as he gave a strained smile.

“And it is, but only because we have been trained and have prepared for every mistake that could happen, you guys have not so I suggest stepping back” Tan hissed, letting go of Lime who took two steps back, Tan sighing gently.

“Alright, let me show you around the Laboratory, now that is the most interesting” And gone was Tan’s stern demeanour, Black had to admit he was rather impressed.

Stepping back into the hallway, Tan led them up then right until they stood in a neatly organised room filled with a variety of different specimens.

“And this is my workshop, the Laboratory, please don’t touch anything, there’s a sample box over there of some of the artifacts we have found, that’s the only thing you can touch” Tan said as they waved a hand towards the box on the floor, Yellow making her way towards the boxes as Mellow tried to reach for them.

Ducking low to the ground, Yellow let go of Mellow, the toddler immediately gravitating towards the box whilst staring hesitantly at Tan, who nodded in approval, Mellow reaching into the box and pulling out a small variety of different rocks and gems, squealing in delight as he held it up towards his mother, who let out a small laugh.

Blue stood forward, ducking low to the floor as he ruffled his son's head as Mellow squealed in delight, holding the rocks to his chest as he fell to his back and kicked his feet, only revealing them to his father a moment later when he settled again.

Orange and Green were walking around the room in interest, taking in every small detail whilst Pink, Purple, White and Black stayed by the doorway, Mellow’s eye landing on Black as he smiled, letting out a noise of delight, doing his best to reach for Black with two hands full, even managing to drop a rock, Blue apologising to Tan when the rock clattered to the floor, Tan just shrugging.

“There’s a reason they’re samples anyway” was all they said as they turned towards Green and struck up a conversation about things that Black couldn’t understand.

“Bla Bla!” Mellow called, Black stepping in the room and making his way to Mellow, who held out his rocks.

“They’re very pretty” Black said, Mellow smiling with pride as he nodded whilst Black just rolled his eye.

After a few minutes of Mellow showing his rocks off to everyone and Green ranting to Tan, they eventually had enough of the room and were ready to leave, only being stopped by Mellow who cried when Yellow had to gently explain why he couldn’t take any of the rocks home when Tan stepped in.

“He can take one home if he wants”

“Really? Are you sure?”

“Yeah it's fine, seriously, these are samples for a reason”

“Thank you,” Yellow said as she gave an appreciative smile, Tan waving their hand with a ‘psh’.

“Really it's nothing,” Tan said as they focused their attention to Mellow, who was sitting on the floor as he sorted through the different rocks, Tan smiling fondly.

“In a way your son reminds me of my daughter”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” for a moment Tan’s face turned sad, Yellow deflating, Tan looking panicked for just a moment as they waved their hands, giving a stressed smile, “she’s not dead! I just have been working and haven’t been able to see her or my wife”

“You’ll see them soon” Yellow promised, Tan sighing fondly.

“Yeah, today’s my last day before I go on my long break, I can’t wait to see them both” getting up from the ground, Mellow made his way to Yellow and made a noise to get her attention, Yellow holding out her hands to pick up Mellow only for him to drop the rock in her hand then walk back to the collection on the floor.

Grabbing all of the rocks, he made his way back to where he had gotten them from and dropped them into the box before making his way back to his mother, who tried to give the rock back only for Mellow to shake his head and push her hand, the one holding the rock back to Yellow.

“For me?” Yellow questioned, Mellow not responding whilst Yellow smiled softly, “thank you”

“As much as I’d like to join you guys I have work to finish up in here, Grey will be going back to leading your tour”

“Thank you Tan, it was a pleasure to meet you” Yellow said, “good luck with your work”

“Thanks, now take care!” With a wave goodbye, the crew began to walk out of the room, Grey taking the lead, Black watching Tan peep through the doorway, waving farewell yet again.

Grey pressed the button to open the Decontaminations doorway, everyone walking inside as they waited for the blue lines on the floor to completely disappear before the door closed, the mist and sprinklers turning on yet again, Black watching in amusement as Mellow began to run around the room, laughing in delight whilst Grey walked to the otherside, everyone except for Blue, Black Yellow and Mellow following along.

“Come on Mellow” Yellow said, Mellow running until he was beside his mother as they all made their way to the door, the mist slowly dissipating as the blue lines on the floor returned, Grey pressing the button as the door opened.

“That was, in my opinion, the coolest part of Mira” Green admitted when he stepped out of Decontaminations, a few of the Crewmates murmuring in agreement as they followed Grey out of the Locker Room and back into the hallway and going up.

“Woah,” Orange said when he stood on the glass floor below, Black turning his eye to the floor and feeling his heart lurch as he immediately regretted that decision.

“There’s no ground!” Lime shouted in a mixture of concern and wonder, that alone making Black feel more uneasy.

“No there has to be, they couldn’t have just built a city on thin air!” Green exclaimed as he pressed his face to the floor, Grey making a noise of disgust whilst White just snorted, Blue wheezing in laughter.

“Please get your faces off of the floor” Grey ordered with exasperation, facepalming himself when Mellow began to press his face to the floor whilst Green and Lime both stood up, both of them blushing in embarrassment.

“So how did they manage to build Mira if there is no ground?” Purple questioned, Grey sighing as he took his head out of his hand.

“Because there is a ground, this place is just so cloudy that you can’t see it now please, get off the floor” Grey said as he rubbed a hand across his face, Yellow whispering to Mellow who stood up and, much to Black’s surprise, didn’t look deterred with the fact that he couldn’t see the ground but instead amazed.

“So how sturdy is this glass?” Pink asked when they continued to move and were making their way up towards what Black assumed was the Greenhouse, judging by the amount of plants he saw.

“Pretty sturdy, trust me it's not breaking anytime soon” Grey supplied as an answer, Pink’s face paling as they stood closer to Purple, who grabbed his partner's hand with a mumbled reassurance that it would be ok.

Eventually they made it off of the glass and stood in a small, black metal hallway, Black hearing voices echoing from the left, but before he could check it out Grey was moving out until they stood in the Greenhouse, Pink staying in the hallway when they saw the glass flooring.

“And here is the Greenhouse, its where our plants are grown and where our oxygen is sourced” Black never failed to find himself entranced by the beauty of this place, of all the different plants that seemed to practically illuminate the room, pair that with the sunlight reflecting off of the glass it was gorgeous just like he remembered it.

“These plants are grown and protected by our local botanist, I think she should tell you how it is” and with that Grey stood away, another Crewmate standing in view.

“Hey, I’m Rose and welcome to the Greenhouse! These plants are our source of oxygen on Mira HQ so please be gentle with them, if you have any questions about anything feel free to ask me, I’d be more than happy to answer them” Black caught himself wandering around the room, gently feeling every leaf that he came across as well as smelling each flower he saw, only stopping when he saw a cyan and blue looking flower that Black found himself completely mesmerised by.

It feels like a flower Cyan would’ve loved, came to his mind.

With a new goal in mind, Black stood and made his way to Rose only to stop when he saw Purple and Rose deeply invested in a conversation about plants, Pink looking bored out of their mind.

Deciding that he didn’t want to interrupt them Black stayed silent as he awkwardly stood to the side.

I can get flowers at another place, he excused when the group started to leave the Greenhouse, Rose waving goodbye as she returned to her plants.

The rest of the tour passed rather uneventfully with the crew meeting three more members of Mira HQ, those members being Red, a cranky engineer who didn’t bother to talk to the Skeld, Brown, a busy doctor who looked rather happy that he was taking a break, Orange, a meteorologist who didn’t seem to really care for her job and Coral, who had a keen interest in technology and looked rather exhausted.

They ended the tour in the Cafeteria, Grey saying that this would be where the meeting would take place in about thirty minutes, with a lack of anything better to do Black began to wander around the place yet found himself coming back to the Greenhouse.

Unlike before, Rose wasn’t at the Greenhouse so Black was alone, he found himself going back to the flower as he sat beside it, taking a deep breath as he closed his eye, imagining that Cyan was sitting next to him and not empty air.

The wind that whistled outside was a gentle background noise, Black letting out a gentle sigh as he felt the sun's rays hit his body, making him feel warm.

“You really like that flower don’t you?” A voice said from within the Greenhouse, Black opening his eye and turning his head to see Rose crouching beside Black, “I have to agree it's one of my favourites”

“It's mine too,” Black admitted as he focused back on the flower.

“It’s called an Exotic Flower, not a very special name I know but it is one of the most prettiest flowers I’ve seen”

“It reminds me of someone,” Black admitted as he reached out to feel the petals, pressing his face into the flower as he took a breath in, smelling the sweet scent of the flower.

“Really? The flower just reminds me of a fruit,” Rose said with a giggle, “It kind of makes me want to eat it”

“Well I’m no plant expert but some flowers have been made into foods or teas, maybe this is one of them?” 

“Oh no definitely not, this plant is toxic if consumed but I just sometimes wish I could taste it” Rose said as she stared at the flower longingly.

“It would probably taste bitter anyway,” 

“Probably, but I can’t help but imagine it anyway, it probably tastes sweet but tangy, like a pineapple”

“Maybe the reason you want to eat it is because you keep trying to compare it to other foods” Black deadpanned, his eyebrow raising at Rose’s laughter, the noise echoing across the Greenhouse, the noise infectious yet in the most positive way.

“You know, you kind of remind me of him”

“Of who?”

“My Partner”

“Really?” Rose’s eyebrow raised in surprise, “well I hope that’s a positive thing”

“It is, believe me” Black turned his focus back on the flower.

“What is he like?” She ended up asking, Black feeling saddened as he took a breath in, then out.

“He’s kind, open, funny, caring, really it's so hard to describe him because he’s just him and that’s why I love him” the love that Black had been feeling for Cyan then got replaced by grief, “I miss him”

“You’ll see him again,” Rose said, Black looking up towards the clouds.

“Yeah, one day” he said as he took a breath, feeling the sun as he exhaled, turning back to Rose when he watched her grab the flower, taking a breath in as she stared at the flower before turning back to him.

“I think that you should take those flowers with you” she said as she handed the flowerpot towards Black, who hesitated before shaking his head and pushing the pot back to Rose, only for her to push the pot back to him.

“Really Are you sure?” He asked as he held onto the pot, Rose giving a gentle smile.

“Yeah, i’m sure, besides I think he’d love it” 

“I don’t even know how to care for it though, and besides would it get enough light on Skeld? We’re in space most of the time and don’t really have any natural sunlight”

“It’ll grow trust me, I’ll make you a list of how to care for the flower and give you some supplies like a grow light, we don’t need it anyway”

“Thank you” Black smiled as he practically hugged the plant in his grasp.

“It's not an issue” Rose reassured, Black going to say more only to pause when he saw White step into the Greenhouse, his eye focusing on Black.

“It's time for the meeting, did you still want to join?” White questioned, Black nodding as he stood almost immediately, White giving a quick glance to the plant in his hands yet not questioning it as they made their way to the Cafeteria.

On one side of the table sat Grey, Coral and Banana from Mira, each of them looking serious whilst Blue and Orange were already waiting at the Cafeteria table, shuffling to the side when White and Black entered the room, the pair taking a seat as they stared at the Mira HQ team, the only noise to be heard was the sound of Mellow’s laughter as he ran across through the balcony doors, Yellow chasing her son as they played on the Balcony.

“Right, well let's get started” Grey said with a grim smile, Black feeling chills shoot through his spine as he placed the flower onto the bench.

“What’s so important about this meeting that you cut communications with us and forced us to come in person?” White asked with annoyance, Grey’s smile turning strained.

“Well we actually came for a proposition, you know this, but it's better if Coral tells you” Coral cleared her throat as she opened up her laptop, the noise of the keyboard clicking as she logged in before she turned the screen to the Skeld, Black freezing when he saw that it was a photo which included the members from Black’s old Mira crew, including a photo of him.

“Do you recognise these Crewmates at all?” Coral questioned, White, Blue and Orange nodding, although their faces were filled with confusion. 

“That’s the crew from the third photo, I’ve never met them personally but I know of them” White said as he reached for the laptop, sliding it closer, “why do you ask?”

“Well we all know that everyone, or at least almost everyone died,” Grey said as he glared at Black, who felt ice creep through his veins.

“We all know that Purple was killed by an Imposter, Brown, who was voted off, everyone thought that they were fine afterwards but then the oxygen was sabotaged killing Orange, Blue and my daughter, White” Grey explained, the grief obvious in his voice as he stared down at the table.

“Pink, Yellow, Lime, Red and Black escaped to Polus that night, seeing that there was little chance the oxygen would get fixed in time, that trip saved their life and they landed on Polus thinking that it was safe, they weren’t” Banana murmured sadly as she stared at the floor with tears in her eye.

“Lime, Red, Yellow and Pink were found dead days later with Black being nowhere to be found, they figured out that the killer was Rose after they were caught trying to kill Polus’ leader, Red, and got voted off, but that leaves just two questions: Why did Black leave and who sabotaged the Oxygen?”

“And we think we figured out who,” Coral reached for the laptop in White’s hand, taking it for a moment as she clicked through her keyboard before changing it over to a video and pressing play, Black freezing as he recognised the familiar voice.

‘This is Yellow from Mira HQ, it has officially been three days since the sabotage and we have no further leads on who did it, Lime, Pink, Red and I are still at Polus whilst Black had left this morning saying that he was hired for a new job at Skeld, we all miss him,’ Yellow sounded close to tears, Black himself feeling the grief and guilt overtake him but when he turned his head to face Banana, he could see that she was already crying.

‘Besides that, we have all been doing well, the team at Polus has been accepting and has even offered a few of us a position which we’re still thinking about but life is good so far, we’re still grieving and we’re still hurting but slowly and surely we will heal, that’s all for now’ Yellow finally said, the audio finally cutting out as the video stopped, Coral taking the laptop back as Banana was trying to compose herself.

“That was Yellow’s last message before he died, his body was found in Storage” Banana explained as they wiped a hand across their eye, taking a shaky breath in.

“That still doesn’t explain what deal you’re trying to make though” White explained, Grey giving a look to Banana and Coral who stood from their seats, Black’s heart quickening.

“Well we believe that the Crewmate linked to these murders is in this very room” he said simply, glaring daggers at Black who felt himself freeze in place.

Quickly the Crewmates confusion turned to realisation, then it turned to anger which Grey ignored as Banana took a step toward the group until they were basically beside Black, looking apologetic as they reached forward, only to stop when White slammed his hands on the table, Yellow gasping in the distance as she stopped playing with Mellow to focus on the situation.

“No,” White practically growled with a fire in his eye, Blue and Orange both shielding Black who was just staring at the table in shock.

“In exchange for Black and any and all information regarding him, we will split supplies, money even-”

“No deal!” White ended up shouting as he stood, the others protesting as they tried to stop Banana as they grabbed Black’s hands in one swift move and placed them in cuffs, Black being thankful that they were at least gentle.

“Wait, I'm not a killer!” Black protested, ignoring Grey’s scoff as he tried to free his hands from the grip, almost tripping over himself as he was basically pulled out of his seat by Banana, who apologised for the harshness as she gently pushed him forward until he walked along, Grey and Coral standing on both sides to stop White, Blue, Orange and even Yellow from getting Black.

“What’s happening?! Blue?!” Yellow questioned, looking fearful whilst Mellow was crying in his mothers arms.

“He’s not a killer!” Orange shouted as he grabbed Grey’s hand, the leader just pushing him away, White managing to rush ahead of the group and stop them in the hallway.

“I said that there was no deal Grey, No deal! Let him go!” White shrieked as he blocked the gateway, the volume of his voice attracting some unwanted attention as Tan, Lime, Pink and Purple popped their head around the corner, their faces falling when they noticed the situation, a few of them even coming over towards White’s direction to question what was happening.

“I can’t do that White, I’m sorry, you’ll either comply and let us arrest Black or we will have to arrest you for protecting an Imposter”

“But he’s not an Imposter! You have no proof!” Orange cried, 

“On that night where Black left the killings began, the second that he left and they died, he may not have killed them but I think that he knew somehow or else he would have stayed, we also believe that he sabotaged the oxygen” Coral explained, White just looking more agitated.

“And instead of explaining that you just arrested him?!” White was furious, “we can clear him! Black is not an Imposter!”

“Well we’re only going to interrogate him and ask him a few questions in a private area, you cannot change this decision” Grey hissed as he shoved his way through the group, White stumbling as he was pushed to the side, Banana nudging Black forward.

“What are you going to do to him?!” Yellow shouted, her voice fearful.

Mellow was screaming from within his mothers arms, Yellow too shocked to comfort her son as they tried to stop Grey from going further, the Leader growling in agitation as he turned back to Banana, who froze in place as she dragged Black back a step.

“Call Maroon” Grey ordered, Black wincing as he felt the hands on his hands tighten.

“No” she answered simply, Grey not liking this answer as his fists clenched and he whirled to face Banana and Black, his focus on the crew forgotten.

“What do you mean no? I am the leader and I’m ordering you to call Maroon” Grey hissed as he advanced towards Black who felt terrified for his life.

“There’s another way, if we actually give White and his crew a chance to clear Black then-”

“NO!” Grey roared as he took another step until Black and Grey were face to face, Black tensing as the hands reached forward-

“I’m not going back! You can’t make me!” Black screamed as he fought against the hold, Rose looking smug behind the small army of Imposters who pointed their weapons at Black

“No can do, it's the bosses orders, now stop resisting or you will die” Black let out a low, almost manic laugh as he kicked off the Imposter who lunged for him, Black’s mouth splitting into a wild smile as he reached for his weapons.

“You wouldn’t kill me, we both know this” He said, Rose’s eye narrowing as her smug smile turned strained.

“I know, but it doesn’t stop me from trying” and in a blink, she lunged, weapon in hand as they both fought, the other Imposters stepping back to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

The fight eventually ended with a knife impaled through his hand and his face pressed to the floor, Rose looking smug once more, but Black refused to be defeated.

“Give up” Rose hissed, Black feeling a sense of victory at seeing the damage he caused, evident with the way her eye was half closed, the cuts on her face dripping blood.

Yet Black wasn’t completely unscathed either, there was a knife impaled in his hand that burnt with every movement and he himself could feel the cuts on his body sting in agony.

“Never” he growled as he kicked Rose in one move, cursing in pain as he pulled the knife out of his hand and lunged towards her.

There was a shadow in front of Black, Black blinking as he slowly came to awareness, his hand tingling with phantom pains as he stared up at Banana, who was shielding him, her body tense.

“This isn’t right,” she said.

“You defending an Imposter isn’t right, move” Grey hissed as he tried to shove Banana aside, Banana grabbing his hand in one swift move and pushing him face first into the wall, Black feeling his throat close up at the familiar movements.

“You should have given up,” Rose whispered towards Black.

He wanted to do nothing more than fight back but every part of his body ached, his vision was blurry and his breathing hurt.

Yet despite his pain, he forced himself to focus on Rose, who was cuffing both of his hands, Black realising with a sense of bitterness that he had lost, yet he hadn’t given up.

“I will never give up until I’m home” he hissed, breaking into a wheezing cough almost immediately after the sentence.

“And you won’t go home” Rose mumbled back as she pulled Black off of the wall, shoving him forward so harshly that Black stumbled, Rose tugging him backwards to stop him from falling.

He swore that she seemed way more quiet and less smug after that moment.

“I’m not the bad guy!” Grey protested, Black flinching back when he felt a hand land on his back, only to notice that it was Orange, who immediately took his hand away from Black upon noticing his discomfort.

“And neither is Black!” Banana said as she continued to hold a struggling Grey against the wall, Black tearing his eye away from the scene for a moment to stare at the crew who looked shaken as they stared back at Black.

“He killed my daughter!” Grey cried, his body shaking furiously as tears fell from his eye, Banana looking sympathetic for just a moment before she shook her head, her hold on Grey not loosening.

“A sabotage killed your daughter, not Black, we don’t know if he’s the killer, for all we know it could have been a malfunction in the system” Banana mumbled, Grey turning his head to stare at Black who froze in place, Orange noticing this as he stood in front of Black, shielding him from Grey’s gaze.

“But Coral has evidence!” 

“Coral has accusations, not evidence” There was an offended gasp as Coral stood forward, only to stop in place when Banana glared at her.

“And what would’ve happened if you realised that Black wasn’t an Imposter anyway? What then? You’re not only ruining Mira’s reputation but you’re also destroying a good chance for a partnership and putting someone through a rather traumatic and unnecessary process and for what? Pointless accusations?”

“They’re not pointless! And they sure as hell aren’t just ‘accusations’ “ Coral protested as she went back to the Cafeteria, grabbing her laptop and taking it back to the crew.

“Black knew something, he knew, he also said that he got employed but by who? Because for all we know that could have been a lie” Coral hissed as she shoved her laptop into Banana’s face, the guard looking agitated as she went to shove it away only for White to peer at the laptop, even going as far as to grab it and drag it out of Coral’s hand, peering at it.

“When was this video dated?” White asked Coral, who looked annoyed that her laptop had been taken.

“What?”

“The video, is there a date this video was sent?”

“No,” White deflated.

“Do you know when Black left? Or at least announced his employment” Blue asked.

“Still unsure, there was no date mentioned” Blue’s hands tensed as he let out a low curse, Black himself feeling his heart drop.

“Would the team on Polus know?” Orange questioned as he stepped towards the laptop, Coral snatching her laptop out of White’s hands as she began to type, pulling up the information for Team Polus, her face twisting as she looked conflicted.

“Possibly, they have the records but I think most of Polus’ old team retired”

“Well, should we give them a call anyway? Surely they’d have records saved” Blue questioned, Coral looking ready to speak when she stopped and stared at Grey, who was still pinned against the wall with Banana’s hands pressing against his back. 

“I guess we should” Grey grumbled in agreement, much to Black’s surprise.

The Crew sighed in relief as almost all of the tension left their bodies, Banana casting a wary glance to Grey before she let go of him, Grey standing up and making his way towards Black, his finger painfully jabbing into Black’s chest.

“If I find out that you were involved in this in any way I won’t hesitate to have you voted off, your crew won’t stop me” Grey hissed in a low promise as he turned back to Banana.

“Keep him cuffed for now” Grey ordered Banana, who looked conflicted for a moment before she nodded, the Crew going to protest but upon getting a glare from Grey they stopped, slowly following him back to the Cafeteria.

Taking a seat at the table, Black felt hands wrap around his side, Black flinching for just a moment as he intended to move away, only stopping when he saw that it was Mellow who had his hands wrapped tight around him, his eye filled with tears as he sniffled.

Black wanted to reach out and pull Mellow in a hug but with his hands cuffed all he could do was lean closer to Mellow, the half hug lasting for a moment before someone cleared their throat, Black turning his attention to Coral as she connected a microphone to her laptop then pressing a few keys, the laptop beginning to dial, Coral sliding the laptop over to Grey as he tapped his fingers against the table.

“This is Polus” a voice from the laptop rang out, Grey straightening up as he stared at the screen.

“This is Grey from Mira HQ, I call requesting some information” there was the sound of a chair squeaking as the Crewmate from the other end straightened up, clearing their throat as the tapping of a keyboard was heard from the other end before they hummed.

“What type?” the voice asked.

“Yellow from Mira HQ’s last video before he died, I’d like to know the date that it was recorded” there was the clicking of keys as the voice looked up a date, then silence before they spoke again.

“The video was created on the fourteenth of March, twenty nine fiteen” the voice spoke, “was there anything else you require?” 

There was a low murmur between the groups before White spoke up again.

“Before that date was there any departures?” He questioned.

“And who are you?” The voice asked, sounding sceptical.

“Captain White of the Skeld” the voice ‘aahed’ in realisation before there was a tapping of the keyboard again.

“It's an honour to talk with you Skeld” the voice said, White smiling whilst Grey looked offended.

“The pleasures all mine” 

“The last departure before fourteenth of March was on the thirteenth of March, the ship having one passenger, Black” 

“Lime, do you have our records for when Black’s employment began?” Lime pulled out his own laptop, placing it on the table as he typed.

“Well he arrived on Skeld on the sixteenth of March, we were near this planet during this time, meaning that the trip would have been…” Lime paused as he stared at the screen, looking confused, “Two days”

“Two days? Then why did he take three days to get here?” Black’s heart fell as Grey turned to glare at him.

“I…” White stared at Black, then back at Grey, “...don’t know”

“Was there any issue with the ship at all when it returned? Maybe an engine broke or something” Green said, White humming in contemplation as he grabbed the microphone, dragging it closer to himself as he ignored the protests from Coral and Grey.

“Was the ship ever found?” He questioned the Crewmate, who typed away on their own computer.

“Yes, from the reports written by Red the ship was found with a damaged engine and a broken autopilot, according to her it looked like it had been hit by something”

“That’s weird, how did Black make it to Skeld then if the ship broke” everyone turned to face Black as the voice on the other side began typing.

“There was a distress signal sent out during that time, the coordinates leading exactly to the ship”

“He must have been picked up then dropped off at Skeld then” 

“Who picked him up actually?” White mumbled quietly to himself whilst Lime searched through his laptop and came up with nothing, staring at White with a wide eye.

“I don’t have any records saved”

“Wait! I think I remember the ship that dropped him off! I think it was called Starstruck eight, one, four… uhh-”

“Starstruck eight one four seven?” Blue shouted out a small ‘yes!’, Lime high fiving him with a wide smile, “That was the ship that answered the signal” 

“Wait, would we have security footage of the ship dropping Black off?” Pink ended up questioning, Lime turning away from Blue to type into his laptop, his fingers speedily typing each key with perfect precision, the Crewmates face set in determination as he leaned close to the screen before pulling back, looking proud of himself.

“As a matter of fact we do, would you like to see the footage?” Lime asked Grey.

“Please” Grey pleaded as Lime opened the video and slid it towards Grey, who leaned into the screen, but still he didn’t seem satisfied.

“Do you still need information?”

“Yes, we’ll tell you when we’ve gotten all the information we need,” White said into the microphone.

“This doesn’t mean that he wasn’t involved though, still this clears him but why would Black, who worked to save the other crewmates during the sabotage suddenly leave the team on Polus? I thought they were friends” Coral asked, Orange groaning in agitation as he slapped his hands on the table, glaring at Coral with a fire in his eye.

Blue pressed a hand against Orange’s chest, pulling him back away from the table as Grey’s gaze darkened.

“Because he felt guilty, and he knows it too” 

“He’s not! Black would never hurt anyone! He’s been on our ship for a year, a complete year and he hasn’t done anything to hurt either one of us, there’s been no sabotages, no murders no dea-” then Orange paused, looking saddened, Grey noticing this as he turned back to face Orange.

“Deaths? Are you saying that there was a death?”

“It was a suicide” and Black curled into himself at the mention of Cyan, his heart tugging painfully.

“How do you know it was a suicide and not a murder?” A few of the Crewmates looked uncomfortable as they turned to look at Black, not with suspicion but with doubt.

“Because Cyan had been distant from the rest of the crew, he barely talked to them and he was exhausted, we all tried reaching out to him but he would only talk to Coral, who refused to share what was happening, and then one night Black burst into the Dormitory covered in blood and in such a panic that we knew something was wrong, there was a- a-” Orange shuddered as he curled into himself, hugging his knees and pulling them close to his chest.

“Kitchen knife in his chest, it was deep enough to reach his heart, Brown recognising that it was one of his own knives, he thinks what happened is that Cyan stole it from the kitchen in the night and used it to kill himself” Blue finished for Orange, gently patting the Crewmate’s back. 

“And there wasn’t a lock in the kitchen?” Grey scolded, White’s fist clenching for just a moment before it unfolded and he looked down at the table in shame.

“No, we never- we never thought that we needed to, there’s a lock in the kitchen now though, especially with the knives” White admitted with shame in his voice, Grey looking sympathetic for just a small moment.

“Are you sure it wasn’t framed as a suicide?” Banana questioned, White shaking his head.

“We’re sure, Cyan was Black’s partner, he wouldn’t have killed him never”  Yellow said, her voice so full of trust that it made Black’s heart hurt and tears come to his eye, Grey turning to him before he huffed.

“Well I still don’t trust Black” 

“And I don’t trust you” Orange mumbled back, Grey tensing as he glared at Orange, Banana warily glancing between the two.

“Well we’ve cleared the hiring issue, at least mostly anyway but why did he leave the Crew? He could have stayed but didn’t” Coral questioned, Grey smiling smugly as a silent ‘I told you so’ whilst White stared back at Coral’s laptop.

“Would anyone on Polus have any records or reports from the Mira team about Black leaving?” White asked, getting a low hum in response.

“I’m not sure if there was any mention but I’ll look it up” There was more typing to be heard as the Crewmate on call searched for videos, staying silent just for a moment when an audio file suddenly popped up on Coral’s laptop, White about to press play before Coral snatched the laptop back, grumbling something unintelligible as she pressed play.

“This is Yellow from Mira HQ, it has been a day since the sabotage and nobody is doing ok, even me” Black watched as Banana shifted uncomfortably, her attention turned towards the floor, “We held a funeral for Blue, White and Orange, we’re all grieving”

“Black feels guilty, and despite how many times we keep reassuring him that it's ok he keeps saying that he should have stayed behind to help with the oxygen, that he should have dragged them onto the ship but White, Blue and Orange were insistent that this data was too important to lose” they all heard Yellow stop to take a shaky breath as he exhaled, Banana’s eye looking watery.

“Instead we lost something more important than that data, we lost lives, Black has started to become distant with us and we’re all worried, we have let Polus’ medic, Purple, know to at least keep in touch with Black, see if there’s anything that she can do to help but so far there’s nothing,” there was a sigh that quickly turned to a sob, a creaking of a chair being heard as Yellow seemed to mumble reassurances to himself before he spoke again.

“There’s no new updates for us, I’ll do my best to keep in touch but for now I need to head out and check on the Crewmates” and then there was a click, the audio cutting out as Banana took a step back, the Mira team focusing their attention onto the guard as she shook.

“Are you ok?” Yellow ended up asking, Grey practically glaring at her before he stood up.

“I’ll be fine, just give me a moment” Banana responded as she took a breath, digging her fingers into her side only to stop as Grey stepped forward, taking the hands in his as he took a breath in, Banana copying until they both exhaled, the pair repeating this until Banana finally raised a hand to her eye, wiping away the tears as she turned back to the group, Grey taking a seat.

“There’s also another video mentioning Black” the laptop said, Coral’s laptop pinging as she pressed play on the audio.

“This is Yellow from Team Mira calling for the second update, it has been two days since the sabotage and Black finally told us what’s been on his mind, and I’m both proud and really upset with him” there was a sniffle.

“He said he wants to leave the Team” Grey leaned closer to the laptop, his eye narrowed in suspicion as he practically dragged it out of Coral’s hand, sliding it closer to himself as he raised the volume.

“Black says that he’s not sure he could ever be apart of this team after the sabotage, that it wasn’t our fault for his decision, that he genuinely considers us his friends and family, I don’t agree with him and I tried asking him to stay but he refused, so we let him leave”

“He’s been working hard in finding a place to enrol, we’ve been helping him out when we can but he eventually put in his application at Skeld, there’s no response yet-” there was the sound of footsteps from the other side, Banana tensing until they all heard Black’s voice telling Yellow that he had been accepted, and with a click the call ended.

“I’ve been accepted,” Black remembers muttering to Yellow, who put on a fake smile as he hung up the call, spinning his office chair to face Black, who was standing awkwardly in the doorway.

“I’m glad” Yellow said, although Black could tell that it wasn’t genuine.

Yellow had gotten up from his seat, walked over to Black and hugged him, the hold tight and reeking of desperation and hurt.

“I’m sorry” Black apologised for what had to be the millionth time, hugging his friend back as he rested his cheek on Yellow’s head.

“Can’t you stay? Surely Polus would like to have you on their team, or, or even us, we’d love you on the team, please just- just stay” Yellow begged as he began to cry in Black’s chest, Black just freezing in place as he felt guilt worm its way into his heart.

“I can't,” Black admitted, Yellow shoving away from Black as frustrated tears began to spill from his eye.

“Why? Why can’t you just stay?! Why why why-”

Black had never found a way to tell Yellow the reason as to why he had to leave, he regrets ever even allowing himself to leave without telling them the truth, and yet he knows that if he was given the option to do it all again he couldn’t muster up the strength to tell them.

“I still don’t trust him” Grey told them all, Blue and White groaning whilst Orange looked agitated.

“Seriously?! We’ve given you basically every piece of evidence we can find! Even finding evidence from Polus themself, Black is innocent!” Orange shouted, his fingers digging into the bench.

“But he still has some discrepancies that aren’t solved, Black is still suspicious” Coral said.

“You- He- Argh!” Orange stood, his hands reaching for his head as he paced for a short time before taking a breath then coming back, taking his seat at the table.

“Is there any more evidence you can find?” White spoke into the microphone.

“No, those were the only pieces of evidence we could find, I’m sorry” the voice said, White sighing.

“Well in that case I think we don’t need Polus for anything else, do we?” White asked Grey, who shook his head, although he still looked sceptical.

Both White and Grey thanked the Crewmate before the call ended, the groups falling in silence as they all glared at each other before Banana sighed.

“We’re getting nowhere with this maybe we should just let him go, he doesn’t seem to have done anything wrong” she said to Grey, who turned to face the Guard in anger.

“How could you say that?!” Grey hissed to Banana, who recoiled as she turned her face away from him, looking tense, Grey noticing this too and softening as he stood up from his seat, Banana turning back to him with a hurt look in her eye.

“Well you can just let him go, we’ll keep an eye on him and we won’t return to Mira” White placated, Grey whipping his head to the Crewmate to glare at him.

“No, I’ve come too far, too damn far to just give up now, he’s responsible and I know it!” Grey roared, Banana gently reaching out to touch his back.

“You’re too caught up on White’s dea-”

“You do NOT say her name,” Grey roared as he stood up, his hands pushing Banana back when he deflated sadly, “please don’t say her name”

“Ok I won’t, I’m sorry”

“How can you not see that he’s wrong? He was friends with your brother and he died too, Black left them alone to die” Banana flinched at the mention of her brother, Black’s eye widening in surprise.

“Black wasn’t responsible for Yellow’s death, he didn’t kill him” Banana told Grey in a tone that made it seem like she had repeated it to herself millions of times, Black wouldn’t be surprised if she had.

“But he left them on Polus, just like he left my daughter to die from a sabotage” shouted Grey.

Black couldn’t help but curl into himself, feeling overwhelmed with the guilt of knowing that Grey was right.

“That was her choice to stay behind and get the evidence! You heard it from Yellow, Black tried to stop White, tried to stop all of them only for Yellow to drag him back to the ship!” Banana shouted back with tears in her eye.

“He should have stopped her but he didn’t! And now she’s dead!” Grey hissed before he paused and sat back down on the table, his head rested in his hands as he let out a broken sob, “she’s dead.”

“Have you ever considered that if he did try and stop them he would have ended up dead too?” Judging by the way that Grey froze, he had not considered it, Black freezing too.

The sirens were still blaring, the noise alone made his head hurt but he ignored it as he scanned the room, searching for any sign of Blue, Orange or White, who had run off to try and get the data, stating that it was too important to lose.

“Black! Come on! Please!” Yellow coughed into their hand, Black himself trying to take a breath only to feel immediately puffed again, each breath of air more difficult to keep than the first.

What’s wrong with the oxygen? Why am I not leaving? He had thought to himself before the siren blared again, Black shaking his head to try and clear away the fog as he remembered White, Blue and Orange running to save the data.

“I can’t leave them! We’re all supposed to leave!” He took a step away from the ship, feeling a hand grab his in a grip so tight that he knew Yellow wouldn’t let go. 

“If you go back there you will die!” Yellow shouted with tears in their eye, Black knowing that it wasn’t panic that made Yellow say that but a legitimate fact, yet Black took a step forward anyway, a hand grabbing his in a desperate attempt to stop him.

“I don’t want you to die! Please!” Yellow practically pleaded, Black dragging his hand out of the grip as he focused on the hallway, the blaring of the sirens almost drowning out Yellow’s cries, Black turning back to see his friend looking desperate and broken.

“Please, I can’t lose anyone else” Yellow begged, Black staring back at the hallway as his eye began to water, seeing no sight of the missing Crewmates.

“I’m sorry” he mouthed to the hallway before he turned back to Yellow, who looked at Black with fear in his eye, only turning to relief when he saw Black take a step towards the ship then another until Yellow grabbed Black’s hand and ran inside, the Dropship’s access ramp closing before the ship finally left, the sirens, and Mira HQ, fading into the distance.

Grey was silent as he stared at Banana then to Black as he sat back, staring at the wall, his fist shaking as he took a deep breath in, the fist unclenching.

“Fine, I’ll let Black go,” the Crew’s faces turned relieved, “on one condition”

“And what is that?” White questioned, his voice sounding strained.

“I want Banana, Maroon and Red to join you on your ship, they’ll report to me every day updating me on Black’s status, they’ll return home by my order” Banana blinked in surprise as she turned to face Grey, the leader looking serious as he glared at White, who looked conflicted. 

“Sir?” Banana questioned, Grey turning to face the guard, looking broken beyond belief.

“Please,” Grey pleaded, gone was the leader of Mira HQ, being replaced with a grieving father, “if he’s clear then you can come home”

“But won’t you need me here?” Grey reached a hand out to Banana’s side, the Crewmate practically melting at the touch.

“I have other guards, don't worry about me,” Banana’s face twisted in conflict, looking like she wanted to protest only to see her leaders desperation and sighing.

“Yes sir, I’ll notify Red and Maroon right away” and Grey pulled Banana into a hug, the Crewmate freezing in place before hugging Grey back.

“Hold on, we haven’t agreed to this” White hissed, Grey glaring at the Captain as he let go of Banana, who walked out of the Cafeteria then went left towards what Black assumed must be the Launchpad.

“Then Black stays” Grey said smoothly, Orange gasping.

“You can’t do that!” He shouted as he took a step forward, being stopped by Blue who held the furious Crewmate back.

“Its either accept the offer or accept that your friend will be staying here until I clear him” Grey responded, White’s brow furrowing as he stared at Blue, who gave a small yet serious nod before White sighed, turning back to Grey. 

“...can I at least inform Brown and Coral? They’re still on the ship and they deserve to know” the Captain requested, Grey humming as he waved a hand.

“As you wish” White gave a look to Lime, who had already begun dialling their ship, ringing about three times before someone finally picked up, the audio sounding fuzzy for just a moment before it returned to normal.

“Lime? What’s up?” The voice of Coral asked, White taking the laptop and sliding it towards himself.

“Coral its White”

“Captain! What’s up?”

“I need you to bring Brown into Communications with you, there’s a…” he turned to Grey, who shrugged whilst White grumbled, “lot to explain.”

There was no response for a while before Coral eventually pushed away the chair.

“Right away White” there were footsteps before the room fell in silence, the Crew awkwardly waiting until they heard two pairs of footsteps yet again.

“Brown’s here with me, what’s up?”

“Well how would you feel about three new crewmates joining our ship?” there was a groan.

“Seriously? Do we have to”

“Well they kind of have Black hostage and they won’t let him go if we don’t agree” Orange piped up, Grey shouting a ‘we do not!’ White shushing Orange as there was a gasp and a shouted ‘WHAT?!’ from Coral.

“Is Black hurt? How serious is the injury?” Coral demanded.

“I knew we shouldn’t have trusted them!” Brown shouted.

“What are they requesting-”

“Settle down, Black’s fine, we can trust them” Black heard a mumbled ‘I hope’ from Pink, Lime, Green and Purple murmuring in agreement, “and they’re requesting nothing, you see Grey, Mira’s leader, is suspicious of Black because he thinks that Black was linked to the murders of the Third Mira Team, we’ve cleared him but Grey is still suspicious and wants both of his guards plus an engineer to watch Black and report back to Grey”

Coral and Brown were silent for a moment.

“Sure, I guess we don’t have a choice, you’ll fill us in later right?” Coral said, sighing.

“Of course” White promised, Coral and Brown murmuring before they eventually agreed, the call ending as White slid the laptop back to Lime, Grey reaching out his hand for White to take and shake, only for the Captain to stare at it, his face agitated.

“I will accept your crew if you accept my terms,” White paused, continuing only when Grey’s eyebrow raised in interest, “I won’t accept anyone who is rude or god forbid abusive to any members of my team, we’re Crewmates and we’d like to be treated like we are, if they are rude or abusive they will be banned from the Skeld, also you will not spread word of your suspicion towards Black to anyone, I won’t have any of my Crew’s lives put in danger because of suspicions, if you have any evidence that Black is an Imposter then we will deal with him accordingly.”

“Is that all?” Grey asked, White staring at the rest of the crew, who all just shrugged, White turning back to Grey as he reached out his hand, grabbing Grey’s own hand and shaking it.

“Right, well now that that’s over uncuff Black, we’re leaving” White ordered with a hiss, Grey glaring at the Captain for just a moment before he sighed, saying that he couldn’t until Banana returned, White sending Lime to go get Banana and bring them back to the table, Banana finally arriving at the Cafeteria as well as Red and Maroon who immediately began to pester Grey with questions.

“I hope you don’t mind if you wait here for about an hour though, give me time to talk to my Crew and let them pack” Grey asked, Banana beginning to loosen the cuffs, apologising the whole time until there was a click, the cuffs coming free, Black moving his hands as he clenched and unclenched them in an attempt to get rid of the pins and needles that shot through them.

“An hour and that’s it” White hissed as he looked to Black for a quick moment before he got up and left, the rest of the Crewmates doing the same until it was just Orange, Yellow and Mellow who stayed at the table.

“You ok?” Yellow questioned, “that was a lot”

“I’ll be fine,” Black whispered, taking a breath to ease his racing heart, Mellow practically leaping into Black’s chest, hugging him as he began to cry, Black gently reassuring him that it was ok as he hugged him.

Eventually Mellow pulled away, sitting beside Black as his tiny hand wrapped around Black’s, Yellow taking a seat beside her son as she grabbed the flower off of the table, holding the pot in her hands as she stared at it, smelling it before turning to Black again.

“Where’d you get the plant from?” Yellow ended up asking as she held out the flower towards Black, who took it and cradled it in his hands.

“I got it from Rose, its for Cyan”

“It’s pretty” 

“Do you know how to care for it?” Orange ended up asking, startling Black who turned his head to stare at the Crewmate, who was standing directly behind him yet not sitting beside him or reaching out to hug Black like he thought he would, their earlier argument coming to his mind.

“Not really, but Rose is writing a list on how to care for it, I better check with that actually, want to come with me?” He asked Orange, hoping that that would be evidence enough that he didn’t hate him because Black didn’t, he never could.

“Sure, I don’t have anything else I need to do for an hour anyway” Black went to stand when Mellow cried in displeasure, Black passing the flower to Yellow before picking the toddler up as he held him to his side, feeling his heart warm when tiny hands wrapped around him.

He saw Orange look happy for just a moment but upon noticing Black staring at him he turned away, looking guilty, Black himself feeling guilty as memories of the argument resurfaced for just a moment before he took a breath.

“Let's go back to the Greenhouse” Later, when this is all over we’ll talk he told himself.

Rose was delighted to see them all again, even going as far to hug Black in relief that he hadn’t been arrested before noticing Mellow and focusing all her attention on him.

Instead of shying away from the Crewmate however, Mellow lit up and demanded Black to put him down, Mellow going to his mum to grab the rock and show it to Rose with pride.

“I guess that rock wasn’t mine,” Yellow said as she watched Mellow cradle the rock.

“I think he just wanted you to hold it” Black admitted, Yellow snorting in amusement.

Rose then began showing Mellow around the Greenhouse, again, Mellow seeming rather bored by this and going back to his mum, slumping by her feet, Yellow giggling softly as she placed the flower on the ground then picked up her son, Rose not seeming deterred as she instead turned to Black, giving him a small notepad filled with information about his flower as well as a bag containing items needed for the flower as well as a list of their uses and what they were, Black thanking Rose who just smiled.

They only left the room when Mellow began to complain that he was hungry, Rose showing them to the vending machine where Mellow got some juice, humming happily as he sat by the table, their moment getting interrupted by White who finally announced that it was time to leave.

Waving goodbye to Rose, they began to make their way back to the Dropship when Black heard a noise that sounded awfully similar to a vent grate closing causing him to halt in place as he took a few steps back and peered into Medbay, finding the place empty.

Weird, he thought to himself as he went to take a step inside only to feel a tug at his knee, breaking Black out of his thoughts as he turned to see Mellow, who was trying to pull him towards the Dropship, Black casting one more uneasy glance at Medbay before he followed Mellow back to the Dropship.

As it turns out Black, Orange, Yellow and Mellow were the first group inside the ship, other than Red who was already strapped in and had their hands crossed.

“Red? Why are you coming with us?”

“Because I’m the Engineer,” Red answered in response, Black’s eyebrow raising as Red looked to the floor, mumbling, “Grey told me to”

“Ah” he said as he waited at the access ramp of the Dropship, staring out towards the hallway as a chill ran through his spine.

It's just the wind, he thought to himself as he tried to ignore the imaginary sirens and the flash of red, it's just the wind.

Eventually Lime made his way up the access ramp, Black’s brow furrowing when he noticed that Green wasn’t with him.

“Where’s Green?” He questioned Lime, who turned around as if expecting his brother to be right there only for his eye to widen when he noticed the empty space, Black’s heart twisting in worry, only for it to turn to relief when he saw Green dash to the access ramp, panting.

“I’m sorry I left something behind, I had to go get it” Green apologised as he curled into himself, the hand on the doorway supporting him as he panted.

“It's fine” Black answered, Green eventually regaining his breath and walking inside the Dropship.

Black swore that he felt Green’s eye on him and he was going to ask if there was something wrong only to turn his focus back to the doorway when he saw White, Purple, Blue, Pink, Banana and Maroon make their way to the access ramp, Maroon looking excited as they stood inside the ship.

“Should we say goodbye to Grey?” Yellow ended up asking when she noticed the Captain waiting at the doorway, Black seeing White glare at the leader.

“I just wanna get out of here, lets just go” White said as he pulled the lever inside the ship, the access ramp closing and shutting them away from Mira.

“Buckle up, again it's gonna be a bumpy ride” Blue ordered, the Crew nodding as they strapped in, White and Blue heading to the cockpit as the Dropship rumbled to life then left Mira for what Black hoped was the last time.

+*+

“-That’s pretty much what happened” White explained to Coral and Brown, who had been listening to the story with mixed reactions.

After the Crew had arrived at the Skeld, Black practically collapsed at one of the tables in exhaustion, only for Coral to immediately force him to stand up so she could check him for injuries, only stopping when she was sure that there was none, nodding in approval.

Blue had volunteered to show Banana, Maroon and Red on a tour around the Skeld as well as properly introducing them to the team, yet Black could see the tiredness in the way Blue acted, the way his eye twitched every time they asked a question, still managing to be polite to them as he tried to answer all of them to the best of his abilities.

When he had finished his tour however, he had ordered himself some dinner, eating in silence then practically heading straight to the Dormitory with Yellow and Mellow hot on his heels, Black debating on heading back to the Dormitory only to stop when he saw Orange, who was staring at his meal more than he was eating it.

“Wow, I’m kind of glad I stayed behind then” Coral half joked, White letting out a low yet tired laugh as he ate another mouthful until he too had finished his food and headed directly to Admin to sort out some new ID’s for Banana, Red and Maroon, the Crewmates following after him.

Eventually Coral stood, saying that she had something to finish up in the Medbay, leaving Orange and Black alone at the table as Black ate in awkward silence, Orange still poking at his food.

The only noise that could be heard was the sound of Brown in the Kitchen, but Black refused for it to be that way.

Shuffling around the table, Black scooted closer to Orange whose face scrunched up, but he didn’t protest as Black just sat next to him, ignoring his meal as he stared at Orange, who was still poking at his food.

“You need to eat” Black said, Orange aggressively stabbing his potatoes with his fork instead of responding, Black sighing gently as he decided to go for a different approach.

“We need to talk” he said instead, the words causing Orange to stop his process as he turned to look at Black.

“About what?” He asked, looking nervous.

“Our argument yesterday, it’s bothering me and I know it's bothering you too” at Black’s words Orange turned back to his food, his body tensing.

“I’m sorry I yelled at you, I didn’t mean any of those words I just don’t like talking about it” Black admitted as he turned to his own food, “if there was anything I would ever do differently it would be that entire situation because you’re right, I should talk to you all often I just-” 

He cut himself off when he felt hands tightly wrap themselves around his torso, Orange leaning into Black’s side as he began to shake.

“I was so scared I thought you were going to die” Orange whispered, Black feeling his heart freeze when he heard the sadness in his friend's voice, Black wrapping his hands around Orange.

“Well I’m not dead, I’m here, It's ok” Black whispered to Orange, whose breath was hitching as Black gently comforted his friend.

“I thought you were mad at me because I pushed! I- I’m sorry I never meant any of that I swear! I just-” Black felt the hands squeeze tighter, only loosening their grip when Black let out a small wheeze at the pressure, “I don’t want you to leave, please don’t leave”

“I’m not leaving” Black promised as he stared at the table in the centre, where Cyan’s new flower replaced the old bouquet, which was in the disposal, the flower having a small lamp attached to the pot.

“Good, because if you ever left I’m finding you and dragging your butt all the way back here” Orange promised, Black snorting at the mental image, “I can’t lose you too.”

“You won’t lose me, ok? It’ll all be ok” Black reassured, Orange sniffling as he wiped his eye then stretched with a yawn that had Black himself yawning.

“Should we go to the Dormitory?” Black said midway through his yawn as he turned to his friend, who had let go of Black and had his head resting on the table, Black rolling his eye as he nudged his friend who mumbled something unintelligible.

“C’mon, lets go” Orange groaned as he got up from his seat, Black grabbing his friend’s hand and practically dragging him back to the Dormitory, Black passing by the kitchen and waving goodnight to Brown, who was mopping the floor.

Once they were in the Dormitory, Black led Orange to his bedroom door, Orange grabbing his ID and sliding it in the card reader before he said farewell to Black, Black watching as the Crewmate practically collapsed face first onto his bed, eliciting a snort from Black as the door slid closed.

Making his way to his room, Black stopped in front of the sliding door and grabbed his ID, swiping it as the door unlocked, sliding closed as he stood inside, isolated in dark for only a small moment as he reached for the lightswitch, turning it on before crashing face first on his bed with a groan, Black rolling over as he opened his mouth and aimed his tongue towards the lightswitch, flicking it off and plunging him in uncomfortable darkness once again.

Would it be weird to invest in a night light? He thought to himself as he tossed himself to the side, facing the wall as he tried to ignore the emptiness in his bed and close his eye, his exhaustion fading into a blissful sleep.

+*+

Hushed whispers and a hurried knock awoke him from his sleep, Black’s heart racing as he jumped to awareness, stumbling out of bed.

“-doesn’t answer the door Coral? Do we have a bypass?”

“I don’t know, I think the only person who can bypass the locks is-” 

“And he’s-” the knocks became more hurried, sending Black on edge as he searched for his ID, sliding it through the reader as the door opened, revealing Orange, whose fist was raised for another knock, his eye wide.

Coral and Purple were also at the doorway, the two turning away from each other upon seeing Black, both of them dropping in relief, yet they still appeared shaken. 

“What’s wrong?” Black questioned, letting out a small ‘oof’ when Orange pulled him into a hug, Black feeling concerned when he heard quiet sobs from his friend.

“It's White he- he and I thought you-” Orange cut himself off as he sobbed, Black gently shushing him as he hugged his friend, who was shaking in his hold.

“You’re ok” he tried to soothe his friend, staring at Coral whose face was serious that Black could feel his own heart twist in worry.

“What happened?” He questioned, tears forming in Coral’s eye as Purple turned his attention to the floor, his hand shaking as it clenched into a fist.

“Its White, he’s-” Coral cut herself off as she took a shaky breath, “he’s-"

“Dead” Purple finished, any sense of stability Black felt shattering into pieces.

Chapter Text

Black had hoped in a way that Orange, Coral and Purple were pulling a cruel prank when they told him they found a dead body in Navigations, yet he was speechless when he saw White’s lifeless body slumped to the floor, a bullet in the Captain’s head as blood stained the metal flooring below.

“How did this happen?” Purple had whispered in disbelief, Black’s mouth tasting sour as he tried to fight past the uncomfortable memories, the awful familiarities between the Captain and Cyan, the way his hands felt sticky with blood, he tried to convince himself that it wasn’t real, that this was a nightmare and when Black blinked, he would wake up in his room.

And yet when he blinked, he saw White’s body all over again and he couldn’t help but let out a shaky breath, his eye filling with tears as he stepped once, then again until he was in Navigation, hurriedly making his way to White until he was next to the Captain, collapsing to his knees on the floor as he sobbed, his hands shaking, the rest of the group staring in silence.

Soon, Coral joined Black’s place on the floor, pulling the Captain’s head into her lap as she searched for a pulse even though they all knew it was useless yet Black couldn’t help but hope that maybe White was alive, that despite the head injury maybe, just maybe it had missed his brain only to feel himself drop when Coral gasped, curling into herself as she shook with tears, Black swallowing back another sob as he shuffled closer to her side, placing one hand on her head whilst Coral just leaned into the touch, crying, Black’s other hand resting on White’s head.

They stayed like that until Blue rushed into the room, taking a shaky breath upon seeing White then glancing to Coral and Black with a wide, disbelieving eye before he hesitantly pulled out the megaphone and reported the body, the siren blaring for just a moment before he entered Navigation to help Black and Coral pick up White’s body, making their way to Cafeteria where the Crewmates were slowly entering, Black’s eye trailing to the centre table then to Cyan’s flower, feeling sick.

Gods, and I don’t even have any more flowers to give, Black thought as his stomach churned, turning his gaze away when he thought he would throw up, focusing on the airlock as they placed White inside, making their way back to the table.

“So it's true? White’s dead?” Lime asked in disbelief, Blue’s fingers, which were dug into the table, reaching and squeezing Yellow’s hand when he heard her sob.

“It's true, White’s dead,” Blue said, his voice strained, the table erupting with multiple voices.

“How? Surely this isn’t like Cyan’s sui- like last time” Blue shook his head at Lime’s question.

“It's not, White’s been shot” he murmured, everyone at the table stiffening at the implication.

“So a murder” Pink murmured, their expression darkening as they seemed to glare at everyone, stopping when Purple squeezed their hand, looking tense.

“Do we know who did it?” Green ended up asking, Blue shaking his head as he sighed sadly.

“I was asleep when this all happened, Purple was the one who found the body though so maybe he has something”

“I have nothing, I woke up, heard a gunshot and thought that we had hit something, went to investigate what I thought was a crash but found nothing, went to Weapons to see if I could see any asteroids and found nothing, went down to Navigations and saw that White’s body was there”

“Then why didn’t you report it? That’s kind of suspicious” Red said, a few of the Crew mumbling to themselves whilst Pink slammed their hands on the table, glaring at Red who looked unfazed.

“Purple isn’t an Imposter! We were in the same room when the gunshot happened, I remember both of us waking up, Purple saying that I should go back to sleep whilst he investigated, I should have gone with him but I was so tired I just fell back asleep…” Pink slowly slid their way off of the bench, their eye wide at the realisation as their body shook, Purple placing a hand on their knee. 

“It's not your fault Pink, its mine for not reporting the body I just-” Purple sighed, dropping his head in his hands whilst Pink leaned against their partner, “I thought he was hurt so I went to Coral, then Coral found the body and got Orange who woke up and wanted to check on Black, then after finding him ok he woke up Blue whilst we checked on the rest of the Crewmates, then the body was reported and here we are”

“Besides, we’ve all known each other for years, I wouldn’t dream of hurting White or anyone, I’m pretty sure we all feel the same” Orange declared as he stared between the Crew, who were nodding in agreement.

“Well what if it's the new members? They don’t have any emotional attachments towards us, surely they wouldn’t care if White died” Lime ended up saying, Red, Banana and Maroon all sputtering in defence whilst the Crew murmured, most of them looking in agreement.

“I think it's probably Maroon, they seemed pretty eager to join Skeld, what if they had something more planned” 

“Hey I’m not an Imposter!” Maroon defended, Banana glancing from Brown to Maroon with a wide eye whilst Pink’s eye just narrowed.

“What about Banana then?”

“For someone who was seemingly asleep during the murder you sure seem to be accusing a lot of people” Red grumbled, Pink gasping in offence whilst Purple looked furious, his hand protectively placing on Pink’s chest as he shielded them, Blue humming in thought whilst Orange just shook his head.

“Banana protected Black back at Mira I doubt it was her” Orange said, the rest of the Crew nodding whilst Banana seemed to relax, both Maroon and Banana sighing in relief whilst Green still didn’t look convinced, his eye narrowed as he glared from Black to Banana.

“Maybe she protected Black because they’re both Imposters,” Green murmured, Lime whipping his head towards his brother. 

“Green?” Lime questioned, his eye wide in surprise whilst Green just looked at his brother for a moment before glaring back to Black.

“I protected him because Black is innocent, the only reason I’m here is because Grey wanted me to be here” Banana muttered, Green turning away from Black as he scanned the rest of the table with a narrow eye before settling on Red, who looked furious.

“What if it's Red? She said she’s an engineer so she’d have a good layout of the vents, maybe she left the Dormitory and entered in Weapons, vented to Navigations, shot White then vented away somewhere” Green asked, Black pausing for a moment as he tried to think, only to freeze when Red let out a furious screech.

“It's not me, what the hell?!” She yelled, Black noticing the scepticism on a few of the Crewmates faces.

“Surely you must have seen someone walking in the Dormitory Hallway when you went to investigate the murder Purple?” Yellow questioned, Purple shaking his head whilst Yellow just slumped in place, swiping a hand across their eye to get rid of the tears, Blue shuffling closer to Yellow as he faced the group, looking serious.

“Do we have any leads whatsoever?” Blue said, staring at Green.

“No, but-”

“Then we don’t know who killed White, no need to vote anyone out until we have solid evidence” he declared, the group all looking at each other as they murmured amongst themselves, Brown looking frightened and furious all at the same time.

“So then what do we do? White’s dead and an Imposter is still on this ship and we don’t have a Captain-” 

“Blue’s the Captain now” Coral whispered in realisation, Brown not even bothering to finish his sentence as he looked shocked, leaning back in his seat as he fell silent, Coral’s eye wide as she turned away from the table to look at Blue, who looked shocked.

“I never- I never wanted to get the role of Captain like this” was all he said before he fell silent again, Yellow letting out another sob as Blue pulled her in for a hug, crying into her side whilst the crew fell silent, Black getting lost in thought until Blue pulled away from Yellow, exhaling softly as his eye looked puffy.

“If we have nothing then we skip this meeting, we’ll host a funeral for White and then in about three hours we meet in Admin for task assignments” Blue announced, the Crew nodding as they went to skip their votes pausing when Pink spoke.

‘What about a Co-Pilot? We need to pick someone in case-” Pink trailed off, Blue sighing.

“I promise I’ll choose someone but I just can’t think, I need to make a call and get the Captain Transfership approved, announce White’s death then choose a Co-Pilot” Blue responded, his head dropping into his hands, “for now skip so we can have a funeral.”

Casting glances towards each other the Crew skipped their votes before making their way towards the airlock, silent as they stared at White on the floor, Blue stepping to the front of the group as he shared his heartfelt words, about how White was more than a Captain but their friend, and how they’d never forget that, how they’d find his killer and bring justice.

Purple apologised for not finding him sooner whilst Pink apologised for being too tired to even bother checking, the rest of the Crewmates saying their own pieces until it was eventually Black’s turn, Black swallowing the lump in his throat as he stood towards the airlock, placing a hand on the glass as his vision went blurry with tears.

“White, you believed in me, you always did, you protected us all like we were family and in return I- I swore I’d protect you all in I- I failed, but I’m not giving up I promise, I’ll find who killed you and protect the Crew the entire time” Black whispered as he leaned his head to the glass, closing his eye as he took a shaky breath, trying to think of more to say only to choke on a sob instead, taking a step back as he returned to the group.

Orange grabbed Black in a side hug, Black just letting his friend hold him as Coral stepped towards the lever, pulling it, the group all watching as the space took White’s body.

“We’ll all miss you,” Black whispered to the air, Orange letting out a sniffle whilst he heard someone else cry.

Then, the group dispersed, Pink and Purple heading towards Security, Black wincing when he heard Pink’s soft sobs echo across the room, Blue heading towards Communications to make a call, Yellow making her way towards the Dormitory. 

“Aren’t you going with Blue?” Orange had questioned, Black glancing towards her in concern when she saw her wide tear filled eye.

“I wish I just- Mellow’s alone, he doesn’t know about White and there’s still an Imposter around I can’t-” then she sped walked her way towards the Dormitory, Brown following after her as he went to the Kitchen to make more food, Coral too stunned to even go anywhere as she took a seat at their usual table, staring down at the bench as she shook, Orange going to step forward to comfort her when they both stopped, hearing the sounds of whispered arguments.

“Green, what is wrong with you?! Black’s our friend!” Lime hissed, his finger jabbing at his brother's chest, Green looking agitated as he pushed back at Lime.

“No Black’s your friend!” Green spat, Lime gasping as his fist clenched.

“I thought Black was your friend! What happened between you two?!” Lime questioned, seeming confused yet angry all at the same time.

“He killed White that’s what happened! I’m telling you he’s not as innocent as he appears to be” Black didn’t miss the way Orange cast a worried look to Black, frowning.

“You have no evidence! I don’t know why you’re suspicious of Black and why you’re just not talking to me!” Lime hissed, the pair's argument only stopping when they saw Black and Orange.

“Is everything ok?” Orange questioned in concern, Lime faking a smile whilst Green just glared at Black.

“Everything’s fine, I’m going to the Dormitory” and with that Green shoved his way past Black, the force of the shove causing Black to widen his eye in surprise, Orange glaring as he watched Green walk away.

“What’s his problem?” Orange huffed as he turned back to Black looking concerned, Lime sighing.

“I don’t know, I should probably follow him though” and with that Lime left to follow his brother leaving Banana, Maroon and Red who were just awkwardly lingering at the Cafeteria, Black giving a look to Orange before they made their way to the trio who were murmuring lowly amongst themselves.

“You ok?” Orange ended up asking, the three of them falling silent as Maroon just sighed. 

“Yeah we’re fine, just worried is all…” 

“We’re gonna have to contact Grey after Blue is done using Comms,” Banana said, looking apologetic whilst Black just shrugged in a poor attempt to hide his nerves.

“That doesn’t mean he’ll think it's you! Sure he’s suspicious of you for now but I promise that you’re safe” Banana placated, Maroon nodding in agreement whilst Red just split away from the group to order breakfast, her eye narrowed.

“Thanks” 

“Lets just hope we can find whoever is the Imposter, we’ll help out whenever we can” Maroon said, their gaze looking faraway as they stared at Red, looking conflicted.

“Well I guess we’ll leave you to it and eat some food, I have a feeling Blue might be a bit more strict after White” Orange admitted with a sigh, Banana dropping.

“He’ll be ok right? You’ll all be ok” Banana asked as she glanced between Orange and Black, Black staring to the floor whilst Orange just sighed.

“This isn’t the first time we’ve dealt with a death, it's just the first time we’ve dealt with a murder, Blue probably wants to find the Imposter so that way we’re safe” Black admitted, feeling a sense of guilt and disgust at the way he had to utter the word Imposter like it was a curse.

Yet you are a curse, aren’t you? His brain hissed to itself.

“Blue’s a fair Crewmate, he wouldn’t blindly vote you guys out because you’re new to the ship he’s not like that” Orange reassured, Banana and Maroon casting an unsure look towards each other.

“White was also a good Captain, he didn’t deserve this…” Black murmured, Orange’s eye looking teary whilst Banana placed a gentle hand on both Black and Orange, looking serious.

“We’ll find who did this eventually, for now you should eat some food, get some water ok?” 

“Same to you” Orange responded whilst Black lit up, an idea coming to his mind.

“Actually, why don’t you come with us? We should check on Brown anyway but you’ll love his cooking” Black offered, Orange nodding in agreement whilst Banana just hummed in contemplation.

“I’ll join, Maroon you coming?” At the mention of their name Maroon shrugged, following Orange, Black and Banana as they all ordered food, Red having ordered her food and waiting by the side, giving a quick glance to the group before staring back out the window, Black frowning as he turned away to watch Brown.

Brown was acting differently than usual, at one moment he’d be focused only to space out then seem to forget what he was doing before he’d remember again and repeat the entire process, Orange and Black glancing at each other in concern.

“Brown?” Black ended up calling, the Crewmate stopping what he was doing to turn towards the voices, giving a small shake of his head as he made his way towards the booth.

“What can I get for you all?” He ended up asking, Black only feeling more concerned when Brown seemed to glare at Banana and Maroon.

“Are you ok?” Orange ended up asking, Brown nodding with a frown.

“Oh me? I- I’m fine, wait no- no, no not really” Brown began to mumble to himself before he shook his head, taking an almost angry breath in before he exhaled, giving a tired smile, “I’ll be ok”

“Brown if this is about White then you know you’re not alone, right? If you need to talk then-” Orange was cut off when Brown let out an angry shout as he slammed his hand on the bench, the noise startling the group as they all jolted, Banana and Maroon tensing as they watched the Crewmate begin to pace.

“I just- I don’t understand who would want to kill White and why? First they were targeting you and now they targeted White what do they want?!” Brown shouted, his eye wide and worried as he stared directly into Black’s soul, tears forming in his eye, Orange reaching out to try and comfort him only for the Chef to continue his pacing, his hands digging into his head.

“They wouldn’t stop there, no, I know Imposters I know that they’ll just kill and kill and kill until they can’t kill anymore because that’s just what they are!” Black tried to hide the hurt at the toxicity in Brown’s voice, tensing when the Chef turned to Black again, letting out an almost manic laugh, “and now there’s an Imposter here and I don’t know who to trust, it could be any one of us and I don’t know who”

“And we’ll find the Imposter we will, whoever killed White won’t get away with it” Orange promised, Brown grinning dangerously.

“Good, because I’m not resting until I see the light leave that damned monster's eye” Brown hissed, the rest of the group falling silent whilst Black’s hands dug into his palms as his words stuck in his mind.

Black always knew that he was a monster, ever since he was born and trained for this stupid job, ever since he learned that his role, his entire existence, was to be a killer.

Yet despite it all, he always had a sliver of hope that he was more than an Imposter, that he wasn’t a ‘Monster’ or a ‘Murderer’ because he wasn’t heartless, he wasn’t one who enjoyed watching the life leave the eye of Crewmates, and most importantly he wasn’t cruel.

Yet, as Black dove into a vent to hide away from Cyan, he felt that that was the cruelest thing he had ever done.

“Black? Where are you?” He heard Cyan call out, Black pressing a hand against his mouth as he curled into a ball, his heart aching at the pure hurt in his partners voice, he wanted to jump out of the vent and run to him, pull him in his hands as he hugged Cyan, and yet he stayed hidden.

“I just want to talk, please” Cyan had cried, Black shuffling further into the shadows when Cyan neared closer to the vent, his confusion being outweighed by the fear he felt in his heart. 

If he knew I’d die, if he knew I’d die, if he knew- he kept telling himself every time he found his hands reach towards the light, stay hidden, stay safe, stay alive.

“Sorry I just- I’m scared, I don’t want to die, I don’t want anyone to die” Brown admitted, stopping his pacing as he returned to the stall, taking a breath whilst Black just swallowed past the uncomfortable feeling in his throat.

“We’ll be ok” Orange reassured, “Banana and Maroon said they’d help out and they’re guards from Mira”

“We’ll find who killed your Captain I promise” Banana reassured, giving a smile whilst Brown just glared at her before turning to the menu with a sigh.

“Right well what did you want to order?” Brown then turned to stare at Black and Orange, "did you both want the usual?” 

“Sure, I’ll take the usual,” Orange answered, “what about you Black?”

Monster a voice in his mind hissed.

“Black?” A touch on his hand brought Black out of his thoughts, Black blinking as he turned to Orange, “you ok?”

“I’ll take the usual Brown” Black told the Chef who nodded, Orange frowning as he squeezed Black’s hand.

“That wasn’t an answer” Orange murmured softly, Black staring at his friend feeling lost.

I should tell him, he deserves to know.

Deserve to know that you’re a Imposter, sure.

“I’m fine I just-” he cut himself off, not even knowing what to say, yet Orange’s face turned sympathetic as his friend squeezed Black’s hand.

“I know, it’ll be ok” 

“And as for you two? Is there anything you’d like to order?” Brown questioned Maroon and Banana, who both looked lost in thought.

“I don’t know what there is,” Banana murmured, Brown’s face pulling in a strained smile.

“Well thankfully i have a menu” Brown slid the menu towards Banana, who picked it up then unfolded it, Maroon peering over her shoulder to see what was written, the pair murmuring before they slid the menu back to the Chef.

“Can I have the porridge and apple juice? Maroon will take the bacon and eggs with a… smoothie?” Banana stared at Orange in confusion, “Why doesn’t the smoothie say anything other than smoothie?”

“Oh that’s just Brown, his food is always a surprise, trust me even our ‘regulars’ are random” Orange half joked, Banana and Maroon looking a mix between concerned and confused.

“But what happens if you have an allergy?” Maroon ended up asking.

“Do you have an allergy?” Brown asked, his eyebrow raised whilst Maroon shook their head.

“No, I'm just a bit of a picky eater,” Maroon admitted with a sheepish smile, Brown sighing.

“If you have an allergy just let me know, I have a list of foods and dietary requirements of everyone on this ship”

“Alright, well that’s good to know” with a nod Brown left for the Kitchen to begin with the meals, Black and Orange walking to their usual table whilst Banana, Maroon and Red all waited beside the stall.

Black could feel himself zoning out but not to the noise of the Cafeteria, the Cafeteria was ghostly silent which was a stark contrast to what was normal and it was awful, Yellow and Blue were gone from the group leaving Coral who was staring blankly at the table, her eye wide yet unseeing as she stared at her hands, White was dead and there was another Imposter on the ship.

And if White’s been killed then someone is next, more people would die and I can’t protect them all-

“Black?” He blinked, noticing that he had been staring at his own two shaking hands, Orange gently placing his hands in his as he rubbed a grounding circle into his palms.

“Yeah Orange?” Black whispered.

“I know that these past few days have been a bit stressful especially today, White’s dead and there’s an Imposter on the ship but I need you to know that It’ll be ok” despite the Crewmates reassurance Black couldn’t stop the doubt because would it be ok? Truly? White was killed, Cyan was dead and they don’t know what Black does.

“But we don’t know who killed White,” Coral ended up murmuring, not taking her eye off of her hands, Orange turning to face her as he let go of Black, pulling her hands to his, “and what if we never do?”

“Hey, we’ll find the Imposter and we’ll vote them out I promise, we have each other and we’ll be ok as long as it stays that way” he assured as he rubbed a circle into her own hands, Coral shuddering.

“But White, and Cyan, I failed them both-” the only thing that stopped Coral from curling into herself was Orange who practically spun Coral until she was facing him, her eye wide and teary.

“You haven’t failed anyone do you hear me? None of us ever imagined that this could have ever happened, we never-” Orange swallowed, taking a shaky breath “White’s death wasn’t any of our faults, it's not yours either, it's the Imposter’s fault and we will find them”

“And then what do we do afterwards? White’s dead, Cyan’s dead, more Crewmates will die-” 

“Hey let's stop that ok? We’re alive now and it’ll stay that way, Blue is going to come up with a plan and it’ll be the best damn plan from this ship to the end of the universe”

“But what if the plan fails? What if-” and with a sob Coral burst into tears, Orange pulling her into a hug whilst the Crewmate just leaned against his chest, her hands digging into his side as she desperately clutched him, Orange whispering gentle reassurances, yet when Orange glanced to Black he could see that, just for a moment, there was a doubtful fear in his eye.

<><><>

Blue looked like he had aged a million years when he entered into Admin, his eye was puffy as if he had just been crying, granted Black and basically everyone looked like a mess so he couldn’t judge.

Yellow looked like she was holding back tears whilst Mellow looked confused yet alarmed with the way his eye was constantly looking at the room, Black’s heart shattering when he heard Mellow silently ask where ‘Wawa’ was causing Blue to stiffen whilst tears ran down Yellow’s face as she had to gently explain that Wawa was dead, Mellow looking confused for a moment before he began to cry, Blue taking his son into his hands as he hugged him to his chest.

“I thought you told him that White was dead” Pink harshly whispered to Yellow, who was trying her hardest to stop crying.

“I couldn’t I- I burst into tears before I could even tell him so I spent the past three hours telling him it’d be ok” she responded shakily, Pink practically growling as their hand clenched into fists.

“And will it?” Pink ended up asking, staring directly at Blue, who wasn’t saying anything as he bounced Mellow in an attempt to soothe him, sighing in relief when his son's sobs softened until he was just gently crying into his fathers side.

“It will be fine” he ended up saying, not taking his eye off of Mellow as he murmured softly to his son.

“How the hell is any of this fine?!” Pink yelled, everyone stiffening at the volume whilst Blue turned his attention away from Mellow to stare at Pink, his face turning stern.

“If you just let me explain” Blue hissed towards Pink before he sighed softly, taking Mellow off of his side and passing him back to Yellow who took her son in her hands and hugged him as both a comfort to herself and to him, Blue looking apologetically at his wife before he returned to the table.

“So I’ve decided a few things, firstly I’ve assigned some roles which will shift and change over night, these roles will be removed when we find the Imposter but for now they are compulsory for everyone, if you’d like to swap them with anyone you come to me and me alone, not my Co-Pilot” 

“Wait, who is the new Co-Pilot?” Purple ended up questioning, the other Crewmates perking up in curiosity as they surveyed the room, a few of them murmuring to themselves.

“For some reason I feel like it’d be Black” Orange ended up saying, Black whipping his head to face his friend who had a half joking smile on his face.

“What? Me?”

“Well you’d be a pretty good leader despite what you think” Black groaned, feeling his face heat as an embarrassed blush spread across his face.

“Orange please just stop,” Black pleaded as he turned to face Blue, Orange letting out a small giggle, “I’m not the Co-Pilot am I Blue?”

“No” 

“Oh thank the Gods” Black murmured, pretending not to hear Orange’s ‘aww’ of disappointment as he stared at Blue who had an eyebrow raised.

“Did you want the role?” Blue questioned, Orange staring to Black with a hopeful yet excited glimpse in his eye, Black pondering for just a moment before he shook his head.

“Oh no I do not want the role, no offence to you of course I’m just not a good leader” Black admitted, Blue humming softly.

“I thought so, that’s why I didn’t choose you, although I did consider you for a while”

Wait what? Black thought, hoping the surprise he felt didn’t show in his face.

“So then who’s the Co-Pilot?”

“Lime”

“Wait, me?” Lime’s eye was wide as he pointed himself, Blue nodding whilst the members in the room murmured out their congratulations, a few of them giving Lime high fives or gentle pats on the back as he made his way towards Blue before standing by his side, the Captain giving him a quick side hug, Black watching as Lime wordlessly accepted it, Lime blinking in shock.

“I know you’ll do both me and White proud Lime” Blue murmured with a teary smile, the room falling silent as Lime himself looked like he wanted to cry as he nodded, saluting Blue before he stood to the side, letting Blue finish what he was saying.

“So for the roles I’ve decided that each night there will be someone watching Security whilst someone guards the Dormitory, speaking of the Dormitory both me and Lime will have access to each room, we won’t randomly barge in but if nobody is up by six thirty in the morning then we will have to check, we’ll only enter your room if there’s been no verbal confirmation” there were a few murmurs but Black seemed to at least notice that most of them seemed to approve of this decision.

“Also you will all be assigned some tasks, they aren’t compulsory to complete but I know that we could all use a distraction so if you ever need one it can be your out”

“And by nothing major I hope you don’t mean that it’ll be the same as last time” at Brown’s words everyone, sans Maroon, Banana and Red, shuddered.

“Oh god no that was intense,” Blue admitted as he let out an almost amused smile before his face fell, “It’ll probably be a few things like mopping, vacuuming, cleaning leaves from O2 and more, you’ll see when you swipe your card”

“Was that an invitation to do it now?” Pink asked.

“Not yet, I haven’t shared the roles,” Blue narrowed his eye as he scanned the room before falling on Orange and then Maroon, looking thoughtful, “Orange tonight you’re on Security, Maroon you’ll be guarding the Dormitory, during these times you cannot leave your area is there any issues with those roles?” 

“I feel like there should be someone patrolling the ship or at least doing regular laps, the Security camera doesn’t cover every room and if the Crewmate’s can’t leave their area then we can’t know if anyone finds the bodies, besides they’ll be able to communicate with both parties and get them things like snacks if they’re hungry or need a break for example.” 

“That’s a fair point,” Blue said, looking at Lime with pride, the Co-Pilot smiling anxiously, “do we have any volunteers?”

“I can do it” Red volunteered with a shrug, Blue nodding in approval.

“Right well with that out of the way, do you think we should get a vending machine?” Blue questioned, Brown groaning.

“Blue I’m right here I can cook up some meals no issue, if anyone is hungry they can go get their own food” Brown murmured, Blue blinking slowly as if he had completely forgotten about the Chef.

“Wait, if we aren’t allowed to leave our positions then how are we gonna take breaks? What if we need to use the bathroom or something?” Orange asked, Maroon and Red grimacing.

“Either write it down in a note the time you left and the time you returned or tell whoever is patrolling at the time, I’ll give permission to eat your food in your places, try not to leave your area for more than ten minutes per hour”

“Thanks,” Orange said, Blue smiling at his words.

“Was that all? I can’t really think of anything at the moment but if any of you have ideas feel free to let me know”

“Will do” Black murmured, the Crew nodding.

“Well with that this meeting is over, I’ll be in Navigations showing Lime the ropes if anyone needs me” Blue announced, the group nodding as Blue left the room, Lime trailing after the Captain.

“Tonight’s gonna be so boring” Orange groaned, Black giving a halfhearted chuckle as he watched the Crew make their way to the card reader, swiping their ID’s before leaving the room, Banana approaching Black after she had finished her card swipe, Maroon taking her place as they struggling to swipe theirs through the reader, groaning with each failed beep and blinking red light.

“After Maroon’s done their card swipe I’ll have to call up Grey, I’ll keep you updated but I thought I’d warn you,” Banana murmured with worry.

“Thank you for the warning, genuinely,” Black said, both of them nodding to each other whilst they waited for Maroon, who eventually finished their swipe and made their way to Banana, giving a smile and a thumbs up before they began to make their way out of the room.

“See ya around” Banana said with a wave, the duo’s voices slowly fading the further they walked, the only noise in the room being the harsh beeps of the card reader and the sound of footsteps on carpet as the Crewmates left Admin, until it was only Black, Orange, Coral and Red remaining in the room, Red taking her place by the Card Swipe.

Coral was staring at the wall yet seeing nothing and everything all at the same time, Black nudging Orange to get his friends attention, Orange letting out a small hum as he turned to where Black was staring, his body dropping.

“Coral?” Orange ended up questioning, making his way towards Coral, who made no response until her hand got lightly touched, the Crewmate flinching away from the touch as she blinked back into awareness, staring from Orange to Black then Red until she stared at the room, seeming confused and slightly frightened.

“Where is everyone?” She questioned, Black frowning in concern as he too took a step forward only to step back when Red walked in front of Black, making her way out of Admin after having completed her Card Swipe.

“They left, the meeting ended” Orange explained with concern, “are you ok?”

“No, no I’m not” she whispered, Orange pulling her into a hug, “I was just trying to think on who it could be and I’ve got nothing I don’t even know who killed White and I just can’t stop thinking about it about his death, if I had heard the gunshot, if I had just-”

“It's not your fault” Orange gently murmured into her head, the Crewmate’s soft crying making Black’s own heart lurch as he headed towards the Card Reader and pulled out his ID, swiping it through the reader as the light immediately went green, Black not even caring to celebrate for getting it first try.

“But I’m the Medic! It should be my fault!” Coral shouted, her voice muffled from Orange’s chest, the Crewmate gently placing a hand on her head and slowly stroking it in comfort

“You didn’t put the bullet in his head, you didn’t kill White, the Imposter that killed White is at fault, never you ok?” At the lack of response Orange pulled Coral away from his chest for a moment, Coral crying whilst Orange just gently placed his hands on the side of her head, “Its not your fault”

“But-”

“It's not your fault”

“Ok, I-” Coral looked like she wanted to protest but she dropped in defeat, “ok”

“Good, repeat it to yourself because it's not your fault, now where’s Black?” Orange let go of Coral to look around for Black, eventually finding him and dragging him towards Coral before pulling them both in for a hug, Black making a noise of surprise “It's not your fault either.”

“And it was never yours” Black murmured back as he pressed his face into Orange’s chest, closing his eye in contentment.

“You both are one of my best friends, I know I don’t say it enough but I want you to know” 

“And you’re my best friend Orange, same as you Coral” Black said, Coral sniffling as she wiped a hand across her eye to get rid of the tears, Orange letting out a happy smile.

“Mmmm no I don’t agree I think Black’s my best friend” Coral said jokingly, Orange gasping in fake offense whilst Black let out a small laugh.

“And nothing in the world will change my mind about you two being my best friends, I love you both” Orange murmured, Black’s eye watering at the words.

Eventually they pulled away from the hug, Orange placing a hand on both of their heads as he ruffled it, giving a gentle smile when he saw the change in mood from Coral, the way she seemed to see lighter yet still plagued by something that the both of them knew wouldn’t go away for a while, no matter how hard anyone tried.

Stepping away from the group, Coral made her way towards the Reader as she pulled out her ID, swiping her card, the light flashing red as she struggled to get it to accept the reader, which was weird even for Black.

“Hey Coral, have you had breakfast yet?” Orange ended up asking after the sixth failed Card Swipe, Coral shaking her head as she steadied her hand and swiped again, the light flashing red.

“I don’t think I can stomach anything right now, I still feel sick” Coral admitted, Orange looking concerned as he made his way to Coral, standing beside her as he reached his hand out in an offer, Coral dropping her ID into his hands, Orange swiping it in the Reader as it flashed green.

“Do you want to try?” He asked as he passed the ID back to her, Coral staring down at the table.

“I just want all of this to never have happened, I want this all to be a dream…” and Orange just pulled Coral in for another hug anyway.

“It’ll all be ok, lets just go to the Cafeteria and get you something to eat, you’ll feel better I promise” 

“Ok” letting go of Coral Orange quickly swiped his ID through the card reader, grinning when he got it in one try, Coral rolling her eye as they both followed Orange as he made his way out of Admin, pulling them both to his side as they walked back to the Cafeteria, making their way to their usual table where Orange practically forced Black and Coral to sit before he left for the booth, eventually returning with a small smoothie.

“Brown told me to tell you that it's just a strawberry mango smoothie, nothing too intense” Orange said as Coral took the smoothie and took a sip.

“Thanks” 

“No worries, I just want you all to be ok” Black couldn’t help but stare at Orange after those words were said.

“Are you ok Orange?” Black asked, Orange turning to face Black whilst Coral just blinked.

“No, not really, and I think we all know why,” Orange sighed in admission, Black reaching for his friend's hand as he gave it a reassuring squeeze.

“You said it yourself we’ll find the Imposter and I promise we will, I’ll keep you all safe” Black promised, and he knew that he’d never break it.

“So then what’s the plan? How do we find the Imposter? What do we do?” Coral asked after she had taken a sip of her smoothie, Orange humming in thought.

“I was thinking we could try asking everyone for a scan-” Orange cut himself off when he saw Coral shake her head, his eyebrow raiding.

“That won’t work,” Coral said as she placed her half finished smoothie onto the table, “the scanners, at least this one anyway, only capture internal injuries, blood types, height, weight, ID and names, they don’t catch Imposters”

“But I thought-”

“It’s a myth made by Crewmates to scare Imposters, it sometimes works” with a sigh Orange slumped his head onto the table.

“Ok so if scans won’t work then what can we do?” Orange questioned, his voice muffled, Coral looking thoughtful whilst Black had an idea.

“Question the Crew, hear about their alibis, who knows we could find the Imposter”

“What do we do if we even find the Imposter?” Coral questioned.

“Call an emergency meeting, try not to let the Imposter know that we’ve caught them” Orange turned his head to stare at Black.

“So should we all just group together or split up?” He asked.

“We stay grouped, I’ll tell you if we need to split”

“Seems like a good idea,” Coral stood from her bench, taking her smoothie with her, “should we go now?”

“Yeah” Orange said as he stood up, staring at Black expectantly, Black hesitating for a moment as his eye strayed to the flower before he too stood.

Nobody else will die, he declared to himself as he took a breath, staring towards the Dormitory Hallway.

“We’ll start off in the Dormitory.”

*+*

“So you were asleep when the murder happened?” Black questioned Green, who just huffed as he crossed his hands.

“I told you already I didn’t kill White, why would I?” Green spat, Black wincing as he shared a quick glance towards Orange and Coral, who were talking to a teary eyed Yellow before he turned back to Green, the Crewmate glaring at him whilst Black just sighed.

“Well someone killed White, I just want to find the Imposter so no one else gets hurt”

“And I don’t trust you” Green mumbled, the honesty in his voice shooting a hole through Black’s heart.

“Green what? I’ve been on this ship for years I wouldn’t kill White” Black answered honestly, not hiding the hurt in his voice.

“And neither would I. I told you I was asleep during the murder, what else do you want me to explain?”

“The gunshot, surely Purple wasn’t the only one who heard it” Green’s eye twitched at the mention of the Gunshot, Black going to mention it when the Crewmate spoke again.

“I’m a heavy sleeper, surely you must be a heavy sleeper if you didn’t hear the gunshot”

“I’m not usually a heavy sleeper, I was just so tired from Mira…” Black trailed off, Green’s gaze hardening.

“Or maybe you didn’t hear the gunshot because you’re the Imposter” at the words Black froze.

“I’m not an Imposter” he lied.

“Sure sure, it's not like we had to go all the way to Mira because of you, it's not like we have three extra Crewmates, three extra threats on the ship because of you,” Green ended up hissing as he shoved Black out of the doorway of his room, Black blinking in surprise as he stared at Green feeling hurt.

“Green I understand you’re upset-”

“Upset? Our Captain’s dead, an Imposter is on this ship and now-” Green cut himself off as his fist clenched, shaking from the force of how tightly held it was before he let go, his body dropping as he stared away from Black and to the floor.

“Green?” Black reached a hand out, almost touching Green when the Crewmate practically slapped it away, glaring at Black as he stepped back into his room.

“Just don’t talk to me” he murmured as he pushed the button, the doors sliding closed, leaving Black to try and process what had just happened.

Grief was a funny thing, in one moment it would make a normal Crewmate turn into something that even scared Black, broken, hurt and uncontrollable. 

They had voted out a Crewmate, Mint, and Mint’s best friend, Teal, had crumbled to the ground, sobbing, Grey making her way to comfort Teal who clung to Grey like a lifeline.

“It’ll be ok” Grey had whispered before she was suddenly pushed to the floor by Teal, who stood with tears in her eye before she snapped, lunging at Grey only to be held back by Lavender.

“It was your fault!” Teal had shrieked, trying to escape Lavender’s hold to lunge for Grey, whose eye was wide and frightened, as she scrambled backwards until she ran into Ivory who just gently placed a hand on the Crewmate, holding her in gentle support.

Then Teal, as if seeing the fear in Grey’s eye stopped, then fell to the floor again crying, Black hesitantly glancing at Magenta who glanced back to Black with a cold almost emotionless glint in their eye.

“How’d it go?” Orange asked as he made his way towards Black, Coral seeming conflicted.

“Not the best, I think Green hates me” he admitted, Orange’s eye widening in shock.

“What? Surely not”

“What makes you say that?” Coral asked, staring at the door for a second before focusing back to Black and Orange, the trio beginning to leave the Dormitory.

“I don’t know if it was the grief or not but Green just- he wasn’t himself, I know Green and White were friends but ever since his death Green is just angry, he got into an argument with Lime and thinks that I killed White but I didn’t,” Black paused, turning back to face Orange and Coral who stopped walking to look at him, “you believe me, right?”

“Of course! You wouldn’t kill White! Neither would Yellow” Orange exclaimed, placing a gentle hand on Black’s head, ruffling it, whilst Black just smiled, jokingly batting away the hand as he took a breath in, looking serious.

“I don’t doubt her but what did she say?” Black questioned, Orange and Coral giving a look to each other when Coral shrugged, Orange explaining.

“Yellow said that she did wake up to a gunshot and went to investigate except the noise also woke up Mellow and she instead went to try and get him back to sleep, she said that she was so distracted trying to get him to sleep that she completely forgot to investigate what woke her up in the first place and instead fell asleep” Black hummed in thought, the explanation although clear still left room for confusion.

“What about Blue? They both share the same room, surely he must have either heard the gunshot or offered to help put Mellow back to sleep” surely he wouldn’t have just fallen back asleep if he woke up… 

Unless he killed White, but why? 

Maybe to become a Captain, he could have been upset with White and the entire Mira incident, maybe he wanted control.

Then why not become Captain earlier? Surely if Blue seeked out that power he would’ve made a move.

“According to her Blue did wake up and offer but Yellow said she would handle it and Blue should go back to sleep so Blue did” Coral said.

“And Blue cares about his wife and son too much to risk his life to kill White…” Black mumbled to himself.

“What?” Orange ended up asking, Black whipping his head to face his friend and feeling embarrassed when he realised that they heard him.

“Oh I was just thinking about why Blue would have killed White if he was an Imposter, he could have killed him to become Captain yet he seemed fine with his role as it was and, as far as I know, he doesn’t seem like he has any dangerous motives it just doesn’t make sense”

“You said that Blue would be risking his life if he killed White, how?” Coral demanded, the trio reaching the split section of the Dormitory hallway and turning right into the weapons hallway.

“Well if he killed White and was caught then he’d be voted out, Blue cares way too much about Yellow and Mellow to just leave them for a position of power, he has to” because not even a monster would throw away their family for the sake of power, Black refuses to believe that anyone would want to do that.

“Well why don’t we ask him?” Orange asked as he nudged his head in the direction towards Navigations.

“That’s what I was going to do anyway, Lime should be in Navigation also so we can ask both of them, besides I can see if Lime has an idea of what’s up with Green” Black said as he listened to the voices of Blue instructing Lime about the system and getting him set up, the pair of them too engrossed in the explanation to notice Coral, Orange and Black at the doorway, until Coral purposefully, and rather loudly, took a sip of her smoothie and causing Blue and Lime to jolt in surprise, Orange snorting in amusement.

“Who’s there?” Blue practically barked, whipping his head towards the trio only to soften when he noticed the familiar faces, “Black, Orange, Coral, what do you all need?”

"We actually came to ask questions about the murder” Orange declared, Lime and Blue looked hopeful.

“What about? DId you find the Imposter?” Blue asked as he stepped towards the group, looking so hopeful that Black felt bad when he had to shake his head, Blue dropping whilst Lime sighed sadly.

“No but we’re working on it” Coral promised as she looked at Blue, taking another sip of her smoothie, “at the time of the gunshot Yellow said that you woke up, we want to hear your side of the story”

”Oh that’s completely fine, there’s not a lot to say but I didn’t wake up when the gunshot exactly happened, I woke up when I  heard Mellow begin to cry, Yellow was by the doorway and looked like she had either just entered the room or was about to leave, only turning back to face Mellow when she heard him crying so I sat up, asked if she was ok and she assured me that it was fine, that she heard a noise and would try to get Mellow back to sleep before investigating the noise, I should have listened…” Blue admitted sadly, Orange pulling Blue in for a hug as he murmured that it wasn’t his fault.

At Orange’s words Blue burst into tears, Coral joining Orange as she went going to comfort Blue whilst Black made his way to Lime but not without casting a concerned glance to Blue first.

Lime was staring at the interaction as if he was unsure of what to do, yet upon noticing Black he turned to look at him.

“You don’t think Yellow killed White, do you?” Lime ended up asking, his eye wide whilst Black just hesitated, thinking it over before he shook his head.

“No, I don’t think she did,” Lime dropped in relief.

“So then who do you think did it?” The Co-Pilot asked, Black sighing.

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out, can you help me?”

“Sure,” Lime shifted, focusing his whole attention onto Black, “what do you need?”

“Well during the murder where were you?” 

“I was sleeping, I woke up to the gunshot and thought that I had dropped something so got out of bed and turned on the light,” Lime’s brow furrowed, “I saw nothing in my room so I went to turn off the light but I swear I saw a shadow outside my doorway, I opened the door to see who it was but there was nobody, all I heard was the sound of another door closing” 

“If you had to guess which door was it?” Black asked, trying to remember whose rooms were near Lime’s own, drawing a blank.

“I don’t know, maybe it was towards the left, or was it the right? I don’t know-” 

“Hey it's ok if you don’t know, don’t beat yourself up about it” Black said, placing a gentle hand on Lime whilst the Crewmate smiled thankfully.

“Was that all you needed?” Lime questioned Black, Orange and Coral pulling away from Blue, the Captain making his way back into Navigations as Coral and Orange leaned against a wall, all patiently waiting for Black and Lime.

“Actually there is one more thing, do you know what’s up with Green? He’s been acting different and I’m worried about him” Black asked, Lime sighing whilst Blue raised an eyebrow in interest.

“I’m worried too, Green isn’t usually this harsh and I said I’d try to keep an eye on him but now I’m the Co-Pilot and I can’t do that,” Lime sighed as he dropped his head into his hand, gently rubbing his face for a moment before he looked back at Black, “I know him and White were fairly close, at least close enough to be considered friends but clearly White’s death has hit him hard”

“White’s death has hit us all pretty hard,” Black admitted, “thank you for clearing it up”

“Just let me know if there’s anything else i can do to help,” Black nodded as he took his hand off of Lime, going to leave Navigations when Lime placed a hand on Black, the grip firm as he gave a stern look to Black, “promise me you’ll all be safe”

“I promise we will”

“Good, that’s all I wanted to hear” Lime said with a smile as he took his hand off of Black, nodding towards the group then turning to Blue as they both went back to what they were doing before.

“Black! Should we go?” Orange called, Black blinking back to awareness.

“Yeah, we still got a bunch of Crewmates to question” he said as he made his way towards Orange and Coral, the trio making their way down towards Shields when they heard voices from within Communications.

Casting a glance to Orange and Coral, who nodded in approval, they began to make their way to Communications, lingering by the doorway as they watched Banana, Maroon and Red.

“-Eye on him, if you think it's unsafe then you are welcome to come home at any point in time” The crackly yet unmistakable voice of Grey spoke from within the system, Black stiffening as he tried to ignore his own discomfort.

“Yes Sir” Banana said before they hung up the call, Maroon sighing as they stood away from the wall.

“Well that went better than expect-” Maroon cut themself off with a shriek that startled Red and Banana, Banana pushing their chair back and whipping towards Maroon, looking tense, until they stared at the doorway and slumped with a relieved sigh.

“Hey-” 

“What the hell?! You scared the life out of me!” Maroon shouted in response, Black feeling sheepish whilst he heard Orange shout a ‘we’re ok!’ to who he assumed was Blue and Lime who had no doubt heard the noise.

"What were you doing by the doorway anyway?” Red asked, her eye narrowed in suspicion.

“Came to ask some questions about where you were during the murder, is that ok?”

“We didn’t kill White! For crying out loud-” Red groaned, Black tensing in annoyance whilst Banana just sighed, giving a gentle smile.

“Oh yeah that’s fine,” they gave a stern look to Red before turning back to the trio and waving a hand for them to come inside, Orange, Coral and Black awkwardly shuffling inside.

“So what did you wanna ask us?” Maroon asked as they leaned against the wall, crossing their hands whilst Red just rolled their eye with a huff, Banana taking their seat back at the chair as they leaned towards the trio.

“Where were you during the murder?” Black questioned, Banana, Maroon and Red all sharing a glance before Maroon shrugged.

“I actually was in the bathroom when I heard a gunshot, I went to go and investigate when I heard a voice saying that they’ll go and investigate, I thought about joining them but changed my mind and went back to my room and got changed for the day” they said, Black humming in thought.

“If you had to estimate a time, what time do you think the gunshot occurred”

“About five in the morning maybe? It's hard to tell” Maroon said as they shrugged, Coral humming as she took a sip of her smoothie.

“So you said you heard a voice, do you know who it could have been?” Coral asked, Maroon humming as they thought.

“Maybe Purple? I never saw him go to the body I just swear I heard his voice”

“And what about you Banana?” Orange asked, the Crewmate turning to him with an embarrassed blush.

“I was asleep, I tend to sleep with headphones in so I didn’t hear the gunshot”

“Oh really?” Coral's eye widened in surprise as she leaned closer to Banana, taking a sip of her smoothie, “what were you listening to?”

“Usually I just listen to nature noises and occasionally some podcasts”

“Oh no way! I like listening to the waves when I fall asleep!” Coral exclaimed in excitement, Banana smiling. 

“So I’m assuming you didn’t hear the gunshot either?” Banana questioned, Coral’s excited face turning sad.

“Nope, was listening to the waves, I only woke up when I heard Purple repetitively pounding on my door” she murmured, staring at her smoothie until Banana spoke again.

“I like listening to whale noises sometimes, it's nice to try and imagine what they’re trying to say”

“Did you know that whales have their own language?” Coral said with excitement, Banana’s eye widening as she smiled.

“Yeah! Its so cool! Whales communicate using-” Banana cut herself off when Red groaned.

“Hey, are you guys done or are we gonna talk about noises all day?” Red grumbled, Coral and Banana both blushing in embarrassment whilst Orange just rolled his eye with a fond smile.

“So then where were you Red?” Black asked, Red huffing.

“I was sleeping when I heard the gunshot, thought something dropped or a meteor or something had hit the ship so I fell back asleep, I woke up again when the meeting was called”

“That’s all I needed to know, thank you” with a nod, Black went to leave the room only to pause by the doorway when he heard a ‘wait!’ from Banana, the Crewmate getting up from her seat.

“So I had a call with Grey, I think you know that already, but he wants one of us to keep an eye on you today”

“Ok, we’re not doing much other than questioning the Crewmates, who wants to join?” Orange asked as he stared at the group, all of them staring at each other in a silent question.

“Ehh I can join” Maroon said as they shrugged.

“But you have the first guard shift tonight, you should probably sleep” Banana murmured, Maroon humming in thought as they pulled Banana to the side, mumbling too low for Black to hear.

“Hey don’t you have the Security shift tonight?” Coral asked Orange, who just groaned as he smacked his forehead with his hand.

“I forgot about that” 

“Then you should probably sleep soon” Black said, “we’ll be ok”

“Nah, I wanna be with you guys for the questioning,” at Coral’s stern glare Orange chuckled, “I promise I’ll sleep soon”

“You better” Coral retorted as she playfully punched Orange in the side before turning her attention back to Maroon and Banana who seemed to be quietly arguing.

“Guys we can keep an eye on Black he really doesn’t need-” Orange protested, only seeming mildly annoyed, Banana peering her head towards the trio and shaking her head whilst Black placed a hand on Orange’s own hand.

“Grey will be mad if they don’t, besides I don’t mind I-” I don’t have anything to hide he almost said to himself only to stop, taking a breath, “don’t mind the extra company”

“Alright well as long as you’re fine with it then I don’t mind” Orange agreed, Coral looking towards Banana in excitement.

“I guess I’ll join,” Banana said with a shrug, yet she stared at Coral in glee, Black letting out a fond smile.

“Ok then I guess we’ll leave you”

“Finally” said Red, Maroon huffing as they rolled their eye.

“Ignore Red, take care you guys, we’ll probably be in the Dormitory if you need us”

“Thanks, you too” and with a wave they left Communications, Banana and Coral immediately getting into a conversation about podcasts whilst Orange and Black walked into Storage, glancing around to see if they could see anyone and finding the coast clear, Black making his way towards Admin as he pulled up the map, trying to see where everyone would be.

“So Lime and Blue are in Navigations, Brown is in Cafeteria, Red and Maroon are still in Communications but no doubt they’d go towards the Dormitory soon, there’s someone in Lower Engines and two heads at Security-”

“The two heads at Security, would they be Purple and Pink? They like to hang out there often” Coral said, Black humming.

“Probably, should we go to Lower Engine first?”

“Yeah, then we go to Security see if they know where anyone else is”

“That sounds like a plan” closing the map the group made their way down towards Storage then turned left, making their way towards the Lower Engine and expecting to find someone there yet there was no one.

“Maybe they went towards Upper Engine? They probably needed to fuel the engines” Orange asked, looking confused.

“Ehh lets just ask the Crewmates at Security, they’ll let us know if anyone passed by” Banana said, Black nodding as he continued going up towards Security where quiet sobs could be heard, the group passing concerned glances to each other before Black hesitantly stood outside the doorway to Security, Orange making his way into Reactor.

The culprit of the quiet cries was Pink, who was curled in a ball in the corner, being comforted by purple who kept whispering gentle reassurances into his partners forehead before he noticed Black and paused, going to say something when Pink cried again, Purple gently shushing Pink whilst Black stepped back, debating if he should just come back later.

“Black? There was nobody in Reactor and there’s nobody in Upper Engine should I- oh, is Pink-”

“No I’m not ok you can stop staring now” Pink hissed, before breaking into sobs again, Purple staring at the group as he sighed.

“You heard Pink, you should leave”

“Well it's kind of important we-” 

“Did you find the Imposter? Did you find who killed White?” Pink seemed hopeful as they stared at Black, who just sighed as he shook his head, Pink looking agitated as they dropped their head back into their hands and sobbed.

“So then what do you need?” Purple demanded, Black tensing anxiously.

“We came to ask you questions, where were you on the night of the murder?” He questioned, both Pink and Purple tensing as they stared at him in agitation.

“Seriously? You all still don’t trust me? I can’t believe this Black I-”

“No no it's not that I don’t trust you, we’ve just been going around asking for everyone to answer the question so we can at least see who is suspicious and who isn’t” Purple’s eye widened in recognition as he turned to Pink, rubbing a grounding circle into their back.

“Well on the night of the murder I was asleep when I heard a gunshot, both me and Pink woke up but i went to investigate the noise, I went into the Dormitory hallway then came out in Cafeteria, went towards Upper Engine and did a lap of the ship until I came to Navigations and found White, rushed to wake up Coral who then woke up Orange who then woke up you and so on”

“It had to have been Red, it has to be” Pink sobbed, their hands clenched into fists whilst Black just tensed at the words, ignoring the gasp of surprise from Banana.

“Why Red?” He questioned, trying to sound neutral yet he couldn’t help the way his brain immediately thought of every reason as to how Red would be the Imposter.

“Pink thinks that-” Purple began, only to be cut off when Pink whipped their head to face their partner looking furious.

“No, I don’t ‘think’ it's Red I know it's Red! Why do you think nobody found the killer? because she was hiding in a vent after slaughtering White, they said they were an ‘Engineer’ after all but she’s lying about something, she has to be!” 

“But that doesn’t mean-”

“Someone killed White!” Pink shouted, their wide eye shrinking as they curled back into a ball, shaking again “someone killed White…” 

“And we’ll find them, we will, if you think it's Red then I’ll keep an eye on her but can you tell me where you were during the murder?” Pink curled out of their ball to look at Black.

“I was in the room, I heard a gunshot and woke up, Purple promised me that it was probably some fallen cargo or an asteroid hitting the ship and that I should fall back asleep, I believed him” Pink said with a darkened look in their eye, “I fell back asleep a moment later, I should have gone with him…”

“It's not your fault” Orange reassured, Pink’s hands clenched into fists as they cried once more.

“Then why do I feel like it is?!” They shouted, the noise echoing down the hallway whilst Banana stood her way in front of Black and crouched low to the floor.

“Because you’re grieving,” Banana said with a sad sigh, Pink glaring at her in suspicion, “when my brother died all I could think about was what would have happened if I was with him, what would’ve happened if I just told him to stay, if I went on the mission instead of him, some days I still wonder what would have happened to stop his death.”

“This isn’t the same” Pink mumbled, “White died, I was in the ship, I could have saved him, I could have- I should have noticed but I didn’t, I fell back asleep whilst Purp found the body and now I’m the uncontrollable sobbing mess that needs comfort when it should be the other way around!”

“You’re grieving, you’re both grieving that’s normal, Blue’s grieving, Yellow’s grieving, hell everyone’s grieving because White, your Captain yet, most importantly, your friend died, and it wasn’t any of your faults”

“When your brother died, what did you do to feel better?” Pink asked, their voice small as they continued to shake, tucking their knees into their chest.

“Honestly? I just cried and cried and cried, then when I stopped crying I was angry, so unbelievably angry that I made an impulse decision and joined Polus to find who killed my brother, I was so furious that I ended up punching the leader of Polus when he told me that the Imposter was voted off, I screamed and screamed and screamed until I just couldn’t scream anymore,” Banana took a breath looking like she was fighting back tears from the memory.

“How do you do it?” Black ended up asking Magenta, the other Imposter, who stopped playing with their knife as they put it back in their backpack, raising an eyebrow towards Black.

“Do what?”

“When Mint was voted off you just looked so emotionless, like you didn’t care, how?” At his question Magenta arched their head to the ceiling, letting out a shaky breath.

“I use to care long ago, I cared, I made friends until those friends felt like family, but there was a job I had to do, the boss told me it was my life or theirs, that if I didn’t kill them I would die”

“And did you?” He asked, Magenta turning to face Black with tears in their eye.

“I had to” they confessed, Black reaching forward to comfort them only to retract them a moment later, Magenta wiping a hand on their eye as they stood up, Black himself standing to his feet.

“Do you regret it?” He couldn’t help but ask, 

“Always” they confessed, “yet in a way i knew that if they died I lived and if I lived they would die, and I don’t want to die”

“But that doesn’t explain my question, how did you act so emotionless” he ended up asking again, Magenta pulling out the knife from their bag and toying with it like they had just been doing moments ago.

“It's not an act, if you care for someone it will be your downfall, and on days when it's too tough to pretend to not care I tell myself that if they truly knew me and what I had done then they’d never care about me, that they’d kill me” they began to make their way around the ship, passing through Cafeteria and almost making their way through Weapons when they stopped at the doorway, Magenta holding a hand back to stop Black from going any further.

They pocketed their knife, pulling out a gun as they kept their eye at weapons, Black peering out from Magenta’s side to see Grey sitting on the ground as she stared at the stars, looking peaceful.

“So what you’re saying is-” Black was cut off when a gunshot echoed across the room, Black turning his gaze to the wall to avoid the way the body fell, Magenta turning to look at Black as they pocketed their gun, shoving past Black and heading towards a vent whilst he trailed after them.

“Never care for anyone, because no one cares for you” Black wanted to protest, yet he couldn’t think of any way to tell Magenta that he cared about them and that, secretly, he could tell that they cared about him too, it wasn’t until they were crawling through the vents that he mustered up the courage to say something.

“But what if I can’t” he had whispered within the vent, Magenta scoffing.

“Then you’re one of the unlucky ones” they murmured back, “now be quiet, or else we’ll be caught”

Eventually, they had gotten a victory whilst Black got a message to go back to Headquarters, Magenta being drafted off to another mission.

The only goodbye they ever gave was their knife left lying on the seat of the Dropship, Black had kept it until the day he could give it back to its rightful owner.

“The only thing that snapped me out of my anger was a hug,” Black blinked back into awareness, the weight on his back feeling more prominent than usual causing him to straighten, “and then I just cried, swearing that I’d find whoever was responsible for putting my brother on that hellhole of a planet, I almost got myself killed searching for the pilot or, well, I guess Black” 

“What?! How?”

“I was irrational, I was upset, I was angry so I stole a ship and left Polus, searching for Black, I forgot to check the fuel beforehand and found the engine shutting down, leaving me to drift in space whilst I called for help hoping that someone, anyone, would hear my call but they didn’t, they left me to wait in that ship whilst the oxygen slowly decreased when I got left with a funny thought, the person who left my brother on the planet never killed him in the first place, the Imposter did”  Banana took a shaky breath.

“Eventually, someone found me and saved me, they asked me what I was doing and so I told them my plan only for one Crewmate who, somehow, became my best friend, laughed in my face saying that revenge only leads to more revenge, that even in those situations nobody wins”

“And then you stopped your hunt for revenge?” Purple questioned, Banana snorting in amusement

“No, I punched them, and they punched me back so hard that I fell to the floor, demanding to know why they hit me when they said that I hit them first then I understood, and it's clear they saw that I did as well because they offered a hand, picked me up and offered me a job to become a guard,” Banana smiled at the memory, wiping a hand across their eye, “Maroon saved my life, and I want to save other’s lives like they did for me”

“Does it still hurt? Thinking about your brother?” Pink questioned with a sniffle, Banana sighing at the question.

“Yeah it hurts, it hurts to remember that everything about him is just a memory and that I’d never see his smile again but it doesn’t hurt as much anymore, I use to wake up and just lie there, staring at a wall until I fell back asleep again” Banana admitted, Black’s heart lurching in sympathy.

“Will I be the same?” Pink murmured, staring hopelessly at the floor.

“Maybe,” at Banana’s words Pink slumped into themselves, Purple squeezing their side in reassurance, “but you have an amazing Crew here who care about you way too much to just leave you like that.”

“True that” Orange said with a small amount of pride, the Crewmate stepping in the room and looking at Pink, his arms outstretched in an offer, Pink practically collapsing into the hug as they let out a quiet sniffle, Orange just softly patting their head.

Eventually they pulled away and went to leave the room when Black remembered something, turning back to Purple and Pink who continued to hold each other in comfort.

“By the way did you see who passed by Security?” At the question Purple turned his attention away from Pink to stare at Black in confusion.

“Wait someone passed by Security?” He asked, Black nodding.

“Yeah, I saw on the map in Admin that a Crewmate was in Lower Engine yet when we got there they were gone, we think they went up to Upper Engine, did you see who it was?”

“As far as I’m aware nobody passed by Security” Purple said, staring at Pink who looked equally confused 

“Weird…” Orange murmured, Black feeling uncomfortable.

“Maybe they came towards the Electrical Hallway?” Pink said, Orange shaking his head.

“No, we would have seen them surely” 

“Well I was focused on Pink we could have just missed them” Purple sounded doubtful, Black didn’t blame him.

“Probably…” Coral murmured, “I don’t like this”

“Neither,” Banana admitted, Orange sighing.

“Well, that was all we wanted to ask, thanks for answering our questions”

“Anytime, good luck finding the Imposter”

“Thanks, take care” waving farewell to Pink and Purple, the group made their way towards Upper Engine then turned right.

“So we’ve questioned Green, Yellow, Lime, Blue, Red, Maroon, Banana, Pink, Purple, me, I think, does my description count?” Coral asked as she turned to face Orange who just shrugged.

“Your story counted but if you want we can question you again” at his question Coral herself shrugged.

“I really don’t mind, maybe we should ask in Cafeteria, after all we still have to question you, Black and Brown” she said as she took another sip of her smoothie, “what should we do after we’re done questioning everyone?”

“Report it to Blue and Lime I guess, see what they both think then keep an eye on who’s a suspect” Orange said, the group nodding in agreement as they stood into Cafeteria then made their way to their usual table.

“Should we bring Brown to our table? Question everyone altogether”

“That’s a good idea, I’ll go get him,” Banana said, standing up and making her way to the Kitchen.

"Right, so who wants to be questioned first?”

“I’ll go first” Coral said, shuffling in place until she got comfortable, Orange clearing his throat.

“Right so- uhh- on the night of the murder where were you?”

“I was in my room, I missed the sound of the gunshot because I had my headphones in, I woke up to Purple pounding on my door saying that White had been shot, I got out of my bed and followed Purple as he showed me where White’s body was, I then panicked seeing the wound was in his head and ran back to the Dormitory to wake up Orange”

“So then Orange,” at the mention of his name Orange hummed, “on the night of the murder where were you?” 

“In my room, I woke up to the sound of a gunshot and went to leave my room when I heard Purple say ‘I got it’ so I went to go back to my bed when I heard a knocking at my door, opened it, found Coral and Purple on the other side and they were crying, they then told me that White had died and I just-” Orange dropped his head into his hands as he let out a shaky breath, “I was scared that something else happened to the others but I just ran to Black’s door first because if White died then Black-”

“I’m fine Orange, I’m ok” Black reached a hand to Orange’s own hand, squeezing it reassuringly and getting a squeeze in response.

“You’re ok, thank god for that” and Orange took his head out of his hands to smile at Black, the smile so bright that made him believe that, as long as that smile remained, everything would be ok.

“We’ll all be ok, we will find who killed White and we’ll all be ok, I promise”

“You can’t promise that” at Brown’s voice Black stiffened, turning to face the Crewmate whose eye was narrowed, “there’s still an Imposter on the ship and more Crewmates will die”

“How do you know?” Black ended up asking, stiffening when Brown came closer until he slotted himself on the bench, Banana looking from Black then back to Brown.

“Well you haven’t caught the Imposter, have you?”

“No, that’s what we’re trying to do, do you have any information?”

“I don’t, but I think that it has to be the newcomers, they have to be the Imposter” Black didn’t miss the way Banana stiffened before taking a breath.

“Just because they’re new doesn’t mean that they killed White Brown” Coral gently explained, Brown scoffing.

“What are you going to say that one of us killed White?” Black, Orange, Banana and Coral all exchanged a look.

“Well we haven’t found out who yet but-” 

“You’re saying you haven’t found the Imposter?” Brown’s gaze hardened, so much so that Black’s hold on Orange’s hand tightened, the Crewmate glancing to Black in worry, about to say something when Coral sighed.

“No, but we’re working on it,” she affirmed.

“Then who do you think it is?” They shared a look with each other, looking confused when Black huffed.

“We’re not telling you”

“Black?” Orange questioned in confusion, yet he didn’t protest against the decision.

“We’re not telling you who we suspect,” he repeated, gritting his teeth.

“What?” Brown stood abruptly, taking a step towards Black who, in return, got out of his seat and stood in front of Orange, “why?!”

“Because they don’t deserve to be alienated if they aren’t the Imposter, I am not putting anyone’s lives at risk for a suspicion” he hissed.

“But they could have killed White! C’mon Black you know me,” when Brown took a step towards Black, Black took a step back until he ran into Orange, glancing to his friend whose wide eye matched Brown’s own wide eye, “I wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

“I know you, and I know that you’re not doing well Brown, you’re not thinking clearly and I know you’re hurt-”

“Know I’m hurt?!” Black was cut off when Brown took a slow step forward until he grabbed Black, dragging him until they were exactly face to face, Orange shouting in surprise, “White died and you’re not even telling me who killed him! I could help you!”

“Not now you can't,” Black said as he shoved away from Brown, Orange standing from his seat to stand beside Black, glaring at Brown, who looked furious at the ‘betrayal’.

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” Brown shouted as he reached towards Black, only to be stopped when Banana grabbed his hand, pinning it to his back.

“It means you’re not thinking clearly, and when you’re thinking clearly then we’ll tell you” Banana hissed, Brown practically growling as he broke free from the hold.

“Then what do I do to think clearly?!”

“First you start by taking a breather then sitting the hell down, and when you’re done you answer their questions,” Banana hissed, Brown glaring at the Crewmate before he stared back at Black and Orange, the way they stared at him with a wide, fearful eye and stepped away from the group, taking a breath before he eventually returned to the table and sat back down, Orange sighing in relief whilst Black still felt tense.

“On the night of the murder where were you?” Orange asked, Black glancing to Banana who just nodded to him in reassurance, Black sitting in front of Orange, shielding him from Brown’s view.

“Sleeping, I was in my room when I heard the gunshot” he huffed, Coral blinking.

“...And?” She prompted, Brown staring at her with a look that made Black’s nerves feel like they were on fire.

Never did he think that Brown could be scary, in fact he never thought that anyone on Skeld scared him.

“And that was it, I heard the gunshot, thought I dreamt it then fell back asleep” at the explanation the group glanced towards each other in scepticism.

“Ok, thanks for telling us” Coral smiled yet it wasn’t genuine, Brown nodding.

“Was that all you wanted to hear?” Brown asked, Black, Orange and Coral each giving each other a look before they gave a small nod, turning back to Brown.

“Yes,”

“You don’t think I killed White, do you guys?” And at his question they all stared at each other, looking unsure before Banana sighed.

“No” Banana said, Black staring at the Crewmate in surprise.

“What makes you say that?” Orange asked.

“You said it clearly he’s not thinking straight, Brown’s friend died and he’s grieving,” Black, Orange and Coral gave each other a look, Banana’s stare hardening, “trust me I know” 

“What? I’m not grieving” Brown said in disbelief, Banana raising an eyebrow sceptically, “I just want to find who killed White and make them pay.”

“So you want revenge?” at her words Brown froze.

“Well not exactly-”

“What are you willing to lose?” She asked, Brown looking confused until his face began to pale.

“What?” He asked, his voice small.

“For revenge, what are you willing to lose?” At the question Brown huffed, crossing his hands, Black noticing that he was avoiding eye contact as his attention constantly seemed to shift.

Is it guilt? Or is it something more?

“Nothing, we’ll all be safe once the Imposter is gone” he said as he stood from the table, huffing, “I’m done talking”

“And who do you think the Imposter is?” Banana questioned, her tone neutral.

“Red, Maroon, you,” at the mention of herself Banana shifted, looking uncomfortable before she settled again, “ its obvious, none of us would have killed White”

“And how do you know?” Brown went to say something more when he stopped, glaring at Banana before his expression changed into one of uncertainty, Brown dropping as he turned away from the group, Banana making her way towards Brown as she placed a hand on his back.

“If you’re looking for revenge then dig two graves” she murmured lowly, Brown saying nothing, the only reaction that he had ever heard her in the first place was the way he seemed to shake, Banana gently patting his back as she stood away from the Chef, staring to Orange, “we’ve got everyone's stories now should we tell Blue?”

“Yeah,” getting up from his seat, Orange cast a glance to Brown before he began making his way to Weapons, Coral and Banana following whilst Black made his way towards Brown, placing his hand on Brown’s back.

“Take care Brown” was all he mumbled before trailing after the group, making their way into Weapons then into Navigations, coming back to Lime and Blue, Blue still teaching Lime about the system, too focused on their work to notice the group, again, Orange glancing to Coral who just smiled cheekily.

“So what you’re saying is-” Coral loudly took a sip of her smoothie and, just like before, it startled Blue and Lime, Lime shrieking in surprise whilst Coral just cackled, Banana letting out a low laugh.

“God I hate when you do that”

‘But it’s effective, is it not?”

“True that,” stepping away from the seat, Blue made his way towards the group, leaning against the wall and crossing his hands, “was there anything you needed?”

“We finished questioning the crew” Blue’s eye widened as he stood away from his seat and made his way towards the group who just nodded.

“No you didn’t” Banana said from behind the group, Black turning to face the Crewmate in surprise.

“Wait, what do you mean? We got everyone-” 

“We forgot about Black” Coral whispered in realisation, Orange groaning whilst Banana just rolled her eye with a smile.

“Ok so then question him here, once you’re done then give me the report” Blue huffed in amusement, Orange turning to Black.

“Ok well you know the drill, where were you on the night of the murder?” Orange asked.

“On the night of the murder I was sleeping, usually I’m a light sleeper but the exhaustion from Mira must have hit me hard because I didn’t hear a gunshot, I woke up to Orange pounding on my door when he announced that White had died,” he took a breath before turning to face his friend, “was that all you needed?”

“Yeah your story checks out” 

“So with that out of the way what did you find?” Blue asked, Orange glancing to Black before he stood forward.

“According to Black Green never answered the questions or at least seemed ‘different from normal’ which I have to agree, even Lime thinks something’s wrong with Green, whether it's the grief or something else I don’t know” Orange sighed, placing a gentle hand on Black who just smiled anxiously.

“He also suspects Black a lot, he won’t talk to me and trust me I’ve tried” Lime added as an afterthought, Blue humming in thought as he put his hand to his chin, rubbing it.

“So what’s your thoughts?” Blue asked.

“Well I don’t think he killed White, I just think he’s grieving, we should keep an eye on him though he’s a bit suspicious” Orange declared

“As for Yellow she’s not ok,” at the mention of his wife Blue seemed to be more attentive, stiffening as he leaned closer to Coral “I genuinely doubt she killed White, she seemed so guilty for not checking out the gunshot.”

“How is she doing?” Blue asked, Black and Orange exchanging a worried look.

“Not good, I genuinely think that she’d do better if you were there” Banana said, the group staring at Blue who looked conflicted.

“But I can’t…” Blue responded guiltily, Lime placing a gentle hand on Blue, squeezing in reassurance, the Captain giving a small smile, “I wish I could but I still have to teach Lime the system and with White’s murder leaving the ship without a trained Captain is just- its stupid, this situation is ridiculous and I’m f-”

“Then why not bring Yellow with you? That way you can train Lime and keep an eye on your wife and son at the same time” Banana asked, Blue’s agitation immediately leaving him as his eye widened at the idea.

“That’s a smart idea, but would she be comfortable with it?” He asked.

“Then why not ask her?” Banana prompted, Blue making his way out of Navigations then up into Weapons, making his way to the Dormitory leaving Lime who took Blue’s place against the wall, Orange clearing his throat as he continued.

“Then we questioned you and Blue, you both seem clear so there’s not much to say, then we went to question Maroon, Red and Banana” 

“How did it go?” Lime asked, seeming genuinely curious.

“Maroon and Banana seemed to have clear alibis but Red seemed a lot more snappish, yet again I don’t know if that’s just her personality or if she’s guilty”

“She’s usually like that, she’s kinder when she actually knows you” Banana said, the group letting out an ‘ah’.

“Well we still don’t know her so it might be best to keep an eye on her, no offence” Lime declared, Banana shrugging before he turned his attention back to the group, “so then who did you question next?”

“Pink and Purple,” Orange let out a sigh, “Purple, worryingly, seemed fine yet that was probably because he was busy comforting Pink, who isn’t ok, they were crying when we came to Security but they’re pretty set on thinking that Red killed White, they didn’t really give a reason why but I think that’s just them grieving”

“So do you think Pink killed White?” Lime asked, Banana immediately shaking her head.

“Genuinely no” said Coral, “there was also something else that happened at Security it was weird…”

“Weird how?”

“Well Black went into Admin to check the map and saw someone in Lower Engine, we went there to see who was at Lower Engine and there was nobody, we asked Pink and Purple if they saw anyone and they said no, they also said that they probably were focused on comforting each other that they probably missed them” 

“Who fueled the engines? We thought that maybe they went to upper to fuel engines”

“I’m not sure, I’ll ask Blue when he gets back here but I think that it was Green” Lime answered, the group glancing to each other whilst Lime just shifted, “so then who did you question next?”

“Well we went to cafeteria and questioned Coral, Coral had a clear alibi, then we asked Orange, who-”

“I worry for Orange” Black blurted, cutting off Orange who just glanced at him.

“Huh?” He asked, sounding confused whilst Black changed his focus from Lime to Orange for just a second.

“Orange has been way too focused on everyone else that he hasn’t focused on himself, he almost broke down during his questioning” Black told Lime, who just raised his eyebrow.

“Anything that set him off?” Black went to say more when Coral cut him off.

“White’s death and the mention of Black” Coral said, Orange staring towards the floor.

“I thought he died,” he mumbled, Black pulling his friend into a hug before Orange eventually pulled away, lightly punching him in the side.

“Sap” Black joked, Orange snorting as he hugged him in return, smiling thankfully.

“Long story short I don’t think Orange killed, he almost broke down when thinking about White and Black, then we interviewed Brown and that-” Coral stopped speaking, Lime leaning away from the wall to glance at them in worry.

“What’s up with Brown?”

“He’s different, I don’t trust him” she said with complete honesty, Lime’s eye narrowing.

“When interviewing him he seemed dead set on finding the Imposter and genuinely seemed kind of dangerous, he believes that Banana, Maroon and red killed White, that they should pay, he’s worrying me” Black said.

“You missed the part where he grabbed you Black” Orange grumbled, Lime’s eye widening as he mumbled something beneath his breath.

"Do you think he’s an Imposter?” Lime asked, Black glancing warily down towards Shields, which was clear, then up towards Weapons, where Blue, Yellow and Mellow were making their way to Navigations, Black exhaling.

“I don’t know, it doesn’t seem like he killed White but he’s going down a scary path” Black said, Blue, Yellow and Mellow walking into Navigations, Black’s heart hurting when he heard Yellow’s soft sniffles as she sat in the chair, Blue pressing a kiss to his wife’s head as he pulled her and Mellow into a hug.

“And what path is that?” Lime whispered.

“Revenge” Banana muttered, Lime stiffening as he let out a breath.

“And then that was everyone, but so far the only people we suspect are Red, Brown, Green and who we’re worried about is Orange, Pink, Yellow, Blue, Coral…” Black paused, “actually just everyone, I think White’s death is affecting us more than we thought.”

“Noted, I’ll keep an eye out and let Blue know,” Lime turned back to Navigations, ready to leave when he turned back to the group, “keep me updated”

“We will, take care Lime”

“You too” and with a wave Lime went back to his seat in Navigations whilst Black turned back to Orange, Coral and Banana.

“What do we do now?”

“Chill in Cafeteria?”

“Yeah, I should probably eat some lunch before I sleep anyway” Orange said as he began to walk up, Black, Banana and Coral following closely behind, it wasn’t until Orange stepped into Cafeteria when Black came up with an idea.

“Orange wait” at the mention of his name Orange stopped in the Cafeteria, Coral and Banana stopping in place behind Black.

“Yeah? What’s up?” Orange questioned, his eyebrow raised.

“Can I stay in Security with you tonight?” He asked whilst Orange just shrugged, a smile on his face.

“Sure, I don’t see why not, you’ll just have to ask Blue” Orange explained, Black nodding.

“Right well should I-” he began to turn away from Orange, preparing to go back to Navigations.

“I’ll go ask Blue” Coral announced, making her way down towards Navigations whilst Black turned to face Orange yet again, the Crewmate staring at him in curiosity.

“Why do you want to do the Security shift with me?” Orange asked, sounding genuinely curious.

“Well I-” Black cut himself off when Coral ran up towards Weapons and shouted;

“Skeld’s been hacked!” Her voice alone made all of them jolt, Black turning away from Orange to stare at Coral, who was staring at Orange with a wide eye, rushing towards the Cafeteria whilst Black turned back to his friend, his heart dropping in realisation.

“What?! What do you mean ha-” Orange’s sentence never got completed, Black desperately lunging towards Cafeteria a moment too late as the doors slid shut, locking in place, his hand hitting uselessly against metal.

Chapter Text

“Orange!” Black shrieked, pounding on the door as if that alone would get it to open, even going so far as to try and jam his fingers between the split in the wall to try and pry it open with little to no success, cursing as it refused to budge.

“Are you ok?!” Coral shouted at the door, finding no response then pounding on the door, Black leaning his head against it to try and hear something, anything from the otherside, but there was nothing.

I should have known, of course there would be nothing-

“He can’t hear you and you can’t hear him, the doors block out sound” Banana murmured, Coral’s fists turning back into hands as her efforts stopped, Coral turning to the Guard. 

“Then how do we get it to open? Surely there’s a way” she said, her hands clenching into fists at Banana’s unsure look.

“So he’s trapped in Cafeteria by himself and we’re just supposed to wait for him?!” Coral’s shout managed to garner the attention of Blue and Yellow as they ran into the room, Mellow being carried in his mothers hands.

“Are you all ok?” Blue scanned the entirety of Weapons before he turned to Black with a mortified look in his eye, “Where’s Orange?”

“He’s trapped in Cafeteria” Coral choked out, the Captain stiffening whilst Yellow just gasped.

“By himself?” Yellow asked, her hold on Mellow tightening, the Toddler looking confused yet concerned all at the same time as he turned to look his mother in the eye.

“We think so” at Black’s words, Yellow’s grip on Mellow loosened just enough for him to turn away from his mother and stare at Black.

“Then surely he would be fine,” Yellow looked towards Blue, “right?”

“Surely” the Captain said, yet there was doubt in his words, Banana making her way towards the door, gently pushing Coral and Black out of the way as she looked around for something.

“As long as he stays away from the vents he should be fine,” Banana tried to reassure, her hands feeling along the door whilst Black froze, an idea forming.

“The vents” he whispered, getting a confused glance from Yellow, “there’s a vent in the hallway which connects to Cafeteria, if I could just go in there then I could get to Cafeteria and get Orange out through there.”

“Good, then I’ll try to see how the door opens, you go to Cafeteria” with a nod, Black went to leave when Red made her way from the Dormitory into Weapons, staring at the group surrounded by the door in confusion.

“What’s happened?” She asked, looking at Banana with a raised eyebrow.

“The Skeld’s been hacked, doors have been closing and Orange is trapped in Cafeteria, Black’s going to vent to Cafeteria to make sure Orange is ok” Banana summarised, not taking her focus off of the door whilst Black nodded, Red staring at him for a short moment.

“I’ll go,” she said. 

“But why?” Banana questioned, turning to Blue and shaking her head, the Captain dropping.

“Because we’re supposed to be keeping an eye on Black, remember? How do we know he won’t just vent to the Cafeteria and kill Orange, report his body and say that he found him like that?” Red explained, her fingers rubbing at her eyebrows whilst Coral made a strangled noise.

“What? I wouldn’t kill my best friend” Black said with horror, Red not bothering with a response as she headed towards the vent, the group sans Yellow, Mellow and Coral, who stayed by the door, following the Engineer to the Hallway and watching as she opened the grate.

“I’m gonna go from this vent to the one in Cafeteria, but whatever happens It’ll all be ok” was all she said before she dove into the vent, the metal slamming shut against the ground, the echo bouncing across the walls and through Black’s bones, causing him to flinch.

“Is there a way to get the doors open? We have to try” Blue asked Banana, the Guard looking unsure.

“Well there’s no panel like Polus, if there was a way to open the doors then I have no idea where it's located” the group all dropped in disappointment, Banana looking apologetic whilst Black tried to think of a solution, Banana beating him to it as she straightened up.

“Hold on, you said that the system was hacked and that caused the doors to close, maybe you can open the doors through the system,” she said, Blue nodding whilst the hope in Black increased.

“That’s what we think, Lime’s trying to gain control of the system as we speak” Blue’s face then scrunched up, “I should check on how he’s doing actually.”

“I’ll go with you,” Black said, Blue making his way to Navigations with Banana and Black following after him, the pair of them glancing to each other when they saw the Co-Pilot desperately trying to log back into the system, his eye narrowed in concentration as his shaky fingers mashed on the screen.

“Have you got anything yet?” Blue asked, Lime not even bothering to turn around to face the Captain as he cursed.

“Nothing, I don’t know if its just because I’m inexperienced or if there’s something more but I’m trying, I’m trying” Lime choked out, turning away from the panel to stare at Blue, the tears that were forming in his eye stopping as the Captain placed a gentle hand on the side of the seat.

“I believe you,” Blue softly said, not taking his hand off of the seat until he saw Lime wipe a hand across his eye and nod, turning back to his panel as he continued trying to find a solution, Blue joining him as he worked on a bypass, Black swallowing past the lump in his throat as he watched.

“It’ll be ok” Banana tried to reassure Black, who just stiffened as doubt crept in his mind making every part of him want to run away and hide.

But I won’t hide, I won’t, not until this Imposter is gone and everyone’s safe, he promised himself, his hand clenching into a fist, I just have to find the Imposter first.

“God dammit, dammit!” Black’s heart dropped at Lime’s panicked voice, even the Captain, who was level-headed about this situation turned to his Co-Pilot with a wide eye, immediately taking his hands away from the panel as he stood up.

“What?” Blue asked the Co-Pilot who was desperately tapping away at the screen, Blue coming closer to the panel before he stiffened, cursing beneath his breath as he rushed back to his seat in a frantic dash and continued to try and access the bypass.

“What’s wrong?” Black ended up asking, fearing the worst.

“Someone else is trying to gain access to the system!” Blue shouted, Black stiffening before the Captain turned to Lime, “do you have anything?”

“No, not yet” Lime answered, taking a sharp breath as he continued to type away at the screen.

“Have you tried the backup code?” Blue questioned, 

“Yes, and I tell you its not working, I’ve tried the bypass, the backup, freezing the system, I swear I’ve tried everything but nothing’s working,” Blue cursed as he stood from his seat, going to make his way towards Lime before an alert on Blue’s system made the Captain return to his chair, falling silent the second he stared at his screen.

“What now?” Lime grumbled towards the Captain, the Co-Pilot freezing as he turned towards Blue, “Blue?”

“They’re trying to gain access to the ship,” Blue whispered in a mixture of disbelief and horror, the sound of an alert spurred Blue back into motion as he tapped away at the screen, his eye narrowed in determination.

“Blue? What are you doing?” The Co-Pilot stopped what he was doing to stare at the Captain.

“Shutting down the system” Blue explained, everyone freezing as Lime stared in horror.

“But if the system is shut down then we won’t be able to access anything, what if something happens? What if we need to move the ship?”  

“Yes, I know what happens if the ship shuts down but if we don’t then the Imposter has full reign of the ship, we cannot let that happen” the Captain hissed, Lime tensing before he slowly nodded, returning his attention to his own panel whilst Black paused, coming to a realisation that had him practically shaking with fury.

“Why do we need to hack the ship?” A younger, more inexperienced Black had asked, watching from the doorway of Electrical for a sight of any Crewmates before he nodded back towards the two other Imposters in the room Magenta, one of the Imposters, huffing in amusement from where they leaned against the wall, typing something into their watch a moment later.

“Well we can’t sabotage without bypassing the system, can we?” The other Imposter, Jade, mumbled, Black holding back a snarl as his mouth almost opened before he let out a breath as he walked away from the doorway and closer to the duo, his mouth remaining closed.

“But can’t we just steal the Data and be done with it?” He grumbled out, Magenta rolling their eye.

“If we steal the Data then there’s nothing stopping this Crew from getting more” they explained.

“It's why you cut them off at the source, no Crew, no more Data” Jade huffed in a low laughter, his mouth opening to reveal a cruel smile filled with teeth, his snake tail swishing as Black stared to the floor.

“But do we have to kill them?” He questioned, cringing at how weak he sounded.

“Yes” Magenta answered, too focused on their screen to care, not noticing Jade’s narrowed eye or the way his tail began to rattle dangerously, a warning that Black refused to listen to.

“But what if I don’t want to” Black said, Magenta looking shocked as they stared away from their screen at just the right moment to see Jade grab Black, the growl he let out barely audible beyond the rattling noise that echoed throughout the room, the sound sending chills through his spine.

“Oh you’ll kill them alright,” Jade hissed, the rattling only stopping as Magenta let out a low, rumbling growl that had Jade turning towards them, hissing, exposing their fangs and long, forked tongue.

A single glare from Magenta had them freezing in place.

“Knock it off,” they ordered, glaring at Jade when the other ignored them, “do you want us to get caught?”

“No, but-”

“Then shut it, I can’t get into the system with all this racket,” Jade glared at Black then to Magenta, who just glared back, mouth set in a disapproving frown.

Apparently that frown was a lot more impactful than Black thought because the only reaction Jade ever gave was a hiss at Black before he stepped away, making his way towards the wall as he leaned against it, staring away from the group whilst his tail swished in agitation but he, thankfully, stayed silent whilst Magenta continued to hack her way into the system.

Eventually, the white light of her watch turned green, Magenta turning off the watch as they nodded to Black, then turning to Jade, budging him when he made no response, the touch making his head turn towards the Imposter as he growled.

“What now?” he asked.

“I’ve got control of the system,” they explained as they made their way towards the vent, opening it as they turned back to Black and Jade, “let's go.” 

I should have seen this coming, he thought to himself as he bit his teeth into his tongue to stop himself from snarling. 

Surely I can find a way to bypass it, he thought to himself, going to reach for Blue to help out when footsteps broke Black out of his thoughts as he turned his attention towards the Hallway, relief flooding his body when he saw Orange and Red running past Navigations, the pair going to make their way towards Weapons before stopping when they heard Black run out of Navigations, the pair of them freezing in the middle.

“Orange…” Black whispered shakily, his friend’s hands opening for an invitation as Black practically sprinted into his friend’s chest whilst Orange just pressed his head against Black’s, the hands gently pulling him close.

“I’m ok,” he reassured, Black pulling away for just a moment to stare at his friend who smiled tearfully, “I’m ok.”

“God, I thought you died,” he felt Orange laugh as he pulled Black closer to himself.

“Well I’m not dead, all thanks to Red, I was getting bored locked in the Cafeteria” at the mention of her name, Black pulled away from Orange’s chest as he made his way towards the Engineer who was staring at the pair, a slight blush on her face.

“Thank you” Black said with complete honesty, the Crewmate falling speechless as she just gave a thumbs up as she made her way up towards Weapons, Orange glancing to Black before he followed after the Engineer, Black and Banana following after them.

“-Taking them so long, surely the doors won’t be closed forever” Coral said, her hands prying at the crack again before she sighed, pressing her head against the wall whilst Yellow shook on the floor with Mellow trying to comfort his mother, Black taking a step back as he debated on getting Blue only to pause when his footstep caused the Crewmates heads to snap in their direction, Coral rushing to Orange, who barely had time to react as she practically threw herself into his hands, Orange almost falling backwards with an ‘oof’ as he held her.

“Thank the Gods-” Black heard Coral whisper.

“I’m ok” he said, Coral pulling away from his hug as she examined him, finding his words to be true as she pulled away, Yellow smiling at the sight of Orange whilst Mellow ran away from his mother, shrieking in delight at the site of Orange.

“Ora!” Mellow shouted as he leapt for Orange’s knee, the Crewmate gasping in surprise before he awkwardly leaned down to Mellow, giving him a small pat on the head whilst Black smiled, Yellow getting up from the ground as she made her way to Orange.

“Glad you’re ok” she said, Orange stretching out one hand and pulling her to his side as he hugged her, the Crewmate returning the hug.

“Red found me” Orange murmured, Coral turning to face the Engineer.

“Thank you for saving his life” she said, Red rolling her eye yet Black didn’t miss the way a blush crept across her face as she tried to hide it by clearing her throat.

“I should probably check on the other rooms to see if anyone else is trapped” Red said before she left the room, everyone saying their farewells before they pulled away from their hug, Yellow and Mellow making their way back towards Navigations whilst Black, Orange, Coral and Banana sat on the floor, waiting for the door to open.

“How long do you think the door will stay closed for?” Coral wondered aloud, Black leaning his head to the floor as he stared at the ceiling.

“Might be hours, maybe even minutes” Black mumbled, getting lost in thought.

“How did this even happen? Surely the system’s defences are too strong to access” Orange said, Black sighing sadly.

“Even strong systems get hacked, today was proof enough as it is” at Black’s words Orange sat up to stare at him.

“Well that’s stupid!” Black couldn’t help but wince at the volume of his friend's voice, Orange noticing his discomfort and leaning back to the floor with a whispered apology.

“So when do we think the doors will open?” Coral asked again, Banana humming in thought.

“I think It’ll open in three minutes” 

“That’s oddly specific” Black ended up saying, yet he slowly began his count.

“Well what’s your bet?” Banana asked, staring at Coral who took a sip of her smoothie.

“I think they’ll stay closed until tomorrow” she said, going for another sip of her smoothie when she pulled it away from herself with a disappointed sigh, “my smoothie’s empty…”

“We’ll get you another one” Orange promised, “also I think they’ll open in an hour,” he leaned away from the floor to look at Black, “what do you think?”

Still counting in his head Black fell silent, hoping to hear any indication from Lime and Black but all he could hear was low murmurs as well as the occasional beeping of the system that seemed to echo through the wall.

“I think we should check on them to see,” Orange stared at Black, who was confused for a moment before he remembered what they had been talking about in the first place, “also I think they’ll open in seven minutes” 

“Again, oddly specific,” Orange mumbled.

“Hey you wanted an answer and I gave you one, also Banana lost the bet”

“Aww damn it” she said, snickering as he heard Coral murmur ‘you’ve been keeping count?’

“Should we check in on them though? I feel like they might need our help” Black asked again.

“Well how would we help them? Only Blue and Lime have access to the system” Orange explained as he sat up, “besides our efforts would be useless anyway.” 

“I hate not being able to do anything” Black mumbled, leaning back to the ground as he stared at the ceiling.

“Me too,” Orange confessed with a murmur, “I just hope It’ll be ok soon.”

“Yeah…” the sound of footsteps had Black sitting up, the tension in his body clearing up when he saw Lime staring towards the group but, more specifically, the door.

“Is it on yet?!” Blue yelled, his voice echoing through the room, Black leaning back to the floor as he stared at the ceiling.

“Nope! Not yet” Lime shouted back, Blue cursing before he fell silent again.

“What’s up Lime? I thought you had to help Blue” Orange questioned.

“Well we think we figured out the issue and now he’s regaining control of the system” now that made Black sit up, staring at the Co-Pilot in surprise.

“That quickly?”

“Yeah it was a surprise to us also, we genuinely thought it would’ve taken an hour to fix but we-”

“How about now?!” Blue shouted, cutting off Lime.

“Nothing yet!” He shouted back, Blue shouting back a curse.

“What are you even trying to do?” Questioned Banana.

“Open the doors” at his words Banana moved away from the door and sat by the wall, Coral scoffing before she barked out a small laugh.

“Oh I think that they’re gonna stay closed forever, there’s no way in hell the doors will ever-” there was a hissing of air as the doors slid open, Coral, who was leaning against said door, falling to the floor with an ‘oof’ whilst Orange burst into laughter.

“Doors are open!” Lime shouted back to Blue, the Co-Pilot letting out a small giggle as he watched Orange and Banana try to help Coral to her feet with minimal success, Black himself holding back laughter at their efforts.

Eventually, Blue made his way into Weapons, just as Banana and Orange had pulled Coral to her feet, Yellow and Mellow followed after the Captain who stood next to Lime, whispering something towards the Co-Pilot that had Black raising an eyebrow, his interest piqued.

“Well I didn’t expect the doors to actually open” Coral mumbled, Black making his way towards the Crewmate who was sweeping the dust off of herself.

“Are you ok?” he asked her, Coral huffing.

“I’m fine, just surprised is all,” she said, the group making their way away from the doorway when Yellow made her way towards Cafeteria, Mellow following closely behind his mother whilst Blue stayed behind.

“So how long did the doors actually stay closed for?” Coral asked the Captain, who startled at the question, looking confused..

“I have no idea” he admitted.

“Approximately five minutes and thirty nine seconds” Black responded, the group turning to him in surprise.

“Jeez, how long have you been counting?” Banana joked, Black tensing.

He had waited in that room for what felt like an eternity, with nothing more to do than endlessly pace the room as he counted the time until the door eventually opened.

At least the silence helped him concentrate enough to not focus on the pain he was in.

A click of a lock cut him away from his thoughts as he stopped his pacing, turning towards the door as his mouth split open, growling when Rose stepped into the room, her eye narrow.

Judging by the lack of bandages on Rose’s face and the amount of wounds on her body she hadn’t been checked out by the Medical Ward yet, and despite the pain that Black was in he stared at the doorway, already mentally preparing for a way to escape.

“Relax, I’m not here to hurt you” annoyance leaked into Rose’s tone, Black tensing when she stepped further into the room, growling in warning as he flexed his claws, Rose freezing as she took a sharp breath in, “I mean it, I’m not here to fight.”

“Then why see me at all?” Despite the pain he was in, Black still stared at her, daring her to try and fight him, and she must have known what was going through his mind as he saw a flicker of fear shoot through her eye, yet she masked it beneath an annoyed huff.

“Pitch Black wants to speak to you actually, he wants to speak to both of us,” those words had a pool of dread drop into his stomach, Black taking a hesitant step back.

“Liar, why would he want to see me? You’re here to hurt me and I won’t let you,” he growled, Rose rolling her eye with a huff.

“Trust me, I’d rather do anything than see your face again, I’m not lying when I say that he wants to speak with you.”

“And he didn’t speak to me for the entire two hours and forty nine minutes I’ve been locked in this room?” He snapped, yet he knew better than to deny the bosses order, making his way towards Rose and out the door as they made their way through the centre and towards the bosses office, Black eying off all three of the guards at both his and her side, one of them smirking, he smile alone made Black want to tackle him, but he knew that it would never do good.

The walk to the office took nine minutes, nine whole minutes of Black feeling antsy with how tense everything was, the tension only getting worse when he stood inside the office and sat down in a seat at the bench one of the guards going to close the door and head towards a seat only for the boss to wave his hand dismissively, the guards walking out of the room before closing the door behind them leaving Rose, Black and the boss, Pitch Black in the room.

It was two minutes of suffocating silence when Pitch Black cut the silence with a snarl that had both Rose and Black straightening to attention immediately.

“Out of all the dumbest things I’ve seen, never, and I mean NEVER have I seen anything anything as dumb as what you two had just done” Pitch Black said as he pulled back from his chair and stood, his scorpion tail dragging across the ground as he slowly stalked his way towards Rose and Black, his mouth pulled in a frown that showed off his whole row of teeth.

The two were silent until the tail aimed straight for Rose’s throat, the tip practically touching her as she squeaked fearfully.

“It was Black! He was the one who started it!” Rose cried, Black whipping his head towards her as he growled, standing to his feet so quickly that the chair he was sitting on toppled to the ground, the crash echoing through the room as Black leapt for Rose, tackling her to the ground.

“You and I both know that that was a lie! I wouldn’t have had to start it if you just let me go!” Agony burned across his face that Black cried in surprise, growling as he turned towards the threat only for the noise to cut off as he felt himself get raised to the air, hearing a low rumble as he stared at his boss, Pitch Black, who looked furious beyond belief.

“You tried to ESCAPE?!” Pitch Black roared, Black gritting his teeth at the volume of it only to cry out in pain a moment later when he felt claws dig into his side.

The dark void of Pitch Black’s iris was somehow more scarier than this entire situation combined, the only thing that made Black focus away from the scorpion tail poised directly towards Black’s throat was his glowing white pupil, and even yet staring at it made him want to run.

There was a growl as Pitch Black squeezed, Black wheezing as the air left his lungs, breath coming in short, panicking as he tried to think, his vision fading as his head pounded.

“Yes, I tried to escape” Black more mouthed the words than said them, gasping when the pressure suddenly disappeared and Black fell to the floor, taking another breath in as his vision slowly began to clear, not even bothering to savour the moment as he quickly scrambled to his feet, pretending that he never fell in the first place as he watched Pitch Black pace slowly around the room, his scorpion tail twitching as it constantly tensed and untensed, as if unsure of what it wanted to do.

“And why would you want to escape?” His boss asked, Black cringing at the tone, swallowing uncomfortably, torn between telling the truth or lying altogether.

And yet if he lied Rose would probably tell Pitch Black the truth, but if he told the truth then he knew that Pitch Black would be furious, maybe even angrier than before.

Either way it doesn’t matter, you’re screwed he thought to himself with a grimace.

“Because I don’t want to kill” he answered honestly, Pitch Black tensing as he took a slow step towards Black, who stood his ground as he stared at the looming figure of his boss.

“But you have to if you want to stay here” 

“Then I don’t want to stay here” he answered plain and simply, flinching when Pitch Black froze before he let out quiet huffs of air that later turned into laughter, the noise practically shaking the room with how loud it was.

“And where would you go? Face it, this is the only place where you’d ever be accepted” said his boss, his mouth twisted into an amused grin.

“That’s not true,” Black murmured, his hands clenching into fists, wincing when the motion pulled at the injury.

“And yet have you ever told a Crewmate that you were an Imposter?” Pitch Black questioned, Black going to protest only to shrink in on himself, staring away from his boss and towards the ground whilst a large, clawed hand placed itself on Black’s cheek making him tense as he felt his face get gently moved upwards until he was staring into the eye of his boss, whose body dropped as he curled his tail behind Black, “here you’re safe, out there you’re dead.”

“It's not true ” he hissed to himself, turning away from his boss only to turn back when he felt a thumb rub a gentle circle into his cheek, Pitch Black sighing softly whilst Black winced as it pulled on his wound.

“You might not believe me now but one day you’ll see that what I’m trying to do is to protect you, all of you, fighting your fellow Imposters and trying to escape the Centre ruins the safety I’ve worked so hard to keep” he said, pulling his hand away from Black as he stood, making his way back towards his chair, “get yourselves cleaned up, I don’t want to see either of you two in here again” and then they both silently left the room, Black shaking as he made his way to the Medical Ward.

“I just count when I’m bored sometimes, gives you something to do y’know?” Black said with a shrug, Banana letting out a laugh whilst Orange looked amused.

“So what do we do now?” Coral asked Blue, the happiness disappearing as they all turned to the Captain, who said nothing as he made his way towards the Cafeteria.

With a confused glance, the group followed after Blue, Black’s eye widening as he saw the Captain make his way to the centre table and push the button, a siren blaring through the room.

“Was a meeting really necessary? The doors just closed” Coral asked as she took a seat, Black following after her as he sat down beside Cyan’s flower.

“It was more than just the doors closing Coral” Blue mumbled.

“What’s going on? Why’d you call a meeting?” Purple questioned as he came out from the Medbay Hallway, Pink, who looked a little bit better than before, followed closely behind, their hand held in Purple's own.

“Did you find the Imposter?!” Brown shouted as he dashed into the room, growling in annoyance when Blue shook his head, “then why call a meeting?”

“Because the ship got hacked,” there were a few gasps, Blue ignoring them as he continued, “and it was more than just doors they closed, whoever hacked the ship has the bypass for almost every code on this ship which means that they can and will shut down more than just doors.”

“You don’t mean-” Blue nodded, Green cutting himself off as he stared down at the table.

“They have access to the Oxygen, the Reactor, Lights, Communications, Doors, all of it,” Blue grit out, Yellow taking her Husband’s hand and holding it to stop the way he shook with fury.

“They can Sabotage” Black whispered, curling into himself as the rest of the Crew fell silent as the horrified realisation fell on them all.

“But we can still fix it, right?” Pink dropped in place as Blue shook his head sadly, the rest of the Crew looking saddened whilst Black just clutched Cyan’s flower to his chest in a weak attempt at comfort.

I should be used to this by now, so why am I still so god damn terrified?

“Until we find the Imposter there’s no way to regain full control of the system, they stole the code, but there’s still a way to help,” almost everyone seemed to perk up in interest, “me and Lime will stay back at Navigations to open the doors when they do close but I won’t be able to help with the sabotages, they need to be fixed at the source.”

“What about us? Is there anything we can do to help?” Orange asked, looking relieved when the Captain nodded.

“Be alert, look out for each other and report anything suspicious,” Blue commanded, the Crew nodding in agreement, “overall I didn’t have anything to say other than updating you all on what happened, does anyone else have something they’d like to share?” The Crew shook their heads, “then skip, let’s hope that the next meeting is the last.” 

The Crew skipped the meeting then disbanded, Orange and Coral making their way towards the Booth to order more food for lunch, offering for Black to join them only for him to decline the offer.

“I forgot to ask Blue about tonight,” he explained to Orange, who groaned at the realisation, “I’ll go ask him then I’ll come back” he promised, Orange giving a small farewell as Black left for Navigations, Banana following after him.

Eventually they made it to Navigations where Blue was already in his seat, his head in his hands whilst Yellow was seated at the floor, staring at the ground whilst Mellow hugged her side, Lime looking between the two in uncertainty until his eye landed on Black.

“I don’t know what to do…” Lime curled into himself in shame, Black glancing at Banana in worry before they both stood in the room, Black heading towards Blue whilst Banana made her way to Yellow.

“Hey Blue? You there?” he asked, placing a gentle hand on Blue as he gently shook him, the Captain’s head pulling away from his hands as he stared at Black.

“What do you need?” Blue grit out, the tension obvious in his voice, Black debating on just leaving it be only to shake his head with a gentle sigh.

“I was just wondering if I could join Orange during his Security shift tonight”

“You seriously want to do that?” Blue raised his eyebrow whilst Black nodded, letting out a huff of air as he leaned back into his chair, “well I’m not stopping you at all but sure.”

“Thank you.”

“It's really not an issue,” Blue said with an exhausted smile, “just try to stay in Security please, if there’s an issue come and find me, I’m taking the night shift tonight.”

“Will do”

“Was that all you needed?” 

“Actually no, I just wanted to ask if you’re ok” at his words, Blue reached for Black’s hand, squeezing it.

“I’ll be fine,” Blue reassured with a smile that Black knew was fake, “but thank you for worrying about me.”

“We’ll find who killed White,” at the mention of White Blue tensed, black squeezing the Captain’s hand, “I promise.”

“I don’t doubt it, I just-” Blue cut himself off, glancing to Yellow then Mellow, softening as he heard Mellow call Banana ‘Nana’ , the Guard pausing in place whilst Mellow stared at his mother as she softly smiled, “I want them to be safe, I want everyone to be safe but with the Imposter on the ship I can’t promise that they’ll be safe.”

“Well you’re not alone either, you have me, you have Lime, you have everyone who’s willing to help you, it’ll be ok” Black felt Blue’s hand dig into Black’s as the Captain stared at the panel.

“I can’t lose anyone else Black, I just can’t,” he said with a voice so broken that Black wrapped him in a hug.

“And you won’t,” he murmured, looking to the floor.

“Promise me you’ll be ok Black,” there was a firm squeeze on Black’s hand that forced his attention back to the Captain, “don’t do anything stupid please,”

“I won’t Blue, I promise.”

“Don’t be a hero either, if you see an Imposter do not confront them, just hit the button and stay away from them, you hear me?”

“Yes Blue,” 

“Then that’s all,” and Blue pulled away from the hug to ruffle Black’s head, Black swatting at the hands, “be safe out there kid.”

“Will do” and Black made his way to Banana, the Guard looking overjoyed with tears in her eye, staring at Mellow with a fond smile whilst Yellow was smiling, upon noticing his presence Mellow ran out of his mothers hands only to cling to his leg, pointing at Banana and saying:

“Nana!”

“Yeah, that’s Nana” Black leaned down to Mellow whilst the toddler looked overjoyed, giggling as he grabbed Black’s hands, moving each finger, the fidgeting reminding Black of swith them when Black suddenly remembered something.

“By the way I think I found a ball for Mellow” he told Yellow, who looked to him in surprise.

“Seriously?” Black nodded, taking his hand away from Mellow’s own ones to reach into his pack, pulling out the slightly dirty tennis ball and showing it to Yellow, who just stared at it with mild disgust at how it looked more grey than neon green, Mellow reaching for it only for Black to pull it away, the toddler making a noise of protest, "where did you even find it?”

“In the vents,” Yellow snorted, Black rubbing a hand on the back of his head, “I haven’t had a chance to clean it.”

“That would explain the filth then,” Yellow said with a giggle, “I’d honestly throw it out, I think we have a ball for him anyway.”

“Alright well I just thought I’d ask anyway” pocketing the ball, Black stood to his feet, “we’re gonna go to Cafeteria anyway to eat some lunch,” he turned to Banana, “did we wanna go?”

“Sure, I could use some lunch” she said, swiping a fist across her eye to rid of the tears.

Waving goodbye to the Crewmates, Black and Banana made their way back to Cafeteria where Orange and Coral were waiting at the usual table, looking bored until they saw the two and perked up, Orange getting up from his seat and making his way to Black, grabbing his hand as he dragged him back to the table before he could even explain what Blue had said.

“So what did he say?” Orange eventually asked, Banana awkwardly shuffling as she sat at the table, lighting up when Coral sat next to her, the two striking up conversation almost immediately.

“He said it was fine,” Black responded, Orange smiling.

“At least tonight won’t be boring” he joked, the smile disappearing as he seemed to remember something, “have you had lunch?”

“Not yet”

“Then let's get you some”

“But I’m not hungry” Black groaned out, dramatically slumping on the bench as Orange just rolled his eye, nudging Black in the side until he had no choice but to stand up and follow his friend to the booth where Brown was cooking some food.

“Hey Brown?” Orange called out to the Crewmate, the Chef turning to face Orange as he stood away from his food, making his way towards the booth, “Black is doing Security with me tonight, I know its a lot to ask but do you mind making some extras for him?”

“I can do that, was that all you needed?” 

“Oh we also came to order lunch for Black” Orange explained, Brown nodding as he made his way to the back of the kitchen.

“Not the regular this time,” Black blurted out, Brown freezing as he turned back to him, his eyebrow raised in surprise, “can I just order something light, I’m really not that hungry.”

“That’s not like you,” he murmured, narrowing his eye whilst Black tensed, Orange grabbing Black’s hand and squeezing it in reassurance.

“He said the same thing to Coral too, don’t worry about it just order what you want to order” his friend whispered, Black taking a breath.

“I just want yoghurt and fruit, please” he murmured to Brown, who just turned away in response, Black stepping away from the booth and sitting back at his usual table without another word.

“Are you ok?” Orange asked in a whisper, Coral and Banana too engrossed in their conversation to notice his discomfort.

“I’m fine, Brown’s just been acting weird and I don’t like it.”

“Nobody does, even me and Coral don’t like it” Orange admitted, Black sighing, the tension leaving his body. 

“Glad I’m not the only one” he admitted, feeling his hand get squeezed.

“Don’t worry about him,” Orange murmured, “when the food is ready I’ll go ahead and grab it, you worry about yourself ok?”

“If you say so…” he murmured, turning to Coral and Banana, “what are you two talking about?”

“Podcasts” they answered in unison, turning to each other as they blinked in surprise whilst Black huffed.

“Never would I think that you two can make a conversation about podcasts sound interesting” Orange joked, Banana laughing.

“We even talked about starting our own and, hear me out, a podcast where we just talk about noises and rank them from our favourite to least favourite” Coral explained, Orange dramatically sighing as he shook his head, Black snorting in amusement.

“That is the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard, I love it” Black admitted, Coral looking surprised as she smiled.

“I know right? It's dumb but genuinely would you listen to it?” she questioned, Black nodding.

“Probably, it's better than listening to the sound of empty space for days straight” Orange joked, Coral pumping her fist to the air as she shouted a ‘woo!’ which had the entire group laughing, cutting themselves off only when they heard the small bell of the Cafeteria ring, Orange getting up from his seat as he made his way to the booth, eventually returning with his and Coral’s food, the two digging in whilst Black waited for his meal.

Eventually, the bell rang, Orange swallowing his mouthful and placing his hand on the table as he went to push himself to his feet, only to sit back down a moment later when he saw Banana stand.

“Are you sure?” He questioned, yet he sat back down as she nodded. “I’m fine with getting it.” 

“I haven’t even ordered my lunch yet, seriously it's not an issue” she said, Orange turning back to his food whilst Banana made her way to the booth, eventually returning with Black’s food and placing it in front of him, Black making sure to thank her as she took her place beside Coral again, the only thing to be heard being the noises of the Crewmates eating. 

“Hey Black?” 

“Hmm?” He hummed, turning to Orange.

“When we’re done eating should we go to sleep?” He swallowed his mouthful before nodding.

“It’d be dumb not to” Black huffed, Orange turning to Coral.

“Will you be ok?” He asked her, Coral looking away from Banana to nod.

“Psh I’ll be fine,” she said with a wave of her hand, “I can hang out with Banana, if that’s ok with you?”

“Oh that’s fine, with Black sleeping I shouldn’t have to do much, I think, I should check in with Grey actually” Banana mumbled as an afterthought.

“After lunch,” Orange gently reminded, Banana sighing.

“Whenever lunch will be,” she sighed, her head leaning on her fist.

Black didn’t notice he had finished his food until he went to take another mouthful only to find it empty, turning away from it and focusing on Orange, who also looked like he had finished his food, Black standing as he returned his dishes with Orange following behind, the pair of them waving goodbye to Banana and Coral as they headed to the Dormitory. 

“So should I wake you or you wake me?” at Black’s voice Orange turned away from the doorway of his room to look at him, his eye narrowing in thought.

“Why don’t we wake each other? Set your alarm and whoever’s awake first wakes the other up I guess” he offered, Black humming in agreement.

“That sounds like a plan”

“Cool! Then see you tonight” and with a wave Orange went into his room, Black making his way to his before collapsing on his bed, rolling onto his back as he stared at the ceiling.

The silence was a stark contrast to how loud his head was, and despite how many times he tried to roll over and sleep he couldn’t stop thinking about White, about the Imposter on the ship, about his friends, about everyone it was almost nauseating.

Each time his eye closed, he would think about the fact that they could be dying right now, that nobody was safe, the fact that the reports, the constant meetings, the emotions, the suspicions, the mistrust would become a constant.

He didn’t know who he could trust, and that alone was awful because what if he trusted the true Imposter? What if he trusted the Imposter who shot a bullet in White’s head.

Nobody else will die, he tried to tell himself as he rolled to the side until he was staring at the wall.

But you can’t save them all, a voice hissed, Black’s hand digging into the blankets as he curled into himself, squeezing his eye shut.

This is all your fault, you know? Black’s eye snapped open as he let out a low groan, rolling onto his back until he was back to how he was before, staring at the ceiling.

If you had just killed everyone none of this would have ever happened-

“No” he said to himself, “I’m not a killer and I never will be.”

And yet, you’re complacent in letting others die, sirens blared in his mind, images of Crewmates dying, memories of Yellow grabbing him by the hand and begging him to get on the Dropship with Black just following afterwards, not doing anything to save the Crew who stayed behind, despite the fact that he could have saved them but, selfishly, saved himself.

And for what? To survive? To survive a world of lies and secrets just to keep his family and friends safe only for them to die a moment later.

But they’re not dead…

White’s dead, and that thought alone had Black’s hands digging into his head.

I didn’t think- he gasped, his vision going blurry with tears, I never thought that he’d die.

And yet they warned you, you could have stopped it if you told the truth.

The last time someone found out the truth, they died by my hands, and with that the hands on Black’s head turned into claws, the sudden pain jolting him to life as he threw himself backwards, his hands pulling away as he stared at them and the way they shook.

Cyan’s death was an accident, 

You don’t just accidentally kill someone, born a killer always a killer, he thought back to Mira HQ, well more specifically Brown being voted off after killing Purple, the way his own two fingers pressed on the sabotage, sealing the fates of Orange, Blue and White, who suffocated, and then what would happen if-

He paused, taking a breath.

When he found the Imposter? Because there was no way in hell that he’d let a killer stay on the ship, and he thinks that they’d all think the same.

And yet, there was a reason why airlocks were built into ships in the first place, to rid of an Imposter would be killing them.

Born a killer, always a killer.

After that, he gave up trying to reason himself and instead just blankly stared at a wall whilst memories he oh so badly wished to forget resurfaced, leaving him to do nothing but tremble until he heard a knock at his door.

The noise had him sitting up, fearing that he had imagined the noise in the first place until it knocked again.

“Black? You awake?” He heard Orange call out, Black standing to his feet, trying to settle himself enough to at least make it look like he wasn’t panicking as he opened the door, being met with Orange on the other side, smiling when he saw Black, Black himself giving a weak smile in return.

“Hey! Sorry for waking you but it's time,” And the smile on orange’s face disappeared completely when he truly saw Black, “are you ok?”

“I’m fine” he reassured, Orange placing a gentle hand on Black whilst he gave him one of those looks.

“I know you’re not ok, I won’t force you to talk about it but I’m here for you,” he said, the hand squeezing gently.

“As am I,” he said, placing a gentle hand on Orange’s own, squeezing it gently, “have you been ok?”

“Honestly?” Black nodded, Orange sighing as he took the hand off of Black to run it across his forehead, “I didn’t sleep well, I maybe got like two to three hours, what about you?”

“About the same,” he lied, Orange’s eye narrowing in suspicion but, thankfully, didn’t pry, just making his way out of the Dormitory, passing by Maroon who just nodded in recognition before they went back to listening to their music, head bopping to the beat.

Black was mildly surprised to notice that the lights stayed off, ready to turn back and get his own torch to navigate his way through the darkness only for Orange to reach for his own torch, clicking it on then glanced to Black, whose stiff body untensed when he could see his surroundings.

Orange led the way to Security with Black following closely behind, feeling settled completely when he stepped into the room, Orange handing the torch to him as he instructed Black to hold the light towards the screen whilst he turned on the system, taking a seat in the office chair as he stretched.

“To be honest I’m glad you joined me tonight, I have a feeling this shift is gonna be boring as hell but at least I get to drag you down with me” 

“Wow, what a polite way of saying thanks for being here with me” Black scoffed jokingly, clicking off the torch as he took a seat on the ground whilst Orange’s laugh echoed through the room.

“Seriously though, thanks for doing this with me, I don’t know why you wanted to but I’m grateful that you did.”

“I was worried about you” Black murmured in admission, Orange pausing as the chair slowly spun to his direction.

“Why would you be worried about me?” Black stared to the floor, trying to ignore the worried eye that burned into his soul.

“...I didn’t want you to die,” he confessed, wincing when he heard Orange’s breath stutter, Black turning to look at his friend when he heard the chair creak as Orange shifted.

“I won’t die, ok? I’m here with you and I’m here for you,” scooting his chair closer, Orange grabbed Black’s hand, squeezing it gently, “I’m here for all of you.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you worry,”

“It's ok, you’re ok” Orange murmured, Black tensing as his breath hitched, his hands digging into themselves before they straightened out, Black taking a gentle breath.

“Yeah,” he didn’t take his eye off of the floors, Orange humming in suspicion.

“Are you ok? Really? I know I’ve already asked but I’m worried about you”

“I’ll be fine Orange” he mumbled again, irritation prickling through his body as he curled into himself, he knew Orange was just worried about him and wanted to ask him more questions but he didn’t press, just sighed and scooted his chair back to the cameras, Black turning his head up to notice that he made some space for Black to sit next to him.

Standing up, Black made his way to the spot, sliding his way down the wall whilst Orange just quickly glanced at him, smiling softly before turning back to the cameras, Black pulling his knees to his chest as he craned his head upwards to the screen. 

There were only four panels where four different cameras displayed a view of Admin, Medbay, Navigation and directly outside of Security, all of those cameras coming up empty, Black turning away from it as he stared at the ground again, fidgeting with his watch out of boredom.

“I should have brought something to mess with” Orange said with a wistful sigh, Black making a noise of agreement as he looked from the floor back to his friend then at the wall.

“We could probably get them during our next break time” he murmured, Orange humming before he turned back to the screen.

“Hey look, here’s Red at Navigations now.”

“Wait seriously?” craning his head upwards only to stand when he couldn’t completely see the screen, Black watched as Red strolled her way through the hallway before popping her head into Navigations, lingering for just a moment before making her way to O2, seeing nobody then going up to Weapons and out of the cameras reach, Orange sighing.

“Well there goes the only interesting thing of tonight” he mumbled, slumping on the bench as the chair moved back, Black sitting back on the floor.

“She’ll come back around, if I had to guess she’ll appear outside Medbay soon enough then outside of Security, maybe then we can ask her to bring some stuff”

“That’s not a bad idea, but would it be better to grab our own stuff? I don’t want to sit in this room forever” 

“But is it really worth wasting this hour's break just to grab something?” Black raised his eyebrow as his friend groaned in annoyance.

“I hate that you’re right,” Orange said, Black rolling his eye as he playfully punched his friend in the side, Orange letting out a noise of surprise before he turned back to the screen, leaning closer as something seemed to catch his interest. “your prediction was right, Red’s at Medbay now,”

“Cool, well she’ll be at Security soon, we just got to be patient.”

The room fell in silence a moment later, Black could feel himself drifting off as he struggled to stay awake, his eye even closing at one point.

“What do you plan on grabbing?” He jolted awake as he turned to Orange, yawning as he swiped the sleep out of his eye.

“Honestly I don’t know, what about you?” He questioned, yawning again as he stretched.

I can’t sleep now, I promised to be here and I shouldn’t fall asleep.

“Well I plan on bringing my switch for the both of us as well as a blanket, some snacks and a hell ton of caffeine.”

“Well in that case I’ll just get myself a cup of coffee.”

“Seriously? That’s all you want to bring?” Orange questioned lightheartedly, Black staring to the floor as he thought back to his room or, well, more specifically how empty it was.

His room wasn’t always empty, yet after Cyan had died it had never felt emptier.

Sure, his stuff was everywhere, including his old TV that he had bought, his huge box of DVD’s as well as his small, personal collections that were given to him by his family, his friends or just things he loved and had wanted to keep.

He remembers breaking down into tears when he first stepped into the room and seeing everything that just reminded him of Cyan, it was even worse when he swore that he could still smell him, could still feel him there, could even hear his voice, it hurt, it hurt to try and convince himself that it wasn’t real, that Cyan was dead and that he was responsible for it all.

For the first week, he just left the things there, in complete denial that Cyan had ever died in the first place, that he’d just walk into the room like nothing had happened and hold him close, wiping the tears out of his eye as he whispered gentle words to him as he held his hand.

In the second week, he couldn’t take it anymore and stuffed every single remnant of Cyan in the closet, closing the door and never opening it again.

In the third week, Cyan was gone, and Black just cried.

“Well there’s not much I need,” he confessed, curling into a ball a moment later, “most of the stuff in my room is Cyan’s stuff.”

“Oh,” and then Orange turned to Black, “you ok?”

“I’m-” the footsteps outside security cut Black off as he stood, body tense, the tension leaving him when he saw Red peering into the room, eye landing on Orange and Black.

“Any sight of anyone other than me?” She asked Orange, Orange shaking his head whilst she grumbled, “guess I’ll go check the vents then.”

“Wait before you do, do you mind getting some of my stuff?” Orange asked, Red leaning against the doorway.

“What do you need?”

“In my room you’ll find my blanket, my Switch, some snacks and soft drinks, can you please get me that?” 

“God that’s a lot of stuff,” she mumbled as she rubbed a hand on her forehead, exhaling sharply, “ok I can do that, It’ll be a few trips but was that all you needed?”

“A coffee for me?” Black asked, Red nodding.

“Any preference?” 

“I’m not too picky, usually I go with a black coffee but I don’t really mind as long as it isn’t anything decaf.”

“Will iced coffee do?” Black nodded, Red giving a thumbs up before she collected Orange’s ID and left the room. Black going back to his spot on the floor, the room staying quiet whilst Black just leaned back, staring at the roof as he followed each line of the paneling with his eye over and over and over again.

“I miss White” Orange murmured out of nowhere, Black pausing as he turned to him, “I miss him a lot.”

“...me too” Black admitted in a whisper, tucking his knees to his chest.

“I also miss Cyan” Orange then said, Black wincing at the name as he fought back the tears, his fingers digging into his thigh to stop himself from crying.

“I do too” he choked out, “I miss him so much”

“You know, you never really talk about him” Orange murmured hesitantly, Black bristling.

“Because there’s not much to say, I already told you Orange,” and then he settled, tucking himself into a tighter ball, “please don’t force me to talk about him because I just- I can’t, not yet anyway.”

“I won’t,” and Black could hear the genuine guilt in his voice, “I’m sorry.”

“Its-” fine? Because it sure as hell wasn’t fine.

Black knows Orange, he knows that Orange is the type of Crewmate who just worries about everyone and wants others to feel ok but would it really be ok? Is everything ever ok? 

There’s an Imposter on the ship, Cyan and White are dead and his best friend is trying to get Black to talk about his emotions like everything is so simple to say.

‘Oh yeah, Cyan’s death wasn’t a suicide and was a murder, oops,’ because sure that conversation would go down well and won’t get Black killed.

And yet, doesn’t he deserve to die?

He has killed many, either by his own hands or by being complicit in watching them die by others, and all of them never deserved it.

Making sure the coast was clear, Black jumped out of a vent and ran to Communications, quickly starting up the system as he put on the headphones and changed the channel until he heard his employer's annoyed voice.

“You’re late”

“I know, I ran into an issue”

“You say that every meeting, what really is the issue?” Black was ready to say something else when he decided against it, falling silent, his employer scoffing, “what I thought exactly, you’re growing lazy.”

“I am not!” He almost shouted, realising this as he took a breath, “I just don’t want to be caught.”

“You won’t be caught if you just kill them, you know.”

“But do I need to kill them? I’ve already ruined months of work, work that you hired me to destroy, isn’t that enough?” It annoyed him to no end to know that he had an alternative that nobody ever listened to, it felt like he was talking to empty air.

Why did they put him on these stupid jobs anyway? He had already told Pitch Black that he doesn’t kill, that he doesn’t want to kill and they just expect him to suddenly be ok with it?

“If you think the deal ends there you’re highly mistaken, it's simple Black, kill them or I kill you,”

“Yes,” and with that he hung up, sighing as he stood to his feet.

He didn’t notice who was behind him until he turned around.

“Hey Orange, I got your stuff” Red announced as she came back into the room, dumping a blanket, Orange’s Switch, and a few snacks in the room before leaving again, Black standing as he grabbed the stuff, giving it to his friend as he smiled gratefully, tucking the blanket to the side whilst placing his Switchand snacks to the left of him. 

“So, what’s your favourite games?” Orange asked, zipping open the case of his handheld and pulling out the small stand.

“I don’t know, what games you got?” He asked, leaning closer to the open case, staring at anything he might recognise.

“Mostly single player games but I have a few multiplayer games like Mariokart, Marioparty, Super Smash Bros, Super Mario Bros, Mariomaker and I think that’s it”

“Jeez, you really like Mario, nerd” Black affectionately joked, Orange spluttering in mock offence.

“Look, the Mario franchise is a good franchise!”

“I wouldn’t know, I’ve never really played it,” he admitted, “I haven’t really played any video games in general, me and Cyan never really had anything other than an old TV and his collection of DVD’s.”

“Well why don’t we start with the classics, Super Mario Bros, we can defeat the first world together before moving onto the next classic, Mariokart” Orange offered, Black shrugging.

“Sounds like a plan,” he said, staring around the room in confusion, “where will I sit?”

“Oh yeah, I forgot about that, hmm…” Orange was in thought for a moment before he stared at the seat, shuffling himself to the side before patting the small, barely existent free space with his hand, Black raising his eyebrow in a ‘you sure?’ motion before he sat down, freezing when he felt the chair shift then staring at Orange to gauge his reaction.

His friend just stared at him with a fond and partly amused smile before he shifted again, trying to give Black as much space as possible.

“There, now you have a seat”

“Doesn’t this chair have a weight limit?” Black heard a creak which made him stare at the cushions in worry, Orange snorting.

“If it does we can ask Blue for a new, better one,” Black shifted in uncertainty, Orange smiling in amusement, “maybe even two so we won’t have this issue again.”

Black watched as Orange grabbed a gamecard out of the case, opening a little tab on the top of the Switch and inserting it, the screen turning white for a moment before it displayed an image of Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, then watching in horror as Orange pulled the sides off of the handheld.

“It's a Nintendo Switch, it does that” Orange simply explained, Black just simply staring in shock as Orange passed him a blue controller before he used his own controller to open the game and get started.

The game, admittedly, was a lot more fun than he thought it would’ve been, with Orange taking charge as he led Black’s character to different locations, instructing him on what to do and even pulling a cruel joke on him as he picked up his character and threw him in a hole, Black being confused for a total of two seconds before letting out an outraged noise as he heard his character let out a scream as he ‘died’.

“What was that?!” He asked Orange, who just cackled evilly as Black came back to life, “I lost my power up and everything! Why am I tiny?!”

“Because you died”

“Yeah I know that! But why’d you kill me?!” 

“Because it was funny” 

Black chased Orange’s character across the level, the two of them completely ignoring their mission in favour of trying to catch each other and throw them into the void, only stopping when they heard the warning of the timer as it reached a hundred seconds remaining, only then did they rush their way through the level and eventually made it to the end, high fiving each other at a goal well met.

“What are you two doing?” Red asked in amusement, Black jolting as he stood up from the seat and made his way to the doorway where Red was holding bottles of soft drink in one hand and an iced coffee in the other, Black taking it and thanking her with an appreciative smile.

“Playing Super Mario Bros apparently, have you ever played before?” Orange asked Red who just shook her head.

“Nah, is it fun though?”

“Incredibly,” Orange responded whilst Black sighed.

“He threw me into the void,” Black ‘complained,’ Orange letting out a snort as he smirked.

“Well wish I could stay and join but I have a few more rooms to check out then some vents, see you two soon” waving farewell to Red, Black and Orange continued their game, giving occasional glances to the actual security screen yet still finding nothing other than Red moving around, Blue even leaving Navigations at one point as he went up towards Weapons before coming back a few minutes later with food in hand.

And then, they reached the final level where they were currently fighting the first boss which Black could, admittedly, not take seriously because of his name.

“No offense but his name is Boom Boom?!”

“Yes? Why is that so surprising?” Orange questioned as his character stomped on Boom Boom’s head, the ‘boss’ curling into his shell before bouncing his way across the floor.

“Well shouldn’t the boss be, y’know, menacing?” He waved a hand to the screen, only to regret the decision as his character got hit, making him lose his powerup as he shrunk to a smaller size, Orange letting out a ‘HA!’ 

“Dude, its world one, this is like the easiest boss to fight” Orange teased.

“I will throw you into the void again don’t tempt me,” Black grumbled, readying himself when Boom Boom popped out of his shell, Orange’s character leaping for him as he stomped Boom Boom on the head yet again.

“I had to teach you how to pick up players, you couldn’t even defeat me no matter how hard you tried,” Orange said smugly, Black rolling his eye as he waited for Boom Boom to pop out of his shell for the last time, Black jumping for his head and defeating him, the two of them high-fiving each other in celebration.

“So when will we do World Two?” Black couldn’t help but ask, feeling a little saddened when Orange removed the gamecard.

“Maybe tomorrow? If you’re up for it” he put the card in the pocket, grabbing a new one, Mariokart, and placing it in the slot.

“I think I’d be down for tomorrow,” he looked to his watch, wincing as he saw that it was barely eleven in the night, “after we’ve actually had a good rest though.”

“Honestly I think I’ve reached the stage of being so tired that I no longer feel tired” Orange admitted as he opened the game, Black stretching before he readjusted the controller in his grip, ready for whatever Orange was going to throw at him.

Turns out, Mariokart was a lot more chaotic than he had ever thought which was saying something considering what he had just played, it was like a racing game except there were so many powerups with all of them being what he would describe as the evilest thing to ever exist in videogame history.

There were these things called Bullets which was Black’s personal favourite powerup considering the fact that he would speed ahead of everyone, even hitting a few of the other racers along the way as he watched his position go from tenth all the way to fifth before it powered down.

There were also blueshells, which Black used to annoy Orange who liked to brag about being in first place, he personally loved seeing his friend’s horrified face as he saw the warning of the shell coming closer, his fingers desperately mashing every button as his eye glanced everywhere for a hope to escape the shell, unable to do anything as it blew him up, a few of the other racers overtaking him whilst Black went from fifth place to third place, Orange dropping to eighth whilst Black cackled, the race finishing with him in fourth whilst Orange grumbled about coming second.

“Shouldn’t have bragged, that’s just karma” he joked whilst Orange just groaned at the results.

“I was so close to getting a perfect score too why…”

“Hey you still came in first, I’m in ninth place” 

“Good, you deserve it” Orange grumbled teasingly, Black lightly hitting his friends side before the two of them burst into laughter.

“So, want to start a new round?”

“Sure-”

“All vents are clear” a voice echoed into the room, startling Black, who just jolted to his feet whilst Orange shrieked in surprise as Red crawled out of a vent, “by the way those are the cleanest vents I have ever seen, usually I’m a mess afterward climbing in them, good job.”

“Red! You scared the life out of us!” Orange wheezed, his hand held to his chest whilst Black sighed, “what are you doing here?!”

“Came to give an update,” she explained, “what are you two doing?”

“Playing Mariokart.”

“Sounds interesting, I haven’t played before.”

“Did you want to try?” Orange offered, waving his controller in the air.

“Well I could take a break” she said with a shrug, making her way to the pair as Orange passed over his controller to her.

“Do you need a run down?”

“Please” and after an explanation of the rules, Red chose a map, Black’s eye widening as she chose Grumble Volcano.

“Are you sure- never mind you’ve already pressed play,” shifting in his seat, Black leaned closer to the screen as he watched the countdown go from three to two to one until it was go time, Black moaning as he stalled his car, landing himself in tenth place whilst Red got a speedboost, easily landing herself into fifth place.

“How in the…” Orange trailed off as he watched her race through the ‘difficult’ map, completely dominating the other racers as she used the powerups to speed up ahead, until she finished the race in first place, Black finishing in fourth as he and Orange stared at her in shock.

“I thought you said you’ve never played before”

“I haven’t” she confirmed, Black blinking in shock.

“That has to be a lie-” Orange mumbled before turning to Black with a determined glint in his eye, “can I try beating her?”

“Sure” and he handed the controller over, Red choosing another map, Dolphin Shores, whilst Orange braced himself for what was coming, his fist clenching on the controller as he tensed determinately. 

Clearly though, whatever preparation Orange needed wasn’t enough as Black watched the tight race unfold, the two of them practically neck in neck as Orange stayed in first place, Red in second until she got hit by something, sending her to sixth place, yet she didn’t seemed deterred, in fact she seemed more determined when the two of them reached the third lap, Orange looking confident as he collected two mystery boxes, collecting a banana peel and a coin as he held the banana behind him, Red collecting hers and grinning when she got a red shell and a blue shell.

“Oh no…” Black whispered, Orange’s face falling in horror whilst Red’s grin grew.

“Oh yes…” and then she threw the red shell then blue shell just before speeding on a speedboost, Orange panicking as he threw everything, trying desperately to escape the blue shell as it began to circle above him before falling down and blowing him up, staying in first place as he began to slowly drive-

-only to shriek when he watched his position go from first to second, Red snatching the first place as she crossed the finish line, shouting in victory whilst Black whooped, Orange groaning as he pressed his head to the table.

“How… How…”

“It was only fifty CC anyway,” Black said as he patted his friend on the back in consolation, “you’ll get her next time.”

“I use to rule the world…” Orange murmured in response, Red laughing as she handed the controller back to Black.

“I should go now, it's been ten minutes, maybe well beyond it, thanks for the games,” she said.

“You’re welcome to play anytime,” Orange declared, Red nodding before she left, Black humming in thought as he looked away from the doorway.

“She was different, wasn’t she?” Black observed, Orange humming in thought.

“She seemed happier,” he agreed.

“Yeah but she’s usually rather harsh.” 

“Well she’s actually nice once you get to know her, she just hates socialising sometimes, yet again we all have those days,” Orange said as he took the card out of the Switch and put it back, “wanna play Smash Bros next?”

“Sure”

And that was how their night went, Black found himself surprisingly good at Smash, Orange only won a single round before he declared that they move onto Mariomaker and Black had to agree that that was probably his favourite one, something about being able to build levels was all sorts of relaxing, it was even better when they got to play the levels together.

It wasn’t until they started to play Marioparty where everything went so, so wrong. 

At first, it was just his bad luck catching up to him, Black landing several terrible dice rolls in a row, losing almost all of his coins whilst Orange got his third star.

“Seriously how do you get so many?” He asked, Orange chuckling whilst Black just stared at the spinning dice, eventually pressing a button, hitting the dice and groaning as he got a two, thankful that he, at least, landed on a coin space, gaining three coins bringing his total to twelve.

“Honestly dude I just think your dice is cursed, I’ve never seen anyone get such low rolls, yet again the NPC’s have been rather harsh lately” the minigames popped up, Black crossing his fingers that it landed on the coin related mini game only for it to select a normal game, Black sighing.

At least there’s a chance to win, he thought to himself as he stared up at Security for just a moment, staring from the Medbay camera to Security to Navigations then to Admin, only for his eye to widen in surprise.

“Purple’s up.” 

“What? But it's two in the morning?” Orange turned away from the Switch to stare at the cameras, "what's he doing?”

“Taking a walk maybe?” Then Black watched as Red appeared from inside Admin, seemingly having jumped out of a vent and seeing Purple, giving a small nod towards him, “but where’s Pink?”

“Sleeping maybe,” Orange said, humming in thought whilst Black narrowed his eye at the screen, freezing when Purple turned his head directly to the camera, his heart dropping as Purple smiled sinisterly before he looked back to Red and-

The cameras turned to static, Orange’s eye widening in surprise as he cursed, scooting his chair to the side whilst Black stood to his feet, watching as his friend messed with the different keys before he cursed again.

“Communications, it must have been sabotaged” Orange turned to Black, “I have to stay in this room, can you go fix it?”

“Absolutely,” and then he pulled his friend in for a hug, the Crewmate returning the hold, “stay safe please.”

“I’ll be ok Black, just go” and with a nod, Black clicked on the torch as he ran out of the room and into Storage, heading to Communications only to pause when he reached the doorway of the Hallway, stepping back into Storage and going up towards Admin, turning right only to freeze in place at the sight.

Red was-

-Pressing his hands to the wound as his heart and head raced, his eye blurry with tears-

-Slumped to the floor, but that wasn’t even the most horrific part, her head- god, her head - was missing.

This wasn’t-

-”Shoot at the head, its quick and painless yet loud, it's a mercy yet a risky one” Aureolin explained as she shot a Crewmate, Tangerine, in the head, Black watching as he-

-”When stabbing someone, aim for the head, heart or lungs for a quick death, don’t aim anywhere else  unless you want them to feel the hurt” Blood Red explained before digging a knife into a begging Vermillion’s throat, grinning in twisted amusement whilst Black-

-”Snap their neck, its quick, less messy but leaves fingerprints so make sure to dispose the body” Pine explained as they snapped the neck of Moss, who died with an accepting yet betrayed look in their eye, the blankless gaze haunting Black who-

-He had never seen anything like this, he thought to himself as he hung his head sadly and reported the body, the alarm blaring as the lights turned on, Black searching for something to cover the body-

“Black?!” The frightened voice of Orange called, Black’s head snapping to the voice as he heard the footsteps come closer.

“Orange! Don’t-” and before he could say anything else, he watched as Orange ran into the room, his relief at seeing Black alive turning into a disgusted horror as his eye fell on Red, a strangled croak leaving his mouth whilst Black just cursed, stepping in front of the body as he placed both hands on his friend to drag his attention away from Red and onto him.

“Red- she-” Orange gasped out shakily, his eye wandering back to the body whilst Black tensed, shaking his friend to get his attention, Orange’s wide eye looking back to him. 

“Listen to me, I want you to get me a blanket, get the one from my room I don’t care what you grab but do not tell anyone that the body is in this room until I have covered the body” he demanded, shaking Orange again when his eye began to wander to Red, only turning back to Black when he shook him again, “do you understand me? Orange? Take my ID and get the blanket from my room and dump it at the doorway connecting Cafeteria and Admin,” with a nod, Orange took a slow step away from Black, his eye turning away from him then back at Red, Black shoving the ID as well as the torch into his shaking hands before practically shoving him into Cafeteria.

Despite knowing that there would be nothing, Black looked around the room for anything he could cover Red with, cursing as he had to stop his search when he heard footsteps, from where was a mystery, yet he shielded the body, wincing as his feet touched the pool of blood beneath him.

“Black? Did you report a-” Blue asked, pausing whilst Black tensed, thinking that he had seen the body, “why is there blood? What’s going on?”

“Blue its Red she-” Blue took a step closer to Black, trying to peer over him whilst Black pushed the Captain back, “you don’t want to see”

“I think I do, I have to know if-”  

“There’s no saving her,” he murmured bitterly, Blue tensing.

“What do you mean by that? What do you mean?!” The Captain shouted angrily, trying to shove past Black who was trying to hold the Captain back.

“Blue don’t,” Black warned in a hiss, faltering for a moment too long when there was another pair of footsteps, Blue taking this opportunity to shove past Black who cursed, going to reach for the Captain only to freeze when he saw Maroon step into the room.

“What happened-” they cut themself off as they saw the blood on the floor, Black looking away from them as he stared at Blue in worry at the lack of reaction from him.

“Its Red she-”

“Wait Red? What do you mean Red?” They stood closer, Black holding out his hands as he held them back whilst Maroon turned to him in an outraged panic, “what happened?!”

“You don’t want to see, trust me” he murmured, knowing that the words were worthless with how they kept trying to push past him, reaching out towards Red desperately as they sobbed.

“Her head-” Black heard Blue whisper in horror, casting a glance towards the Captain who had collapsed on his knees, Black cursing.

“Blue I know it's hard but you need to look away” he tried to order the Captain, who just shook as he stared at the body in horror only turning back to Maroon as they tried to shove past him.

“Let me through Black!” He heard Maroon shout angrily yet desperately, Black gritting his teeth as he tried to hold them off whilst trying to get Blue’s attention away from the body and where was Orange-

“Blue! Look away! Maroon, stop-”

“I couldn’t save her…” Blue let out a shudder, Black turning his attention to him only to wince as he felt himself get scratched, his attention jumping back to Maroon as he held them back.

“Blue, look at me, it's not your fault-” and then there was a punch which had Black stumbling in surprise as pain bloomed its way across his face, Maroon taking the opportunity to rush past him as he yelled at them to stop, reaching out a moment too late.

Black watched as they just let out a broken noise, falling to their knees as they wailed, Black reaching to comfort them both only to freeze when he heard more footsteps, bracing himself only to drop in relief as he saw Orange enter the room with a blanket in his hand.

“Orange, look at me, give the blanket to me-” he commanded through the noise, Orange shaking as he pushed the blanket into Black’s own hands, staring at the body as Black stepped into the room and wrapped a blanket across Red, covering her, not taking a single break as he turned to Blue and Maroon, trying to urge their eyes away from the body, feeling sick as he watched the blanket slowly turn from the gentle, soft blue to a rust coloured red. 

“Hey, look at me, look at me,” Black urged, trying to garner Blue and Maroon’s attention onto him and away from the body with no success, Black cursing as he stared at the blanket, reaching towards it with shaking hands as he scooped up the body, Blue and Maroon still not showing any reaction as they stared at the floor.

“Orange?” There was no response from Orange either, who was just standing still as he stared at nothing, Black making his way into Cafeteria where he saw Lime, Yellow and Pink walk into the room, Black stiffening as he saw Purple.

“Black? What happened?” Purple asked, Black tensing as he remembered that Purple was last with Red-

Purple is an Imposter-

Purple killed Red-

“Who is it?” Lime asked, peering at the blanket whilst Black felt bile rise in his throat, unable to turn his focus away from Purple, “Black? Who died?”

“What happened? Black?” Yellow asked, the group following him as he wordlessly made his way to the airlock, placing the body inside of it and stepping away.

“He- he killed White too,” he whispered in horror, the group falling silent as a realisation fell onto them all.

“You found the Imposter?” Yellow gasped out.

“Who killed Red? Who killed White?” Pink demanded, placing their hands on Black at the lack of his response, looking ready to yell more questions only to stop as they noticed him, “Black?”

“Where’s Blue?” Lime questioned, Yellow’s eye widening as she stared at the blanket fearfully, Black swallowing back the nausea as he tried to take a breath, straightening up.

“Lime, I want you, Pink and Yellow to go in Admin and bring Blue,” he watched relief flood through Yellow as she nodded, going to leave when he held out a leg, blocking their path.

“Orange and Maroon are also in the room, be gentle with them they have-”

She was missing a head, gods she was missing a head-

“CYAN! Don’t you dare leave me!” He shouted, pressing his hands tighter to the wound-

Blood on his hand, blood on the floor-

“-seen things nobody ever should, do you understand?” He commanded, staring to Lime, who nodded then left the room, then Pink, who stared from Purple to Black in worry yet nodded, following after Lime whilst Black turned to Yellow, who made her way to the room, Purple already making his way to the table whilst Black fought the nausea and made his way to the table, tapping his fingers against the surface in a weak attempt to distract himself.

“Hey, where’s Brown, Green, Banana and Coral?” Black flinched at Purple’s voice, the Crew- the Imposter noticing, looking confused when Black stiffened.

“You ok?” He asked instead, Black’s own hands digging into the seat as he imagined himself lunging at Purple and shoving him in that damn airlock himself, but he just breathed, the shock and betrayal still fresh on his mind, yet that was nothing compared to how furious he felt.

All this time, all this time Black had known Purple, he had been trusting him, had been talking to him, reassuring him that they’d find who killed White and he had nodded, looking so damned hopeful.

And then he killed Red, he had seen the camera, sabotaged Comms then cut off Red’s head and now he has the audacity to ask Black if he’s ok? 

Did he even know? Did Purple even know that he had been caught? Or did he think that he could just go back to normal after all of this, that he could resume his life on the ship with Pink-

And then, he felt nauseous all over again, because Pink didn’t know.

Or did they?

Did Pink know that Purple was an Imposter? Would they defend Purple even after all the evidence they had against him?

No, they couldn’t be, they can’t.

“I guess not,” Purple eventually mumbled, turning away from Black as he gave one final, worried glance before looking down at the table, Brown, Banana, Green and Coral eventually entering the Cafeteria and taking a seat.

“What happened?” Banana questioned, looking to Black for answers whilst he just trembled angrily.

“Where’s Blue?” Green asked, Brown whipping his head around the table.

“Is he dead?!” 

“Please don’t tell me an Imposter got to him…” Coral whispered in horror, Purple shaking his head.

“No, but someone did die,” he said instead, the group tensing.

“Who?” Coral eventually mustered up the courage to ask.

“Red” Black curled into himself as he heard the broken gasp that came from Banana.

“It's not true, she can’t be dead,” Banana whispered, getting up from the table as she rushed to the airlock, Black reaching for Cyan’s flower and clutching it to his chest when he heard Banana fall to her knees as she wept.

It was so, painfully familiar that the only thing Black could do was swallow as he stared at the table, thankful that Coral at least came and comforted Banana, the both of them crying into each other.

“So where is Blue anyway?” 

“In Admin, that’s where Black found Red’s body apparently, Maroon, Orange and Blue also saw the body so Pink, Lime and Yellow are trying to get them to focus off of what they saw and get them to the table” Purple explained, with a frown that had Black’s blood boiling.

Even still, even after everything he was still acting like he wasn’t the cause of the deaths, how dare he-

And then, he got mad at himself, because this was supposed to be a solo mission, Black was supposed to go in alone, how did he not think that there would be another Imposter monitoring his performance .

But if they were monitoring my performance, then why would I have to report? Did they just want to hear my words?

And then, he froze.

“We have someone better for the job anyway,” his employer had said, Black passing it off as a threat but he should have known better, he should have known that their words weren’t a lie, White’s death was proof enough.

So, was Purple always an Imposter? Was Black just supposed to never know?

But now he knew, so what would happen to him? Does he just continue his life like nothing had ever happened? As if he wasn’t responsible for all of this-

You didn’t kill them, a voice gently whispered in his mind, Black taking a breath.

And yet, I should have just told them the truth.

At the risk of your own life? And he swore that he could feel a hand gently place itself on his, Black’s hand moving until the sensation went away.

I’d deserve it. 

Eventually, Lime, Orange, Pink, Maroon, Blue and Yellow made their way out of Admin and to the table where they sat down, Coral and Banana noticing this as they slowly returned to the table, whispering softly to each other with tears in both of their eyes but other than that there was silence as everyone stared at Blue expectantly, Black swallowing the lump in his throat as he spoke up.

“I reported the body” he announced, the Crewmates turning away from Blue to face him, “Red’s body was found in Admin and I think- no I know who the Imposter is”

“Wait, you know who did that to Red?!” Maroon shouted, Black nodding as the Guard leaned back, curling into themself whilst Brown leaned forward in interest, and Green, oddly enough, looked nervous, yet was trying to hide it.

Odd, he thought to himself before he shook his head, focusing back to the issue at hand, I’ll ask him about it later.

“We, me and Orange,” he clarified to the small handful of confused Crewmates, “were in Security when it all happened, we were watching the cameras when we saw Purple enter in Admin where Red last was before Communications got sabotaged cutting off the feed, I left to repair communications before I stopped in Storage, having a bad feeling then went to check in Admin and saw Red.”

The table was silent in thought, Purple looking shocked whilst Pink looked outraged at the implication.

“So what you’re saying…” Brown cut himself off as he glared at Purple with hatred in his eye.

“No,” Pink whispered in horror, shuffling closer to Purple who just placed a shaky hand on his own partner's hand, squeezing it.

“Purple is an Imposter, and he killed White and Red,” Black explained simply, the Crew staring to Purple with wide, betrayed eyes.

“How can we trust Black’s word?” Green asked suddenly, the Crew turning away from Purple to stare at Green, “We don’t know what happened during the minutes where Communications was sabotaged, for all we know Black could’ve sabotaged then killed Red in Admin.”

“That is… true” Brown murmured, Black freezing as he suppressed a growl.

“I wouldn’t kill anyone,” he explained, fighting past the fear, “I’ve been on this ship for years I feel that everyone knows this”

“And yet we thought we knew Purple” Brown grumbled.

“I’m not an Imposter! I was with Pink!” Purple shouted, Pink nodding in agreement.

“He was with me I promise, we both woke up to the sound of the alert,” they explained, the Crewmates all glancing at each other in uncertainty.

“And where was he before that?” Lime asked.

“I-” and then they paused, shaking their head again as they stiffened, “I was asleep, Purple didn’t leave, he couldn’t have.”

“I wouldn’t have killed White or Red, I’m not an Imposter please, you have to believe me!” He pleaded, Lime turning to Blue who gave no response before he let out a breath.

“You said that you saw Purple in Admin before the feed cut out, do you think you can show us?” Lime asked Black, who nodded.

“Yes, I’ll just need to repair Communications first” 

“Well I’ll follow you” Lime insisted, Black placing Cyan’s plant back on the table as he stood, Lime following after him as they made their way to Communications with Pink, Purple, Banana, Brown and Green following after him.

Putting on the headphones, Black readjusted the dial as he listened to the frequencies, the static slowly turning to comprehensible voices before it was back to normal, Black turning to Lime before he nodded then made his way to Security.

“What in the world-” Lime asked as he stared at the filled desk of Security, Black giving a small smile as he saw the Switch, Orange having paused the game.

“It got boring, me and Orange played some video games whilst paying attention to Security, I hope that’s ok”

“Oh that’s fine,” he said, taking a seat in the chair as he turned on the system again, inputting a certain code as the system restarted, Lime fast forwarding through the footage before he paused, his eye widening at the single frame of Purple stepping into Admin where Red was.

“Is that-”

“As I said, we saw Purple”

“What?! No that’s not true” Pink shouted, practically shoving Lime out of the way as they looked at the footage, scrolling back a little bit before pressing play, watching the footage in its entirety, only pausing when parts of the footage turned black before replaying and replaying again until they eventually turned back to their partner with a wide eye.

“Purp?” They whispered with a tone full of betrayal, Purple noticing as he froze.

“I know what it looks like but I promise that that’s not me,” he explained, taking a step towards Pink as he reached out a hand, looking heartbroken when Pink flinched away from it.

“How is it not you?” Lime asked in obvious scepticism, looking to Black with a believing look.

“It's someone else! I don’t know what it is but I’m not the Imposter I swear! Please, you have to believe me! I was with Pink the entire time!” He pleaded, turning towards everyone only to drop when he saw their disbelieving faces.

“I’ve heard enough,” Lime hissed, giving a look to Black before he left the room, Green, Banana, Pink, Purple and himself following after the Co-Pilot before they returned to Cafeteria, taking their seats whilst Black sat next to Orange.

“So? What happened?” Yellow asked, Lime’s eye narrowing as he stared at Purple.

“Black’s story checks out, Purple is an Imposter.”

“I’m not an Imposter! Please, you all have to believe me! Whatever you saw was not me, I was with Pink!” He cried out desperately.

“We saw him on the footage, he entered Admin and Red was there, the footage cut out but he must have killed Red” Banana explained.

“He killed White too…” Lime whispered with horror, his fist clenching a moment later as he glared at Purple who had tears in his eye.

“I would never! Please, I’m not an Imposter!” He turned to Black with a wide almost pleaful eye, Black tensing, “you have to believe me”

“Votes are open now,” was all Lime said in response as he tapped on his watch, Purple still pleading whilst Black turned to his own watch, staring at the list as he pressed on Purple’s ID, fury filling his heart as he voting him, then turning his attention to Orange, nudging him.

“Hey, you there?” He whispered softly, nudging him again when there was no response, “Orange?”

“Where am I?” 

“At Cafeteria, we’re voting”

“Voting who,” then Orange blinked, his head looking across the room in confusion, staring at the Crewmates as they casted their votes before looking back at Black, “what happened?”

“Red got reported” and then he winced, immediately regretting his words as Orange stared back at his lap.

“She was-” he didn’t complete his sentence as Black nudged Orange in the side, the Crewmate looking back at him with a wide yet tearful eye.

“Try not to think about it, ok? I know it's hard but I’m here, you’re here, you’re ok, I’m ok, we’re both ok, you’re safe,” he reassured, Orange giving no response other than staring at him, gently nodding. 

“Who do I vote for?” Orange asked him, Black biting his tongue as Purple desperately shouted ‘SKIP!’, Orange’s eye widening as he seemed to remember something before he voted, Black glancing to his watch where Orange’s photo had a small thumbs up, proof that he had indeed voted.

So far everyone except for Pink, Purple and Maroon had voted.

“Please, just skip,” Purple pleaded, staring to those who hadn’t voted whilst Lime just narrowed his eye.

“Sixty seconds remaining,” was all the Co-Pilot said,

“Pink, please,” Purple pleaded, Pink tensing as they casted a vote, not looking their partner in the eye.

“Maroon? Are you there?” There was no response, Black glancing at Banana who just nodded, making her way towards her friend and garnering their attention, giving a thumbs up in confirmation that Maroon had voted before the group turned back to Purple, glaring at him with a narrowed eye.

“You have to believe me… please…”

“Thirty seconds remaining” Lime said in response, Purple deflating as he looked across the table, hope leaving him when most of the Crew refused to meet his eye, with the ones that met his eye glaring at him.

“I’m not an Imposter,” there were tears running down his face, Black could almost feel sorry for him.

“Ten, nine…”

“Lime, don’t do this, please” Purple pleaded, choking on a sob, “I’m innocent I swear.”

“Five, four…” Purple must have seen that his pleading was hopeless as he stared down at his watch and voted, the results coming up.

Pink and Purple were the only two who skipped, Purple, upon noticing this stared at Pink, with shock yet also something deeper, a look that Black recognised all too well.

It was the look Cyan gave to him whenever talking about his troubles, it was something that had Black grabbing his flower, clutching it to his chest whilst Pink curled into themselves, Purple letting out a shaky breath whilst Black looked to the screen to see that Lime, Black, Orange, Blue, Yellow, Banana, Maroon, Coral, Green and Brown had voted for Purple.

“No…” Purple whispered in horror, Pink letting out a shaky breath whilst Lime stared to Blue, the two of them nodding.

“Purple, you have been voted.” 

“You’re making a mistake!” He shrieked, hyperventilating as he stood up from the table and attempting to make a run for it, Blue and Lime not even wasting a moment before they leapt for Purple, tackling him to the floor whilst he tried to escape their hold and break free, Banana coming to Lime and Blue’s aid as she stepped away from Maroon, grabbing Purple’s hands and holding it behind his back as Blue and Lime hesitantly stepped back, Banana pulling Purple to his feet.

“Please… Please don’t do this…” he begged for one last time, staring to Blue, who refused to meet his eye, then to Lime, who just glared at him yet there were tears in his eye.

“Move,” Banana commanded, pushing Purple towards the airlock whilst Blue pushed a button, the glass of the airlock opening.

“Please! I’m not an Imposter!” Purple yelled out, struggling when their feet practically touched the inside of the airlock, Banana wincing at the pure panic in his voice, “I don’t want to die! Please!”

“And yet, you killed White and Red” Lime hissed in response, Purple looking at him as he went to say something only for Banana to shove him inside, Purple falling face first to the floor whilst Blue pushed the button, the glass wall of the airlock slamming closed.

Getting to his feet, Purple looked around in momentary confusion before it turned to panic as he saw Blue’s hand on the lever.

“Please…” Purple pleaded, placing a hand on the glass whilst Pink rushed up from their seat, pressing their own shaky hand on the glass, right on top of Purple’s, “please don’t do this.”

“Anything else you want to say?” Lime asked, his tone a forced neutrality, whilst Purple’s eye widened in panic as he began to pound on the glass.

“It wasn’t me! Please! I don’t want to die!” He looked from Blue, then Pink, then to Black before pounding back on the glass, Lime stiffening.

“Pull the lever Blue” Lime commanded, Black ignoring the screamed “NO!” From Purple as well as the desperate pounding of the glass.

“PLEASE! DON’T DO THIS!” Purple yelled.

“I’m sorry Purple” and yet, from Blue’s tone and the way he pulled the lever without a single hesitation, Blue didn’t sound sorry.

Sirens blared as the lever clicked, Pink was sobbing as they pounded a hand on the glass, Purple in turn pacing as he tried to find a way to stop the ejection, finding nothing as his shoulders dropped, turning back towards Pink.

“I love you,”

“Purp…” Pink managed to whisper, staring at him with a wide, tearful eye.

“Pi…” he reached out for her eye in habit, his hand hitting the glass again, he looked like he wanted to say more but then the blaring of the sirens stopped, Purple’s eye widening as he turned away from the glass and to the metallic door behind him, then back to Pink, pressing his hand to the glass, Pink returning the action almost immediately.

“I’m sorry” was the last word he ever said before the space door opened, Pink shrieking in horror as they watched Purple as well as Red get sucked into space, the door closing a moment later, the Crewmates staring at the glass door of the airlock in stunned silence.

“So is that it…” Yellow trailed off.

“It's over,” Brown said with relief, yet despite the moment and the knowledge that everything should be alright Black couldn’t help the way his gut churned with nausea.

I just watched someone die…

Two people died tonight.

Born a killer, always a killer, the voice said.

“Right, well now that we’ve found the Imposter everything will go back to normal, I want you all to sleep, in the morning we’ll talk more plans” Blue murmured, the Crewmates nodding as they slowly dispersed, making their way to the Dormitory whilst Black stood frozen in time, watching Pink cry for someone who would never return.

A gentle touch brought him out of his thoughts, Black facing Blue.

“You did well” the Captain whispered proudly, Black looking at Pink as they just put their head to the glass, sobbing.

“I feel like I haven’t done enough…” he murmured honestly, another hand getting placed on Black as Blue’s face turned serious.

“You saved the ship, you saved everyone,” Blue pulled Black into a hug, Black tensing in surprise before he returned the hold, holding his shaking hands to the back of the Captain as he pressed his face to his chest.

“You’ve done more than enough” Blue whispered softly, the two remaining like that until Black eventually pulled away, Blue ruffling Black’s head with a soft smile, “now get some sleep, you’ve earned it.”

“Thanks Blue,” and with a final nod, Blue made his way to Electrical, saying something about turning off the lights, Black going to the Dormitory only to stop when he heard a sniffle, staring at Pink as he went to approach them only to freeze, retracting his hand as he turned away, heading towards his room, opening the door as he stared at his bed and the lack of a blanket, confused on where it went before he remembered with a low groan.

Why didn’t I just ask him to grab a spare, or a blanket from Medbay… he thought, collapsing on the bed and planning on sleeping without a blanket, and yet despite the fatigue that lingered on his mind, the days thoughts wouldn’t leave his mind and each time he closed his eye, all he could think about was the fact that Purple was floating in space, dying as his oxygen slowly ran out.

And yet, he deserved it, Purple killed White and Red, a slow suffocation was a punishment in of itself.

Yet, why did Black still feel sick? Was it the betrayal? The thought of someone he thought of as a friend turning out to be an Imposter who was ok with taking others lives was awful enough in itself but was it really fair to call Purple a murderer when he voted him out? Sealing his fate amongst the stars.

Yet, you’ve killed others and you're still alive, a voice hissed.

Giving up on sleep altogether Black stood to his feet, reaching for his torch as he made his way out of his room and back to the Cafeteria.

The room was dark which was to be expected, yet as he clicked on the torch, shining it directly at the airlock, Pink was still in the same position as when he had left them, it broke his heart every time he heard them sob.

“Pink?”