Chapter Text
Tan's brain pounded against their skull, the bright medbay lights blaring as they attempted to open their visor.
They found themselves laid in one of the many blue and white hospital beds, bloodied bandages messily rung around numerous injuries over their body. Their medical mirror having cracked and been carefully set on the stand next to the bed.
Their memories were blurred, either from the horrid headache or some trauma response they didn't know they had. the last thing they remember was the feeling of descending hundreds of feet in seconds, and watching the rescue ship ascend above them without getting on board.
And the warm, slippery tentacles of a parasite hugging them tight. Trapping them in this intense embrace, restraining them from their rescue.
At the same time, the warmth of the appendages around their body was comforting. It was the embrace of someone who couldn't bear to see them leave.
Was that what it was?
Tan wasn't sure.
They weren't sure of much right now.
They attempted to get out of the hospital bed. Wincing as they shifted their weight onto one half, and pushed themselves up. They managed to get their feet on the floor, and pushed their foot forwards to the door that lead to the lab.
Fidgeting with the cold door handle till they got it to rotate, and pushed the door open with a creeeeeek.
Shapeshifter sat impatiently at the lab desk, tossing around beakers.
At the echo of Tan's shaky footsteps, Shapeshifter spun it's chair around and it's eyes met theirs. It's sharp jaw churned into a sickeningly sweet smile. "Ah, Tan. Took you long enough."
"What're you...Where're the others?" Tan weakly muttered. Their eyebrow narrowed slightly as they took a step back.
"They're dead, Tan, we know that." Shapeshifter chuckled as it got up from the stolen lab chair.
"Oh," Tan fell nearly silent, balling their fists with an almost pathetic lack of force, "Right."
"Don't worry about them, Tan. You don't need them." It murmured to them, a horrible attempt at reassurance if you could even consider it such.
It raised a claw to Tan's cheek, with Tan reacting with a small flinch.
The cold, rough surface caressed their skin like nails on a chalkboard before Tan swatted their hand off and stepped back again. "Don't touch me." They quietly hissed.
Shapeshifter's grin faltered. But it withdrew the claw. "Suit yourself."
Tan huffed quietly, leaving the 'conversation' before scanning around the lab room for the medical supplies. Their bandages were wet and dirty, obviously not done very professionally. It was apparent that the Shapeshifter didn't have a medical license.
Tan pried open the cabinet, the bandages missing from their usual spot which they kept nice and tidy most of the time. They sighed and turned back to Shapeshifter who was leaned against the counter. "Where'd you put the bandages?"
"Back in the medbay," it replied.
Tan frowned (more than they already were) and limped back over to the medbay door. Before they could get in, a tentacle protruding from Shapeshifter's back pushed the door open, slithered on in, and took the bandages. it placed the roll of white cotton in Tan's hands.
"Thank you," Tan reluctantly muttered. Having to shove the gratitude from the depths of their throat to get it out of their mouth. Praising their friend's - Family's - murderer seemed like a betrayal. Even if the killer was being strangely helpful.
They sat down at one of the nearby stools, and starting meticulously undoing the dirty bandages. Starting from the head and arm injuries and working their way down. Every line of bandage they unraveled and reapplied with such precision, it was attractive. they truly were a skilled medic even in this state.
A couple minutes of deep silence slug by like hours. The lab room, which Tan had never considered that little, seemed to close in on the two. The air in the claustrophobic space had grown tense with unspoken distaste.
Tan finally switched out their bandages, the new gauze refreshing and crisp against their skin, albeit slightly itchy. Not a single word of small talk was exchanged between the two whilst both minds were running the same marathon.
For the medic, they still hadn't calmed from the immediate shock of the situation. They were sitting in an unnervingly small lab room just a couple short feet away from a person - no, a thing - that had taken the life of everyone they loved and enjoyed every second of it. And it had the nerve to attempt a form of companionship after it's actions.
On the contrary, the parasite couldn't wrap their grotesque mind around why Tan was so offset. It had done everything for them; it had saved them from near death, spared them, wrapped them in gauze, kept them stable whilst they were in their short coma, for god's sake even acted a fool to express their fondness in a digestible manner. So why the hell was Tan acting like such a-
"I'm going back to bed," Tan stated firmly. They walked off to the sleeping quarters.
2 hours passed without a word.
Tan sat on their lonely, stiff bed. Staring at the grey floor that sometimes felt colder than the snow outside. Contemplating how to continue whilst the smell of meat wafted through the building.
There's no way in hell they'd go back out and talk to the Shapeshifter. God knows what that thing was planning.
But at the same time, they couldn't hide forever.
They gazed at the two other blue and white beds in the room, left unattended by their dead owners. The only reminiscent of the crewmate's past presence was their possessions still scattered over the desks and nightstands, and the labeling of each bed. It left a pit in Tan's stomach.
And that BITCH was making a ruckus outside, with the disgustingly similar appearance of Tan's former friend. It was a sick joke that whatever god out there was playing on them.
Speaking of the devil, a slick black tentacle quietly slid a note under the a crack in the wall.
Tan grumbled, hopping off their bed and picking the note up the floor. It was wrinkled with a few holes, which was fairly unsurprising considering the careless nature of the imposter. Once unfolded to the point of legibility, it read, "food in the office" in messy handwriting. The level of messy that had the words blending together in a letter centipede.
As if Tan would eat anything made by Shapeshifter. Though it was strangely endearing and lead to Tan cautiously walking out the door. It was this or rotting away in their sleeping quarters.
They quietly moved through the cold, empty corridor towards the office. The smell of meat had morphed into a more pleasing scent of cooked steak. Maybe this thing did know it's way around a kitchen, or maybe it just copied what it observed from Orange.
Either way, Tan's stomach grumbled.
They slipped inside the office. Where the Shapeshifter was sitting in the chair at the far end of the table. In front of it was a large platter of cooked flesh, glimmering with some salts and other seasonings. The emergency meeting button in the middle of the table had been smashed and shattered, leaving a dent in the table that was reminiscent of the Shapeshifter's past rampage.
"I thought you'd never come out," the Shapeshifter grinned, ripping it's meal apart with a claw and tossing a chunk in their jaws. "C'mon, take a seat." It coaxed whilst still chewing the meat, not bothering to close their mouth, patting the seat next to it.
Tan hesitantly sat down. The seat cushioning under their weight unlike the uncomfortable bedding. The Shapeshifter slid the plate of meat between the two, inviting them to try. Tan juked away.
"No, thank you," Tan refused.
"Why not? I thought you liked steak," The Shapeshifter pushed. Smile warping to a slight frown. it was growing frustrated with Tan's consistent distance.
"How do I know this 'steak' isn't crew-meat?" Tan reasoned, their voice dripping with resentment. Hehe, crew-meat. Good one.
"I wouldn't make you eat your kin, Tan," The Shapeshifter purred, "How wicked do you think I am?"
"Very," the medic answered. "You killed them. I have every reason to believe you'd eat them."
"Touché. But I wouldn't feed such meat to you, dear."
"Don't call me that." they objected.
"Tan," it corrected.
"Better."
The parasite sighed. "Eat your steak, Tan."
"Why? Do you care?" Tan growled. this parasite was pushing too far, tugging on their nerves like a beginner violinist.
'What does it get out of this?' Tan thought. There must be an ulterior motive, some reason for keeping them well and alive. This parasite acted in ways their crewmate-conditioned mind struggled to understand, and such unpredictability just added to the pressure of this new reality.
"Yes," The parasite answered, interrupting Tan's inner monologue. Taking a claw and gently sliding the plate towards the other.
Shapeshifter did care. it cared a lot actually. Hell, it yearned for Tan. During it's short-lived time playing as a crewmate, Tan was it's introduction to caring treatment. The memories were vivid; Tan carefully guided them to the medical bed, sitting them down and setting Vaseline to it's wound before applying bandages. As Shapeshifter had struggled against the treatment, Tan had carefully held it's hand till it calmed down, instructing deep breaths and to focus on it's surroundings to ignore the stinging of the substances against the wound.
Shapeshifter missed that Tan. It needed them back. And it would ruin it's own pride to earn them.
To say Tan was surprised would be an understatement.
With a huff, they picked up a fork and knife. carefully talking a small chunk of steak from the platter. rotating it around to check the underside and taking a whiff before eating it.
Shapeshifters grin returned.
They chewed for a second, before swallowed. It tasted...pleasant. Regretfully pleasant. Maybe Tan was just biased, they were starving. You could've given them raw cauliflower and they'd take it.
Tan took another piece, this time savoring the flavor in their (invisible) mouth. They chewed, swallowed, and hummed. "It could use more salt," they said, a thought out spoken out loud.
A thin tentacle suddenly juggeted out from under the table, placing a small beaker of salt on the table and causing Tan to flinch, before pushing it towards the doctor's plate.
"Anything else?" The Shapeshifter asked.
"How long have you had that ready?.." Tan questioned.
"A while," Shapeshifter replied, almost humorously. Prompting a few more tentacles to rise up from under the long office table. Each appendage carrying different condiments to meet Tan's potential culinary preferences. One held pepper and paprika in a single strong grip, another presented garlic cloves and the last curved it's parasitic body to hold a small bowl of steak sauce.
The whole reveal was abrupt, and admittedly charming. Despite the lingering tension still in the room, it got a laugh out of the medic.
A laugh that sent a shiver down the imposters spine, that quickly took a turn through it's nerves and manifested in butterflies deep in their carnivorous stomach.
Tan always covered their mouth when they laughed, and their visor curving up in a slight smile. Unsteady due to their circumstance, but visible. God were they cute. Their manners were something the parasite adored, like a proper aristocrat or a well-kept princess. Tan's laugh, though it was faint, was incredibly contagious. Forcing a low chuckle from the Shapeshifter.
It gave the imposter a bit of hope.