Chapter Text
It was sudden. Only a moment.
Blue was stepping out of medbay, only for a moment to give Orange the pen they dropped.
Lime had left the safety of the vents, only for a moment. They knew they heard one of the gremlins scurrying the halls.
Only for a moment the two locked eyes.
Then nothing.
The impact was sudden, completely collapsing the wall of the medbay hall. Shards of cold rock and metal embedded into their skin. Blood was everywhere.
It took only a moment for their hearts to stop beating.
...
"Ngh..."
Warm air caressed Lime's face as they arose from unconsciousness. Did they really fall asleep?
They looked around the dark metal of the vents and felt the familiar tingle of air passing them by. It took a moment for them to get their bearings, but then they shook off that weird nightmare. Have to make up for lost gremlin hunting time!
Lime knew they'd seen claw marks on the vent walls...granted that could've been the tools hanging from their backpack... but they knew that was what the gremlins wanted them to think! Have to get to the reactor, make sure they didn't mess with Rhea! They quickly scurried through the vents. making sure to take two lefts and a right after passing the cafeteria. Or was it four rights and six lefts?
They lift the cover above them and sigh when they see the interior of Weapons. They let out a sigh and go back down. They knew they were right! Or were they left? No, they were right, the gremlins are messing with them again! It takes a few more minutes of traversing and an entanglement in wires, but they finally made it!
"Finally! The reactor room! Those damn gremlins must be turning the vents around! Gotta flush 'em out with some holy water." They pull out their jar from their bag and set it on the ground, neglecting the presence of three other crewmates.
"This is Lime, our engineer." Orange explains to the other two in their patented corporate tone. Huh?
Lime looks up and sees those two jaw-waggers opposite Orange. Funny, didn't Orange already introduce them? Yeah, before the gremlins knocked them out and put them through that awful nightmare.
Lime looks between Orange, then Green, then White.
"I'm also an ordained minister." It just slipped out. Same as before.
"Oh. Uh, why are you in the vent?" White asks, looking Lime up and down in a silent judgement.
"Ah, forget it. I'm not falling for your 'deja vu' nonsense!" Lime shouts, pointing at the ceiling. Clearly the aliens messed up somewhere and sent Lime back to fix the correction. But they knew better! They slam down the vent cover as they duck back down into the vents.
"Uh, Lime is our most...unambiguous crewmate" They hear Orange voice ring off the metal flooring. Unambiguous, please, they clearly meant most vigilant.
...
The feeling of sharp metal, fragmented asteroid, and hot blood woke Blue up in a rush. Their breath heaved as they looked around, seeing the familiar sterile environment of medbay. Just a bad dream.
They tidied the papers that had served as their pillow during their...nap. They didn't even remember falling asleep. But no time to think about it. They had to focus. Orange should be touring the new intern and contest winner today. Must make a good first impression. Not that it'd be hard though, they'd have to try to make a bad impression.
Wait. No, they met the intern and contest winner already. Green and White. They had talked about how trust was built, and Orange said "Let's not objectify the hot doctor." Right. No matter, on case of falling asleep and a bit of memory lapse is nothing to worry about. Just a bit drowsy from work. Have to get files in order for examinations.
They knelt down in from of one of their carts, looking through the drawers for the crews files when a soft voice cooed behind them.
"Hello, Doctor." They turned and saw Orange in the doorway, Green and White lingering behind them. Odd. Blue stood and turned towards the three, clasping their hands to make sure they didn't trip over their words.
"Hello." And just like earlier, one word and the other crewmates were swooning. Great.
"Uh, hehe...trust ball?" Orange nervously giggles, tossing their trust ball right into Blue's hands. Something wasn't right.
"I...I'm afraid I'm a bit preoccupied right now, apologies Orange. I have to get everyone's files in order before their check-ups." Blue throws the rubber ball back at Orange and although disappointed, they can't deny the importance of needing paperwork to be processed timely.
The three crewmates wander off and Blue puts a hand to their head. Something is off. They know they lived through this earlier, before they fell asleep. This couldn't just be deja vu. It didn't feel right. They sat down on the closest bed and took a deep breath. Stay calm. No matter what's going on, panicking won't help.
Blue stood up. It was just a bad dream. Nothing more.
They kneeled back down at the cart to continue searching for files, but something kept nagging in the back of their mind. They looked behind them at the doorway and saw Orange's pen in the doorway.
The moment replayed in Blue's head, almost picture perfect. The sleek pen in their grasp, right foot in front, the slight weight of their backpack adjusting their posture to be just right. And Lime. Right in front of them. For only a moment.
It was only a bad dream, right?
They gripped the pen tight in their hand and walked out of medbay. Just a dream.
They took only a few steps forward before they saw Lime at the opening of the hall. They looked manic, like a wild hunter chasing dastardly prey.
The two looked at each other, both of their expressions dropping as the same thought formed.
Oh no.
But only for a moment.