Chapter Text
The moment Red got off the bus, they already knew their first two goals. The first one, buying an actual fish tank and junk that was needed for that, was easy, though trying to get it all into their second-floor apartment was not. At least Heracles looked… happy? Sure, going with that, Heracles looked happy. Red couldn't really tell what the fishmate was thinking, but it was making bubbles and exploring the new stuff in the tank, so it was probably happy. The food vanished whenever Red turned their back, so it wasn't hungry anymore either. Great. One major goal down, and Operation Keep Heracles Alive and Well was a go.
Operation Apologize To The Families, unlike Operation KHAW, was not going quite so perfectly. For one, they had no idea where to start. As Red laid out the five files they’d copied, they skimmed through the important parts one more time. Luckily, two were on Industria, and another had agreed to make the commute to visit. Sure, the others could’ve been a problem, but without anyone to contact, one became a lost cause, and they already knew the other a bit too well.
But even their attempt at preparation wasn't going to work for the last lost crewmate. They'd spent months with their surviving crewmates, growing closer and making friends with each of them, but some topics hadn't come up. Red hadn't felt the need to dive into anyone else's files, and one specific set probably would've gotten them banned from further sleepovers, pizza parties, and game days.
…and now they needed that set more than anyone else's.
Sure, they could ask the two who even might have a clue about the answers, but it wasn't like it was going to be easy. Not like anyone could walk up to Blue and casually say “Hey, good to see you, do you know if our friend who is probably being tortured right now has any living family I can inform about the horrible situation we could've saved them from?” without triggering a giant spike of guilt. Even worse, the other option was Cyan, who would (according to one very late game of “would you rather”) rather die than betray a friend.
(The rest of the game was mostly a blur, but there was something about how Green would prefer to do everyone's laundry for a month over spending 30 more minutes with White, and maybe something about whether Red would choose reliving the first two days of the trip with no ability to change it or being kicked ten times a day, and at some point they'd started making dumb jokes instead of really asking anything deep, so… only a little really mattered.)
All that meant was that Red did not have a single clue about how to go about informing whatever family their friend had, seeing as they had no information about who the family was, where the family was, what they gave as information about the family, or if they even existed in the first place, because frankly, the maybe two things they knew about that family made Red want to avoid them at all costs.
…So. Last to first death, sorta-kinda-ish. That way they wouldn't have to think about the three they weren't ready for just yet.
Excluding the ones that they couldn't find, Red knew the least about Black's family. White’s whole attitude made enough of their story clear, Yellow had shared stories of Brown’s, and Red even met Purple's, but when it came to Black, they just had a name, a phone number, and an address.
As they waited at the shuttle stop, Red checked over the bits they had again. It had been hard to find hardware to read a memory chip from a MIRA tablet that didn't belong to that company, but Red had managed (with help from Cyan) to figure it out. They'd only managed to salvage a few pieces from the drive-- Music recordings, three saved documents of what Black had called terrible lyrics, some photos of the ore taken somewhat artistically-- But the biggest find was a photo of them and a dark gray crewmate, tucked away behind the plastic case of the tablet itself. So, of course, Red guessed they'd be seeing that crewmate showing up.
Instead, stepping off the shuttle and walking towards them was one much more slate gray, dressed in a black shawl and a black dress, clearly in mourning.
“I… you must be Red, correct?”
“Yeah. So you're Charcoal?”
“Char, please. I go by Char.” Char nodded.
“Right. Uh, is there anywhere you want to go or sit…?”
“Anywhere at all.”
“Great.” Red awkwardly walked back to a bench and gestured to it like it was a grand idea. At the least, Char managed a small smile at that, and they sat down, smoothing out their dress.
“It came as a shock when you phoned, really. I heard from MIRA that my darling was lost on the trip in an accident, but when I asked for details, all anyone would say was that there was an equipment failure and the engineer would be properly disciplined.”
Red huffed and sat down. “They're lying to cover their flowers. It wasn't an accident or an equipment failure. They had us shipping dangerous stuff, and when it broke, they're blaming anyone who can't argue.”
“Please, what happened, Red?” Char asked. Red took a deep breath.
“I know this is going to sound crazy, but trust me.” With that, they recounted a summary of the events during the first two days of the trip-- the asteroid, someone being infected, the alien killing four crewmates, and them only succeeding in getting rid of it through everyone working together at the cost of their bodies. Char listened closely, quiet and intent on hearing every detail. As Red finally drew to a close, Char set a hand on Red's shoulder.
“...Black always said they would go out fighting,” Char softly said. “No matter what they had to fight. So to know they were the one who brought the killer to light… it helps. It means a lot that you'd tell me this.”
“...I don't know if you even believe me.”
“I want to. But I don't know if I can.”
“I get it.” Red sighed. “I was supposed to be a captain and to keep everyone safe, but I failed. I apologize for what happened. I should have acted sooner, and not frozen when it mattered. You don't have to believe my words or forgive me, but as long as I know you've heard the truth, I can do my best to make things right in the future.”
Char nodded. “Do your best, dear. Don't let little old me get in your way, now.” They stood, and began walking. Red hopped up and quickly reached them, tapping Char’s shoulder.
*There's something else I have to give you.”
“...Hm? What might that be?”
Red pulled out the file from their backpack, then put the photo of Black and the other crewmate on top.
“Y-- you-- this is…”
“That's all we have of them,” Red admitted. “I wish it was more--
But as they looked down, Char took their hand.
“It… It’s more than others did. Besides… This is the last photo I took of Black’s other parent.” They held the photo of Black and the other crewmate close. “...Thank you.”
“It… It’s the least I can do.” They gave a slight smile, and Char returned it. “Thanks for meeting me.”
“That is the least I can do,” Char said before standing. “I hope to see you on a better day, Red. It was nice to meet you.”
“Yeah.” Red stood, and stuck out a hand. “It was.”
Char shook the hand, turned, and walked off. Just like that, they disappeared into the crowd, taking everything Black left behind with them.
Everything except for the weight of guilt on Red’s shoulders.