Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

""You've gotta be kidding me." White groaned as he read over the latest message from MIRA HQ.

"Impostor?" Green asked, not really knowing why as he couldn't really think of anything else that would garner such a reaction from the captain.

"Yup."

Dang it, how do they always know? Red thought frustratedly to themself. Every single time their kind would infiltrate a ship, the crew's HQ would always know somehow. Fortunately, they didn't know who they were, so they still had a chance to complete their first mission successfully and bring glory to their home planet.

Suddenly the door to the cafeteria burst open and Yellow sprinted in. "Ah! Sorry I'm late!" She gasps, doubling over. "I had to feed Axie and Lottie. Hey, why do you guys look so freaked out? Am I missing something here?"

"There is an impostor among us." Blue says quietly, shivering.

"Who are Axie and Lottie?" Purple asks, seemingly completely unaffected by the situation at hand. Maybe Red could use that to frame her later? Definitely something to keep in mind...

"They're my pets!" Yellow says with a dreamy smile. "They're soooooo cute! You should totally come to my room and meet them sometime."

"Is it wise to not keep your pets in sight given that there's an impostor onboard?" White asks, giving Yellow a strange look.

"Of course! It's best if they stay in their tank most of the time; they have to have kinda specific conditions to survive. So whatever this impostor thingy is, I'm sure that's where they'll be safest."

The room fell silent. Red decided that they should be the one to break it; they thought it may look sus to not add anything to the conversation. "You mean to say that you don't know what an impostor is?"

Yellow shrugs helplessly. "Like I know what the word means, but I'm not quite sure what it relates to in this context."

"Seriously?" Green's shout was extremely loud in the quiet room.

"I'm new," Yellow all but wines.

It's true. Yellow was the newest recruit among them. She couldn't be older than twenty at the most, though she acted even younger than that. Why Red swore they saw her carrying a plushie into her quarters earlier.

"Well Yellow, I'm afraid that you are in for a rather rough time." White grumbled lowly, placing a hand on said crewmate's shoulder.

"We all are. Truth is, no one knows exactly what impostors are." Blue admits, rubbing their hands together nervously.

Purple continued. "Some think they're aliens, some think they're some sort of parasite or virus, and still others think they're just crewmates who went crazy from being in space too long. But one thing's for sure, they are bad news. They will try to kill everyone on this ship, and no one knows who they are. It could be any one of us."

"It could be you." Green accused, pointing at Purple, who just shrugged.

Yellow's eyes widened beneath her helmet. "Wait, you mean to say that one of us could be an alien? Cool! And I thought this mission would be boring!" She grins, bouncing a bit in excitement.

"You did get the part where Purple said the impostor is evil, right?" Green drawled.

"Well yeah, but it's not like any of us will actually be killed, right? I mean this seems like a kinda common thing, so surely HQ gave us something to defend ourselves with should one of our quote on quote 'crewmates' try to literally stab us in the back."

...

"Really?"

Yellow was the best to choose for their first victim. She was the newest recruit, and thus very inexperienced. She didn't even know what an impostor was. They almost felt sorry for her, almost.

Quiet as a mouse, they slunk through the vent, heading towards electrical. That's where Yellow was going, and according to admin, no one else was there. She was alone. She was vulnerable. She was— "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" She was right in front of them!

"Aaaaaah!" Yellow screamed too, trying to wiggle backwards in the vent. "Oh crap! Oh jeez! Oh no! I'm sorry, I-I didn't think that—augh! Ouch!"

"What are you doing in here?!" Red gasped, trying [and failing] to keep the incredulous tone out of their voice. It wasn't possible! They hadn't sent Red with a partner! Yellow couldn't be another impostor, could she? If so, how did she avoid being detected by MIRAH HQ?

"I was taking a shortcut to storage," Yellow explained sheepishly. "I wanted to make a good impression by getting all my tasks done quickly. Also so I could have more time to chill with Axie and Lottie, the lil cuties! Hehe! I didn't think anyone else would have the same idea of using the vents; they're surprisingly clean. You'd think they'd have some kind of funky space gunk in them."

And thank god they didn't; that would make sneaking around even more difficult. Which brings them back to the strange situation. "No! I mean, you're not supposed to be in here. Only impostors can go inside the vents."

Yellow hung her head as she continued squirming backwards. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know that was a rule." But then she suddenly stopped, realizing what Red had just said. At the exact same time they did. "...Wait."

Oh you've gotta be kidding me! How could I be such an idiot! How could I let this strange situation put me so off guard! The academy would be so ashamed... Red chided themself angrily. Quick! I must think! I have to at least try to salvage this! "Um, is what I thought before I saw you down here, so clearly that's not the case. Ahaha."

"And you too, right?"

"Uh? Oh, yes of course! Me too..."

"But hey, why would you come down here if you thought only the impostor could? Like, wouldn't that make you seem..."

Oh screw you Yellow, must you make this so difficult? "Yeah, I guess that it would make me look sus. I really should've thought about that huh?"

"Yeah. I mean I'm new and didn't know what an impostor even was until five minutes ago, what's yourexcuse?"

"I... I guess I have none, do I?" They rub the back of their neck sheepishly.

Yellow seems to think for a bit before coming to a decision. "Well, it's okay. I won't tell anybody... if you agree to be my vent buddy!"

"Your... what now?"

"I don't know about you, but I'm not willing to give away my right to travel on this ship however I dang well please just because some alien or whatever's on the loose. These vents are cool, and I fully intend on exploring them more. But if this is how the impostor commonly gets around, it could be dangerous to go it alone. Plus, you seem pretty cool. I think we could be great friends. So what do you say, Red? Wanna be my vent buddy?"

Red pondered the odd crewmate's offer for a moment. It would be annoying to have someone always tagging along when they wanted to vent. But on the other hand, getting Yellow on their side could come in handy later. She may be willing to vouch for them when they were finally able to truly get their mission underway. So with slight hesitation, Red nodded. "Sure. That sounds like a great idea."

"Yay!" Yellow lunges forward and tried to give Red a hug, but it turns out that vents are not a very good place to hug, and they ended up in some weird uncomfortable spooning position.

"Wow! I didn't know I'd be getting vent cuddles as well! This arrangement just gets better and better!"

"Yellow, you are crushing my arm."

"Whoops, sorry Red."

"Urgh!" Red had to resort to some hopefully subtle shapeshifting to get the both of them free.

Okay, this time they were going to be successful. Yellow had gone to bed, and Green was cleaning up in the cafeteria. Alone. They could do this! They could be a successful impostor!

"Hi, Green!"

What!?

"Yellow? What are you doing up?" Green asked grumpily as he scrubbed the table.

"I've got a terrible, horrible, no good very bad case of the late night munchies." Yellow explains gravely.

Green huffs, annoyed at Yellow's theatrics. "You know we have a limited supply of rations."

"Yeah, I know, but I couldn't sleeeeeep!" She all but wines. "I'm soooooooooo hungryyyyyy."

"Ugh, you know what? Fine. You can have one sandwich. But only one, understand?"

"Yay! Thank you, Green. You want anything, Red?"

"No thank you." It was hard to keep the frustration out of their tone.

A little while later, Red and Yellow were both crawling through the vents together, Yellow in front so she couldn't see the unnatural ways Red had to contort themself in order to fit. But they could sure as heck observe her, and frankly, they didn't know what to think.

It was clear now that Yellow was definitely not an impostor. Yet she could vent just as easily as they could. How odd. And irritating.

"Hey, it looks like Purple's having trouble with her card." Yellow observes, pointing through the nearest vent opening. "I'm gunna go help her, kay?"

Red smirked as a very devious plan formed in their mind, thankful that their vent buddy couldn't see. "Be very careful when you exit the vent," Red advised. "You don't want Purple to see you."

"Right, can't look sus!" She singsonged. "I'll be back in a bit."

Red waited until Yellow had quickly and quietly made her exit before exiting himself. This would be a tricky move to pull off, but if they managed it, it could turn their whole mission around.

"Hey Purple! Need some help?"

"Hi, Yellow. Oh, yes please. I can never get this stupid thing to work right."

Red didn't really want to hear Purple complain about her tasks, but they still tried to flip the switches quietly in order to gage how much time they had left.

"Now you wanna be sure that you swipe it at just the right speed, and..."

The room went black. "Aaaaaahhhhh!" Purple screamed. "What the!?"

"Wow, that's never happened before."

"It wasn't you, Yellow; I think it was the impostor! We gotta get out of here!"

"Purple, wait!"

Yes! Just as planned. As stealthily as a cat, Red crept towards the cowering Purple and then—

"Woof!" something fast and heavy smashed into their chest, fingers scrabbling against their suit in hopes of regaining some balance. "Red!?" Yellow's voice. "What are you doing out here!" She whisper-shouted. "It's not safe to be alone out here when there's clearly an impostor around." She pulls herself closer and whispers even quieter. "Let's go back into the vents. If the impostor is messing with stuff out here, they can't be in there. We'll be safe."

Yellow huddled close to them in the dark narrow space of the vents. It was slightly more comfortable than the last time this had happened, and a lot more intentional. They just hoped their vent buddy couldn't feel their heartbeats as much as they could feel her trembling, otherwise she would notice that it wasn't the pulse of a typical human.

"The lights will come back on soon," Red attempted to reassure the crewmate in hopes that she would back off a bit.

"W-We left P-Purple out there!" Yellow whimpered in dismay. "What if... what if she gets killed?"

"She won't."

"How do you know?"

"...I just do."

"Red, I think we need something lighthearted after that whole fiasco with the lights yesterday. I think it's finally time for you to meet my pets."

"Your pets?" Red thought hard, trying to remember. "You mean Axie and Lottie?"

Yellow beams at them. "Yeah! It's super cool you remembered their names! Axie and Lottie are axolotls. Have you ever seen an axolotl, Red?"

Axolotl? Red had studied a lot of the human culture and their companions in order to better blend in, but they'd never heard that word before. "No, I don't think I have." They admitted.

Yellow's smile only grew wider. "Well then, you're in for a real treat, my friend!"

It turned out that axolotls were bright pink, slimy, water dwelling things. Red couldn't really call them cute, per se, but they were... interesting. Yellow, on the other hand, clearly adored them.

"Hi there Axie, hello Lottie!" She cooed. "How are you two doing today? I want you to meet Red. He's my bestest friend in the universe! Well, besides you guys of course."

Bestest friend in the universe? Red thought they were just vent buddies. When did their status change? What caused it to change?

"Wanna hold one?" Yellow's voice brought the impostor out of their thoughts. "Don't worry, they'll be okay out of the water for a minute or two."

"Oh uh, sure. Why not?"

Axie (or was it Lottie?) was just as slippery as they'd imagined they would be. But still, they had to admit, the creatures did have a bit of charm to them.

Yellow picked up the other axolotl, stroking it with a single finger as she held it lovingly. "Wanna know something cool about axolotls? These guys spend their whole lives in a larval stage. So they're kind of adults and kids at the same time. Like me! That's probably why we get along so well. Right, lil buddy?"

Red was about to reply, but suddenly a loud buzzer went off, indicating that someone had called for an emergency meeting.

The duo made their way into the cafeteria, (the normal way because now would be the worst time to be caught venting) and soon all six crewmates were present and accounted for. Though they tried their hardest not to show it, Red was confused as to why this meeting was called. They'd barely done anything since they got here. But as White began speaking, it became clear that that was the problem. "Alright, everyone. It's time we discussed the elephant in the room. It's been almost a week since the message from HQ about an impostor, and yet no one has died. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I want anyone to die, but it's a little..."

"Sus?" Yellow asked.

"...A little bit, yes."

"Maybe HQ made a mistake?" Blue wondered out loud. "Maybe there isn't actually an impostor here after all?"

"There's definitely an impostor." Purple interjected. "They sabotaged the lights while Yellow was helping me swipe my card."

"Right," White agreed. "Blue and Green were with me while that was happening. Red, where were you?"

"They were with me!" Yellow said with a proud grin. "They're my vent buddy!"

Red gaped, not bothering to hide it as the room fell deathly quiet. Yellow's smile faded when she saw the others' reactions. "Huh? Guys? What's up? Did I do something wrong?"

"...Vent... buddy?" White asked slowly. "What do you mean by that, Yellow?"

"Oh, you know... we crawl around in the vents together. It's super fun, faster than taking the normal way too. You should try it sometime." Though she was trying to sound cheerful, it wasn't hard to detect a slight nervous trimmer underneath the mask. Oh, this could not possibly get any worse.

"Yellow," This time, it was Green who spoke. "Only impostors can go in the vents."

"That's what Red said, too. But that's clearly not true since we were both able to vent just fine." And things just got worse.

All eyes were now on Red, and it took all their willpower not to start fidgeting. There were a lot of emotions building up inside of them that they were finding difficult to keep under wraps.

"Oh come on, guys!" Yellow chastised, seemly regaining a bit of her bravado. "Venting isn't like some serious crime or something, is it? Besides, if Red really is an impostor, so what? They haven't killed anybody."

"The only reason I haven't killed anyone yet is because you keep getting in my way!" Red had reached their limit. They had failed and were about to get ejected because of stupid Yellow and her stupid venting ability that she never should have had in the first place! And all the emotions finally took the form of one they could understand the best: anger. And they had no intention to hide it. What reason was there? They were dead anyway, might as well relieve themself of the burden before they got thrown into space.

"You!" They shout, standing up and jabbing a finger in Yellow's general direction. "All I wanted was to complete my mission and bring glory to my people, but you sabotaged me every step of the way! You should have followed the rules and stayed out of the vents like a good little crewmate, but nooooo! You had to stick your stupid human self where it doesn't belong and leech off of me, literally dragging me away from my prey every chance you got! Were you seriously so desperate for companionship that you blatantly ignored the signs of your hunter? You're pathetic!"

Now, Red had been prepared to do a lot of terrible things. Murder, turn friends against each other, frame when they saw Yellow, naive youthful little Yellow stare at them with wide, shining eyes before promptly bursting into tears... they felt like the scum of the universe. So maybe it was a good thing they were going to fail.

Chapter Text

The only sounds in the cafeteria were the humming of the Skeld and yellow's loud sobs. She couldn't stop, nor did she really feel like making herself. The one she'd felt the strongest connection to in a long time besides the uncle who raised her, her best friend of two weeks, her vent buddy, wasn't really any of those things at all. They were a traitor, a deceiver, an impostor. It wouldn't have been so bad if they were just an alien; that would actually be pretty cool. But now they were showing a side to them that she didn't know existed—how could she not know when she felt like she knew them so well? and they said all those awful things; is that really what they thought of her this whole time? Was she really nothing more than an annoying pest to them?

with sudden anger mixed with her grief at the loss of her friendship, she slammed her fist against the table, hard. This made everyone jump, including Red. she then stood up so she was again at eye level with the impostor and glared with as much intensity as one could when they had tears and snot running down their face and pooling in their helmet. That would certainly be a pain to clear out later, but right now that was the last thing on the girl's mind.

"Y-you didn't need to d-o this to m-mee!" She shouted, her words choppy because of how hard she was crying. "If I really was such a pain t—o deal wi-ith, you coulda just ki-illed me the moment we met in the ve-vents. No one w-would've… f-fou-nd my b-body 'til it started sme-lling… y-you could've gotten by with it so e-easily. Instead you l-lead me on… m-making me think that you l-l-liked me for who… i really am… You made me feel a-accepted in this n-new place… l-like I belo-nged! But you were just using m-m-me… like e-everyone befo-ore… You're terrible, Red, do you hear me? Terrible! I n-n-n-never thought a-anyone could be as cr-cruel as y-you."

And she doubled over, overcome by yet another bout of sobbing even stronger than all the others combined. She could hear the pathetic noises she made, like an animal caught in a trap. Red must be having a field day seeing her like this; they're probably laughing their butt off.

But when she was finally able to stand up straight again, she was surprised to see that this wasn't in fact the case.

Red wasn't sure what this new emotion they were feeling now was. They'd never quite felt it before, at least, not that they could remember. Why? Why was Yellow effecting them like this? What did she do to them? and when she said those words… it felt like they were being stabbed in the chest. Not really their physical chest though, it was more… inner than that? Now they were having a hard time looking at Yellow at all, and so they decided not to. For the rest of their short life, they would be quiet. They would let themselves get ejected with no fuss. That's what was going to happen, anyway. They'd lost. That's just the way of things. … It's what they deserved.

Much to their surprise the first to speak after Yellow wasn't talking to them. Instead, white turned concernedly to said emotionally recked crewmate, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder which was gradually starting to tremble less as she was now making an effort to pull herself together.

"Did you really feel like that all this time, Yellow?" He asked in a soft voice.

"Y-yeah," Yellow croaked, her voice now barely above a whisper. "I-mean d-don't get me wrong, you all have been n-nice to me and all, but… I could tell what you were really thinking. 'Oh, there's that weirdo Yellow. the girl who doesn't have a f-filter and won't g-grow up, r-r-refusing to a-act her age…' But that was okay cuz I had Red. Or so I thought." she muttered darkly. "It really felt like they cared about me, like they were my friend. But I guess I was just oblivious to the obvious as per usual, and I'm…" She has to stop, fighting back another wave of tears. "I'm really as p-pathetic as Red says."

Oh wow, that pain was equally strong, if not more, than the last. What was causing this? The impostor really wished they'd let up at least a little; they really didn't want to spend the last moments of their life feeling like this.

"Ah girl, you've got it all wrong!" This time it was surprisingly Green that spoke up. "I mean yeah you are kinda quirky, but I never thought that about you' you're actually kinda cool y'know?"

"We all like you," Blue added. "YOu just took us by surprise and we weren't sure how to react. But the way you're always so upbeat about things, it's a breath of fresh air. We're sorry that we made you feel like we didn't accept you."

"Yeah, and super sorry you had to pal around with the freaking alien that was sent to murder us all so that you would feel accepted." Green joked.

Ah, there's that pain again. Red thought frustratedly as they pressed their hands to their chest. Funny, their face was starting to feel kind of … hot? And their breath was hitching.

"Hey," Green suddenly said, whirling on them. "Is the impostor crying? Ha! You scared of being ejected, you wimp?"

Yellow put a still shaking hand on her fellow crewmate's arm. "Don't mock them…"

Well that was interesting, to say the least. Why would Yellow defend them after she'd made it perfectly clear how she felt about them? and why were the tears coming harder?

Green scoffed. "What, are you seriously still sticking up for them after they admitted that they want to kill us all?"

I—I don't know… I just… can we not make this more cruel than it has to be?"

"Why? They wouldn't do the same for you; they've made that perfectly clear."

"Because we're better." Purple spoke up for the first time since Red's outburst. Up until this point she had been sitting still, staring vacantly into the distance. "We're not like that. I agree with Yellow on this—if we're gunna eject them we should just do it and not torture them. We don't torture people back on Earth when they're being executed, even if they were killers."

They don't torture their criminals? That was news to Red; it was quite a common practice back on their home planet.

"I suppose not…" White muttered, but then perked up. "Wait… if?"

I-I mean, Red hasn't killed anyone, all they've been doing is venting, and like Yellow said before that's not really a serious crime, is it?"

Green ground his teeth in frustration. "But that was only because of Yellow! We're you not listening to their little rant earlier?"

"O-of course I was!" Purple cried. "I just—"

"Okay okay." Captain White interrupted before another shouting match could break out. "Yellow was the one effected most by this; I think that she should be the one to decide. Because of that, and also to show her that her opinion matters and that she is accepted here."

Green sighed. "…Fine, I guess that's fair."

"I think that's perfect." Purple chimed in, now seeming much more calm.

"Why not?" Blue's opinion.

With a satisfied nod, White turned to Yellow. "Alright Yellow, what do you think we should do?"

Red felt themselves tense. For some reason, this was even more nerve racking to them then just being sentenced straight to ejection. But also, there was a slight twinge of hope in there? They tried to push it away, but it stayed. It was stubborn.

…Just like Yellow.

Chapter Text

There were two reasons why Yellow had refused to become a lawyer, or any job relating to the court. First because it was buttdragingly boring, and second because she did not want to have the power to decide whether someone lived or died in any capacity. The very idea horrified her, and yet the universe was forcing it upon her anyway. And for the person she had no idea how to feel about no less. well she did, but she also didn't? It was complicated…

Her brain was still filled with rage and sadness, believing one hundred percent of the words she'd said, that they were the cruelest person she'd ever met pretending to be her friend just to torture her. But her heart on the other hand? It was trying to suppress it, like a little boy trying not to cry because of the messed up gender rolls society pushes on us at such a tender age, but it was still there. A spark. A twinge. A soft little voice, asking 'What if?' What if their friendship had been real, even if just a little? What if Red had kept her alive afterwords not to torture her, but because they'd begun to care as well, just a little teeny bit? Maybe? Hopefully? … Please?

And even if they hadn't, what right did that give the girl to say whether they lived or died? Especially since they never even actually gotten around to murdering anybody, not even managing to make an attempt. Thanks to Yellow…

I managed to stop them from killing anyone before, albeit accidentally. I could keep doing it. But can we really afford to take that risk? If I'm wrong and they're as evil as they make themself out to seem and I mess up… if they do kill somebody… Yellow didn't know if she could forgive herself if her actions caused one of her crewmate's deaths. That should make the choice obvious, right? Wrong, because that same logic applied to Red too, even though she now knew that they weren't actually a crewmate at all. They still felt like one to her. Despite everything, she still felt that attachment to them that she'd felt before; it was frayed and brittle, but it was still intact. The thought of them spiraling helplessly out of the airlock, dying in the void of space because of her choice—it made her feel sick. So that wasn't an option; that left only one.

She clears her throat softly, ensuring she has the whole crew's attention before speaking. "I've made up my mind." She says as confidently as she can muster, voice a little raspy from her emotional breakdown earlier. "Even though this hurts, a lot, I just don't think we should eject Red, at least right now. They only vented and sabotaged the lights that one time, and that's just not bad enough to deserve death—Green, don't start, I'm not finished." She adds when she notices that said guy was about to start ranting. He closes his mouth frustratedly and is quiet.

"Yeah, i know that they thought about killing us, but they never really got around to attempting it. Surely at least one of you has thought about murdering someone before. And yes i know it's not quite the same, but it's very similar."

"Surely you don't plan on letting them roam free though," Green says, keeping his voice low so as not to get stopped again.

"Of course I don't. I'll be with them 'round the clock, not that I wasn't doing that anyway. After all i did a great job keeping them from killing anyone before, I can do it again. I can even follow them through the vents if necessary, so I'm clearly the one best for the job. If they do really try and hurt someone again or sabotage the ship, then, and only then, will we eject them."

white mulled this over for a moment. "I suppose that's reasonable. Everyone else?"

"…I think it'll work." Purple says.

"Didn't think you could be so serious Yellow, but yeah it's good I guess." Blue added.

"Personally I'd be more comfortable if we just ejected them now, but I'm clearly outnumbered soooo…" Green.

"Then it's settled." White said, turning swiftly to Red. "red, you've been granted clemency. Don't blow it."

{Red is an impostor, but was not ejected.}

{One impostor remains…}

Yellow wiped the sweat off of her brow. she and Red had finally managed to get the latter's bed into her room, and even with the impostor's extreme strength, it was quite the ordeal. It was at moments like these that they wished they could turn off the gravity generator for a bit to make things like this easier. and also, they were really wishing they'd just kept their mouth shut back at the meeting. If they had, things wouldn't be so weird now. Yellow wouldn't be so stoic and quiet when she was usually so cheerful and upbeat.

"…Are you really comfortable with this?" The impostor asked before they could stop themselves. It wasn't really the best thing to say after all this, but they couldn't take it back now—couldn't take any of it back.

Red let out a deep sigh, plopping down on her bed across the room from where she had put theirs. "Honestly, not really. But you had plenty of chances to kill me before which you didn't take, don't see why you'd start now, especially after I spared your butt. Also, I'd be even less comfortable with you being a good ways away from me after I promised to watch you. I take my tasks very seriously, you know."

"I… I guess that's fair…" They follow yellow's example and sit down on their bed as they trail off. there was so much more they wanted to say to Yellow, but it all got jumbled up in their brain before it could reach their mouth until they weren't even sure what it had been to begin with.

So they just sat, silent. Useless.

Yellow opens a drawer next to her bed and pulls out a coloring book and some crayons. She flips it open to what seems to be a random page and begins coloring. Red watches. they aren't sure what else to do, what else they should do. Even though they're at the right temperature, their body feels cold. But like the pains in their chest from earlier, it was more inner than their actual body.

A splotch of pink catches the corner of their eye, and they turn to see Axie and Lottie. They don't know if it's just their imagination or if they're just projecting, but the axolotls seem to be moving a bit less animated than before. They surely couldn't fathom what had taken place in the cafeteria earlier, but perhaps they could sense the change in atmosphere.

"Urgh!" Yellow's angry exclamation makes Red jump, and they turn towards her in time to see her thrust the book and crayons on top of her bedside drawers. She stands up, hands balled into fists, and begins pacing erratically.

"Are you… o—"

"No." Yellow says harshly, cutting them off. "No, no nononono…." She trails off, muttering more to herself then to the impostor. She then stops, suddenly, turning towards them with an unreadable expression. "do you actually care?"

the question is asked with a tone that seemingly wants to convey emotion but can't seem to fully bring itself to. Red doesn't like this new Yellow. She's strange and unpredictable and—

Do I care? They find themselves repeating the question in their mind, turning it over and over again. Do I care?

Unfortunately Yellow doesn't notice that their lack of response was because of thought, or she's just too caught up in her own emotional turmoil to notice. "Ugh i was probably right the first time, wasn't I? You just hung out with me for the lolz, right?"

"what? I… I wanted to have someone to back me up… to vouch for me," they confess. For some reason they felt like being honest was right in this situation.

Yellow laughs, but it's not like any she's done before. It lacked all humor and joy. "Ahaha, of course. I'd be the perfect one for that, wouldn't I? Betcha if I walked in on you standing over a dead body, covered in blood, my stupid self would still find a way to justify it."

"I—"

"I don't want to talk anymore." Yellow says bluntly, and if anything else, Red is glad that at least her honesty is still there. She turns off the lights, leaving only the faint glow of distant stars out the window to aluminate the room. "I'm tired. I'm going to bed. Good night." She gets under the covers and rolls over, back turned to the alien.

"…Good night," They say softly, and get into bed themselves. Still, they can't help but glance across the room at their x-vent buddy ever so often. Her chest is rising and falling slowly, but it looks fake, like she's forcing herself to breathe deeply.

and that's when it hits them like a laser. they don't know why it does, or how, but they somehow know. the pain they've been suffering, the coldness inside of them. That feeling… it's guilt.

Chapter Text

Red emerged from the vent, heart pounding in anticipation. It was finally happening! They were finally going to get their first kill, which meant they were well on their way to becoming a successful impostor at last!

The human must have heard the vent close, for she turned around. No matter. She was still as good as dead.

She smiles at them openly. "Hi, Red! I was wondering when you'd come to find me! We haven't hung out in a while; I've missed you buddy!"

Wait! That voice! They know that voice! This… is not just any crewmate, this is Yellow!

What were they thinking? They can't kill her, she's their friend!

They're about to respond, but suddenly their second mouth, the one they use to eat and to kill, opens of its own accord. It stretches into a Ferrell, predatory grin, and Yellow's eyes widen in alarm. "R-Red? Wh-what?"

They try to close their second mouth, but if anything it opens wider! Then their legs also begin moving on their own, advancing towards Yellow, getting within kill range. They open their first mouth to scream in terror at what's about to happen, what they're about to do, but instead a chuckle comes out. It's a terrifying sound, and even though Red's the one to make it, it chills them to the bone.

Red tries to back away, but she bumps into a wall. She's cornered. "Red, Red no—you can't do this! We're friends, remember? We're friends! We're friends!"

Their first mouth opens on its own. "Oh, you poor naive creature. You really fell for that? As if I'd be friends with you! It's like I told you before, you're pathetic! You should have gotten away when you had the chance, but now it's too late."

No! No! I didn't mean that! I didn't mean any of that! They scream helplessly as they continue their unwilling advance. Please Yellow, I'm sorry! I understand now, I do! I don't want to hurt you! I don't want to hurt any of you! Please let me go! Please let me stop! Please!

Yellow is sobbing now, gazing pleadingly at them. "N-n-n-no, you don't m-mean that! You can't! You don't have to do this! Please Red, please don't kill me, please!"

And then it happens. Their long, pointy tongue bursts from between their needle sharp fangs and—

"Noooooo!" Red bolts upright, breathing heavily, eyes darting about the room rapidly. They're in Yellows room—Yellow! Yellow! Where is she? That couldn't have been real, could it? they couldn't have actually killed her? Murdered the only person that cared about them for them, and not as a tool of destruction.

They hear a rustle and groan on the other side of the room, and look over to see…

"Yellow!" They cry without thinking, ecstatic to find that said crewmate is still among the living. I guess that was just a nightmare, they realized. I haven't had one in so long, and never one so terrible. Seriously, what a horrible dream!

Yellow grunts again, sitting up. She looks terrible, Her hair is a mess and there are deep bags under her eyes. She must not have slept well either, not that i blame her of course.

"What you bein' so lou' for?" She slurs tiredly, rubbing at her face irritably.

"Oh uh—sorry," The impostor mumbles sheepishly. "I didn't mean to wake you up."

"'S fine," She picks up her yellow-cased phone, unplugs it and pokes at the screen for a bit. "It's time to get up anyway."

To say that Yellow felt terrible was an understatement. Frankly she wasn't sure if she'd slept or not; her emotional turmoil accompanied with a slight worry that Red might actually murder her in the night giving her really bad insomnia. Red seemed even worse though; by the sounds they'd just been making, they were surely having a nightmare. This made the twinge in her heart flair up again, but she refused to let herself get too hopeful. She'd not be tricked again.

She shambled, zombie-like, pulling on her suit and gathering up the equipment needed for her tasks scheduled for that day. Red sat nervously on the edge of their bed as she did so, seeming to not quite know what to do with themself. I've had just about enough of this tense atmosphere, She grumbles mentally. I know I should just sit down and have a discussion with Red, but I'm scared. I'm scared they'll tell me what I don't want to hear. But It'd be better if I know, wouldn't it?

I guess… we could talk over breakfast. Food helps any interaction go easier, right? That's why people always eat at family gatherings! Due to her overtired state, Yellow found this little joke funnier than she usually would have and it took all her willpower not to cackle like a maniac.

Chapter Text

"Okay… let's see," Yellow muttered to herself as she squinted in order to read the list of tasks that had just arrived on her phone. She decided that, since she could barely function, it would be best to skip the tasks that could potentially get herself or her crewmates killed should they be done incorrectly. Good thing she didn't have any tasks associated with Weapons or Navigation; those could definitely screw them all over if done by someone with sleep deprivation.

Besides Captain white and Purple the medic, none of the other crewmates had been recruited to a specific roll, at least not yet. Even though Yellow was the newest recruit, Blue and Green hadn't been working for MIRA for too long either so everyone was still learning about each other.

Yellow opened the notes app on her phone and began typing out the tasks she planned to do that day. "I got a bunch of data to download, have to empty the trash in the cafeteria and clean the vent in there too—that'll be a breeze for me… oh, and I also have to stop by the med bay for a scan!" She briefly glances away from her phone towards Red, who looks pretty awkward.

"come to think of it, I should probably scan you as well. I bet you have some really interesting anatomy; it'd be cool to see what makes you tick. Literally. But before any of that, I think it'd be best if we stopped by the cafeteria for some breakfast or at least some good old fashioned caffeine. I am in dire need of it; if you couldn't tell already, i barely slept last night."

Yellow realized that she had been rambling (she did that even more than usual when she was tired,) and shut her mouth, turning to face Red fully. They met her gaze, but the uneasiness in it was clear. "I… I mean you're going to…"

Yellow sighs. "Red, the whole point of this was so you would not die. So if you starve, that kinda defeats the purpose."

"Oh… right."

"You know I don't think I've ever seen you eat since we met. Is there anything, like, specific that you'll need?"

They seem to have a debate with themselves before responding. "I… can eat most of the foods that you can but… I prefer… meat. Raw or cooked, either way is fine."

Yellow nods, and they head towards the cafeteria. when they arrive, Yellow motions for the impostor to sit down before walking over to the fridge. She pulls out a sandwich wrapped in aluminum foil and decides to eat it cold in hopes that it could wake her up more for what she is planning. She does however pop the hunk of meat she found near the back into the microwave for a minute or two. It was in the back of the fridge, simply wrapped in foil like the sandwiches. But it didn't have the MIRA logo on it, heavily implying that it had been brought from elsewhere. So Red must have brought some of their own stuff like she had brought her favorite super unhealthy highly caffeinated soda beverage.

MIRA had refused to allow it at first, but then she suffered from massive caffeine withdrawal symptoms during training, which made her an absolute nightmare to work with. For some reason, instead of letting her go, MIRA decided to let her bring her precious drinks with her. Don't get her wrong, it's not like she was complaining or anything, but it was a bit sus when she really stopped and thought about it.

Wait, what was she thinking about? Right, Red's food. They obviously didn't have clearance to bring it, so how the heck did they manage to sneak it in? How'd they manage to sneak themself in? You'd think, as secretive of an organization as MIRA is, they'd have better security…

Bzzzzzzzzt! Bzzzzzzzt! Bzzzt! Bzzzt! BZZZZZZZZT!

Yellow jumped at the sound and whirled towards its source, seeing that, in her sleep deprived state, she had forgotten to remove the metal foil from the meat before putting it into the microwave. Now it was irrupting with sparks and flames. Frantically she jabbed at the stop button on the control panel, much harder than anyone had pressed the emergency meeting button, she was sure. "Oh jeez! Oh no! Crap, crap, crapity crap crap! Gosh friggin dang it!"

Red rushed into the kitchen at the commotion. "What's going on? What's wrong?" The twinge pointed out that they seemed to be legitimately concerned, but the frustration of her own idiocy would cause her not to ponder on that until later.

"Red, I'm sorry. I forgot to take the foil off your food before heating it up." She moves aside, allowing the impostor to inspect the damage. They peer into the little window on the microwave, then open the door.

"Ack!" Yellow reals backward, gagging at the smell that wafts out of the open door. Even through her supposedly airtight helmet she could smell it, which begs the question: how in the flingin' flangin' heck did a microwave door keep the stink in? Whatever the case may be, heated up raw meat and hot aluminum foil did not make for a good combination of smells, not like they were like roses by themselves anyway.

When the horrible stench fades away, Yellow turns back to Red who is poking at the weird blob in the microwave, not seeming to be bothered by the fact that it was scalding hot. "It's okay," They say. "I'll still eat it."

Yellow was about to protest, but before she could a large mouth full of needle sharp teeth opens up in their stomach, and the girl can only watch in a mixture of awe and fear as a long, sharp tongue shoots out, impales the meat, and yanks it back into their mouth where there fangs rip and tear at it with sickening crunching and squelching noises before it's completely engulfed. Then the mouth closes and disappears, as if it wasn't even there at all. All of this happened in a matter of seconds, and Yellow could only stand there, her own mouth hanging open.

Red seemed to have some sort of post-devour clarity or something, because they turned to face yellow with a horrified expression, as if she had been the one to consume an abomination of burnt meat and hot foil with a 'bellymouth.' "A-ah! I uh… I-I've n-never… done that in front of anyone before," they breathe. "any human I mean. Ugh, why did I do that?"

Yellow realizes that her mouth is still open and shuts it. "I-it's fine, really. I just… wasn't expecting that. Can you, like taste with that tongue? And if so, how was it?"

"…I can," They respond, reluctantly. "It wasn't bad. White good, actually. I kinda liked it. Maybe I'll cook my meat like that in the future.

Yellow scoffs. "Oh, you're just saying that to make me feel better; there's no way you could find that good!"

"I swear I'm not! It really was quite tasty!""

Yellow thinks about arguing, but realizes that there wouldn't really be a point and just shrugs. "Whatever. Anyway, I still have to eat," She remarks, picking her sandwich and can off of the counter. "Hopefully this cafine'll keep me from making more mistakes like that, or I might end up creating a black hole by flushing the toilet."

the two sit at the table across from each other, and Red slowly unwraps her sandwich and takes a bite. It's so cold that it hurts her teeth and ingredients that are not supposed to be crunchy are, but she doesn't have the willpower to go and heat it up and talk with Red, so she'll deal with it. She takes a deep breath and looks up at the impostor who is drumming their fingers on the table nervously. "Red?" she asks, her voice comes out softer than she means it too but it still makes them jump.

"Y-yes, Yellow?"

"…I know this is hard… for both of us probably, but it's just gunna get worse the longer we avoid it. So… we need to talk."

Chapter Text

Yellow could see the tenseness in Red immediately as soon as her words left her mouth. The exact reason behind it wasn't quite clear to her yet, but it would be very soon. It had to be. It had only been less than a day, and she already felt like she couldn't go on this way. So how bad would it get if she let it continue? If they let it continue?

She took a deep breath, choosing her words carefully. She needed to get this right. "I didn't sleep well last night both because i was still trying to process everything I learned and how to deal with it from here on out. And I realized that even though you pretty much know my feelings and motivations through this whole… incident, I didn't and still don't know yours. I just assumed. First when i thought we were on the same page about being friends and the second time yesterday when the cat was let outa the bag and I assumed you were pure evil. That's just how the human mind works, i guess. We want to think that everything is either good or bad, black or white, that there's a hard line between the two you know? But things are hardly ever that simple, and I'm seriously doubting that this is an exception. … So, if you would be willing, I'd like you to tell me your side of the story from the beginning, far back as you can. That way we'll both know each other's perspectives and can work things out from there. Sound good?"

was that sadness in their eyes just for a minute? No, no—she can't assume, she needs to get the facts first and then she can look back on everything. Whatever the case, they now appear to be gathering themselves before beginning.

"My people are pretty much obsessed with the whole 'impostor' thing, so much so that our whole society revolves around it. Maybe we had another name at one time, other culture, but not anymore. On my planet, you are either an impostor or you're nothing. We have what you'd probably consider to be our true form, but we take humanoid shape as soon as we are able and stay that way for the most part. We speak this language even when it's just us to the point where we're more fluent in it than our supposed native tongue. It's honestly an extremely ugly sounding language though so I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing."

They clear their throat as they get back on topic. "A-anyway, we start training at these big isolated academies at a very young age, to learn how to blend in and sabotage the crew. I don't even remember my parents at all, that's how young I was. But I… well let's just say I wasn't winning any popularity contests, with my classmates or instructors."

"It took me forever to master even the most basic of sabotages. I couldn't see even a drop of blood without getting sick. I had to repeat classes who knows how many times. But I still wouldn't give up, because if I did I'd have to work some sort of menial labor job, which would automatically make me the lowest class citizen which I did not want. So I tried and tried until finally, I graduated with barely passing marks and was approved to go on my first mission, this one."

Yellow could feel her eyes widening. This was Red's very first mission? Cool because it means they never killed anyone, bad because ouch that must have made their self-esteem take a nosedive seeing as what happened with that.

"I… was made fun of a lot. Everyone was sure I'd get ejected before making so much as one kill since I was so terrible during practice runs, i was always the first one voted out. So I was determined to prove them wrong, that I could be as good an impostor as they were, that I was worthy of being a part of their society. So I arrive on the ship, meet the crew, and you immediately draw my attention. You were so naive, you didn't even know what an impostor was which seemed impossible for me. So I thought…" They trail off, not sure how to finish the sentence. Since Yellow is pretty sure she knows how this ends, she decides to help.

"You thought that I'd make a good first kill." Maybe it's just the sleep deprivation making her more confident, but she is surprised how easy it is to say, like having someone planning on murdering you is a normal everyday thing. Maybe it was because she'd had hours with nothing to do but think? Either way she was invested in this story now and wanted to see it through to the end. She had a hunch on where it was going and prayed that she was correct.

Red nods. "So I find you in Admón and go to vent to your location, and imagine my surprise when I find you doing the same! But more than that was how you were so calm about it, like this was just a normal thing. And even after I was clearly sus, you still wanted to make an alliance with me, wanted to be friends with me. That really didn't make sense."

Yellow holds back a snort. "Yeah to be honest, there was always a nagging suspicion in my mind that you could be the impostor, but like i said yesterday I felt a connection to you and that was stronger than yoursusness for me. I know it was naive and dumb of me but… I just wanted a friend so freaking bad and you seemed to be willingly giving it. Oh sorry for interrupting, please continue."

"It's fine. anyway I accepted because yes it would be good to have someone to vouch for me. But then when I went after Green when he was cleaning the cafeteria, you showed up to get a snack. And then when I went after Purple, you were there again. It wasn't the fact that I was being sabotaged that made me so angry at the time; it was the fact that you were doing it so effortlessly, by complete accident that blew me up the wall. I mean it's one thing to lose against someone who's actually trying, being accidentally sabotaged over, and over, and over was a whole other level of humiliation that I'd never experienced before."

Yeah, my conclusion was right earlier, no wonder I aced English class. Ouch.

"But even after all of that, i never did consider trying to kill you again. You are right that I could have easily done it in the vents and no one would notice for a couple days at least, but I never even thought of that. Maybe it's because I'm so terrible at being an impostor, or maybe… even back then… I started to feel the 'connection' you talked about."

Yellow snapped to alertness at those words. This couldn't be real, could it? She had to be dreaming or something. She looked deep into Red's eyes and… she'd never seen them like this before, clearly full of sincerity to her. They'd never quite spoken in this way before either; their tone had lost a certain edge to it that she hadn't noticed it had until it went away.

"Yeah, you may have kept sabotaging me, but you also did something else that no one did before. You treated me like an individual person and not just another cog in the machine that needed to be polished and bent into shape so it would work right. And that… sort of counterbalanced the negative parts… for a while."

"the emergency meeting," Yellow realized.

Red nods. "That… was not pleasant at all. I was reminded of why i had come and I was angry. Not at you, I see that now after thinking about it, I was mad at myself. I was mad at myself for getting distracted, for failing my one true purpose in life and it was all my fault, and I would die as a worthless piece of trash out in space. But i didn't want it to be my fault I—I wanted someone else to blame for all my troubles for once. To have at least that one shred of peace. And I chose the obvious. But… now that I think about it, even though I said those things to you, they were never really meant for you at all."

It's perfectly clear to Yellow now exactly what Red means. The impostor was actually calling themself pathetic. Berating themself for leeching off of others and not giving anything valuable in return, for getting in the way of their society, calling themself naive and useless. And that broke Yellow's heart all over again.

She knew that others might think her unwise for changing her views of Red so quickly, but the way they spoke and looked now… you can't fake something like that. You just can't. It was one of those cases that deep down in her very soul, she knew all of this to be true. It was just the same with her connection with Red that she really shouldn't have doubted it so much. None of the people who'd used her before had made her feel this way, so safe and accepted.

"I'm sorry, Yellow." Their apology, too, was delivered with that unbridled honesty. "I did lie to you, and you were right that it was extremely cruel. All of this is. I never should have done any of it and I'm really, really sorry."

Yellow sits, stunned, mind blown at the sincerity of it all. She can't believe this is actually happening.

"Uh…" Red seems to be a bit flustered, but yellow can't imagine why; they'd just spilled pretty much everything. At least, until they spoke again. "I also thought about the stuff you said yesterday and… well I couldn't believe that I made you feel that way before even when I wasn't actively trying to. I know that this might be selfish of me to ask after all I've done but… i-if you'd be willing, I'd like to try this whole friendship thing again. To be like we were before, except without the whole secretly plotting the crew's murder thing. To… make you feel accepted and stuff… but on… purpose this time. S-so, w-what do you say, Yellow? Wanna be my vent buddy?"

Yellow barely kept herself from squealing when she realized that they had asked the same way that she had done. she didn't, however, stop herself from leaping out of her chair, making Red jump out of theirs due to being startled.

"Are you kidding me? I've wanted that more than anything since our fight yesterday, but I thought I'd never have that again cuz like I said before, assumed you to be pure evil. But now that i know that I was wrong and we really were friends at least to an extent, of course I wanna keep going with it! Besides we are roommates now, so it would be pretty awkward going the way we were before."

Red looks surprised. "We're still doing that?"

Yellow snorts. "We may be vent buddies again, but that doesn't mean I can stop watching you. Rest of the crew's still on the fence, remember?"

Their face falls somewhat. "…oh."

"But it's cool; I'm sure you can make up with them later. For now… Can i hug you?"

And for the first time she can remember, Yellow sees Red smile as they hold out their arms for her.. "Of course."

Yellow feels her face practically split apart with a grin as she eagerly hugs the impostor, only realizing now how much she had missed their warmth. And how not suit like their "suit" felt. And when they wrapped their arms around her [she realized this was the first time they'd hugged her back how had she not noticed that before?] they were so gentle about it, as though she was an extremely fragile thing that could easily break as she must actually be compared to them as she's pretty sure impostor bodies can take more damage than human ones. It's just another sign that they really do care. She thinks with happiness.

Suddenly the gravity that she actually has her vent buddy back hits her (or maybe it's just her emotions being out of whack from sleep deprivation who knows) and her eyes begin to sting a bit. Red pulls back suddenly. "A-are you okay? … I-I didn't hurt you did I?"

"Not at all," She says, smiling through the slight tears. "Humans can also cry when they're really happy, or well any intense emotion really. Right now, it's cuz I'm happy. I know it might not make sense since you've technically been here all along, but I've really missed you."

"I missed you too."

Then they're hugging again, and Red doesn't seem to mind how long she clings to them (she has a problem where she hugs for socially unacceptable amounts of time.) But given the gentle rumble that has started up in their chest (a bit like purring but also not) they were getting as much enjoyment out of it as she was.

But right now, Yellow just couldn't make herself care that she was creating yet another oxytocin addict. Red was so wonderfully squishy and warm, and they were such a good hugger even though this was their first time, and it wouldn't hurt if she leaned on them a little more and closed her eyes just for a little bit…

Red was surprised out of the warm tingly daze they found themselves put into by Yellow and her strange hugging powers when she slackened in their hold, and her breathing and heart rate slowed. They gently moved her a bit to check, only to find that she had fallen asleep. The poor girl must've been completely exhausted and now that she had been relieved of her burden from last night, her mind could finally relax. and it was sure relaxed, alright.

A small squealing sound broke them from their thoughts, and they turned (slowly so as not to wake Yellow because that would be a crime) to see—

"P-Purple?"

"A-ah!" The medic gasped at being noticed and looked ready to bolt but held her ground. "Uh, hi Red. That was really adorable."

"How long have you been standing there, exactly?"

Purple looked even more anxious, fidgeting in place. "Uh, well actually I came here for breakfast just about as soon as you guys both sat down."

Red sighed. Great. they didn't plan on having an audience other than Yellow for that whole thing.

"I'm glad that you guys made up," Purple continued, seemingly oblivious to the impostor's turmoil. "And sorry about… well never mind, I know you didn't mean for me to know about all that so I won't talk about it until you want to."

"I appreciate that, thank you." They say, and they meant it. "Oh, and Purple?"

"Yeah?"

"…Sorry for scaring you. When I sabotaged the lights."

"Oh, so that was you. I mean I was pretty sure that it was after the whole thing yesterday but i wasn't certain. Yeah, I'm… I'm afraid of the dark."

"Sorry."

"It's okay. Anyway, I'm going to tell White to let someone else take over for Yellow today. She's obviously exhausted, and you don't seem much better either."

Now that the medic mentioned it, they did feel really tired. They nodded gratefully. "Thanks, that'd be great."

"Good. And by the way, if you ever wanted to… talk to the rest of the crew about this stuff… we've got the security footage here so if that would make it easier for you—"

"there's a camera in here?" they cut Purple off accidentally. they'd checked the security cameras and only found them in hallways and not rooms.

"Yeah, apparently there's a tiny one hidden in the wall somewhere that I needed a code to access it and some in other rooms. I can't imagine why that would be, I'll have to ask MIRA next time we stop by HQ."

Why would MIRA hide something like that? they wonder, surprised. that's not sus at all… it was almost enough to distract them from the fact that their intimate heartfelt moment with Yellow just now was all caught on film, almost.

"Yeah well, I'd appreciate it if you didn't show that to anyone else, at least for now. This whole talking about feelings thing is very new to me and I'd like more time to get accustomed to all of this."

Purple nods understandingly. "Got it. Now, I'll go tell White that Yellow won't be doing tasks today; you two go get some rest."

"Will do." And with that they're sprouting a few tendril appendages so they can more easily pick Yellow up, (much to Purple's fascination with a dash of fear) and carried her towards their room. They're not sure what possessed them to do these things so blatantly in front of the crew, but it was as nerve wracking as it was… freeing in a way? Like they could finally just relax and be themself, whatever that meant. But they could figure all of that out once they and Yellow had rested.

The exhaustion seemed to engulf them completely as they walked into their room. Yellow was still fast asleep, but when they tried to gently pry her off and put her into her bed, her grip tightened again and she made a discontented noise.

Well, guess I'm staying here, then. they decide, carefully maneuvering them both into Yellow's bed and pulling up the covers. Really, it was the least they could do.

Red thought that they might have trouble both fitting, but given the way Yellow all but engulfed them as soon as they both layer down the impostor didn't think that would be a problem. In no time they were out cold just like their human friend, and had the most restful sleep they'd ever had in their life.

Chapter Text

Yellow drifted peacefully out of sleep, slowly returning to the waking world with a contented little sigh. She hadn't been this comfortable in a long time. Don't get her wrong, The Skeld's beds weren't terrible, per se, but they couldn't possibly compare to the soft plush of her bed back on Earth. So she was certain that it had to be Red, still rumbling in that unique alien way of theirs as they slept, that was making her feel so cozy.

Yellow wasn't sure how exactly they were doing it, or why, but seeing as they seemed to be just as content as she was right now, then it must be a good thing, right? It sure as heck felt like a good thing at least, sending tingly vibes throughout her whole body along with their warmth. If she wasn't so well rested now, she'd probably fall back under its sleepy spell again. But for now she just snuggled closer, enjoying the sensation. She didn't have the heart to wake them up as they'd not slept well last night either and needed the rest.

Subconsciously, Yellow began ever so gently poking at them. They were pleasantly squishy, like a giant stress ball. That should have been a dead giveaway way back when, but apparently Yellow was that oblivious somehow.

She moves down to their belly. Much to her fascination, she doesn't feel anything resembling lips, or $thing that could turn into a mouth. They don't even seem to have a belly button! They're completely smooth! Wow, I know a girl back home who would kill for skin this flawless! Yellow thought amusedly. This didn't stop the girl from wondering how the heck Red's powers worked though, and she searched desperately for a clue.

Suddenly a warm hand gently rested on top of hers, effectively stopping it from moving. Yellow gasped in suprpise, and looked up to see that Red was now very much awake and gazing quizzically at her.

"Oh! Uh... hi," she stammered, giggling nervously.

"Hi." Red replied drowsily. "What're you doing?"

"I—where'd it go?" She was much too baffled at the moment to think about social expectations. But Red was well, Red, they wouldn't mind.

"Where'd what go?" Well, maybe they might mind her being extremely vague; that was a factor she hadn't thought to account for.

"The huge mouth in your stomach." She clarifies. "I mean that wasn't some sort of dream or something right? You did eat a terribly prepared piece of meat with a bellymouth, didn't you?"

Red fidgets a little. "Um... yes that happened."

"Okay so where the heck is it?"

"It's gone."

"Yeah I can see that, but gone where?"

Red sighs. "I'm a shapeshifter, Yellow. My second mouth will only be there when I want or need it to be."

Yellow remembers what Red said yesterday about this not being their true form and smiles. "Cool! So, you can like, do other stuff with your body too?"

"As long as I have the basic

structure of it, I could shift into almost anything."

"Oooh!" Yellow sits up, clapping her hands together in excitement. "Can I see? Pretty please? I wanna see your bellymouth again!"

The impostor seems apprehensive at this prospect. "Uh... I don't know if..."

"Aw, come on! Pleeeeeeease?" She tries to get out her puppy dog eyes, as she had been told they were irresistible many times by her uncle. "I promise I won't freak out or judge you. I'm ready for it this time, and I wanna get to know you better. The real you."

Red thinks for a moment, then slowly, finally, they nod. "...Alright."

"Yaaaaay! Thanks, Red!"

Red nods then gets out of bed, stretching. Yellow pulls herself from the covers, sitting on the edge facing the impostor, legs dangling. She smiles encouragingly at them. "Whenever you're ready, Red. No rush."

Red takes a deep breath to ready themself, and then it's there! Their bellymouth appears just like that, opening to reveal the needle sharp fangs contained within. Yellow can't help but stare. "Wow! So cool!"

Red fidgets on the spot nervously. "D-do you really think so?"

Yellow can't help but find it funny that they look so vulnerable standing before her like this, as if she was seeing them naked or something. Even though they could rip her apart so easily, you'd think by their timid demeanor that it was the opposite of that. Though she supposed that maybe for them, it did feel like that. Usually, if people around them knew that they were an impostor, then that was the end of the line for them. But now, they didn't need to worry about being ejected for simply being them, and Yellow would continue to encourage them to come out of their shell and be themself until they felt just as accepted by her as she felt by them. And, should any of her other crewmates disagree with this line of thought, well let's just say that they wouldn't be doing that for long. Yellow was not about to lose her vent buddy again!

"I do." She says honestly, and feels a warm bubble of happiness inside herself when both of Red's mouths curve upwards into a pair of nervous [but happy] smiles. It was creepy, and adorable at the same time. But most of all, it was Red.

"So how sharp are those teeth, anyway?" Yellow wonders out loud. "Like what's the toughest thing you've ever managed to bite through?"

The impostor ponders this for a moment. "Uh... a metal table leg?"

"Holy crap!" The girl exclaimed before she could stop herself. "Wh—"

"Long story."

Yellow nods dazedly. She knew that mouth and theirs must be strong, but that? "And your tongue... how long is it?"

Red hesitates for a moment, before turning sideways and sticking out their tongue. Yellow watches in wonder as it stretches almost all the way across the room! "This is as long as it is by default, but I could probably go even longer if I needed to. Still, we all usually prefer hitting at close range, packs more of a punch that way."

Yellow stands up so she can get a closer look, approaching slowly. "Incredible," She mutters under her breath. She then inhales deeply, not sure if she was going too far. "Can... uh... may I touch it?"

Even though Yellow didn't normally care much about using correct grammar, she wasn't sure which word to use. She was asking permission, obviously, but she also wanted to know if touching Red's second tongue would hurt her, or possibly them.

Said alien tilts their head in contemplation. "I guess if you stayed away from the tip you'll be fine."

Yellow sighed softly. She was more concerned about Red at this point, but she supposed she'd take what she could get. They'd tell me if I was hurting them or making them uncomfortable, right?

Carefully Yellow reached down and prodded at the slimy organ, feeling the muscles within it twitch and flex a bit in response to her touch. "It's sticky!"

Red nods. "Helps grab things."

Yellow raises her hand and gazes in fascination at the alien fluids clinging to her fingertips before wiping them on her suit. "By the way, have you been eating chocolate recently?"

Yellow's eyes widened. "H-How?"

"I could taste it on your fingers," The impostor says as though it's the most obvious thing ever.

"B-b-but," Yellow stutters in shock. "I washed my hands at least five times since then!"

Red shrugs. "Well yeah, I could taste the soap too. But it's weak so it wasn't that bad."

"Red," Yellow says desperately. "You can't tell anyone about my secret stash! Not even MIRA knows about it, and if you tell it'll be gone in like a second!"

"My lips are sealed." Red says with conviction as they pull in their tongue and their second pair of lips does just that. They turn to face Yellow again. "You must have it very well hidden."

"I do," she agrees. "and I'm not telling where." Curiously, she pokes at their now smooth belly again. "Wow, it's really gone now!"

"Hehe." Yellow looks up in surprise at the sound to see that Red is giggling. Her eyes widen.

"You're ticklish!?"

"What—" Whatever the impostor was planning on saying, they never got around to finishing it. Yellow, seeing her opening, began attacking their stomach with both hands. They weren't expecting this at all, and burst into uncontrollable laughter.

Yelled had never heard Red laugh before. She decided she very much liked the sound of it. When it looked like they needed some air, she let up, allowing them to catch their breath.

"What was that?" Red asked after they'd gasped a few times. "What... did you just do?"

"Tickled you!" Yellow replies with a playful smile. "I didn't think about you being ticklish before, but dang you are super sensative."

"Is that so? I wonder, does that happen to you, too?"

Curiously, Red pokes at her belly. "Eep!" But before she can escape, she finds herself being held off the ground and tickled mercilessly. "Ahahahahaha! Red! Please! I surrender!"

Red [reluctantly] stops, and lets her go. "That's so weird, but also kind of amusing."

"Jeez, you are brutal!"Yellow manages between gasps.

Red smirks. "Good to know that my training paid off, at least a little."

"Training..." Suddenly it dawns on Yellow that she had woken up in her room, and the last thing she remembered before that was hugging Red in the dining room. "Oh jeez! I didn't mean to fall asleep! I'm supposed to be doing my tasks right now!" She lunges to grab her phone, only to be stopped by Red.

"It's okay," they say, putting a hand on her shoulder. "White's letting you take the day off."

Yellow sighed in relief. First she got her vent buddy back, and now she has a free day to spend with them. Life is good.

"I'd still like to know what time it is, though."

Red picks up their own phone, and Yellow wonders where they got it from. "It's about two in the afternoon."

"Aw crap, now both of our sleep schedules'll be outa whack! But meh, at least we've got a couple hours of fun ahead of us."

Chapter Text

Yellow sat next to her vent buddy on the bed, frustrated. This would be a perfect time for the two of them if they could actually think of something to do with it. There were just so many possibilities, so many fun ideas that they couldn't seem to pick one and now they'd spend the whole day in limbo instead of having fun and—aaaaaaaaaaah!

Axie and Lottie seem to gaze sympathetically at the duo from their tank on the other side of the small room. Axolotls are lucky, yellow thought sullenly. They don't have to think hard about what they're going to do every second of every day: they just, like, swim around and stuff.

The girl was interrupted from her mental mini-rant when she heard a quiet buzzing sound that seemed to be coming from… Red? She turned towards them, just in time to watch as they pulled apart a flap of skin on their upper right thigh, reached their hand inside and pulled out something red! We're they seriously pulling themself apart on her bed right now? Do they not realize how hard it is to wash blood out of clothes and sheets? She would know, she's a cisgender female!

Okay, look. Yellow knew her best friend was an alien or something, but did they seriously know that it's terribly rude to gut themself (though it's their leg so it's not really gutting but that doesn't really matter right now) on her bed? Why couldn't they do that on their bed? Why were they—oh,-oh, wait! that wasn't flesh, or an organ, or anything at all like that! It was… a phone? "Hey uh, Red?"

"Mmm?" Red asks distractedly as they tap away at their phone. Yellow's grown so accustomed to people back on Earth doing this that it doesn't feel rude.

"Uh… there's no non-blunt way to put this—Red, why did you just pull a phone out of your leg? How did you just pull a phone out of your leg? Doesn't that, like hurt or something?'

Now it's Red's turn to be baffled. "Huh? No, it was just in my pocket. YOu have pockets too."

"Yeah but in my clothes, not my body! I'm not a kangaroo!"

"What's a kangaroo?"

The next few minutes were spent explaining to an increasingly disturbed Red about kangaroos and their weird and disgusting childbirth process.

"Well I can assure you that I don't, and never will do that," Red says, looking as though they'd just learned all of life's greatest mysteries but every one of them was absolutely horrible.

"Good, good." Yellow thought about asking them where impostor babies came from but ultimately decided that this had been enough trauma for one day. Instead she brought her attention back to the phone which now lay in Red's lap, screen gone black, forgotten in the duo's moment of marsupial madness.

"Where'd you get that anyway, if you don't mind me asking? It looks just like an iMira XR, same as all Mira employees have now. Never thought Apple would ever team up with anyone, but I guess space travel this sophisticated was enough to make 'em cave. Boy, if only Steve Jobs was alive to see this; may he Rest In Peace…"

Thankfully Red decided to not ask any questions about the info Yellow revealed and instead decided to answer hers, for now at least. They really were quite a considerate friend…

"I'm not sure of the specifics, but someone stole it, brought it to our planet, fitted it with the proper impostoring specs then gave it to me before I set off on this mission. We can use them to sabotage the ship, track crewmates as long as they have their phones with them, and a couple other things."

"Ooh, cool!" Yellow squealed before she could stop herself. She knew she probably shouldn't be reacting this way, but it was only with Red, they'd understand. "Can i see?"

"Sure, why not? I've already broken a bunch of rules, what's one more? 'S not like they'll ever find out, anyway."

"What were the rules?" The human asks curiously as there alien friend wakes up 'their' iMira.

"Well the number one rule was 'don't get caught,'" they say distractedly. "Another one was 'don't fraternize with the enemy because they'll plant poisonous ideas in your brain,' or something like that."

Yellow scoffs. "Clearly they were lying to you about something and didn't want you to start questioning. If they were telling you the truth, they wouldn't mind you digging deeper because then you'd just realize, 'oh yeah, this is the truth after all.'"

Red stops for a moment, eyes going wide. "You're right," They say in a tone of surprise and wonder, as though she'd just informed them that you're supposed to flush the toilet after you go instead of before after they'd been doing it for over twenty years. "I wonder what they were so intent on hiding from me?"

It probably had something to do with the reason for the whole 'kill the crewmates sussy sus sus' thing, but that was too serious of a conversation for today. This was supposed to be their fun day off, dang it!

The impostor had finally woken up their phone and was on the Home Screen which had a nice background with some planets on it. Yellow was about to wonder if one of them was their vent buddy's home world (was it the purple one? The orange one? The one that looked less like a planet and more like a pile of poop?) when they tapped on the calculator app, which was in their dock for some reason.

They begin to punch in an overly long, complex equation that would probably only be done in an assigned math assignment. Yellow was tempted to ask why they were doing this, but decided it would be best to allow them to concentrate.

They finally finish and press '=' only to get, surprise surprise, an equally long complex answer. This was apparently not the answer they wanted.

"Crap," They mutter and try again, the second time getting similar results. The third time, they got a downright 'Error'.

"Uh, Red? What're you tryin'a do?"

"Shh," Red hushes her, abruptly but not unkindly. "Lemme think…"

The two sit silently for a couple minutes, Red having to tap their phone several times to keep it from locking. At last, they slap their forehead in victory, Making their human friend jump.

"Yes! I remember now! I was supposed to use fractions, not decimals, and the logarithm was supposed to be natural."

"I barely understood any of that but okay," Yellow muttered as the impostor began furiously tapping away again.

This time, when they pressed '=' instead of an answer appearing, the calculator was replaced with another screen. It was a whole new app, that appeared to be called 'The Hub,' or at least that's what was written in big bold letters at the top of the main page. Red tosses their phone over to her.

"Knock yourself out, but don't mess with the sabotage feature. I think I speak for both of us when I say I do not want to deal with that."

Yellow nods furiously before eagerly exploring this new app. It was honestly kind of an eyesore, seriously come on, did they really have to make all the text red on white? but other than that, it was quite cool.

It was laid out like many other apps Yellow had used, with a tab bar on the bottom. They were labeled from left to right: 'Home, Sab, Mission, Chat, and More.' I was on the home tab right now. It displayed the current date and time, one for Earth and another written in a way Yellow didn't recognize. Must be for Red's planet. Below that was a scrolling view sort of like a social media feed, showing both what she presumed to be news from Red's planet and events happening on The Skeld, such as 'Purp has finished performing a scan,' 'Blu has finished emptying the trash shoot,' and so on. Beneath that was a progress bar labeled CM which Yellow learned from Red was the estimated time it would take for the crew to finish their mission and thus, their time left to do theirs. She shuttered and moved on.

The sab tab had just the features that Red told Yellow not to mess with so she didn't linger on it long. The next was the mission tab which had, if this were a social media app, Red's profile. Yellow couldn't make heads or tails of most of the info, but she could understand where it said that they had just graduated, and laughed for about five minutes straight at their profile/identity photo.

"there's this plant on my home planet, looks kind of like a rose but it's hairy." The impostor explains. "It's quite loved by most of the impostor race though so it's grown pretty much everywhere. Sucks for me, because I am extremely allergic to it. And just my luck, we got to have our pictures taken in the courtyard of the academy which is full of the things. The photographer took my picture exactly while I was sneezing. I swear they did it on purpose," they complained, but still laughed a bit anyway.

"Hairy roses?" Yellow choked out through her laughter. "That sounds kinda gross, like a rose and some mold had a creepy spore baby. It sounds like a cool band name though, so if we ever start a band that's what we should name it; Hairy Roses!"

When they'd both stopped laughing, it was time to explore the last part of the app. The chat tab was the most social media aspect of this app in fact it was pretty much just a social media but just for impostors. Unfortunately for Red, the app locked them out of participating in it since they hadn't completed their first mission yet. Wow, a social media app that requires you to murder a bunch of people just to use it? I hope this doesn't give Facebook or TikTok any ideas,* Yellow thought, disgusted.

One of the most popular people on the chat was an impostor with the username Cy666. They had thousands of followers and likes and their most popular post was: 'Wow, get a load of this weakling! Snapped right in half with hardly any effort at all! Tough break, little Lime. Guess you won't be making your big brother proud after all. Gods, what a loser.' There was a picture attached too, but Red's mission not complete status prevented Yellow from viewing it. Thank god, because she could think of what it probably was and the very thought was making her want to hurl. Or beat whoever this Cy666 up for being so blatantly cruel. Or throw up on them, then beat them up.

Yellow had absolutely no interest in reading the comments on this post, and instead checked out the more tab so she could get this over with. She wasn't sure whether to laugh, or scream in rage at the normalcy of the final tab. It was completely ordinary stuff such as 'about,' 'settings,' (but nothing to change the awful text color) and the dreaded 'support us'. Oh, like crap I'm gunna support you after that.

She gingerly hands the phone back to Red, who had been looking concernedly at her ever since she'd stopped laughing and went silent. "what's wrong," they wonder aloud. "What's you see?"

"Those posts in the chat," she mutters, more to herself than to the impostor. "I can't believe they not only allow that, but encourage it. If you posted that sorta thing on Earth, you'd be arrested. Fast."

Red's face falls. "Oh, right. I knew I was forgetting something."

They put their iMira back into their leg pocket, the coolest and weirdest things cine belly mouths, and tentatively reaches out their hand. Yellow however has no such reservations and takes it immediately, much to Red's relief.

"I'm sorry you saw that," They say sincerely. "I never use the chat, and I forgot how bad it is."

Yellow sighs, pushing their hands forward and scooting closer so their arms, elbows and shoulders touch. It's quite a cozy feeling, not as good as full-on hugging or cuddling but the next best thing. "I just—I wanna see the best in people, y'know? and when I do that… well I guess i like, trick myself into thinking that everyone's actually that good. Then when this sorta thing pops up, well it's kinda—no a lot jarring. It like, bursts the pretty bubble that I put myself and everybody else inside and it takes a while to blow another. And I'm not sure if I actually should blow another since it's just a thin not real bubble but I'm so much happier when I'm just floatin' along inside of it… sorry this doesn't make much sense, does it?"

"It does, actually." Red replies, gently squeezing her hand in theirs. "I could be wrong since I'm just guessing, but I think a lot of impostors are in bubbles of their own. Not like yours though, more like… well a bunch of different things. Like in my bubble, everyone was always looking down on me, and I had to do everything I could to impress them, to prove myself. And that was true in a sense, but not as much as I thought that it was. I could still survive not being an impostor; I could be a cook, or a cleaner, or plant those hairy roses even though my nose would never forgive me…"

"but that wasn't what you wanted." Yellow continued after Red had trailed off. she let go of their hand and wrapped her arm around them in a side-hug, which they happily leaned into. "You wanted to be successful, and everyone to know it."

Red nods. "Yeah, and i thought that the only way I could do that would be… to be like those in the chat. But I know that's not true now, and that's because of you, so thank you for popping my bubble, Yellow. There's no way I'm going to blow another, at least not like that one."

Yellow smiles, giving them a little squeeze.

"As for your bubble, I don't think you need to pop it, just make it a little more transparent. See that people don't always have good intentions, but still have faith that it's not all doom and gloom."

The human smiles. "whoa, that is some really good advice. I'll definitely take it, gosh knows I need to. I can't tell you how many times I've been screwed over because i couldn't see through my bubble. So I'll try to make it a bit more translucent."

Red smiles too. "Good. and I'll figure out what kind of bubble I want to blow now."

Yellow reluctantly lets her friend go, and gestures wildly as she does a over-exaggerated announcer voice. "And so, the story of iPostor comes to a close. Tune in next time for another great show, and be sure to purchase our novelty products, each soled separately, batteries not included."

"What/ iPostor?"

"It's better than just The Hub," Yellow all but wines, and then they both start laughing once again.

Chapter Text

It took both Red and Yellow quite a while to stop their giggles. They were in no rush to calm down, but it was starting to hurt. Red was especially surprised about this; they didn't know that laughter pains were a thing until now. Actually, have i ever actually laughed at all before this? They we're increasingly horrified to realize that they couldn't remember ever laughing, at least, not like this.

"W-wow…" Yellow breathed from where she was doubled over on the bed next to them. "That was… a-an experience." "Yeah…" Red agreed. They slipped their phone back into their pocket; out of sight, out of mind. mostly. That's when out of nowhere, a thought occurred to them.

It was one of those random thoughts that they would wonder about as they lay in bed at night, trying to go to sleep. A question that they'd never be able to get an answer to, or so they thought. now there was a human crewmate right here, and she almost definitely wouldn't mind answering it.

They turned towards Yellow. "Hey. This is a little random, but do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Not at all~" Red wasn't sure if their friend was legitimately this happy or she was trying to shove what she had seen deep within her mind, but decided it wouldn't be good to press for now.

"So um, I've been wondering… is Yellow your actual name? Because if it is… then it's quite the coincidence that you get the yellow suit. That all of you actually, get the same colored suit as your names."

"Bahahaaahaahaa!" Yellow bursts into laughter again, barely controlling herself, and Red suddenly feels super embarrassed. "Oh, s-sorry, I'm not laughing at you, promise. I just… I'm surprised this hasn't come up before. Wait, are you asking this because your real name is Red?"

"Not… exactly," Red mumbles. If they weren't red already, and if they had the same colored blood as humans, then they would most definitely be red now.

"To answer your question, our names aren't actually Yellow, White, Purple and stuff, we just call each other that most of the time to make things simpler, or maybe it's just a tradition or something? Honestly I'm not quite sure why we do it, but it's iconic by now so we can't just stop." She adjusts herself on the bed, and Red can just see that she has a slight blush dusting her cheeks. "But uh, ever since I was six or so, I started insisting that everyone called me Yellow. I've always wanted to work for MIRA, explore space and wear the yellow suit. Not just because it's my favorite color, it is… but also…" her face saddens, and she murmurs, barely above a whisper. "It was my mom's color."

"Did… something happen to her?" Red wasn't sure why they were asking this. By Yellow's expression and tone, it was obvious that that was the case.

She nods. "She passed away on the job, the day after she gave birth to me. They didn't want her to come back so soon, but there was an important task that only she knew how to do, so she left me on Earth with my uncle and went back up there. Only an hour after they went into space… they found her… dead in the med bay." Yellow froze in indecision. She appeared to not want to divulge the rest of the story, and Red was about to tell her she didn't need to, when she spoke again. It was so quiet that, had they not been an alien with highly sensitive hearing, they probably would not have been able to hear it. "Her head was gone."

Red couldn't help it, they flinched. Badly. Because they knew, without a doubt, exactly how Yellow's mom was killed. They were sure of it, because there was no other thing they could think of to decapitate a crewmate, except for a member of their own people.

Red's reaction brought Yellow abruptly out of her musings, and she turned sharply to face them. "What is it? Are you okay?"

How can she stand to be around me at all? AFter… They felt themselves shutter as a realization hit them full force. Wait, she didn't know what an impostor was until now… she doesn't know… "I-I'm sorry…"

"Why are you apologizing? You didn't do anything—wait wait wait!" Yellow slapped her forehead, a fire appearing in her eyes. "Mom-Mom was murdered! I can't—I can't believe I didn't realize it by now! I mean i wasn't supposed to know the details, everyone was just telling us it was a freak accident but… how do you get accidentally beheaded? That makes no sense! I mean we weren't supposed to know about the beheading, I snooped in an office during the night during my training because I wanted to know more about Mom, I learned more about her but not the way I wanted—Red! Please, don't tell anybody that… I…" she trails off. she's hyperventilating now, the oxygen tank on her back activated, detecting the higher rate of oxygen required.

Red wasn't sure what to do. Eventually they just went with their gut instinct, placing a hand on their friend's trembling shoulder. She leans into it much to their private relief, attempting to slow down her breathing. "Sorry about that," She mumbles. "It's just… this has been quite the eventful day off, hasn't it? I browse a social media platform that puts the deep web to shame, and learn that my mom was killed by my best friend's people. What a trip. I know I should probably investigate this further, but honestly? I'm way too emotionally spent for that right now, so let's get back on track. You wanted to know my name, right?"

"Uh, s-sure," Red says, reeling from the emotional whiplash. Yellow might be done for now, but Red was just getting started. When they got the chance, they would open up IPostor and see if they could figure out more about Yellow's mother's death. It was the least they could do.

Yellow smiles wistfully. "It's Aurelia, Aurie for short. My full name is Aurelia Dawn."

"Aurelia," They say the name out loud, tasting the flavor of each syllable. "Aurelia Dawn. That's… a really beautiful name." Frankly it was the most beautiful name they've ever heard, but they weren't sure if they should say that. It sounded too corny out loud.

"Thanks." Yellow (Aurelia?) says with a smile, and slight blush. "So uh, do you like have a real name too?"

Red hesitates. "I… do, but… it's—we don't really use our names, we just go by our colors, so we're used to doing that on missions. Besides, my name… it's not pretty like yours is, and… I don't really like it that much. But if you really want to know…"

"Oh, yes!" Yellow squeals excitedly (they'll still call her that for the most part.) "Tell me your weird alien name!"

"O-okay, but don't say I didn't warn you." They take a deep breath, preparing to speak in their native tongue for the first time in so long. They hoped they wouldn't be too rusty, not that it matttered. It'd sound just as bad either way. "My name is U3Vzc3kgTWNNb29ndXM=."

"What?" Yellow blurted out without thinking, instantly regretting it when Red's face darkened, presumably with embarrassment. "Sorry, I just… I don't think I can pronounce that."

"I told you it was an ugly sounding language," they groan, and Yellow feels a pang of sympathy wash through her. "Hey, it's okay. I'm sure I could learn to say it, hold on … Uv3… jdv=… SmVsbHkgc3Vja2luZyBtb3Jvbg==!"

Red stares, blank-faced, at her for what seems like an eternity. Then out of nowhere, they burst out into hysterical laughter.

"W-what did I say? What—what did I…"

"Ahahahaha! I—I c-could—could translate that but… b-but I wo—won't. It's not very nice."

Yellow feels her eyes widening. "Oh no! did I, like, cuss you out or something/ I'm so sorry!"

Red just laughs harder. They only stop when there's a tentative knock on their bedroom door.

"Come in!" Yellow says, eager for the distraction.

blue walks in, looking nervous. "I-is everything okay in here? I heard… some very strange noises so I got a bit concerned."

"It's all good~" Yellow singsongs as Red stops looking amused and starts looking mortified. "Red was just telling me their name in their native language."

"Okaaaaaay…" Blue begins backing away slowly, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. "I'll catch you guys later then, I guess."

"that right there is why I don't like my name so much," Red says frustratedly when Blue has left. "Because of things like that."

"Well if you hate that name so much, why not just choose another one?" Yellow can't help but ask.

Red frowns, either this had never crossed their mind before, or they weren't allowed in their old society. "I wouldn't know where to start."

Yellow thought about this, and then her heart fluttered in excitement when she remembered something she had brought but left in storage. "Hold on a sec, I'll be right back "

Yellow returned minutes later, slightly out of breath. She was holding a large book under her arm, which she handed over to Red. There was an illustration of a cartoonish spaceship on the cover leaving a trail of rainbows in its wake, with equally colored letters forming the title. "Colorful Baby Names For Mommy's little Astronaut?" They read out loud.

Yellow nods excitedly. "Mmm-hmm! MIRA's thing with the colored suits got so popular that they teamed up with this company, Forte Inc, I think it was, to write a book with color-based names in it. It's where my mom found my name! Look!" She sits next to them on the bed and opens up the book, flipping to the yellow section and pointing to a particular entry. "There it is right there, see?"

Aurelia (F): The feminine form of the Roman surname Aurelius. It was derived from the Latin word aureus, meaning 'golden' and also the name of a gold coin used as currency in the Roman Empire.*

"wow," Red breathed. They couldn't help it, they could hardly believe just how much thought went into human names. It wasn't just about how they sounded, but they had meanings as well.

"I was thinking that you could look through the red names and see if you found anything that you'd like to be called." Yellow said, flipping to the pages in question. "Since you use they/them pronouns, you'll probably wanna pick a name with an (n) next to it. It stands for neutral, and the (m) and (f) stand for male and female. Course, you don't have to do that, you could pick whatever name you like."

Red nods and begins scanning the pages. "Gender's a little different for us," they explain. "Since we can shift whatever set of reproductive organs we want, it's not as rigid for us. most of the time we only shift into them when we want to use them, it's more practical that way. For the most part, the majority of impostors are… well I guess 'non-binary' would be the best word to describe it. Like how male and female are the defaults for you, non-binary and they/them is the default for us. But of course, there are some who identify as male and female, some who are fluid, and others. Since humans do that too, it's not an issue."

"Huh." Yellow says thoughtfully as she absorbs this new information. "so… even though you're non-binary, you're also actually cisgender? Identifying with the gender you were assigned at birth," She clarifies at her friends confused look.

"I guess so," They say, though they're not nearly as fascinated by this revelation as Yellow seems to be.

"I'm cis too," she says, leaning back against the headboard. Her oxygen tank gets wedged against the pillow but she doesn't seem to care. "I wish I could get rid of my girlparts when I'm not using them."

Red's about to ask why, but decides to focus on looking through the names for now. they decide to do as Yellow suggested and focus on the names with the n in parenthesis next to them. They didn't think they should be overly picky since their former name (was it really so easy to call it that?) was so horrible, but it felt weird to them, calling themself a name that was too masculine or feminine. They supposed they truly were non-binary.

They looked through the names for a long while, full of indecision. The name Carmen reminded them of something, but they weren't sure what it was. And Rory was a nice name, but it wasn't quite there.

Then they saw it. Rowen. Well it had multiple spellings, but they liked that one the best.

"do you like that one?" Red jumps. they'd almost forgotten that Yellow was there, peering over their shoulder at the book. they nod.

"Rowen," She says out loud, testing the name similarly to how they had done hers a while ago. "I think it's some kind of tree? But it does also mean red…"

They didn't know if they were just imagining things, but when Yellow said the name out loud, they swore they got chills. They particularly enjoyed the soft sounds of it; it was a big contrast to the hard grating sounds of their old name. "Rowen…" They say it themself, feeling it in their mouth. "Rowen."

"Is that it?" Yellow asks, voice filled with something, done right? Surprise?

"I think… yes. My name… my name is Rowen."

Yellow… Aurelia smiles. "I definitely can pronounce that."

Aurie and Rowen have had a very eventful, but good day off.