Ain't That a Buzzkill?

[SYNOPSIS: A bad morning for Player only gets worse once it spreads into the rest of the lobby like the plague, and everyone is getting tired of everyone's antics. Eventually, however, they come to an agreement amongst their quarreling, and a bet is placed: Who can go the longest without doing the things they like doing the most?]

[LOCATION: The Airship]

TW: SrQueso is in this one.

A request AND birthday present for our one and only Dr. Egg. Happy BDay, doc! ^v^

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Some days, Player just wanted to stay in bed until noon, not having to deal with the work around the house, or the hassle from his family, or the antics of his peers in the lobby. He just wasn't in the mood to deal with it all, and anything that someone did that was even slightly irksome could tip the scales and make him angry.

...Today happened to be one of those days.

The red crewmate, still tired from a poor night's sleep, sat down at his computer with a half-eaten English muffin in one hand and his second cup of coffee in the other, brow furrowed in exhaustion and...just overall grumpiness. He honestly wanted to skip today, but he'd skipped last week due to sustaining a hand injury while helping his father build a bench in the garage, and he had promised to be on this week now that his hand was in...decent shape, compared to last Saturday. But he sighed, knowing a promise was a promise. And hey, maybe it wouldn't be so bad once he got on, so he typed in the code sent to him by Captain and spawned in just a moment later.

...Upon landing in the dropship, Player was IMMEDIATELY met with a barrage of headache-intensifying ruckus.

Oh, jeez...

Veteran and Stoner were arguing about...which frosty flavor was better, it sounded like. TheGentleman, MrCheese and MrEgg were all gathered in a circle loudly  making jokes with one another, Captain and Dum were chasing each other around the lobby laughing, Gnome and Engineer were doing the same, Bro was showing Ninja some cringey-sounding meme on his phone...EVERYTHING was all over the place and just a loud, chaotic mess.

The sensory overload was overbearing to the point that it made Player's head feel like it was about to burst open and spill out the sloshing goo that his brain had become. His vision clouded over with frustration, and he didn't even realize that he had opened his mouth until it was two seconds too late.

"QUIET!!!!"

...And then, the moment he realized what he'd said out loud, the noise abruptly stopped, and the lobby went almost completely silent. But not without the cost of having every eye in the dropship staring right at him.

"...Oh..." he mumbled. "Uh...sorry, I'm just...uh..."

"Well, ghee whiz, someone got up on the wrong side o' the bed today," MrCheese teased him. "What's up, did you spill your coffee again? Heh heh."

Player scowled.

"No...I didn't really have to," he replied bluntly. "I'm just having...one of those days, and you guys were giving me a headache."

"Pfsh. You think THAT'S a headache?" Bro scoffed. "You should see some o' this NPC garbage that's goin' around on TikTok. That'll give you a straight-up brain hemorrhage! Ask Ninja!"

"私はブロが無学で頭が悪いと思っているが, 彼でさえこの脳みそを腐らせる内容を見抜くことができると認めざるを得ない," the grey-clad crewmate nodded in response.

"I kind of don't want to..."

"Come on Player, lighten up!" Dum said to him. "Captain, Gnome Engineer and I were just playing a round of freeze tag while we were waiting on you. Maybe if Angel comes on today, we could-"

"Dum, J-jess...Stop, I...I'm not up for it right now."

"Yeah. Me neither," Veteran chimed in...honestly having no idea what the conversation was even about, since he'd just stopped his with Stoner and he had just got in on it. "But you know what I am up for? A big fat Airship burger. Hope it's one of our tasks this round."

"Oh yeah, that reminds me! I skipped breakfast today!" Captain realized. "The fact that you can just go ahead and whip up some lunch right in the map is so-"

"I GET IT!!!"

Player yelled again, and in turn got everyone in the lobby to stare at him, AGAIN.

But this time, he wasn't quite so apologetic. Captain's annoying catchphrase had been the straw to break the camel's back.

"I...y'know what? You guys need to start acting...normal!" he spat. "I come here every week, and it's always the same thing from you guys, over and OVER again! I can put up with it for a while and I usually have better days than this, but I'm NOT up for the shenanigans today! Can't you guys just...tone it down for once!? It's not like I can't handle it, it's just...! UUUGH..."

He flopped backwards into one of the dropship seats a moment later, head dramatically flinging back over the head of the chair.

"It's like..." he continued. "...Everything piles up at once, and people are always acting the same way. Vet, you're always talking about food and stuff, Stoner's always high on something, people can still hardly understand Ninja half of the time, Captain and MrCheese are always saying their...weird catchphrases. I've heard them so many times now that they sound less like words and more like just noise."

"Hey, come on, dumb-dumb. We don't say our catchphrases THAT much. As long as my name MrCheese, they'll always sound like actual words!"

"Yeah!" Captain chimed in. "All those in agreement with MrCheese, say aye!"

"Aye!"

...The lobby host was met with only one supporter this time, though, that being Dum.

"...Wait, do I actually say that stuff that often?" he asked.

"Well...Yes, I must say that you do," TheGentleman admitted. "In fact, I would go as far to say that Mr. Player has somewhat of a point; we have become a bit of a habitual bunch."

"I suppose TheGentleman has a point," MrEgg agreed. "It's time we started cracking  down on our habits. Ha! Get it! Cracking...? Eh...Oh. Oh, I see. I've got the same problem."

"Seems as though we're all in agreement on this," Engineer chimed in, pulling out a clipboard and pen from...somewhere. "Every one of us has something we need to work on...or more accurately, do less often."

He began writing down the names of everyone currently present in the lobby, himself included.

"What say we start today?" he suggested.

"What do you mean by that?" Player asked him.

"Gimmie just a second..." the purple crewmate told him as he scribbled onto the clipboard paper. "Aaaand, done. Here, Player. See for yourself."

He handed the red crewmate his sheet, allowing him to look over the information.

__________________________________________________

CREWMEMBERS & THEIR HABITS

           Player: Obsessing over winning, whining
           Veteran: Unhealthy eating
           Captain: Catchphrases(2)
           Dum: Living up to her name
           TheGentleman: Being verbose
           MrCheese: Catchphrase(1,)
                                   anything cheese-related
           MrEgg: Puns, especially egg-related
           Engineer: Overcomplicated monologues
           Gnome: Hyperactive, loud
           Stoner: Substance abuse
           Bro: Arrogance
           Ninja: Speaking his native language

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"Huh...I see," Player acknowledged. "That does look about accurate, though."

"Pass the clipboard around for everyone to look at, Player."

As he followed Engineer's request, the purple crewmate continued to speak.

"How about we make a bet?" he proposed. "Which one of us can go the longest without doing the things we each do the most often?"

"Huh...Interesting idea, Engineer," Player said to him, brow unfurling a bit as he got on board with the concept. "It'll make things a bit more interesting...and maybe a little less chaotic. I could go for that, heh...Um, do we start now?"

"Once everyone's had a look at the clipboard and gets an idea on what they can't do."

"Ahhhh, man, you're kidding..." Stoner drawled. "I packed one of my browniiieeess to eat with me todaaaayy..."

Gnome was the last one to receive the clipboard after Stoner, and as she scanned over her name her eyes narrowed.

"Wait, you think I'm hyperactive and loud?" she asked Engineer flatly.

"Um, well...sometimes," he replied. "Unless someone would like to correct me on that?"

"Nah, man," Veteran confirmed. "You should've seen her during her first Impostor round way back when. She was on after me like a bear to a hive. Yeesh..."

"Yeah, and, uh...I never really mentioned it to you when we hang out, but you COULD kinda work on your indoor voice...? A little...?" Dum added.

"Oh," the lime crewmate replied. "Uh...Well, then. I guess you have a point, Engie."

"I'll go ahead and start up the game then, everyone!" Captain announced. "Time to lock and load..."

Player watched as the screen faded to black, anticipating his role.

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CREWMATE
There are 2 Impostors among us.

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Only two this time? I guess that's not that bad...

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Crewmate
Do your tasks

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Dang it, why couldn't I have at least been an engineer this time?

But Player knew what one of his "do-nots" written on the clipboard was, so he planned to keep his grumblings to himself. The crimson crewmate chose to spawn in the Cargo Bay, where he was dismayed to find out that one of his tasks for this round was to unlock the safe. He HATED that task; the dial was so touchy!

Ho-kay...Just take in a deep breath, Player, he said to himself. Maybe it won't be all that bad...Just calm down and do what you gotta do...

He turned the corner around the pile of boxes and crates, approached the safe and took a look at the code...He steadied his hand as best he could as he turned the dial, and so far he was doing well.

Okay...Two to the left, six to the right, and now zero to the left again. Just gotta-

"Yo, wassup?"

"AH!"

Player whipped around and came face to face with Bro, messing up his dial turning in the process.

"Bro! I..."

Don't whine, don't whine about it...

"I...ahem...Next time, could it wait until I'm done with my task? Uh...please?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah sure I can. This is like, the most difficult task on the map, right?"

"Pretty much."

"Man, oh man, Playman. Today's your lucky day..."

"What do you...Wait a minute..."

He saw the blue figure whip out a flashy, steel knife...

JUST as a meeting was called.

It was Dum who'd pressed the button, and everyone was wondering why she'd called them all to the meeting room so early.

"We're only twenty or so seconds into the game, babe. What's goin' on?"

"It's Engineer!" she exclaimed, to which the purple crewmate being accused spluttered and stammered in response.

"Wh-But-I-WHAT??  No, I'm not! Why would you think that!?"

"I saw him vent in the Gap Room right before I went up the ladder to put in my ID code!"

...

...Player swore he heard crickets droning somewhere in the Meeting Room once her accusation sunk in.

"...Engineer," he addressed his purple colleague. "Are you a...you know...an ENGINEER this round?"

"Yes! I almost always am!"

"I figured."

"Oh..." Dum replied. "...Oh, but wait a minute. Does that mean I...?"

Before she finished her sentence, the pink figure saw Engineer pull his clipboard back out and etch a line across the paper, presumably through her name.

"Yeah, Dum. You're the first to be disqualified. And not just because I take offense..."

"Venting isn't exactly a firm basis to accuse someone with, given we use the roles most of the time now," MrEgg pointed out. "Fortunately, you can still go off shifting...or, well, if you see someone killing."

That was when Player spoke up again.

"WAIT! I almost forgot! Bro tried to kill me in the Cargo Bay!"

"What!?" TheGentleman gasped. "I say! How did you...!? I mean, ahem...Why didn't you mention that before?"

"Well Dum was the one who called the meeting."

"Yeah, that's true, ain't it?" MrCheese nodded. "'Kay, well at least this meeting wasn't a complete waste of our time, so that's nice."

"Whoa, whoa, WHOA," Bro interrupted. "You're just gonna listen to this guy? I never tried to kill him. heck, I was never even IN the Cargo Bay. I spawned in the Kitchen!"

Veteran and Stoner exchanged glances.

"Uhhh, Bro dude. Like, no you didn't," the green bean argued. "'Cuz Vet and I spawned in there, and we never saw you, like, at ALL."

"Yeah, and we were STILL in the Kitchen area during the time the meeting was called."

"Hmm...doing what?" Player asked them.

"Oh. Yeah, it turns out burger making isn't on our task lists this round. But I had to take out the trash, and Stoner had a download in the Viewing Deck. There was no eating going on in there."

"Hmmmm...Well, at least you guys helped to confirm my suspicions."

"Oh come on guys, it ain't me," Bro argued. "You can't do this to me this early regardless!"

The rest of the crew exchanges glances.

"Engineer, does that count as arrogance?" the red crewmate asked.

"I believe it does. Crossing him off the list..."

"THAT, TOO!?"

"All those in fav..." Captain trailed off. "Uh...I mean, cast your votes and let's see if we've got our first culprit!"

Engineer nodded at the lobby host in approval, and everyone put in their vote.

____________________________________________________________

Player: *
Veteran:
Captain:
Dum: *
TheGentleman:
MrCheese:
MrEgg:
Engineer: *
Gnome:
Stoner:
Bro: *********
Ninja:

Skip:

____________________________________________________________

The blue crewmate sighed heavily as he flopped back in his chair, body going limp.

"Fine. Just...go ahead and do it. But my partner sucks."

The rest of the crew seemed to shrug off bro's claim as they...more or less YOTE him through the open window with a group effort heave-ho.

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Bro was An Impostor.
1 Impostor remains.

____________________________________________________________

"Phew...Well, I'm glad I was right about that," Player sighed as the meeting ended. He was once again given the option to spawn in the Cargo Bay, which he immediately took; he just wanted to get the safe task out of the way.

Once he made it there, he went through the motions again, trying to keep his hand as relaxed as possible as he put in the combination. Left three, right six, right one...Did he do it alright?

Click

The sound of the lock snapping open reassured Player that he had successfully unlocked the safe, and one quick spin of the knob handle finished things off.

"Okay. That's done," he nodded as he left the safe behind, exited the Cargo Bay and made his way through Medical, heading towards Electrical to quickly divert the power to the Armory...That didn't take long. He just hoped that he didn't run into any more trouble with the second Impostor...whoever that might end up being.

As he passed through the port side of the Airship, he saw Captain monitoring the security cameras, flicking through each one quickly and eyes peeled...He did a double take when he landed on the camera displaying the room he was in, and looked behind him to face the crimson crewmate.

"Oh! Hey, Player! You scared me for a second there, I thought you might kill me!"

"Uh, no. I...literally just got Bro out, remember?"

"Too true. But you know it's not exactly unheard of for fellow Impostors to out their partners in order to make themselves look good. That strategy is so OP!"

"Nice timing there, Captain."

The red and white beans turned to, once again, face the purple one wearing goggles and clutching his clipboard...Upon realizing his mistake, Captain's eyes narrowed, and he defiantly finished his catchphrase anyways.

"...SO. OP."

Player sighed and shook his head.

"And you were even able to stop yourself during the meeting."

"Well...That's progress!" Captain replied, not particularly bothered by the fact that he'd lost the bet. "Might as well count toward something, right?"

"I suppose...given you're self consciousness," Engineer shrugged. "Well since we're all here, do you see anything suspicious on the cameras, Captain?"

"Eh...No, nothing yet. I think I'm going to get off here though so I can get back to the ol' grind," the white crewmate told him, stepping away from the monitor.

"Yeah, me too," Engineer nodded, making his way towards Electrical. "Just keep an eye out, fellas. And, ah...I'll keep track of people as best I can. Player, report to me if you catch anyone red-handed losing this little competition."

"I'll keep you posted whenever I get the chance!"

With that, they parted ways, and Player entered the kitchen...where he immediately noticed the still-lingering presence of his fellow crewmembers Stoner and Veteran. They were each sitting at the outside corner of the counter where the burgers were usually prepared, both of them poking at what looked like bowls of salad.

"Uh...guys?"

"Huh? Oh, what's up, man...?" Veteran asked him, not sounding particularly hyped. "I didn't pick a good day to skip out on lunch today..."

"I can see that," Player acknowledged. "Well, it's better than nothing, right?"

"Weeeell, yeah. Come on, Veteran dude," Stoner replied, trying to lighten things up a bit more. "I mean, you put lettuce and tomato in a big juicy burger, so, like, why not eat it just the way it is, right?"

"But it has no substance!" Veteran argued. "No filling, no flavor. The ranch dressing fails to mask what the salad really is; a poor attempt to quench the hunger of the ones who..."

He shuddered.

"...Diet."

Stoner shoved a bite of his vinaigrette-drenched leafy greens into his mouth before responding to his yellow companion again.

"Y'know...I bet I could whip out a salad you'd enjoy one of these days," he said to him. "And, like, salads don't always have to be just veggies and stuff. They can have that meaty goodness I know you crave...Just imagine."

He whipped his fork out to show him, accidentally getting a few pieces of it on the floor in the process.

"THIS right here...but with chicken and crushed cashews in the mix, topped off with some freshly ground pepper."

"Huh...that does sound a little better, I guess."

"Yeah," Player nodded. "You know, I just might try that sometime, Stoner. Oh, you dropped some on the floor, lemme get it."

The red crewmate stooped down to retrieve the leaves, aiming to throw them away.

"Say, what kinds of greens are these, anyway?" he asked him, looking over the leaf in question.

"Um...uhh..."

Stoner stammered, suddenly seeming very on edge.

"What's the matter?" he asked him, turning to look at the leaf again.

"...Hold up..."

Long, thin leaflets with jagged edges? Oh, Player had seen more than enough MLG meme compilations to recognize what it was. And Veteran was quick to catch on once he saw the leaf, too.

"STONER!" he exclaimed. "I know salads require lettuce, but...not the DEVIL'S kind!!"

"Uh, heh heh...guilty as charged. But, uhh, y'know...it's the flower bud of the plant that's used to get you in the zone. The leaves...don't exactly do much..."

"Izzat true, Player?"

"I don't know, to be honest. But maybe Engineer does. I'll ask him when we meet up next-

____________________________________________________________

DEAD BODY REPORTED

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"Oh. Guess that'd be now, then."

Everyone was taken to the Meeting Room once again. It was Dum's body that'd been reported, but upon the meeting's start it was revealed that Captain had also been killed.

"I found Dum in Records," Engineer stated. "Didn't see anyone nearby, unfortunately."

"Hmm...Captain is a really recent kill," Player pointed out. "Both Engineer and I left him in there by himself, though, so the Impostor must have either been hiding on that outside railing where we upload or came in shortly after Engineer and I left."

"Where was everyone just before the meeting?" Engineer asked.

"Well, I was in the kitchen with Veteran and Stoner."

"So they were both relatively close to the crime scene?"

"Yeah, in the next room over," Veteran confirmed. "But I doubt it's Stoner; we've been hangin' out there almost the entire round after last meeting. And it can't be both of us, since there's only one Impostor left."

"Hmm, yes, Good point," TheGentleman nodded. "As for MrCheese and I, we were both in Showers at the time of the meeting."

"Eh, spare us de details..." Ninja said to him.

"Ninja I swear on the moon, we weren't playing towel tag again," MrCheese said to him. "...Now why don't you tell us where YOU were at, huh?"

"Me, I was, eh, in de Engine Room. Fueling de engine."

"Can anyone confirm Ninja was there?" Engineer asked.

"I can!" Gnome hollered. "I passed him while you were doing your download in the Gap Room to accept the power!"

...Her boyfriend gave her a bit of a raised eyebrow, and the lime crewmate realized her mistake.

"...Oops. Uh, c-can I get a second chance?"

"Sorry, Gnomey," he shook his head, crossing out her name on his clipboard. "No exceptions, I'm afraid."

"Aww, man...Well, at least the pressure's off me now!"

"Hey, wait, WAIT!" Player exclaimed, earning Engineer's attention. "Uh...Vet and I caught Stoner eating a weed salad in the Kitchen!"

"A...weed salad??" the purple crewmate echoed, a bit caught off guard by the idea of such a thing.

"Yeah. But he told us that the leaves aren't the part of the plant that does anything to you, and that it's actually the flower bud...Is that true?"

"And if so, does it count then?" Veteran chimed in.

"Hmm...It's true that the marijuana bud contains the most...erm..."high-inducing" compounds, so to speak, the leaves do contain some of it as well," he replied, readying his pencil once again. 
"Soooo  yep, Stoner's out."

"Awwwww maaaaaan...I didn't think anyone would notice, and they went so good with the vinaigrette..."

"Uh, back to the body report real quick, since the meeting timer's almost up," Veteran continued. "Where is everyone else at right now? You, MrEgg?"

"Oh, I'm in the cockpit; just stabilized the steering."

"Seems like there was no one nearby to pin any suspicion on, then," Engineer shrugged. "And since we only have one Impostor left, I think it's safe to skip. Are we all in agreement?"

"I guess so," Player nodded, casting his vote as the meeting concluded.

____________________________________________________________

Player:
Veteran:
TheGentleman:
MrCheese:
MrEgg:
Engineer:
Gnome:
Stoner:
Ninja:

Skip: *********

____________________________________________________________

No one was ejected.(Skipped)
1 Impostor remains.

____________________________________________________________

With that meeting out of the way and no evidence available yet, Player decided to spawn in the Engine Room; it was right next to the Armory, which was where he had to accept the power diversion, anyways. And that little venture barely took him ten seconds to complete, adding another edge to the already more-than-halfway filled task bar.

"Okay...What's next?" he asked, looking over his task list. "...Decontaminate, huh? That's in the Main Hall. Not too far away."

With that decided, the red crewmate made a U-turn and started over towards his next destination...Aside from the still-present and still-elusive Impostor, this round was going pretty well for him so far. And hey, he hadn't lost the bet yet either, so a nice shower ought to solidify his ease of mind for the rest of the game...hopefully.

Unfortunately, it turned out that the red crewmate had to wait his turn. When he got to the decontamination room, he discovered that Ninja had beaten him to it, and he too was practically washing away his troubles in the steaming shower.

And he singing to himself in the process.

...In what sounded like Japanese.

"だけどいつか気付くでしょう その背中には
遥か未来 めざすための羽根があること
残酷な天使のテーゼ
窓辺からやがて飛び立つ
ほとばしる熱いパトスで
思い出を裏切るなら
この宇宙を抱いて輝く
少年よ 神話になれ!"

"Uh...Ninja?"

"AH!"

The grey-clad figure nearly jumped right out of his exosuit...which Player was more than glad Ninja still had on...when he realized someone was standing behind him.

"Oh. Ah...Player-san, it is, eh...only you," he acknowledged. "I thought I was going to be stabbed to death in the shower, like, ah...in dat old-u movie."

"I'm not gonna do that," Player said to him. "...But I AM gonna have to disqualify you from our little contest."

"...Singing counts?"

"Of course it does, Ninja. Singing is just speaking, but with...melodic intonations? I think that sounds correct."

"Not gonna lie Player, I probably would have used the same wording if not for my current bet situation."

"AHH!"

Ninja screamed again when he saw the purple-clad Engineer appear behind them.

"Can't-u you at least knock on de wall to announce yourselves!?"

"My mistake, Ninja. I apologize," Engineer said to him...as he crossed out his name on his clipboard. "...Hopefully you acknowledge your OWN, though."

"Aaagh...well. I admit. This was a competition which I prefer not to win. Because the less you can understand me, the more easily I am able to speak my mind without fear."

"What do you mean by that?"

"??" Ninja retorted, putting his hands on his hips and scraping his feet against the tile floor like a chicken scratching for grains as he stepped out of the shower. Engineer knew he was saying something insulting, but he only gave Ninja the satisfaction of a stern look and a disappointed shake of his head before walking away.

"Where did all of your class go...?"

Ninja rolled his own eyes once Engineer had gone away.

"Kill joy..."

"Yeah, kinda," Player shrugged. "...You know, I've always kinda wondered. Why do we have to decontaminate in HERE? Why not just...y'know...use the Showers right in the other room?"

"I, eh...do not know. It could be dat de decontamination station is just for a quick job, while de Showers are for longer periods."

"I guess that would make sense...Speaking of which, are you done in here? I've got the same task on my own list."

"Yes-u. Go ahead, Player-san."

Once Ninja stepped out and left, Player went ahead and freshened up...Honestly, he didn't blame Ninja that much for forgetting about his objective; the warm steam and the faint scent of citrus disinfectant mixed in with the water was enough to make anyone forget their worries, even if only for a short time. The red crewmate was almost tempted to fall asleep in there; his lack of slumber from last night was beginning to catch up with him again now that he was in a relaxing environment.

Y'know...Bro said his Impostor partner stank. I probably just COULD stick around here for a little while-

"AAAAHHHHH!!"

The ear-splitting scream yanked Player right out of his moment, and every hair on his body suddenly stood on end.

"What the...GNOMEY!!"

A moment later, he was taken from the comforting heat of the decontamination room and up into the Meeting Room.

____________________________________________________________

DEAD BODY REPORTED

____________________________________________________________

Despite having heard Engineer's voice before, it turned out that the one to call the report was TheGentleman...Gnome was the unlucky victim of this particular kill, and both the charcoal reporter and Engineer looked very tense and VERY distressed.

"The kill happened in Records!" TheGentleman announced. "I had been putting away the towels in the Showers, and Engineer appeared to be sorting through the records around the time of the kill."

"I think I saw someone disappear into the Records vent when I saw her there..." Engineer lamented. "But...but I couldn't tell who it was...though I'm almost SURE I saw a flash of orange."

"Oh, that was me. I'm an engineer this round too, so I hopped in while Gnome was at her download," MrCheese confessed IMMEDIATELY, earning him every eye in the lobby in no time at all.

"...Oh, no, no I didn't KILL Gnome. She was still alive when I went in there."

"Not gonna lie, I don't think I buy that," Veteran argued. "You have a strong track record for being a sneaky Impostor, MrCheese. That argument just sounds a little too convenient to be true."

"Whah...? Oh, COME ON, guys, I'm being serious this time!"

"With all due respect, and acknowledgement of your concerns, I actually believe MrCheese is being truthful this time," TheGentleman defended. "You're all as aware as I am that when he is given the role to kill, I am more often than not the first to fall to his Impostor hands, and yet I am still standing!"

"Not a good enough reason for me; he could be evolving his strategy for all we know," Engineer quipped back. "Plus it's possible Bro could have said what he did to try and keep us off MrCheese's trail."

"But-"

"AND," he continued. "...Your little defense speech was a little too unnecessarily long for my liking. I think that means you're out."

With a swift scratch across Engineer's paper, TheGentleman was out of the competition, too.

"Oh...well that's disappointing. I wish I'd had a limit put in place for me to go off of."

"Well, you're apparently so smart. Smart enough to know MrCheese could NEVER have done this," the purple crewmate retorted. "That you could have figured that out yourself...Now. Everyone keen on voting him and getting this round over with? I don't want Gnome to have to suffer for too long..."

"Guys, come on, I'm innocent this time!" MrCheese continued to argue as everyone put in their votes. "Why you all gotta grind my gruyere like this!?"

"He said something cheese-related!" Player called out.

"Great, MrCheese. Now you get both a vote AND a cross-out," Engineer told him, striking his name out on his clipboard.

"Oh, COME ON! Can't I just have the cross-out!?"

____________________________________________________________

Player:
Veteran:
TheGentleman:
MrCheese: ******
MrEgg:
Engineer:
Stoner:
Ninja:

Skip: **

____________________________________________________________

"No, apparently not," Engineer said to him, to which MrCheese deflated.

"...Fine," he responded. "...But can I at least do the honors this time? I'd at least like to keep what's left of my dignity intact."

"If you insist," Engineer shrugged, opening the window for him. "Gg, MrCheese."

"Oh, yeah, Gg, we'll see about that, ya dumb dork moron..."

With a fling of his invisible arms, MrCheese flung himself out the open window and towards the ground far, far below without an ounce of help from anyone else.

____________________________________________________________

MrCheese was not An Impostor.
1 Impostor remains.

____________________________________________________________

...

"...I TOLD you it wasn't him!!" TheGentleman exclaimed.

"That's...weird," Engineer pondered. "But Captain only has Shapeshifter chances at 20% this round, so a shifter isn't likely. What...who could it have been?"

"Like, Engineer dude. You said you saw a flash of orange, right?" Stoner asked him.

"Yes."

"Well...you s'pose what you saw wasn't someone's body...?" he mused.

"What else would it be, then?" MrEgg inquired.

...The coral-clad figure wasn't given a verbal answer. Instead, the other crewmembers attempted to communicate with him via accusatory glares.

"...Well, don't all chime in at once, would you?"

"MrEgg...Has it not occurred to you that the only other individual who possesses a lick of orange on them in the entire lobby is you?" TheGentleman pointed out. "Stoner is clearly talking about the yolk of your hat."

"Sir, I can assure you that it's not me, either," MrEgg insisted. "I'm not even an Engineer this round, so I can't vent regardless."

The charcoal crewmate still wasn't buying it...and neither was anyone else in the lobby.

"...Alright, look. Why don't you tag along with me, TheGentleman? And when another kill occurs when the two of us are together, that will serve as proof of my innocence. Have we got a deal?"

"Hmm...What do the rest of you think?"

"I suppose it could work," Engineer shrugged. "And if YOU die, then we'll know for sure that it's MrEgg."

"That's true," TheGentleman nodded. "...Alright then, I'm willing to take one for the crew if need be. MrEgg, meet me back in Records."

"Will do, sir. Let's get to cracking this case!"

"Right-o...Wait. Did you say cracking?"

"Yes, sir."

"Hmmmm..." Engineer hummed thoughtfully. "...As in, how an EGG cracks?"

MrEgg suddenly realized his folly.

"Oh, no, no no no Engineer, I didn't intend to make a joke out of that remark, as much as such a thing might be egg-spected-YIPE!"

He flung his hands over his mouth once he realized he'd said far too much.

"...Well, that was a slip of the tongue, if I ever experienced one."

"Tsk tsk tsk..." Engineer tisked as he striked his pencil through MrEgg's name. "And you were doing so well, too."

"Ah...Oh, well. At least I'm free to CRACK as many of those lovely egg puns as I want, now! Ha!"

Player honestly didn't mind; given how the round was going, the things the crew were doing...bothered him less by now, at least. But with that out of the way, the screen faded to black once more and the round continued. Player decided to spawn back into the Main Hall to quickly finish decontaminating; he'd only had about 10% left on his meter when the report was called, so it didn't take him long.

"Okay...Well, so much for relaxing in there," he shrugged. "Oh, well. Maybe I'll have a longer shower once I get off...Now what's my last task?"

He took one more peek at his task bar...Viewing Deck: Download Data. Well, that was a convenient location; one of the outdoor upload stations was right across from there! So Player went, passing through the Engine Room and heading towards the-

HISSSS

"Huh...? Oh, come on, a door sabotage?" he grumbled, taking in a deep breath again. "Ugh...that's okay. It's fine. It's not that big a deal. Just gotta get out my card..."

Player steeled himself again as he inserted his card in the slot...While he'd definitely improved with opening these doors overtime, he still had a tendency to create a problem for himself if he rushed about it: a problem called "standing on one place for too long not getting anything done and becoming a sitting duck to any passing Impostor," to put it straight.

But this time, he got lucky in spite of his urge to hurry up, timing the swipe correctly on his first try and opening the door...only to find that both of the doors to the armory had been shut, as well. He drew in another long, annoyed breath, but then let it out calmly.

Don't complain about stuff, Player, he reminded himself. Just take your time, and everything will turn out okay. Just keep cool...

He swiped at the next door...It took him two attempts this time, but he'd had worse experience before. And then the last one, done at a deliberately slower pace...Only one swipe got the door opened this time, and Player let slip a relieved smile.

"Ha...Okay. That went pretty well."

Just to be safe, Player peered into the Kitchen from around the corner to see whether or not he would be in here alone...But he reminded himself that the task bar was nearly 3/4 of the way finished by then, so given the still high ration of crewmates to the single Impostor, things were looking good for a crew victory even if he did get killed. And not only that, but things were also looking good for him in terms of winning the bet! Despite the crew's success in the game, there were only three people left that were still in with the "break your habit" competition: Veteran, Engineer and himself.

Speaking of which, it turned out that Veteran was in the Kitchen at that very moment, putting something together on the counter.

"What're you making, Veteran...?"

He watched at the yellow crewmate took out a bowl, and then began to pick out his ingredients...Cooked chicken breast from the fridge, romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, chives...and a hard boiled egg? He chopped up all of those ingredients on the cutting board and scraped them into his bowl, then from the cabinet he fetched a handful of shelled pecans, which he minced and tossed into the bowl, and then finally he topped his mixture with some freshly ground pepper and a generous...but not HEAPING drizzle of ranch dressing before letting all of the ingredients get to know each other via some swift tosses with a pair of wooden spoons.

"Alright, dolled-up chicken salad," he said to his creation. "Let's see how well you taste..."

Dang it, Player said to himself. It specified on Engineer's list that Veteran had to be eating UNHEALTILY in order to be out, but he could tell that the yellow bean was being careful not to lose...Wait, but come to think of it, wasn't one of Player's habits listed on that clipboard "obsessing over winning?"

Hm...Guess I should be proud of him, if anything, Player shrugged. Either way, I've got a task to do down there.

He decided to make his presence known and headed into the Kitchen, giving Veteran a subtle wave to see if he would even notice him...But he didn't. The yellow crewmate was too engrossed in his salad, and he looked MORE than impressed with how it tasted, so he decided to speak up instead.

"Uh...hey there, Vet."

"Hm? Oh, hey dude. I just made myself what I think it the most KILLER healthy lunch I've ever made."

He took another eager bite out of his succulent salad before continuing, mouth full of leafy greens and pale white meat.

"You hungry? I've got enough ingredients leftover for one more."

"Nah, I'm good. Maybe next time we hang out though...And with something other than ranch dressing."

"Oh, yeah...*crunch*...That's right. Well, gimmie a holler if you change your mind!"

"Sure thing, man. I gotta go finish my last task down here."

"M'kay, don't get killed on me now...*munch munch*..."

Player nodded to himself as he turned the corner into the Viewing Deck, made his way to the download screen and began the long, tedious yet tense process of downloading the data, hoping that he wouldn't be killed or called to a meeting during the wait...As he stood there alone, he heard someone else enter the Kitchen where Veteran was, their footsteps just barely audible against the tile floor.

"Psst. Hey. Veteran, bro."

"Mrph...What's up, Stoner?"

"Put the salad away and stop punishing yourself, my guy. I got a lil' something' for ya..."

Huh...?

The vermillion bean lent an ear to the conversation, curious as to what Stoner might be up to this time.

"...Is that a brownie?" he heard Veteran ask him.

"Sure is. It's from a batch I made yesterday; thing is, I forgot to put the good stuff in with the batter, so I figured I might as well pass it around while it's still fresh."

"But what about the stuff you said earlier about how good salad is? Heck, this here is a modified version of what you described."

"Dude, I was just messin' with you...!"

"Well for a prank, it's pretty darn tasty," Veteran remarked. "...I don't know, Stoner. I'm kind of on a role with this. Even if I DID want one, what if Player comes out and catches me? He's right around the corner there doing his last task!"

Wow. Veteran's got a stronger will than I thought!

"...Just one bite?" he heard Stoner tempt him further. "You can just save the rest for later if you want. Besides, honestly...I need a taste tester for this batch."

"...You really do?"

...Or not.

"Just...one bite, and that's all?"

"That's all, man."

"Hm...well, I guess just ONE bite won't hurt. Besides, how many calories does that much have? It might not even count."

Oh, man, Veteran, you were so close... Player lamented, able to hear Veteran chewing all the way from where he stood as he left the download station and went outside to upload. ...Man, I'd feel bad telling Engineer about this one...hm...Maybe I don't have to? I guess Vet has a point, after all.

"And you sure no one's gonna know about this?"

"Positive, dude...I, uh, gotta head out now. This can be our little secret."

"Well, alright then. I might finish it later if it turns out I lost. Heh..."

By then, Player had finally finished his upload, therefore finishing his last task. He mad his way back into the Kitchen to see Veteran going back to eating his salad.

"Uh...Hey there, Veteran."

"Huh!? Brownie!? What brownie?? I don't see any brownies!!" Veteran grinned awkwardly, doing a humorously bad job at concealing his guilt.

"...Riiight," Player replied. "Fortunately, I can't help but pity you, especially considering you only had one bite. Just...stick with the salad for now, and don't mention this again in case Engineer shows up. I'd like to-"

Player stopped speaking once he noticed that the lights in the Kitchen had begun to dim.

"Ugh...Great. A light sab," Veteran grumbled. "Well at least now I can't see where I put the rest of that...brown thing. Outta sight, outta mind."

"I'll go fix 'em; there's a panel right down there in the Viewing Deck," Player said to him, turning away and making his way back down there again. "I won't be long!"

He hurried back into the room and...ATTEMPTED to flick all of the lights back into the correct position. But it seemed as though someone else was going the same on one of the other panels scattered across the ship, as everytime he flicked one in the right direction, it was turned off again without him even having to touch it.

Oh, jeez...

After maybe twelve seconds of trying to outpace the other crewmate trying to fix the lights, Player decided to step back and see if the other person could get it done themselves...Unfortunately, he watched as all of the lights flicked and stayed off once he stopped messing with them.

"...That means there's probably an Impostor screwing around with them," Player realized. "Alright, then. Do your worst against THIS!"

Tired of being hussled, the red crewmate ran his pointed index finger across all of the switches with one wave of his hand and turned them all on in a flash...He was too quick for the Impostor to try and mess with them anymore, because this time the lights stayed on, and the room around him gradually came back into view.

"Phew...Well, glad that got resolved," Player remarked as he headed back into the Kitchen. "Hey Vet, I'm finished! If you want maybe we could hang out in the Cockpit and look at the...map...?"

He trailed off when he saw Veteran slumped over in his seat...or, at least, what was LEFT of him, leaking blood onto the floor and even into the salad bowl. But in spite of the sight making Player's gut do a backflip, he managed to call the report and gather everyone in the Meeting Room.

____________________________________________________________

DEAD BODY REPORTED

____________________________________________________________

Once they had all spawned in, Player found himself in for a shock; not only was Veteran deceased, but so was Ninja.

...And so was TheGentleman.

"AH! Player, you called just in time!" MrEgg exclaimed, looking fairly panicked. "It was Stoner! He sliced TheGentleman's head RIGHT OFF the moment you reported!!"

"Huh? What?" Stoner asked, looking a bit perplexed. "Where'd this happen at? I was in the bathrooms; just got done flushin' out the toilet."

"MrEgg," Engineer addressed, wearing an accusatory look on his face. "If I recall correctly, you were the one who agreed to accompany TheGentleman to prove your innocence."

"Yes, and I did! And then Stoner popped right out of the vent and killed him!"

"And yet, Stoner claims that he was in the Lounge restrooms."

"Well, he has to be lying then!"

By now, all eyes were on MrEgg...And the coral crewmate knew for a fact that nobody believed his claim. His only hope remaining was Player...if he could get him to side with him.

"Player. Player, I know this looks really bad right now, but PLEASE skip on four," he encouraged him. "If you vote me out, you're done for! Please, I'm begging you, I'm DESPERATE!!"

The crimson bean wasn't entirely sure what to make of the situation...Sure, it was true that MrEgg definitely looked the most guilty right now, but after hearing what Stoner said earlier in such a...suspicious tone of voice, he didn't entirely trust the green crewmate either.

"Like, bro. Egg. You actually think this is gonna work?"

"Place your ballots, everyone," Engineer said. "The evidence is all there. All we have to do is get MrEgg out of the picture and we've got a GG on our hands. Player, you gonna vote?"

"...No."

"I beg your pardon?" the purple figure asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No. I'm gonna skip this meeting," Player said to him. "I don't know, Engineer. Something about this situation doesn't sit right with me. Besides...you said there was a shapeshifter this round too, right?"

"The shapeshifter odds were only set at a 20% chance this round, Player, I highly doubt that's the case."

"...But it's not impossible, is it?"

Engineer opened his mouth to reply, but then stopped, going silent for a moment before finally giving his answer.

"No...no, I suppose you're right. Although I haven't seen any evidence of there being any yet."

"Well maybe this'll be our chance to get whoever it is...And in case anyone wants to know where I was, I was in the-"

"Kitchen area. I'm aware," Engineer interrupted him. "I was doing my usual vent detective work before the blackout occurred, and I saw you there...I also happened to see Veteran lose his part of the bet, so we can say goodbye to his odds."

As Engineer crossed out Veteran's name, Player spoke out against it.

"Hey wait a minute, he only had one bite of that thing! You can't tell me that THAT was enough to be considered unhealthy, can you!?"

"The quantity doesn't matter; it was a bite out of a sugary, fat-filled brick of chocolate, so that's enough to get him disqualified."

"Oh, he's gonna be PISSED once the game ends," Player muttered. "Ugh...Well, back to the situation at hand. Here's the plan. MrEgg, you stay by me. I'm spawning down in the Brig."

"Will do, Player. And...thank you for this."

"Engineer. Stoner. You two stick together as well," Player requested. "And if you see us anywhere, STAY AWAY FROM US."

"Like, okay," Stoner shrugged. "But I doubt it'll be long before we're just seein' MrEgg by his lonesome self."

"I agree," Engineer quipped. "Well, it's your funeral, Player. I'll let you arrange it, if that's what you want."

____________________________________________________________

Player:
MrEgg: **
Engineer:
Stoner:

Skip: **

____________________________________________________________

No one was ejected.(Tie)
1 Impostor remains.

____________________________________________________________

Player spawned right where he said he'd be, MrEgg appearing next to him a moment later.

"So what's our next move from here?" the coral crewmate asked him.

"I don't know...Did you finish all your tasks?"

"I just have one left: emptying the garbage in Medical."

"That's a ways away...Hopefully we'll be able to steer clear of the other two while we go down there."

As they made their way down to the Engine Room and through the Main Hall, Player could sense MrEgg's tension rising.

"You good?"

"Y-yes, I'm fine...But I'd like to ask a favor of you."

"What's that?" the red crewmate asked as they made their way down the ladder into Electrical

"...If we come across Engineer and Stoner, or even just the latter of the two...Don't try to get between us and take the bullet for me in the event we're attacked. If you do, then Stoner will just blame me and Engineer will side with him."

"That's true...Any idea what the kill cooldown is for this round, MrEgg?"

"It's short. Only 12.5. I always make sure to look at the settings before each round."

Player tensed up a bit himself as he followed MrEgg into Medical, watching him start to pull the trash bag out of its bin...He was skeptical about MrEgg before, despite his instincts telling him otherwise. But given that not only had twelve seconds already passed and he was still alive, but now the coral crewmate in question was actively doing a task right in front of him was MORE than enough evidence in his favor.

...At the thought of kill cooldowns, Player suddenly hatched an idea.

"MrEgg. Before we go back to the Meeting Room, let's check the vital monitor in here really quick. If Engineer's dead, then that means Stoner's done him in and we should call a meeting."

"Good idea."

They turned the corner, and Player booted up the monitor and took a look at it...But to his dismay, it didn't display any of the information he wanted. Rather, a message of dread flashed across its screen in bold red letters.

___________________________________________________


[  C O M M S    S A B O T A G E D  ]


___________________________________________________

A quick glance at the blank task bar confirmed the two crewmates' fears, and they looked at one another in dread.

"We better hurry," MrEgg said to him, leading the way through the Electrical maze, Security and the Kitchen, Player not DARING to slip far behind him at a time like this. He was glad that no one had decided to sabotage any doors as well; this would have been the WORST time for something like that to happen, for certain.

MrEgg was the first one on the dial, and he turned it left, then right, and then back to the left more slowly in order to restore the radio frequencies to their previous state.

"Whoa, you got that done quick!" Player remarked.

"I haven't much a choice right now, do I?" MrEgg said to him in return. "Here, the Engine Room doors are still open. Let's-!"

HISS...

"Oh, COME ON!!" the coral bean exclaimed, pulling his hard out and shakily trying to slide it through the slot. "We don't have time for this right now!"

"Let me at it, MrEgg! I know how to deal with this..."

Player gently moved him aside, took his own card out and slid it through at JUST the perfect speed to open the door in one go.

"I found the best method while I was opening the Armory doors earlier in the game," he said to him as they made their way up the hallway and back into the Brig. "And...hey, look! The task bar is almost full! Looks like you've just gotta do this last thing, and we're home free!"

"Ha! Egg-cellent news! Phew, looks like Stoner's gonna have a bad time once we-"

"You're good."

...The voice came from the Vault.

Player and MrEgg turned to look behind them, and the first thing they took notice of was the bone-chilling sight of Stoner...His eyes were blank and lifeless, and blood pooled onto the floor from the thin, clean gash across his throat as a familiar figure dressed in purple stood over him holding a long scalpel in his left hand.

"You're really good, I have to admit. It's a shame, really...I was hoping you'd show up here before my kill cooldown was up, just to make things more interesting."

"Engineer," Player recognized. "It...was you? All along?"

"What? Are you surprised? Well, I guess you would be...I don't get to flex my skills as an Impostor all that often."

"So then...Wait," MrEgg realized. "You killed GNOME!? Your own one true love?"

"MrEgg, she's killed me plenty of times. And do we have to bring up TheGentleman and MrCheese's past history again?"

"Oh...um, I see your point."

"Yes," Engineer finished, spinning his scalpel in his hand. "...You most certainly will."

Engineer sprinted at them.

Player grabbed MrEgg by the scruff of his exosuit and dragged him into the Gap Room.

The Brig doors shut just as they made it past them. Engineer hissed in aggravation from the other side, but was still able to open the door within barely a full second.

"CLIMB!!"

Player's cry to MrEgg didn't fall on deaf ears, and the two of them made their way up the ladder as fast as they possibly could, Engineer tailing not far behind them. Once the red crewmate reached the top, he took MrEgg by the hand and swiftly pulled him up the rest of the way.

"Empty the trash!" he said to him. "I'll do what I can to keep Engineer away!"

The moment MrEgg had his hand on the lever, the purple Impostor made it to the top, scalpel clutched tightly in his hand.

"No where left to run, fellas," he said to them coldly, spinning his scalpel again. "Time to take the fall."

He rose his blade against Player.

"NO!"

And down it fell.

...And the blade shattered the formerly invisible blue shield that surrounded the crimson crewmate.

"...Huh? I...I was saved?"

"Don't worry Player, I got your back on this one~!"

He turned...Though it was slightly transparent, he could see the familiar pink-clad spirit hovering over him, wings risen in a protective position.

"Ah, Dum! You're the Guardian Angel!"

"Oh yeah! And not only that but it turns out I was right from the beginning, ghee, how 'bout that...?" she retorted.

"Uh...yeah, sorry that happened. But thanks for the save, sis. Hurry MrEgg, do the trash!"

"On it!"

"Not on my watch you won't!"

Engineer lunged at the coral crewmate, aiming his scalpel at the lever to try and jam it.

But he was a moment too late. It had already been pushed down.

"No...!"

The moment the last shred of garbage had disappeared down the chute, the world around Player faded from view and turned to black a moment later.

____________________________________________________________

VICTORY

____________________________________________________________

"Ha...we did it, we made it! WOO-HOO!"

He spawned into the dropship again just a moment later, met with a series of relieved sighs and praises from his fellow crewmates.

"Phew, good job on that last task, MrEgg," MrCheese said to him. "Thought for a minute we were gonna be dead meat, but I guess Dum finally got over her saltiness in the end, heh heh."

"Hey, it wasn't JUST that," Dum argued. "I still had to finish my tasks, y'know."

"Yeah, besides she told me the protect cooldown was 30 seconds," Gnome chimed in. "So she didn't really have a chance to save me...from being offed by my own boyfriend."

She cast a side eye at Engineer, who in turn looked very unamused.

"Gnome, you've killed me plenty of times, I think it's my turn to return the favor."

"Fine...I have to admit, you were pretty slick, though. You lasted a lot longer than Bro did..."

"Hey, come on, fellas! Player just got lucky, y'know that right?"

"Thank you, my dear," Engineer said to her. "And it would have been the perfect crime if not for...some unforeseen events that my predictions failed to make evident. I initially surmised that Player and MrEgg wouldn't attempt to repair the disabled Communication systems due to the evident risk of being caught in a stack kill, but it seems as though they were more bold than I wanted to believe. Now, I HAD successfully predicted that they would attempt to call a meeting once the systems were back online, which is why I lured Stoner into the Vault with the promise of me completing my last task. My plan was to wait there until they came along and then snare them inside the Brig via closing the doors...I didn't anticipate Player to be as fast as he was about leaving the room so quickly, so I overrode the door controls in order to bypass the card swipe and then pursued them up the ladder...If not for Dum's efforts, I would have finally claimed an Impostor victory after...so many years of waiting for my time to shine."

"...Uh..." Veteran responded. "Was anyone able to follow that monologue at all?"

"To an extent," Player said to him. "...Hey, wait a minute. Isn't that what the list said you can't do, Engineer?"

"Erm..."

Player peered over the purple figures side and looked down at his clipboard.

"Overcomplicated monologues, HA!"

"Looks like you're out, Engineer," Gnome jeered, to which the crewmate in question scowled and crossed out his own name.

"Hey," Player realized. "That means...I won the bet! Ha, ha, YES! What a day!"

"M-hm. You sure about that, Player," Engineer replied as he readied his pencil again. "Because it says here that you're not allowed to obsess over winning, either."

"He's right," Captain pointed out. "It does say that. Although it's ALSO true that Player lasted the longest out of the rest of us, so then...did he win the bet, or did he lose it?"

"Ooooooh, paradoxical," Stoner drawled. "I like mind games like that."

"Yeah, I know you like mind games," Veteran sneered at him. "Thanks for getting me kicked out of the bet with your dumb brownie taste test."

"Huh...? Brownie test?" the green bean repeated. "What're you talking about? I didn't bring any brownies today."

"Then what the heck was that little stunt you pulled in the Kitchen before I died?"

"I dunno, man...I was never there after I got caught with Mary Jane."

"Wait...But then that means..." Player realized. "Captain, what are the Shapeshifter settings on this round?"

"On Shapeshifter at 80% odds, buddo!"

"But Engineer said...WAIT!"

THAT was when it dawned on him. And once it did, the truth caught on to the rest of the crew as well.

"I...Y-you were bamboozling us the entire round!" MrEgg exclaimed. "You and your crafty shapeshifting abilities, and your scalpel! I..."

Once again, the lobby descended into loud chaos, most of it directed at Engineer this time. As everyone continued to chatter and point fingers at the culprit, the purple figure stepped back and away from the masses.

"Great. Now I'm in a lousy mood," he remarked. "What else am I supposed to do if I'm an Impostor?"

"I don't know, man," Player said to him. "...Well, at least you and your plan were able to get me out of mine. You really know how to execute an IRL plot twist."

"Yes, I...suppose I do."

"Well, I came here and did what I had to do...You wanna hop off and play some Minecraft instead?"

"That sounds relaxing...You think they'll notice we're gone?"

The red and purple crewmates looked into the crowd again...They'd now gone from pointing fingers at Engineer to quarrelling with one another about how they couldn't have seen that it was him.

"Not until it's too late, I don't think," Engineer guessed. "Alright. Let's get outta here..."

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