Blue
She had punched the guard in the face.
After all, she had to release some of the emotions that were building up inside her - and he was being severely annoying.
Even more annoying than Green - if that's possible.
He had introduced himself as Winston, and he had been making two-sided comments about her.
Once he said that she and Green were a cute couple, she had enough and punched in the nose.
B**ch, he ain't even my friend.
The guards on the other end of the room seemed entertained, indicating to her that this was something they were used to seeing.
Winston started crying, as if he was a child and she had taken a lollipop from him.
It reminded him of when Green had pulled some soap opera skills - except that those had actually worked.
Is this something all imposters have in common? Drama skills?
She rolled her eyes. Pathetic.
Wait. Didn't Green say something about doing exactly what he said, or we'd die?
... well, he didn't tell me NOT to punch Winston.
And I seriously doubt we'll get killed over this.
Then, the door of the office opened, and Green came out, followed by a tall, serious figure with dark eyes that stared into her soul.
Green looked like he was trying to communicate with her through eye contact. She simply blinked at him.
Do you expect me to understand that?
The figure was rather intimidating, making her believe that this was one of the people in charge. He had black eyes - not the dark brown eyes that people think are black, but actual black eyes.
He looked at her, looked at the office, and then back at her again, beckoning her to go inside.
And something told her that it was nonnegotiable.
The main thing she noticed about him was his long black hair that blended together with his long black coat - she figured that the color scheme was intentional.
After all, who would accidentally dress like they were a walking shadow?
Green made more unsuccessful attempts to communicate with Blue, but in the end, she had to go inside without knowing what he was trying to say.
Well, I hope I don't mess anything up too badly.
"Hello, Blue. I am Commander Maelstrom of SSOUI - care to explain what happened?"
"Well, Winston was annoying me, and-"
"No, no, I know that. Winston just likes to annoy the newer people, and Lexacon in particular - although Lex is certainly not new."
And you just let him get away with it?
Maelstrom somehow registered her silent question, and he said, "personally, I think it's fine. After all, him annoying the new people helps me to determine who's patient enough for assignments and who needs work."
Oh.
... You know, I really don't think I passed that.
Hopefully that didn't do anything bad.
"Anyways - so, what happened when you were on the Skeld?" He asked.
Blue recounted the events, leaving out the parts where she worked against Green, and where she spared the lives of her crewmates and faked their deaths.
She also embellished the part where she had a breakdown after supposedly killing her crewmates, instead saying that she was completely stone-faced and never shed a tear.
After all, she didn't get the feeling that emotions were favored here.
Oh, and she decided to leave out the parts where she argued with Green.
If she was supposed to stick with Green, she didn't want Commander Maelstrom to think that they'd argue every two minutes.
Blue didn't want to admit to herself that she actually kind of wanted to stick together with Green.
He was annoying all right, but at least she knew he wouldn't kill her.
... Okay, maybe he would. If I keep getting him into trouble, who's to say that he won't just take the shot to save himself?
Maelstrom considered her story. "Very well. Also, Lexacon calls you Blue - but what is your actual name?"
Estelle-
"Blue."
It'll trigger too many memories - better to keep it secret so no one can use it against me.
Maelstrom shrugged. "Fine, if that's what you want to go by. Well then, Blue, Lexacon has requested you to be his partner, and you will soon begin your training. However, since you seem rather capable, I will shorten the initial training time - just this once."
"Wait, what about the patience test thing?"
"Lexacon should be able to teach you that - as much as I don't like him, I do have to admit that he's good at what he does.
"And, if things go awry on an assignment, you can always throw him under the bus - or, if he has any sense, he'll throw you under the bus."
... Such optimism. Much wow.
Throughout the meeting, Blue couldn't shake the feeling that Maelstrom really didn't like Green for some reason.
So why is he suddenly allowing Green to take me in?
She stopped herself.
Why am I worried about Green? He can obviously take care of himself.
And WHEN did I become concerned with his well-being? The guy MURDERS people, for crying out loud.
She exited Commander Maelstrom's office, and Green was there, waiting for her.
Winston had left, thankfully, and Green quickly ushered Blue down the hallway.
He entered a room labeled with his name, and inside was a small living space.
"Okay, what did you say to Maelstrom?" He urgently asked.
"... Why are you so paranoid? The man seems fine."
I never thought I'd miss the annoying Green. This scared side of him is starting to freak me out a bit.
Green looked deep into her eyes. "Rule number one of surviving SSOUI: never underestimate people. And rule two: NEVER assume that people have good intentions."
... Well, isn't that just reassuring?
After Blue didn't answer, he sighed. "I don't mean to scare you, but that's the truth. Don't trust anyone, you hear me?"
"Including you?"
"You weren't trusting me before, so I think you've got that part down already," he said, cracking a smile despite the situation.
~~~~~
Black
The others were all sitting on the floor, dejected.
Finally, they broke the silence.
"That. Was an absolute disaster."
"You said it, Pink."
"Wait, why did we do that anyways?"
The hospital staff were giving them weird looks, but ultimately decided to leave the strange astronauts alone.
I wonder if they're thinking about space causing insanity.
After them going to the FBI, getting kicked out, coming back to the hospital, and then sitting in the children's hospital playroom, Black didn't really blame them.
"Oh, I dunno, because someone needed proof of the authorities not believing our story."
"I wanted to do that because we needed to double-check and verify, just in case!"
"Red, Pink, please stop arguing," Purple said desperately.
Black listened to the argument patiently while watching the two kids play on the giant turtle.
While the others went out on their mission to get the authorities on the case, Black had been caring for Talon and Wren in the children's playroom.
After all, someone had to watch the children, and who was better than Black for the job?
Wait, what happened, guys? I get that your mission was unsuccessful, but what actually happened?
Red and Pink exchanged glances, but it was Purple who responded.
"Well, we went on our little crusade to the authorities, and, long story short, they haven't changed a thing, and now they think that Red is mentally unstable. They told the hospital to prescribe him some medication for anger issues."
Black blinked at Red, who was trying to calm himself down.
But he doesn't have anger issues.
"Well, they seemed to think so. Anyways, we're going back out on a space mission tomorrow - something about 'getting back into normalcy' and 'getting our minds off the bad experience'."
TOMORROW??
"Oh, and I forgot to mention - Red is no longer allowed to be the head of space missions because of his medication."
... Wow. He's not going to enjoy that, is he?
Purple shook her head, and looked back at Red, who was still dealing with his internalized emotions.
All of the things that happened before must have been wearing on him... poor guy.
Black turned to Wren, who was still playing on the giant turtle, and she pointed to his dad with a hopeful expression.
Maybe his son can cheer him up a little?
Happily, Wren ran to his dad, and after giving Red a hug around the neck, Red started to calm down more.
He even had a little smile.
Looking around, Black saw that Talon was with Pink, and she was helping him do a puzzle on the floor.
Wait, Pink's good with kids?
... Never would have guessed.
And, for one instance, Black forgot about the situation at hand.
~~~~~
A/N: I thought I might as well update y'all on my irl situation, since it's starting to affect my motivation to attend to my responsibilities.
(If you don't care, ignore this, and just know that updates may be sporadic for a time.)
Halloween weekend didn't go very well (literally nothing went as planned - it was a nightmare), and, long story short, my main friend group just split in half.
After all that, I've slipped into some sort of depressive state - and, to make matters worse, I have to meet several major deadlines very soon.
I'm trying to pick myself back up to do them all, but it's really difficult.
I hate saying this, but I know I have to warn you - if this lasts, I may not update much for a while.
Luckily, I have one more prewritten chapter ready, and I'll post that in a few days, along with another little irl update.
Until then, I'll try my absolute best to meet my deadlines, as well as try and write another chapter.
I love and appreciate you all, and I'll see you soon.