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Green eyes the kid warily as it obediently and cheerfully follows its parent back to the ship. Perhaps it was the same size, same color, same wide eyes and yet something told him that this kid, was not the same as the one mere minutes ago.
Well of course not, the kid before had fangs that could surely bite through bones and this one doesn't, but that wasn't what he meant. Actually, he didn't know what he meant, besides the fact his gut told him that something was very wrong.
But now, Green dared not trust his instincts, especially with the kid, not when they had been so wrong before. And he desperately wants to say something about it, but he holds his tongue, crosses his arms and refrains from speaking his mind because he knows that his opinion is probably the last thing Yellow (or anyone, for that matter) wants to hear.
And he knows that the kid isn't the only one who's changed since they last stepped on this ship, feeling the ground beneath rumble as it takes off.
Green wedges himself into the corner of the ship, the icy walls press into his sides. He misses the feeling of cloth pressing onto his skin, protecting him from prying eyes daring to question is identity as a crewmate, but he wouldn't admit to anyone.
It's weird, he thinks, that not too long ago he would've been out there, talking with the crew, leading them, being the captain he was. It's stupid, he thinks, that he feels like an outsider amongst his own crew. That if he were to approach them with his usual gait, he would be pretending to be someone he isn't anymore, he would be an imposter to act with the confidence he lost on Mira HQ.
But how did he lose that confidence? He thinks back, the situation he was in was so dire, and all he could think of was how he wasn't just trying to protect himself, but the kid as well. When had he cared about the kid? He doesn't recall because he never truly had, and that sends a shiver of guilt down his spine.
But there's something else, when he felt Indigo's large claws wrap around his body, and he had told Green that he had to protect his fellow imposters from crewmates like him, it gave him a sense of deja vu. And he realized now, that it was exactly how he had acted as well. (Perhaps that was why a part of him felt Indigo's rage was justified, in a way.)
Because in the end, what they both wanted was to protect the ones they were responisble for. And in the end, they were both wrong. Because their view had only been limited, they only saw each other as one thing, monsters.
So would that mean...imposters were crewmates and crewmates are imposters?
Correct
But Green had the chance to explore the other side. And something he would rather die than admit was that, for a time, even if it was for a brief second, he didn't worry about sticking out, that he felt like...he could actually belong in this strange and gloomy ecosystem. It felt wrong to even think about it, but it rang loudly in his mind, along with many other troubling thoughts.
"Green, you've been quiet, is something wrong?" Cyan asks, turning to look at him. Black squints at him, confusion evident on his face. Green feels embarrassment rush up to his face. "No-" he clears his throat, "there's nothing wrong." But his mind is screaming otherwise. Cyan smiles in return, oblivious to Green's internal conflict. Black gives him a skeptical glance, brow raised, before he turns his back to Green.
And he's once again alone with his thoughts. And now, he discovers that his very own mind can be a dangerous place. He glances at the kid again. It stands proudly, face full of glee as everyone gushes over it.
If the scientists were to get a hold of the cure, the whole of Mira HQ could perish
But what would happen if said scientist got ahold of a child? What if said doctor supposedly had a cure not even their own colleagues knew of? Because if Mira would fall with the cure in the scientist's hands, what would happen if the scientist had their hands on medicine no one knew of? How dangerous could that cure be?
And the most important question of all...What had the doctor actually done to Glitchy?
Suddenly the urge to speak up claws at his throat.
Oh so you and Glitchy are best buddies now? Since when did you care about him besides wanting to throw him out the airlock?
He bitterly bites it down. Black has already been skeptical of him, and if he says something concerning the kid, wouldn't it be even weirder?
But why, why does he want to keep these conflicted feelings to himself? Shouldn't he talk about it? They would understand, wouldn't they?
Green frowns, pushing himself further into the corner. A wave of shame washes over him. Because if he shows concern for the child it would mean confronting is his bold actions before. It would mean he had to admit that all along, he was wrong. And for some reason, he can't stand to face that.
And so, despite his thoughts raging and pounding on his mind, protesting to be let out, he ignores them, shoves them to the back of his mind. Yet he is deeply aware, at how much he has changed since the last time he was with his own crew.