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esp_dragonv2) wrote2020-12-20 09:51 pm
esp_dragonv2) wrote2020-12-20 09:51 pm
Imposter [Part 8]
Fandom: Noblesse
Summary: The crew gets sick.
Notes: Among Us AU! :D
Rating: G
Genre: Sci-fi
Word count: 1,845
Total word count: 7,091
Status: Work in progress
Sometimes -a lot of the time- Frankenstein preferred being alone in the lab. They could put things in the order they wanted and made sense to them, so they knew exactly where things were. The silence meant they weren't being assessed and they could do what they felt was more important.
There were downsides to apparently being the only medically-minded person in the crew.
"And is it just a fever and rash you're experiencing?" Frankenstein asked, thinking over what medications they had available.
"No," Mary said, her lips pursed. "I have a headache."
Frankenstein nodded, getting up. "I can give you something for it that should help."
Being alone when an unknown bug was sweeping through the crewmates made them a lot busier than they had been before.
* * *
M-21 felt like crap. His skin itched, was sensitive, and the air was heavier, dragging him down.
Fuck.
Was he dying?
Had he done something wrong? Was he being killed for not doing his mission?
Then...he should just accept it. He couldn't run from the Union and however they controlled him.
M-21 wobbled a couple steps, eyeing a hole in the ground. Couldn't show weakness. Couldn't be found by others. Had to hide.
The hole would do. If he crawled in far enough, he wouldn't be found.
M-21 climbed in, his arms trembling as sweat dripped down his neck.
Far enough...?
Hopefully.
* * *
Muzaka hummed, crossing his arms. It had been a while since he'd seen Em. It wasn't that strange, but Em was usually skirting the edge of his periphery, and Muzaka was sure it had been hours since he'd last seen his crewmate.
He wasn't in the boiler room or O2...
Not in security or electrical... (Not that Muzaka was surprised at that - Em eyed both places with distaste whenever he passed.)
Muzaka slipped his helmet on before going outside, and paused. Forward was storage, and to his right was communications. If he went forward, he could continue on to the medbay and lab, and through there, eventually loop around to communications. Hopefully he would have found Em before then, but if he didn't, he should have searched everywhere, aside from the expanse outside the base.
Entering storage, Muzaka's eyes was drawn to the silver helmet laying on the floor, rolling on its side. As if it had been dropped.
No, no, no-
Muzaka rushed in, trying to find Em.
No blood pool or splatter marks. No toppled shelves or broken items laying around.
He paused, staring around him. What...? The storage room was empty.
Muzaka started at the door again and walked through, going between the line of shelves, but there was no bo-
There was a hole in the far corner no-one had gotten around to filling yet and Muzaka could just see the tip of a silver boot poking through.
"Em?" Muzaka called out, rushing over. He grabbed the boot and shook it. No blood around. The boot wasn't completely limp. Then-?
A weak grumble, Em trying to pull his boot away.
Muzaka closed his eyes, breathing a sigh of relief. Still alive. Good.
"What're you doin' down there, hey?" Muzaka said, wiggling Em's boot again. "Were you too tired to go to bed?"
Em tried to tug his boot away again, and Muzaka furrowed his brow, frowning. Em would have reacted stronger than that.
"Em? You okay?" Muzaka said, trying to peer into the darkness of the hole. He could see Em's spacesuit, but he couldn't see Em's head.
"Rrr..."
That didn't sound right.
Muzaka reached in, grabbing a fistful of Em's spacesuit and dragged him out.
Em's face was flushed when he emerged, the purple splotches Muzaka had seen on some of the other crewmates creeping up from Em's neck. "Damn, it got you too?"
Em's eyes slitted, the whites of his eyes darkening as Em growled and struggled against him, trying to reach for the hole.
"Hey, hey, hey," Muzaka said, pulling him close. "Yer not going back down there, okay? We need ta get you to Frankenstein."
"Nooo..." Em panted, his struggles weakening.
Right, they had to go.
Muzaka scooped Em up into his arms and headed for the door. He picked up Em's helmet on the way and jammed it on Em's head before they exited storage.
* * *
[Oi, Frankenstein, bringin' Em over.]
Frankenstein looked up at the comms call, frowning. Why was Muzaka bringing Em and why had he felt the need to warn them?
A little more information would have been nice, but Frankenstein prepared themself anyway. Muzaka wouldn't do such a thing for nothing and they would find out the truth soon enough.
Frankenstein hadn't expected to see Muzaka carrying Em into the medbay in his arms. Possibly dragging Em in behind him with Em protesting as much as he could, but not carrying.
Something was very, very wrong.
There was no blood, Em's spacesuit whole as far as Frankenstein could tell.
"Over here," Frankenstein said, gesturing to the closest bed.
Muzaka lay Em there, and when Frankenstein removed Em's helmet, there was a shower of dark purple dust that came out with it.
Em's eyes were transformed. Frankenstein froze, ice shooting through their veins. How much had Muzaka seen? Had it only happened while Em's helmet was on?
Em's eyes were half-lidded and hopefully- "Thank you for bringing him here," Frankenstein said as they smiled, trying to draw Muzaka's eyes away from Em. "This might take a while to stabilise him and-"
"I'll get away so I'm not underfoot, heh. Catch ya later and hope ya feel better soon, Em." Muzaka left with a wave behind him.
Em growled at that and Frankenstein nudged him, Em cutting himself off.
They stared at each other for a second before Em looked away with a grimace. He whined, a weak sound of pain and confusion, as he curled up and Frankenstein turned away with a sigh, closing the curtain around the bed. Just in case Em couldn't control his transformation when someone else came in.
"Yes, we can get sick," Frankenstein said, picking up the temperature reader. They checked Em's temperature and hid their frown. Hmm, higher than the fevers the others had, and Em hadn't shown any symptoms earlier. "Is there anything else you're experiencing?" How far did that rash go?
Em looked at them blearily long enough that Frankenstein considered repeating their question.
"Why's it matter?" Em grimaced again, as if speaking was painful. "He caught me. Got sick. I'm weak."
Frankenstein paused, trying to make sure they understood Em's ramblings. "Muzaka saw you kill someone?"
Em shook his head, sucking in a breath. "Saw me, saw my eyes. Couldn't get away, couldn't-" Em's breathing was going erratic again.
"It's all right," Frankenstein said, in what they hoped was a soothing voice. "Muzaka doesn't seem the wiser of what you are, or in the very least, suspicious." It was probably because Muzaka wasn't trying to find imposters, so he may have thought Em's change was the same transformation the stronger modified humans had.
"And you aren't alone in being sick - you aren't the first to have caught the bug here, and I very much doubt you'll be the last." Aside from getting hit the hardest and fastest by it, as far as Frankenstein could tell. But they weren't so callous to bring that up when Em's mindset was so delicate.
Was it because he was an imposter that M-21 was affected strongly compared to their crewmates, or was it something else entirely? They would have to run some tests to see if they could find out.
Em scowled at them. It would have looked better if it wasn't clear Em was having trouble focusing on them. "You haven't gotten sick."
"There's still ample time for that," Frankenstein said wryly. And then what would happen? They should write up a guide of what was needed, in case they became too affected to look after the others.
"Hmph." Em settled down and Frankenstein got to work.
* * *
Em finally dozed off, his temperature falling, but it was a fitful sleep, Frankenstein keeping an eye on him.
It was good to see Em could get the benefits from the medication but... Frankenstein's mind drifted as they brought their attention back to the screen.
They'd taken some of Em's blood while he rested, and tested it. It had the usual increased white blood cells and that was to be expected.
Frankenstein had never had the chance, never been allowed, to view their own data before. And this... As much as imposters were created and raised in the labs, it was right there in front of Frankenstein's eyes.
At their base, imposters were still humans.
Created, yes. But still humans, from whatever was left after the Union had altered their DNA. Just like modified humans, just slightly different.
Just like Muzaka had said.
Frankenstein sighed, removing their glasses. Their own data was the same. Different from Em's in a number of ways, but ultimately they were still human. Just given a different name, for whatever reason.
To make imposters appear so different from the rest of the modified humans, that it seemed normal for them to kill each other?
And it worked, didn't it?
Frankenstein eyed the data for a second before adjusting it. To the untrained eye, their original data would look like modified humans like the rest of the crewmates, but if someone who knew the difference saw them... Deleting their data would arouse suspicion if only two people were left out of the recordings. Therefore, it was better if they changed their own data and Em's so they were even more in line with everyone else's.
* * *
Frankenstein looked across at the hiss of the medbay doors opening.
"Yo," Muzaka said, his voice hushed, his eyes darting around the room.
Frankenstein smiled, seeing him. "Em's already left, so you don't have to worry about disturbing him."
Muzaka relaxed. "Oh, okay!"
"He insisted," Frankenstein said with a sigh. Or more, had disappeared from the bed when Frankenstein was in the lab. If he was able to do that and get away before Frankenstein caught him, it meant Em was feeling significantly better, so they didn't chase him up. While Em had been hit the hardest by the bug, he had also recovered the fastest as well.
"He got to sleep in a bed instead of a hole in the ground. I bet it helped a lot." Muzaka said. "I might try fillin' that up soon - someone could trip over it."
"It would be for the best," Frankenstein said. They were already dealing with making sure everyone was healthy - they didn't want to deal with twisted ankles as well.
"And you?"
Frankenstein tilted their head. "Mm?" Had they missed something?
"You feelin' okay?" Muzaka asked, looking them over.
"Oh." Frankenstein laughed, warming again. "Yes, I haven't caught anything so far. Thank you for worrying about me."
Now they could concentrate on making sure the others recovered.
Summary: The crew gets sick.
Notes: Among Us AU! :D
Rating: G
Genre: Sci-fi
Word count: 1,845
Total word count: 7,091
Status: Work in progress
Sometimes -a lot of the time- Frankenstein preferred being alone in the lab. They could put things in the order they wanted and made sense to them, so they knew exactly where things were. The silence meant they weren't being assessed and they could do what they felt was more important.
There were downsides to apparently being the only medically-minded person in the crew.
"And is it just a fever and rash you're experiencing?" Frankenstein asked, thinking over what medications they had available.
"No," Mary said, her lips pursed. "I have a headache."
Frankenstein nodded, getting up. "I can give you something for it that should help."
Being alone when an unknown bug was sweeping through the crewmates made them a lot busier than they had been before.
M-21 felt like crap. His skin itched, was sensitive, and the air was heavier, dragging him down.
Fuck.
Was he dying?
Had he done something wrong? Was he being killed for not doing his mission?
Then...he should just accept it. He couldn't run from the Union and however they controlled him.
M-21 wobbled a couple steps, eyeing a hole in the ground. Couldn't show weakness. Couldn't be found by others. Had to hide.
The hole would do. If he crawled in far enough, he wouldn't be found.
M-21 climbed in, his arms trembling as sweat dripped down his neck.
Far enough...?
Hopefully.
Muzaka hummed, crossing his arms. It had been a while since he'd seen Em. It wasn't that strange, but Em was usually skirting the edge of his periphery, and Muzaka was sure it had been hours since he'd last seen his crewmate.
He wasn't in the boiler room or O2...
Not in security or electrical... (Not that Muzaka was surprised at that - Em eyed both places with distaste whenever he passed.)
Muzaka slipped his helmet on before going outside, and paused. Forward was storage, and to his right was communications. If he went forward, he could continue on to the medbay and lab, and through there, eventually loop around to communications. Hopefully he would have found Em before then, but if he didn't, he should have searched everywhere, aside from the expanse outside the base.
Entering storage, Muzaka's eyes was drawn to the silver helmet laying on the floor, rolling on its side. As if it had been dropped.
No, no, no-
Muzaka rushed in, trying to find Em.
No blood pool or splatter marks. No toppled shelves or broken items laying around.
He paused, staring around him. What...? The storage room was empty.
Muzaka started at the door again and walked through, going between the line of shelves, but there was no bo-
There was a hole in the far corner no-one had gotten around to filling yet and Muzaka could just see the tip of a silver boot poking through.
"Em?" Muzaka called out, rushing over. He grabbed the boot and shook it. No blood around. The boot wasn't completely limp. Then-?
A weak grumble, Em trying to pull his boot away.
Muzaka closed his eyes, breathing a sigh of relief. Still alive. Good.
"What're you doin' down there, hey?" Muzaka said, wiggling Em's boot again. "Were you too tired to go to bed?"
Em tried to tug his boot away again, and Muzaka furrowed his brow, frowning. Em would have reacted stronger than that.
"Em? You okay?" Muzaka said, trying to peer into the darkness of the hole. He could see Em's spacesuit, but he couldn't see Em's head.
"Rrr..."
That didn't sound right.
Muzaka reached in, grabbing a fistful of Em's spacesuit and dragged him out.
Em's face was flushed when he emerged, the purple splotches Muzaka had seen on some of the other crewmates creeping up from Em's neck. "Damn, it got you too?"
Em's eyes slitted, the whites of his eyes darkening as Em growled and struggled against him, trying to reach for the hole.
"Hey, hey, hey," Muzaka said, pulling him close. "Yer not going back down there, okay? We need ta get you to Frankenstein."
"Nooo..." Em panted, his struggles weakening.
Right, they had to go.
Muzaka scooped Em up into his arms and headed for the door. He picked up Em's helmet on the way and jammed it on Em's head before they exited storage.
[Oi, Frankenstein, bringin' Em over.]
Frankenstein looked up at the comms call, frowning. Why was Muzaka bringing Em and why had he felt the need to warn them?
A little more information would have been nice, but Frankenstein prepared themself anyway. Muzaka wouldn't do such a thing for nothing and they would find out the truth soon enough.
Frankenstein hadn't expected to see Muzaka carrying Em into the medbay in his arms. Possibly dragging Em in behind him with Em protesting as much as he could, but not carrying.
Something was very, very wrong.
There was no blood, Em's spacesuit whole as far as Frankenstein could tell.
"Over here," Frankenstein said, gesturing to the closest bed.
Muzaka lay Em there, and when Frankenstein removed Em's helmet, there was a shower of dark purple dust that came out with it.
Em's eyes were transformed. Frankenstein froze, ice shooting through their veins. How much had Muzaka seen? Had it only happened while Em's helmet was on?
Em's eyes were half-lidded and hopefully- "Thank you for bringing him here," Frankenstein said as they smiled, trying to draw Muzaka's eyes away from Em. "This might take a while to stabilise him and-"
"I'll get away so I'm not underfoot, heh. Catch ya later and hope ya feel better soon, Em." Muzaka left with a wave behind him.
Em growled at that and Frankenstein nudged him, Em cutting himself off.
They stared at each other for a second before Em looked away with a grimace. He whined, a weak sound of pain and confusion, as he curled up and Frankenstein turned away with a sigh, closing the curtain around the bed. Just in case Em couldn't control his transformation when someone else came in.
"Yes, we can get sick," Frankenstein said, picking up the temperature reader. They checked Em's temperature and hid their frown. Hmm, higher than the fevers the others had, and Em hadn't shown any symptoms earlier. "Is there anything else you're experiencing?" How far did that rash go?
Em looked at them blearily long enough that Frankenstein considered repeating their question.
"Why's it matter?" Em grimaced again, as if speaking was painful. "He caught me. Got sick. I'm weak."
Frankenstein paused, trying to make sure they understood Em's ramblings. "Muzaka saw you kill someone?"
Em shook his head, sucking in a breath. "Saw me, saw my eyes. Couldn't get away, couldn't-" Em's breathing was going erratic again.
"It's all right," Frankenstein said, in what they hoped was a soothing voice. "Muzaka doesn't seem the wiser of what you are, or in the very least, suspicious." It was probably because Muzaka wasn't trying to find imposters, so he may have thought Em's change was the same transformation the stronger modified humans had.
"And you aren't alone in being sick - you aren't the first to have caught the bug here, and I very much doubt you'll be the last." Aside from getting hit the hardest and fastest by it, as far as Frankenstein could tell. But they weren't so callous to bring that up when Em's mindset was so delicate.
Was it because he was an imposter that M-21 was affected strongly compared to their crewmates, or was it something else entirely? They would have to run some tests to see if they could find out.
Em scowled at them. It would have looked better if it wasn't clear Em was having trouble focusing on them. "You haven't gotten sick."
"There's still ample time for that," Frankenstein said wryly. And then what would happen? They should write up a guide of what was needed, in case they became too affected to look after the others.
"Hmph." Em settled down and Frankenstein got to work.
Em finally dozed off, his temperature falling, but it was a fitful sleep, Frankenstein keeping an eye on him.
It was good to see Em could get the benefits from the medication but... Frankenstein's mind drifted as they brought their attention back to the screen.
They'd taken some of Em's blood while he rested, and tested it. It had the usual increased white blood cells and that was to be expected.
Frankenstein had never had the chance, never been allowed, to view their own data before. And this... As much as imposters were created and raised in the labs, it was right there in front of Frankenstein's eyes.
At their base, imposters were still humans.
Created, yes. But still humans, from whatever was left after the Union had altered their DNA. Just like modified humans, just slightly different.
Just like Muzaka had said.
Frankenstein sighed, removing their glasses. Their own data was the same. Different from Em's in a number of ways, but ultimately they were still human. Just given a different name, for whatever reason.
To make imposters appear so different from the rest of the modified humans, that it seemed normal for them to kill each other?
And it worked, didn't it?
Frankenstein eyed the data for a second before adjusting it. To the untrained eye, their original data would look like modified humans like the rest of the crewmates, but if someone who knew the difference saw them... Deleting their data would arouse suspicion if only two people were left out of the recordings. Therefore, it was better if they changed their own data and Em's so they were even more in line with everyone else's.
Frankenstein looked across at the hiss of the medbay doors opening.
"Yo," Muzaka said, his voice hushed, his eyes darting around the room.
Frankenstein smiled, seeing him. "Em's already left, so you don't have to worry about disturbing him."
Muzaka relaxed. "Oh, okay!"
"He insisted," Frankenstein said with a sigh. Or more, had disappeared from the bed when Frankenstein was in the lab. If he was able to do that and get away before Frankenstein caught him, it meant Em was feeling significantly better, so they didn't chase him up. While Em had been hit the hardest by the bug, he had also recovered the fastest as well.
"He got to sleep in a bed instead of a hole in the ground. I bet it helped a lot." Muzaka said. "I might try fillin' that up soon - someone could trip over it."
"It would be for the best," Frankenstein said. They were already dealing with making sure everyone was healthy - they didn't want to deal with twisted ankles as well.
"And you?"
Frankenstein tilted their head. "Mm?" Had they missed something?
"You feelin' okay?" Muzaka asked, looking them over.
"Oh." Frankenstein laughed, warming again. "Yes, I haven't caught anything so far. Thank you for worrying about me."
Now they could concentrate on making sure the others recovered.