Imposter [Part 21]
Feb. 2nd, 2021 10:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Fandom: Noblesse
Summary: Kentas continues to hug M-21.
Notes: Among Us AU! :D
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Sci-fi
Word count: 1,262
Total word count: 18,270
Status: Work in progress
"Hey, Em."
M-21 hadn't needed the warning, knowing Kentas was there as soon he saw his shadow cast on the floor. It was the most distinctive shadow of all the crewmates, even when Kentas had his helmet on.
He turned around with a grunt, Kentas hugging him.
He still wasn't sure why Kentas kept doing this but... Kentas wasn't trying to hurt him while doing this either.
For some reason.
M-21 wasn't used to it.
Used to...touch. Not like this. Not with someone in his space. Being in his space meant close to kill, close to be hurt.
Kentas never did.
And neither did M-21.
"See you later, Em," Kentas said, clapping him on the shoulder as he left.
Em exhaled, turning back to his task.
He was just about to start again, when he paused and looked around.
He was alone.
There had been no-one else in the room with them.
M-21 stared, racking his brain, trying to remember if anyone else had been in the room with them.
No. The room had been empty when he'd entered and he hadn't heard the hiss of the door while he was being hugged by Kentas.
"The fuck?" He'd been alone with Kentas, and he'd never thought to kill him?
The fuck was wrong with him?
* * *
Frankenstein hummed as they made a few more samples to study in the specimen room, slipping the slide under the microscope. They turned their head towards the west decontamination room, frowning. Was it late already? They didn't think so, but...they'd thought that before.
They checked the clock on the wall and yes, it wasn't time for lunch yet, let alone dinner or later.
Em emerged from the decontamination room, scowling as was his habit. He eyed Frankenstein, his lips pursed and arms crossed.
Hm. Em didn't say anything immediately though, just studying Frankenstein. That was new.
"Is there something wrong?" Frankenstein asked, preparing their other slides.
Em growled softly, but it wasn't one of anger. Confusion? It was a higher tone than usual.
"You don't want to kill Muzaka," Em said, and Frankenstein paused, their hand hovering in the air.
"Yes, that's correct," Frankenstein admitted softly, working on their slides again. They'd realised a while ago, and had come to terms with it. It would have been obvious, considering the amount of time they spent alone with Muzaka, but why was Em bringing it up now?
Em didn't say anything for a few seconds. "I...don't want to kill Kentas...?"
Oh. Now wasn't that interesting? Was it because of the hugs? "I see," Frankenstein said.
"But my mission-!" Em said, before cutting himself off with a growl.
"Could still be attained," Frankenstein said. "There are others you can kill but..."
Em glared at them, baring his teeth. He could already tell where they were trying to steer the conversation. Good. He was learning.
"If we were to repair the dropship and leave the base, then you wouldn't need to kill Kentas, if it came down to it," Frankenstein said. With Muzaka's initial inspection, the dropship seemed in better shape than the base, all told.
The biggest problem was fuel. The dropship had enough to arrive at the base, and no more. It certainly wouldn't have enough to break atmosphere, and that wasn't something they could just print like their tools.
"They've got trackers on us!" Em burst out, shaking his head. "They'd find us instantly and kill us."
"They could," Frankenstein said, gesturing Em to follow as they headed for the medbay.
It didn't take long to reach the medbay, and Frankenstein brought up Em's scans for him to see. They pointed at the small white oval located next to Em's heart.
"They are all easy to find with a simple scan," they said. "I can remove them, but that would alert the Union so I would need to do it when we're just about to leave." If there was someone amongst the crewmates who was more interested in software programming, that could make it easier. Tao seemed the most likely candidate at the moment, but Frankenstein hadn't talked with him enough yet to know if he would be willing to attempt to flee the Union.
Em studied his scan.
"All this is risky, of course," Frankenstein said. "But in some ways, it's not much different than being in the Union."
Em snapped his attention back to them. "How? If we just do as we're told, then they're happy and don't punish or kill us."
"And how many times have they made a promise, and then broken it?" Frankenstein had been surprised when the second group had been called in, but after some reflection, it was a recurring cycle. Just one they hadn't seen before. Promises to let them see a new specimen before brushing them off because of a meeting. If they did well in killing the experiment without hesitation, they could be tested for being put onto enemy organisation ships. Except suddenly there were no spaces left in the next dropship.
They'd thought their wishes weren't fulfilled because they hadn't done well enough. If they just did well enough, shown their worth, then the scientists would be more interested in them and wouldn't brush them off anymore.
And yet, it happened again here.
Em stilled, pursing his lips.
"Everything was said just to motivate us to do what they wanted," Frankenstein said with a sigh. "We did as we were told here, and then our stay was extended. What's to say the scientists won't decide that they don't like the way we kill and we're punished for it?"
There had been a few times where Frankenstein had killed without transforming. The scientists hadn't liked that, wanting to see their transformation. Except the scientists hadn't mentioned that in the first place.
If the scientists did that here too, well, there wasn't much they could do or plan for that.
Em opened his mouth, but didn't say anything.
"We stay here, do as we're told and still found fault and punished, or we can try to escape, where they may find us again and punish or kill us." They paused, making sure Em was listening. He was. "At least with the second option, there is a chance they won't find us again." So long as everything went smoothly.
Em tried to say something a couple of times before he shook his head, leaving the medbay.
That...went far better than Frankenstein had expected to. No growls, shouting or stomping.
Then, Em was thinking about it. Or had possibly already agreed.
Frankenstein exhaled, relaxing. Good. That was good.
* * *
M-21 looked up, seeing Kentas' familiar silhouette in the admin's doors.
"Hey, Em."
"Hey."
He scowled at the fucking card reader and sighed as Kentas came closer, drawing him into a hug.
Kentas' scent was becoming familiar to him now and slowly, M-21 curled his arms around Kentas' waist.
He felt Kentas stiffen for a second (Had he done something wr-) and then relax.
Kentas chuckled, tightening the hug.
M-21 closed his eyes, leaning against him. It was...nice. He still didn't understand it, but...it was nice.
He didn't want to kill Kentas. He didn't.
That meant he was a failure. He should be killed because he didn't do what he was created for.
He didn't want to die, but Frankenstein was right. Even if he did everything perfectly, the scientists' moods were fickle and ever-changing. They might punish him for something else.
Then...
Would he have to try and escape the Union with Frankenstein...?
Summary: Kentas continues to hug M-21.
Notes: Among Us AU! :D
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Sci-fi
Word count: 1,262
Total word count: 18,270
Status: Work in progress
"Hey, Em."
M-21 hadn't needed the warning, knowing Kentas was there as soon he saw his shadow cast on the floor. It was the most distinctive shadow of all the crewmates, even when Kentas had his helmet on.
He turned around with a grunt, Kentas hugging him.
He still wasn't sure why Kentas kept doing this but... Kentas wasn't trying to hurt him while doing this either.
For some reason.
M-21 wasn't used to it.
Used to...touch. Not like this. Not with someone in his space. Being in his space meant close to kill, close to be hurt.
Kentas never did.
And neither did M-21.
"See you later, Em," Kentas said, clapping him on the shoulder as he left.
Em exhaled, turning back to his task.
He was just about to start again, when he paused and looked around.
He was alone.
There had been no-one else in the room with them.
M-21 stared, racking his brain, trying to remember if anyone else had been in the room with them.
No. The room had been empty when he'd entered and he hadn't heard the hiss of the door while he was being hugged by Kentas.
"The fuck?" He'd been alone with Kentas, and he'd never thought to kill him?
The fuck was wrong with him?
Frankenstein hummed as they made a few more samples to study in the specimen room, slipping the slide under the microscope. They turned their head towards the west decontamination room, frowning. Was it late already? They didn't think so, but...they'd thought that before.
They checked the clock on the wall and yes, it wasn't time for lunch yet, let alone dinner or later.
Em emerged from the decontamination room, scowling as was his habit. He eyed Frankenstein, his lips pursed and arms crossed.
Hm. Em didn't say anything immediately though, just studying Frankenstein. That was new.
"Is there something wrong?" Frankenstein asked, preparing their other slides.
Em growled softly, but it wasn't one of anger. Confusion? It was a higher tone than usual.
"You don't want to kill Muzaka," Em said, and Frankenstein paused, their hand hovering in the air.
"Yes, that's correct," Frankenstein admitted softly, working on their slides again. They'd realised a while ago, and had come to terms with it. It would have been obvious, considering the amount of time they spent alone with Muzaka, but why was Em bringing it up now?
Em didn't say anything for a few seconds. "I...don't want to kill Kentas...?"
Oh. Now wasn't that interesting? Was it because of the hugs? "I see," Frankenstein said.
"But my mission-!" Em said, before cutting himself off with a growl.
"Could still be attained," Frankenstein said. "There are others you can kill but..."
Em glared at them, baring his teeth. He could already tell where they were trying to steer the conversation. Good. He was learning.
"If we were to repair the dropship and leave the base, then you wouldn't need to kill Kentas, if it came down to it," Frankenstein said. With Muzaka's initial inspection, the dropship seemed in better shape than the base, all told.
The biggest problem was fuel. The dropship had enough to arrive at the base, and no more. It certainly wouldn't have enough to break atmosphere, and that wasn't something they could just print like their tools.
"They've got trackers on us!" Em burst out, shaking his head. "They'd find us instantly and kill us."
"They could," Frankenstein said, gesturing Em to follow as they headed for the medbay.
It didn't take long to reach the medbay, and Frankenstein brought up Em's scans for him to see. They pointed at the small white oval located next to Em's heart.
"They are all easy to find with a simple scan," they said. "I can remove them, but that would alert the Union so I would need to do it when we're just about to leave." If there was someone amongst the crewmates who was more interested in software programming, that could make it easier. Tao seemed the most likely candidate at the moment, but Frankenstein hadn't talked with him enough yet to know if he would be willing to attempt to flee the Union.
Em studied his scan.
"All this is risky, of course," Frankenstein said. "But in some ways, it's not much different than being in the Union."
Em snapped his attention back to them. "How? If we just do as we're told, then they're happy and don't punish or kill us."
"And how many times have they made a promise, and then broken it?" Frankenstein had been surprised when the second group had been called in, but after some reflection, it was a recurring cycle. Just one they hadn't seen before. Promises to let them see a new specimen before brushing them off because of a meeting. If they did well in killing the experiment without hesitation, they could be tested for being put onto enemy organisation ships. Except suddenly there were no spaces left in the next dropship.
They'd thought their wishes weren't fulfilled because they hadn't done well enough. If they just did well enough, shown their worth, then the scientists would be more interested in them and wouldn't brush them off anymore.
And yet, it happened again here.
Em stilled, pursing his lips.
"Everything was said just to motivate us to do what they wanted," Frankenstein said with a sigh. "We did as we were told here, and then our stay was extended. What's to say the scientists won't decide that they don't like the way we kill and we're punished for it?"
There had been a few times where Frankenstein had killed without transforming. The scientists hadn't liked that, wanting to see their transformation. Except the scientists hadn't mentioned that in the first place.
If the scientists did that here too, well, there wasn't much they could do or plan for that.
Em opened his mouth, but didn't say anything.
"We stay here, do as we're told and still found fault and punished, or we can try to escape, where they may find us again and punish or kill us." They paused, making sure Em was listening. He was. "At least with the second option, there is a chance they won't find us again." So long as everything went smoothly.
Em tried to say something a couple of times before he shook his head, leaving the medbay.
That...went far better than Frankenstein had expected to. No growls, shouting or stomping.
Then, Em was thinking about it. Or had possibly already agreed.
Frankenstein exhaled, relaxing. Good. That was good.
M-21 looked up, seeing Kentas' familiar silhouette in the admin's doors.
"Hey, Em."
"Hey."
He scowled at the fucking card reader and sighed as Kentas came closer, drawing him into a hug.
Kentas' scent was becoming familiar to him now and slowly, M-21 curled his arms around Kentas' waist.
He felt Kentas stiffen for a second (Had he done something wr-) and then relax.
Kentas chuckled, tightening the hug.
M-21 closed his eyes, leaning against him. It was...nice. He still didn't understand it, but...it was nice.
He didn't want to kill Kentas. He didn't.
That meant he was a failure. He should be killed because he didn't do what he was created for.
He didn't want to die, but Frankenstein was right. Even if he did everything perfectly, the scientists' moods were fickle and ever-changing. They might punish him for something else.
Then...
Would he have to try and escape the Union with Frankenstein...?