Chapter 10: The night the lights went out…
She woke up to the sensation of being shaken awake. She opened her eyes.
Coal stood over her, hands on her shoulders.
"Coal! Are you supposed to be up yet?" Nadre asked, getting up out of the bed.
Coal blushed. "Yeah, I've heard everything from everybody already. Frooby and all that. Violet says I can get up though. C'mon, we're at Polus."
Nadre leapt up. They were at Polus? Finally!
She did now realize that she was in fact in the Medbay aboard the Skeld. She nearly rushed out at full tilt with Coal hot on her tail. She was so excited to finally see her homeland.
"Woah, easy does it, Snow!" Coal chuckled. "Where's the fire?"
Nadre nearly squealed in ectasy. "I'm too excited for that!"
Suddenly, she stopped dead in her tracks. She paled, which was a feat for her already white complexion.
"Sunshine!" she suddenly yelled, and began racing back the other way.
"Snoooow!" Coal shouted, caught off-guard by the sudden burst of speed. "Admiral Violet has her! She was waiting for you in Office!"
Nadre did a one-eighty and turned back towards Coal.
"Thank goodness. I thought for a moment there…"
"That Carrot had gotten to her?" Coal asked. "Or should I say Avulgar?"
Nadre nodded. Admiral Lime surely told the rest of the Crew to keep a vigilant eye for Avulgar.
"If that happened, I… I wouldn't be able to… keep going." Nadre sighed. She walked out, into the lightly snowing surface of the planet. "Thank goodness she's safe though."
Coal wrapped his arms around Nadre. "Didn't you think about bringing a coat? It IS still snowing here, don't y'know."
Nadre shrugged. "Meh. Cold doesn't bother me much."
Truth. Imposters… didn't seem affected much by heat or cold.
But extreme heat or cold… different story.
The lava pit bubbled harshly outside of office, occasionally splashing drops of magma out onto the freezing surface. Nadre grinned.
Her home planet. Finally. It was so… purple.
Coal sighed. "I thought Polus was being reinhabited. Where's the greenery?"
Admiral Green tapped both of their shoulders. "That-a-way." He said, pointing off towards the other end of the complex. Nadre peered into the distance, and saw the tips of trees poking up through the snow and purple soil of Polus. A grin could not be stopped, as it bloomed across her face. The recolonization of her planet.
It was successful.
Polus was inhabitable.
Coal's hand brought her back to reality. She looked at him as he smiled, giving her hand a little squeeze.
"Hey, lookit that, huh? Finally, those seeds must've sprang up like kangaroos!" he said. Admiral Green walked off towards Medbay, as Nadre and Coal resumed walking towards Office. The whole walk there, Nadre's eyes flitted uneasily towards the various holes scattered over the complex. There was no way that Avulgar did not follow her to the planet's surface, and with her name and face known, there was no way that she was anywhere but the vents.
But she did not show.
Violet was waiting for them in office, holding Alyra. Nadre sighed in relief and held out her arms to embrace Alyra again. Alyra took her normal place in Nadre's arms. Violet breathed out.
"Whew, that child of yours really has a weird thing for you, huh? The whole time, she was fidgeting in my arms." She said. Nadre smiled.
"I've got the magic touch with her." She said, looking down at Alyra, who was settling down into a light sleep. "I don't know why, but I won't question it."
Coal nods, and grabs Nadre's free hand. "Thank you, Admiral Violet. Now I think we should probably leave you to get tasks done."
"Frooby, cadet." Violet said, leaning back in her chair and saluting. Coal's face grew red as he led a chuckling Nadre away.
Coal quickly checked vitals, before seeing with confidence that nobody had died. Nadre's expression darkened slightly, seeing a healthy heartbeat stubbornly continuing on Avulgar's profile. She was definitely still alive.
And it was only a matter of time before she struck again.
Coal snapped her out of her trance. "Hey, it's okay. She wouldn't dare come after anyone again. Everyone knows what she is, and there's no way that she'll be able to come close without being eliminated."
Nadre began to argue that Imposters would come after Crewmates with everything they had, regardless of cost of death, but she felt that that wouldn't exactly be reassuring.
She nodded, and enjoyed Coal's warmth as his arms wrapped around her once again. She felt safer in his arms, though she knew that she could take this Crewmate in a fight, any day of the year. It wasn't just the strength contained within the embrace. There was another element, that bolstered her confidence. She couldn't pinpoint it, but it went beyond a physical attribute, as though an emotion had become tangible enough to feel.
Coal's embrace ended, leaving Nadre wanting more. He smiled, and took her hand again.
"It'll be alright." He said, comforting her once again.
And in this moment of what had been meant as comfort, a thought leapt unbidden into Nadre's head.
'He doesn't even know what you are, faker.' The thought hissed into her mind. 'Your friendship with him is based, revolved around, and living a lie.'
Nadre nearly scowled at the unwanted thought. Coal… would he still feel the same about her? Should she tell him? Admiral Lime and Admiral Violet had been pretty understanding, and they had had first-hand contact with Imposter-kind before.
But she couldn't risk being wrong about Coal. If he hated her, it would leave a hole in her heart that she didn't know if she could fill again.
Coal began leading her towards Specimens. Nadre looked up and saw Admiral Lime pass by the window in Office, and realized how desperately she needed to talk to someone. She stopped Coal for a moment.
"Hey, you continue on without me, huh?" she asked. "There's something I need to do first."
Coal smiled and nodded, leaving Nadre and Alyra in Vitals. Nadre smiled, and turned around.
Just in time to get rendered unconscious by a metal pipe.
She felt her senses slowly waking up. The lump on her head throbbed, but with a minor amount of concentration, the pain disappeared along with the welt. That's when she realized.
She was tied up. In the vents. Something was clutched in her hands.
The ropes binding her was only a small matter. Nadre shot out her tongue, severing the ropes easier than cutting through warm butter. She looked at the note in her hand, written in Imposter.
You took my cover from me. You sentenced me to death. You sentenced me to be unable to show my face among the outside world. Now I relinquish the same from you. You will watch as I take everything from you, destroy it, and blame you for the massacre. Enjoy your soon demise.
Nadre trembled at the note. Whatever Avulgar had up her sleeve, this definitely was a formidable threat. She had to get back up there, fast.
She crawled through the vents, towards Office. She nearly popped out of the hole, when she saw something that made her blood absolutely freeze.
Coal, walking alongside a white Crewmate. The White Crewmate was holding Alyra, who was fidgeting much more than usual.
Alyra and Nadre both knew.
Avulgar.
Avulgar's plan slapped Nadre between the eyes. She would frame Nadre for killing Coal. There would be nobody who would doubt her. And if Admiral Lime saw Avulgar do the deed, while imitating Nadre…
…then all bets would be off. There would be neither Crewmates nor Imposters who would take her in.
She would be exiled from both species, if not executed.
And Alyra…
Alyra would be dead in a minute.
Nadre's heart leapt into her throat, and it took every ounce of willpower not to leap out of the vent and make a dash for the tiny yellow baby. There had to be a reason why Avulgar had merely thrown her into the vents.
Just as Coal and Faker-Nadre turned the corner, Avulgar looked at the hole and winked, grinning evilly. She knew there was nothing Nadre could do to stop her.
If another "Snow" leapt straight out of the vent and engaged the other, there would be no way that anybody would think the venter was not Carrot, disguised.
Nadre huffed. Immediate action had to be taken, but how was she going to get close enough to make the switch back? And how? Avulgar would be prepared for the attack, as Nadre had not been.
Nadre's mind raced, as she followed Coal and Alyra's trail from the vents. They went into labs, through medbay, and into specimens. Nadre frowned. There were no vents in specimens. How was she going to—
An idea came to her, and she flew through the tunnels to admin. She was there in seconds, and dashed out of the hole, and behind a bookshelf. She waited. And waited. Sounds of the decontamination door hissing caught her ear, and muffled speaking. The door on her side opened, and she heard her own voice, talking with Coal's.
"Well, I think it's still a little strange. Could she be hungry or something?" Coal asked as Alyra whined some more.
"I guess that could be." Avulgar said, perfectly imitating Nadre's voice. "Maybe we should try to see about that."
"Okay, but first I have one more task in Vitals." Coal said, leading Avulgar away. "This'll be quick."
"Indeed. I have a task there too." Avulgar said, smiling. Nadre nearly gasped, but held it in at the last moment. Avulgar whipped her head in her direction, but saw nothing. She turned back to Coal. "Let's go."
They both walked into the hallway of Office. Nadre crept out from behind the bookshelf, keeping her distance so they didn't see her. While she was creeping along with them, she listened to the conversation.
"So, what do you have left to do?" Avulgar said, readjusting her grip on Alyra.
"Oh, just gotta swipe my ID card real quick. Shouldn't be more than a handful of seconds." Coal said. They both walked into Vitals, and Nadre followed close behind. She scuttled up the side of the wall and onto the ceiling, to avoid detection. She came in, just as the doors to Office slammed shut, and clicked. Coal didn't seem worried. Avulgar held out Alyra to him as Nadre silently hid herself in the shadows of the room.
"Would you hold her for a moment? I gotta download some data." She said. Coal took Alyra in his arms while he attempted to swipe the card. He was having more trouble than normal with it. Avulgar stepped back, still facing Coal.
Her abdomen opened.
Coal began to turn, his eyes widening. The word Snow was forming on his lips as Avulgar's tongue shot out.
The tongue sliced through the air, burying itself deeply into flesh.
White flesh.
Coal backed up as he saw two Snows. One with an Imposter's tongue coming out of it, and one into which the tongue had gone into.
"Snow!" he finally said, gripping Nadre's shoulders. "Snow, are you alright?"
Nadre hung her head. At first, Coal became frightened that Nadre was not alright at all, but slowly she stood to her feet. Avulgar seemed to be having difficulty in removing her tongue. Nadre was keeping a firm hold on it.
"I'm fine, Coal." Nadre said, her voice quivering. She couldn't look him in the eye.
Coal seemed… confused, at first.
"Why didn't… how—" he began, but then his eyes widened. Nadre didn't even have to look up to see it.
"I didn't want you to learn like this Coal." She said softly. Avulgar grunted in frustration as Nadre's grip tightened. "I only wanted to keep you safe from her."
Coal was silent for a moment. Nadre slowly looked up at him.
"Please." She said, letting one hand go of Avulgar's tongue. "Please give me back my daughter."
She held out her hand to take Alyra, but Coal flinched and backed up. His motion cut her deeply.
"I—" he said, looking back and forth between both of the White Imposters. "I don't think that's for the best."
Nadre kept her hand out. "Coal, please." Tears were beginning to form in her eyes. She didn't want to use force, but to regain Alyra she would do anything, except hurting Coal. Coal backed up again.
"I… can't. I-I'm… sorry." was all he said, before turning and running.