Summary: The base was a Union training ground, for both imposters and not, the Union wanting to test their creations against each other. Frankenstein is sure it was going to be an easy win, but when they see the state the other imposter is in, it no longer looks as likely.
Among Us AU! :D This being an Among Us au, there's gonna be some casual murder happening off screen, haha.
Will be Frankenstein/Muzaka.
I've got most of this mapped out, but not properly planned, and it'll mostly be a snippet verse, so there'll be quite a bit of a time jump between some parts and the parts won't be equal length. At the moment, there's some 32 parts planned out, and I'll be seeing if I can post twice a week.
They're on the Polus map, but I made a few adjustments, because they still need a medbay, and crew's quarters would also be nice, haha. And also having a mix of vents and holes, because why not. XD
'Spaced' will be more of a general catch-all of 'voted out' rather than 'lava-ed' for this map, ahha.
Imposter
By Dark Ice Dragon
They weren't meant to use their names on the Union base; they were only to use the colour of their spacesuit, to make everything equal. Frankenstein knew enough that it was a way to further dehumanise them.
Hah. 'Dehumanise'. It was hard to dehumanise them when they were never human in the first place.
The base was a test for both sides: for the modified humans to work under pressure and being able to spot irregularities, while for the imposters, it was a test to see how human they could appear. If the humans passed, they would be sent to staff ships after proving they could root out imposters; if the imposters passed, they would be sent to infiltrate other ships to weaken their numbers and steal their information.
After all the basic tests, they were finally being put into a proper scenario amongst others to put their skills to the test. Frankenstein had been around humans for years now, had studied them and how they acted.
Winning would be easy.
[-]
White already had his helmet off by the time Frankenstein was woken up at the base. It was understandable - with White's waist-length silver hair, it would have have been hard to contain even a fraction of it within his helmet. White had a scar that cut up from the bottom of his left jaw that almost reached his eye and tucked under his arm was a small red dog that had one eye in the centre of its head.
"Yo!" White said, waving. "I'm Muzaka."
Frankenstein blinked, hesitated for a second, and then removed their helmet, also smiling. "Frankenstein." The only cameras on the ship were internal ones; the Union had too many testing bases to monitor all of them. Because of that, they were only to contact the Union once one side had won.
If Muzaka was setting the tone for non-compliance immediately, it was going to be...interesting how the others would react, and if Muzaka would end up leading the others, or becoming one of the first to die one way or another.
Frankenstein heard the teleporter start up behind them. The base of their skull itched, resonating with the new imposter.
Two imposters then, possibly more. That would make this easier.
The other imposter had chosen silver for their spacesuit, and that seemed to be it. Frankenstein hid their frown. Humans wanted to both be individual and in a community, a need to express themselves in what way they could. Frankenstein had chosen a doctor skin for their space suit - after the amount spent in the lab, they was sure they could regurgitate what they'd heard if the need arose. Silver hadn't chosen anything else to decorate themselves with - to not do anything was already a sign against Silver. Had imposter creation taken such a downward turn in the Union?
"Heey, almost the same colour!" Muzaka laughed, the sound filling the room. "You haven't customised yet? Here, why don't you try-" Muzaka flipped through the menus without looking, his hand slapping down on something. A set of wolf ears materialised next to him and he grabbed it. "-this!"
Silver didn't move, and damn, they were hesitating this much at the start? They weren't going to last long.
"C'mon, take off yer helmet," Muzaka said, ambling over. "I wanna see what they look like on ya."
Muzaka was almost upon when Silver removed their - ah. That would explain it.
Short silver hair, a scar cutting down the right side of his mouth. They could almost look like family, Muzaka Silver's father. In the Union, that could be possible with how much they played with DNA.
"Woah, we're almost a mirror image!" Muzaka said, not missing a beat, and slid the ears onto Silver's head.
The glare of Silver's face would have made most people pause, and Frankenstein saw a row of sharp thin fangs beneath Silver's lips. Damn, he was going to reveal himself even before the mission even started!
The drone of the teleporters started up again, more people arriving and Frankenstein exhaled, Muzaka's attention distracted as he went over to greet the newcomers.
Crisis averted, for now. Frankenstein was certain it wouldn't be the last.
[-]
Muzaka had convinced the others to also remove their helmets and give their names while they waited to arrive.
Exiting the dropship together wasn't so bad.
It was just... It was a risky plan, but Frankenstein had to do it.
"Em," he said, smiling at Silver, "do you want to come with me to the medbay?" Pairing off was good, because people could keep an eye on each other, and if someone was killed, then eyes would be on their partner. An imposter pairing with an imposter was risky, if someone questioned why they were together, but this way, Frankenstein should be able to give Em an alibi.
Ah, 'Em'. The name didn't stick out too much, not when a number of the other people were named after objects, but it was clear Em was a letter designation, presumably with numbers following. And with what little Frankenstein had seen of him so far, they was surprised someone hadn't accused Em already.
It was a little irritating.
Em studied them with narrowed eyes before nodding curtly. Good.
The medbay was to the east, next to the lab, which was good, because it meant they should hear anyone coming.
Frankenstein exhaled, the sounds of the crew fading into the background, only his and Em's footsteps echoing as they walked through the base, snow swirling around them.
The medbay doors had just closed and as Frankenstein removed their helmet, Em rushed at them.
Frankenstein snapped. They grabbed Em's transformed hands (silver furred, nails extended to black claws longer than his palm) and slammed him against the wall. Frankenstein let their own true form bleed through, their hair shifting to spikes to point at Em's throat.
Em froze at the sight of them, his eyes wide.
"Are you an idiot?" Frankenstein hissed. Could Em really not tell they were alike? Had the Union not socialised him at all with humans or other imposters? "We're meant to kill the other crewmembers, not each other."
Em didn't say anything for a few seconds, before he looked away, his transformation fading back to normal.
Frankenstein held him for a few more seconds, frowning. "Can you talk?" Had the Union taught him more than his name at least?
Em's gaze slid back to them, before nodding.
They sighed. "Words, Em. To appear human, you need to be able to talk fluently."
Frankenstein got a low growl as a reply before Em spoke. "Yeah. Can talk."
Em was going to get spaced at the first accusation if Frankenstein didn't teach him how to blend in.
"Then remember to do that when the humans are talking to you," Frankenstein said, letting him go. "No growling."
Em scowled at them. "Only growled 'cause you know me."
It was something at least. "All right. I'll leave you to your business - try not to get caught." If they stayed in medbay and a body was found, they could give Em an alibi.
"Fine." Em looked around and then disappeared through a vent.
Frankenstein sighed, rubbing their face. They spied the wolf ears Em had been wearing on the ground, and it was probably for the best it had been dropped during their scuffle. If the ears had been found next to a body, it would have been clear who had done it.
And that was if Em was even capable of killing someone else.
Maybe this wasn't going to be as easy as Frankenstein thought it would...