"Man" Nika said, "this kind of feels weird, Daddy, to be without Mummy, Neri and Yuri."

"Sure does" Navy replied. "But now, you can take a peek in the dorm room, since we have more time for that."

"Fair enough. Hey uh, dorm room people, do you guys mind me taking a peek in your room? Don't worry, I won't touch anything there."

"Sure" Arnie said, "I cannot see why not."

"Go ahead" Nori and Rice said in unison.

Navy felt Lava glare at him and his daughter.

"No, no" he said in a nervous tone, "we won't just enter your room without your permission, Lava."

"Good" the snob replied, "you better not, either."

The father and daughter went upstairs to look at the dorm room.

"Only four crewmates on the Skeld's main ship today, huh?" Pop said. "I wonder how many tasks they have with that small number of people."

"Tons, most likely." Lava chuckled with some sort of pig-oinking in the mix. "And a ton of long ones, too."

"Or only one per person" Choco said, "if that's a possibility, at least."

"It is" Arnie said, "but there's only a very slim chance that Mack will do such a thing. At least four tasks is the usual number that we get."

"And with only four people" Rice said, "the impostor could be tattled on very easily. Now, whom of the four current crewmates on the mission would be a good impostor?"

"I think Billy" Nori replied. "They seem so stealthy and honest, as they also happen to have quite the light fingers as a regular crewmate."

"Squee would most likely be one big terrorist as an impostor" Charlie laughed, "by sabotaging every single thing on the ship. I can already see a whole glance of malicious pleasure in their eyes now!"

"I don't think that both the reactor and electric can both be sabotaged at the same time."

"Well, we didn't try it yet, but we'll see about that."

"But rumour has it that we can randomly lock doors as impostors" Pop said. "I haven't tried that yet, but it kind of seems like fun. Oh, and as for me as an impostor? I don't think I can be that much of a good one, as I'm easily frightened for most of the time."

"That's alright, practise eventually makes perfect." Arnie patted the girly girl's shoulder in a friendly fashion.


Meanwhile, on the main ship of the Skeld, the mission was about to start.

It was just Squee, Billy, Yikk and Vienna with Neri and Yuri.

"This won't be easy if we keep on sticking together…" Billy said. "Man, I already feel dread!"

"I feel nervous, Mummy" Neri said. "I miss Daddy and Nika…" Tears stood in his eyes.

"It'll be alright, sweetums" Vienna said, as she briefly took her son's helmet off to wipe his tears. "You know what, you could try to help me with some tasks, if you'd like."

A smile appeared on the little boy's face, and he kissed his mother's cheek spot of her helmet in approval.

Eventually, everyone got their status on their pagers.

Okay, Yikk thought as they saw their status as an impostor, you can do this, you can be a very stealthy impostor soon… They breathed deeply as the door to the rest of the ship opened up.

The foursome immediately started their missionary tasks, and Yikk tried to fake them as well as possible. The card swipe went okay, and looked believable enough under the watchful eyes of the three others.

Back at the cafeteria, Neri was as eager to help Vienna download some data to upload in the admin room.

"This is fun, Mummy!" he giggled. "Now we wait, right?"

"Correct, son" Vienna replied. "And if I'm not mistaken, it often doesn't take too long."

"Aw, that's so cute!" Squee commented on the situation. "Very sweet of you to let Yuri help with your tasks, Vienna…!"

"I'm Neri, not Yuri. That's Yuri." The little boy pointed at his younger sibling, who sat on their mother's adapted helmet. "They cannot do tasks like I can, they can only eat, sleep, pee, cry, sit up, and crawl."

Squee burst out in laughter about the whole build-up of the sentence.

"Now, that's not very nice to say about your little sibling. You know they still have yet to learn a ton, right? In about five years, they'll be able to speak, walk, eat and use the toilet like a civilised person… and, of course, help me with tasks."

Neri sighed, obviously hating the statement that his mother just made.

"Squee, pwease save the giggwing fo' youh fwee time" Yikk said in a sing-song voice, as they dragged their fellow crewmate along by their shoulder. "You still have tasks to do…!"

"Oops, looks like I got distracted just now. Thanks!"

And with a swift finger on their pager, the lime crewmate cut all of the lights on the ship.

"Mummy, I'm scared!" Neri practically glomped his mother's leg, and his eyes became teary again.

"Guys!" Billy exclaimed, "please come and help with the lights!"

Vienna and Squee followed suit, but Yikk decided to wander around elsewhere, because they didn't quite know what else to do as an impostor.

In the electrical room, Neri had 'infected' Yuri with his crying, which made Vienna feel helpless and Billy and Squee unable to focus.

"Oh, poor, sweet things…" The purple crewmate tried her utmost best to comfort both of her panicking children.

"And you're sure that Yuri's not hungry and still clean at this point?" Billy asked.

"So far, yes."

"Squee, what do you think you're doing?!" The yellow crewmate roughly pushed the dumb blonde aside. "The lights are supposed to be on, you're only making it worse!"

"Sorry, man! I didn't know you were cross with me!"

"Billy, Squee, please settle down."

"Yes, ma'am" the two arguing crewmates said in unison.

Billy flipped two switches so that the green lights associated with them were lit again before taking the weeping Yuri in their arms and softly singing a nursery rhyme to them in an attempt to silence them.

"Thanks, Billy, you're a lifesaver." Vienna flipped two other switches before letting Neri flip one. "Go ahead, Neri, you can do this…!"

The little boy flipped the last switch, and his face lit up nearly as brightly as the lights did. He even couldn't help but giggle through the last few of his tears.

"Say, where's Yikk at?" Squee suddenly asked. "I thought they followed suit. Did they fall asleep during a different task or something?" They walked towards the gate of the door of the electric room. "Hey, Yikk! You still awake?!"

"No, I'm innocent!" a childish voice in a nervous tone was heard from the storage, followed by a yelp and a loud thud. "Ow, my butt!"

"Hey" Billy said to their two fellow crewmates, "are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Oh my gosh" Vienna said, "are you saying that-"

"That's right. They didn't help with the lights when I asked them to." The Latinx handed the now quiet Yuri back to the purple crewmate and rushed to the cafeteria to call an emergency meeting.

There was an eerie silence at the start of the meeting. Yikk's forehead was dripping with sweat and their heart was pounding in their throat. Their breathing even sounded very uneasy.

"Are you cross with us?" Squee tried to ask, which apparently wasn't the correct question to ask at the moment. Also, they were most likely too dumb to understand the current situation that they and their fellow crewmates were in.

"It wasn't me!" the childish youngster exclaimed. "I simpwy couldn't find you in the dahk when the wights wehe off, an' neithah did I know whewe I was!"

"You're definitely the impostor, Yikk" Billy said. "I'm very sorry to say it, but…"

"No! I'm not an impostah! I'm just an awful cwewmate an' I hate it!" The lime crewmate tossed themself to the ground and started weeping loudly like crazy.

"Guess they don't like their current status…" Vienna said.

"I dun wanna go outside of the ship to do tasks thewe! Pwease, fohgive me fo' my actions! Fo' all I cawe, put me in the cohnah of the stowage because I desehved it!"

"Wow, they're even asking to be treated like a child at this point. Well, guess there's only one thing to do about it…" Billy got up, grabbed the enraged Yikk by their right leg, dragged them towards the storage and lifted them into a sitting position (as far as Billy's physical strength let them), facing one of the corners. "And don't you dare to leave that corner until either me or Vienna tells you to, okay?"

"Yes, Biwwy… I'm an awful cwewmate…"

"You bet." The yellow crewmate left the crying impostor alone to finish their remaining tasks.

"Squee, come with me" Vienna said in a motherly tone, "and please don't do your tasks all alone."

"Why?" the orange crewmate asked.

"Because otherwise, you'll be distracting Yikk from their corner time."

"I'm not really the type that would do such things, but alright, if you say so…"

Billy overheard the two crewmates during their task in the navigation room and chuckled about it, dumb as Squee really is. They finished charting the course before downloading the data nearby.


Not much later, the remaining crewmates were all done with their tasks, and the spaceship was about to go back to its base a little earlier since this was a shorter mission with fewer people.

"Guys" Billy said, "I'll handle Yikk. You stay here and uh… well, grab something to eat, or uh…"

"I'm starving" Squee said, as they headed to the kitchenette to grab themself quite a few tangerines.

"Make sure to share at least one with Neri, too" Vienna said, as she got up and took Yuri in her arms. "If you're looking for me, I'll be changing Yuri at the medical bay." She headed to the aforementioned location while Billy headed to the storage.

"Yikk, you're allowed to come out of the corner now."

Yikk didn't respond. They apparently somehow managed to fall asleep while sitting in the uncomfortable position. They looked like they were folded in half, with their head hanging in between their legs, their closed eyes were still quite tear-stained and they quietly sucked their thumb.

The yellow crewmate carefully pulled the lime crewmate's thumb out, causing them to snore quite loudly subsequently.

"Damn, that sure is loud… if they indeed slept without their thumb, there'd only be a very slim chance that I'd ever be able to sleep…" They grabbed their crewmate's shoulders and pinched them well for a few times in an attempt to wake them up.

"No, Mum, stop it…"

"Yikk, it's me, Billy. You're now allowed to get out of the corner."

"What?" Yikk's eyes shot open and they briefly turned to look their fellow crewmate in the face before turning to see that they woke up with their thumb pulled out. "So you heahd me? Siwwy goose, why did you even bothah?"

"I tried to wake you up, but you slept like quite the log, apparently."

"Don't I ahways sweep wike a wog?"

"I'm very sorry for the fact that you were the impostor. It seems that you're not too fond of this status either."

"I…" The dark blonde youngster broke out in tears again. "I no fond of bein' impostah indeed… I so sowwy fo' bein' awful cwewmate…! If I be impostah next time, do the same again, because I think such a punishment suits me the best…!"

"Hey, it's alright, sweetie. All of our tasks are done, and we're about to head home since we're only with four." The Latinx put their arms around their fellow crewmate and rubbed their back. "Shh… there, there, I'm here with you…"

The two headed back to the cafeteria to have a little water to calm down.

"Hi, Yikk" Squee said with their mouth full of tangerine.

"Leave them" Neri said, "they're sad."

"Thanks, Newi…" Yikk said quietly, as they took careful sips of their glass of water.

Billy kept on rubbing their back and shoulders in an attempt to comfort them.

Vienna eventually came back from the medical bay with empty arms.

"Where's Yuri at?" Billy asked.

"They're taking a nap" Vienna replied, "I already saw them nod off after finishing up the change, so I did what's most likely the best." She sat down in between Yikk and Neri. "How are you feeling, Yikk?"

"I feel awful…" the lime crewmate sighed with a slight sob. "I dun wanna be the impostah anymowe…"

"The mission's now over, sweetie, and tomorrow, you're hopefully just a regular crewmate again. If you'll be going on a mission tomorrow, that is." Vienna rubbed the youngster's right shoulder and kissed their temple in a motherly fashion.

"I am just tewwible at sabotaging, an' I no wanna hahm anyone, because you all awound hewe be nice people…"

"So if Lava would be here today" Billy said, "you would harm her?"

"Of couwse, she be my enemy an' I hate hah."

"Seems legit, I'd do the same." The Latinx chucked their last bit of water away and took their fellow crewmate close to them.

"Thank you, Biwwy, fo' suppohtin' me." Yikk put their left arm around Billy's body and popped their right thumb into their own mouth.

"Anytime, my friend. Even if we would both be impostors, I'll support you through thick and thin." Billy caressed and rubbed their friend in a loving fashion until they fell into a somewhat deep sleep.


"Hey, isn't that the main ship?" Pop said upon seeing the silhouette of the familiar turtle-shaped ship.

"They're back quite early, I see" Choco commented.

"They most likely gave up because the impostor was too good" Lava chuckled.

"Oh, shut up about that" Nori said. "On missions, we never dare to give up until all of our tasks are done."

"Easy for you to say." The snob poked the older twin hard into his side.

"Hey, keep your filthy hands off of me!" He briefly winked at his younger twin sibling.

Lava headed upstairs to go to their balcony and have a smoke, because she got annoyed by Nori's most recent comment.

The four crewmates came out of the ship once it landed successfully, with Yikk being carried by Vienna in a princess-like style, while Billy held Yuri in their arms.

"What's with Yikk?" Charlie asked. "Are they sick or something?"

"Something negative has happened to them, in any case" Rice said. "We'll see if they want to talk about it or not."

Arnie opened the front door up to let the crewmates in.

"Hi" Billy said. "Long story short: this mission was too quiet and a little bit too easy as well." She handed Yuri to Navy. "Yuri is an amazing baby to have, by the way. They're easy to be comforted and so sweet."

"That's very nice to hear" Navy replied. "If you'd like, you could always babysit them when you're not on a mission."

"I don't know… I may be able to sing childhood songs to them, but most likely not to change nappies or clean up spit or all that jazz."

"I could always teach you the basics in that."

The two crewmates were left laughing for a bit.

Vienna, Neri and Yikk had continued towards the main room and taken their seats on the sofa. Squee, Arnie, Charlie, Navy and Nika joined them not much later.

"Nika!" Neri exclaimed upon seeing his older sister, jumping off of the sofa to hug her. "I missed you so much!"

"So did I, Neri" Nika chuckled.

"Mummy let me do downloads and turn the lights back on, and…" He pointed at Squee. "…they thought I was Yuri."

"Neri, please" Squee chuckled, "I'm blonde!"

"An' I dun wanna be the impostah anymowe…!" Yikk said, as they burst out in sobbing again. "Ugh, I'm such a cwybaby…"

"That's alright" Arnie said, as they ruffled the youngster's hair.

"It not be… I jus' wanna be weguwah cwewmate wike evewyone else… Biwwy even had to put me in the cohnah fo' bein' an awful cwewmate…!"

"And that exact method works pretty well, too" Billy said to the other crewmates. "So if we're on subsequent missions, and Yikk is the impostor again, just put them in the corner of any room with barely any missions and they'll genuinely calm back down!"

"Unwess I get outta that wif my shenanigans…" Through their tears, the childish youngster smiled faintly and stuck their tongue out at their friend.

"Hey" Rice said, as they put a hand on his fellow crewmate's shoulder, "if we're on a mission together again, and we both get the impostor status, maybe I could help."

"Weawy? Is that even a possibiwity?"

"In fact, it is. Mack told me in a message today, that in a few days, there'll be a chance that there'll be two impostors among us on a mission." Arnie grabbed his pager from his pocket to show the message to those who didn't see it yet.

"Hmm" Nori said, "then anyone could be a pair of impostors. Hey, Rice, imagine if the two of us would be impostors at the same time…!"

"Oooh" his younger sibling squealed, "then we could be like Lifty and Shifty version 2.0, wowie!" The two exchanged a loud high-five that briefly echoed through the main room.

"Whoever they are" Choco said, "those names already sound sneaky."

"They're cartoon animals from some weird show" Charlie said, "and you'll most likely regret getting to know it…!" She burst out in laughter. "Man, I was so naïve back then…!"

"Ah, that show" Squee said, "what was it called again? 'Sad breakfast friends'…? It's amazing how little I remember."

"Speaking of breakfast" Arnie said, "I'm hungry, and I think we should have lunch."

"What about Lava?" Billy asked.

"She'll come and see later on."

"Man, she's as bitter as olives that haven't been in brine…"

All of the others immediately got off of the sofa to have a seat at the dining table, because Billy and Arnie surely weren't the only ones who were hungry for a good lunch.