A/N: I've been reading a lot of fics for this game and decided to write one of my own since I think I have a pretty original idea here. If I get something wrong, I'm sorry. I'm physically unable to play Among Us (wish I could; it sounds super fun.) Please enjoy the fic and feel free to give me feedback!

A/N 2: I have decided to make a couple changes to this fic here and there as I want to continue the story with further fics. Originally this was made to be kinda cracky, but now I want to make Red a bit more sympathetic in order to be able to write a more plossible friendship between them and the crew. If you don't like this new direction then I'm sorry, but hopefully you'll respect my decision.

"You've gotta be kidding me." White groaned as he read over the latest message from MIRA HQ.

"Impostor?" Green asked, not really knowing why as he couldn't really think of anything else that would garner such a reaction from the captain.

"Yup."

Dang it, how do they always know? Red thought frustratedly to themself. Every single time their kind would infiltrate a ship, the crew's HQ would always know somehow. Fortunately, they didn't know who they were, so they still had a chance to complete their first mission successfully and bring glory to their home planet.

Suddenly the door to the cafeteria burst open and Yellow sprinted in. "Ah! Sorry I'm late!" She gasps, doubling over. "I had to feed Axie and Lottie. Hey, why do you guys look so freaked out? Am I missing something here?"

"There is an impostor among us." Blue says quietly, shivering.

"Who are Axie and Lottie?" Purple asks, seemingly completely unaffected by the situation at hand. Maybe Red could use that to frame her later? Definitely something to keep in mind...

"They're my pets!" Yellow says with a dreamy smile. "They're soooooo cute! You should totally come to my room and meet them sometime."

"Is it wise to not keep your pets in sight given that there's an impostor onboard?" White asks, giving Yellow a strange look.

"Of course! It's best if they stay in their tank most of the time; they have to have kinda specific conditions to survive. So whatever this impostor thingy is, I'm sure that's where they'll be safest."

The room fell silent. Red decided that they should be the one to break it; they thought it may look sus to not add anything to the conversation. "You mean to say that you don't know what an impostor is?"

Yellow shrugs helplessly. "Like I know what the word means, but I'm not quite sure what it relates to in this context."

"Seriously?" Green's shout was extremely loud in the quiet room.

"I'm new," Yellow all but wines.

It's true. Yellow was the newest recruit among them. She couldn't be older than twenty at the most, though she acted even younger than that. Why Red swore they saw her carrying a plushie into her quarters earlier.

"Well Yellow, I'm afraid that you are in for a rather rough time." White grumbled lowly, placing a hand on said crewmate's shoulder.

"We all are. Truth is, no one knows exactly what impostors are." Blue admits, rubbing their hands together nervously.

Purple continued. "Some think they're aliens, some think they're some sort of parasite or virus, and still others think they're just crewmates who went crazy from being in space too long. But one thing's for sure, they are bad news. They will try to kill everyone on this ship, and no one knows who they are. It could be any one of us."

"It could be you." Green accused, pointing at Purple, who just shrugged.

Yellow's eyes widened beneath her helmet. "Wait, you mean to say that one of us could be an alien? Cool! And I thought this mission would be boring!" She grins, bouncing a bit in excitement.

"You did get the part where Purple said the impostor is evil, right?" Green drawled.

"Well yeah, but it's not like any of us will actually be killed, right? I mean this seems like a kinda common thing, so surely HQ gave us something to defend ourselves with should one of our quote on quote 'crewmates' try to literally stab us in the back."

...

"Really?"

Yellow was the best to choose for their first victim. She was the newest recruit, and thus very inexperienced. She didn't even know what an impostor was. They almost felt sorry for her, almost.

Quiet as a mouse, they slunk through the vent, heading towards electrical. That's where Yellow was going, and according to admin, no one else was there. She was alone. She was vulnerable. She was— "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" She was right in front of them!

"Aaaaaah!" Yellow screamed too, trying to wiggle backwards in the vent. "Oh crap! Oh jeez! Oh no! I'm sorry, I-I didn't think that—augh! Ouch!"

"What are you doing in here?!" Red gasped, trying [and failing] to keep the incredulous tone out of their voice. It wasn't possible! They hadn't sent Red with a partner! Yellow couldn't be another impostor, could she? If so, how did she avoid being detected by MIRAH HQ?

"I was taking a shortcut to storage," Yellow explained sheepishly. "I wanted to make a good impression by getting all my tasks done quickly. Also so I could have more time to chill with Axie and Lottie, the lil cuties! Hehe! I didn't think anyone else would have the same idea of using the vents; they're surprisingly clean. You'd think they'd have some kind of funky space gunk in them."

And thank god they didn't; that would make sneaking around even more difficult. Which brings them back to the strange situation. "No! I mean, you're not supposed to be in here. Only impostors can go inside the vents."

Yellow hung her head as she continued squirming backwards. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know that was a rule." But then she suddenly stopped, realizing what Red had just said. At the exact same time they did. "...Wait."

Oh you've gotta be kidding me! How could I be such an idiot! How could I let this strange situation put me so off guard! The academy would be so ashamed... Red chided themself angrily. Quick! I must think! I have to at least try to salvage this! "Um, is what I thought before I saw you down here, so clearly that's not the case. Ahaha."

"And you too, right?"

"Uh? Oh, yes of course! Me too..."

"But hey, why would you come down here if you thought only the impostor could? Like, wouldn't that make you seem..."

Oh screw you Yellow, must you make this so difficult? "Yeah, I guess that it would make me look sus. I really should've thought about that huh?"

"Yeah. I mean I'm new and didn't know what an impostor even was until five minutes ago, what's yourexcuse?"

"I... I guess I have none, do I?" They rub the back of their neck sheepishly.

Yellow seems to think for a bit before coming to a decision. "Well, it's okay. I won't tell anybody... if you agree to be my vent buddy!"

"Your... what now?"

"I don't know about you, but I'm not willing to give away my right to travel on this ship however I dang well please just because some alien or whatever's on the loose. These vents are cool, and I fully intend on exploring them more. But if this is how the impostor commonly gets around, it could be dangerous to go it alone. Plus, you seem pretty cool. I think we could be great friends. So what do you say, Red? Wanna be my vent buddy?"

Red pondered the odd crewmate's offer for a moment. It would be annoying to have someone always tagging along when they wanted to vent. But on the other hand, getting Yellow on their side could come in handy later. She may be willing to vouch for them when they were finally able to truly get their mission underway. So with slight hesitation, Red nodded. "Sure. That sounds like a great idea."

"Yay!" Yellow lunges forward and tried to give Red a hug, but it turns out that vents are not a very good place to hug, and they ended up in some weird uncomfortable spooning position.

"Wow! I didn't know I'd be getting vent cuddles as well! This arrangement just gets better and better!"

"Yellow, you are crushing my arm."

"Whoops, sorry Red."

"Urgh!" Red had to resort to some hopefully subtle shapeshifting to get the both of them free.

Okay, this time they were going to be successful. Yellow had gone to bed, and Green was cleaning up in the cafeteria. Alone. They could do this! They could be a successful impostor!

"Hi, Green!"

What!?

"Yellow? What are you doing up?" Green asked grumpily as he scrubbed the table.

"I've got a terrible, horrible, no good very bad case of the late night munchies." Yellow explains gravely.

Green huffs, annoyed at Yellow's theatrics. "You know we have a limited supply of rations."

"Yeah, I know, but I couldn't sleeeeeep!" She all but wines. "I'm soooooooooo hungryyyyyy."

"Ugh, you know what? Fine. You can have one sandwich. But only one, understand?"

"Yay! Thank you, Green. You want anything, Red?"

"No thank you." It was hard to keep the frustration out of their tone.

A little while later, Red and Yellow were both crawling through the vents together, Yellow in front so she couldn't see the unnatural ways Red had to contort themself in order to fit. But they could sure as heck observe her, and frankly, they didn't know what to think.

It was clear now that Yellow was definitely not an impostor. Yet she could vent just as easily as they could. How odd. And irritating.

"Hey, it looks like Purple's having trouble with her card." Yellow observes, pointing through the nearest vent opening. "I'm gunna go help her, kay?"

Red smirked as a very devious plan formed in their mind, thankful that their vent buddy couldn't see. "Be very careful when you exit the vent," Red advised. "You don't want Purple to see you."

"Right, can't look sus!" She singsonged. "I'll be back in a bit."

Red waited until Yellow had quickly and quietly made her exit before exiting himself. This would be a tricky move to pull off, but if they managed it, it could turn their whole mission around.

"Hey Purple! Need some help?"

"Hi, Yellow. Oh, yes please. I can never get this stupid thing to work right."

Red didn't really want to hear Purple complain about her tasks, but they still tried to flip the switches quietly in order to gage how much time they had left.

"Now you wanna be sure that you swipe it at just the right speed, and..."

The room went black. "Aaaaaahhhhh!" Purple screamed. "What the!?"

"Wow, that's never happened before."

"It wasn't you, Yellow; I think it was the impostor! We gotta get out of here!"

"Purple, wait!"

Yes! Just as planned. As stealthily as a cat, Red crept towards the cowering Purple and then—

"Woof!" something fast and heavy smashed into their chest, fingers scrabbling against their suit in hopes of regaining some balance. "Red!?" Yellow's voice. "What are you doing out here!" She whisper-shouted. "It's not safe to be alone out here when there's clearly an impostor around." She pulls herself closer and whispers even quieter. "Let's go back into the vents. If the impostor is messing with stuff out here, they can't be in there. We'll be safe."

Yellow huddled close to them in the dark narrow space of the vents. It was slightly more comfortable than the last time this had happened, and a lot more intentional. They just hoped their vent buddy couldn't feel their heartbeats as much as they could feel her trembling, otherwise she would notice that it wasn't the pulse of a typical human.

"The lights will come back on soon," Red attempted to reassure the crewmate in hopes that she would back off a bit.

"W-We left P-Purple out there!" Yellow whimpered in dismay. "What if... what if she gets killed?"

"She won't."

"How do you know?"

"...I just do."

"Red, I think we need something lighthearted after that whole fiasco with the lights yesterday. I think it's finally time for you to meet my pets."

"Your pets?" Red thought hard, trying to remember. "You mean Axie and Lottie?"

Yellow beams at them. "Yeah! It's super cool you remembered their names! Axie and Lottie are axolotls. Have you ever seen an axolotl, Red?"

Axolotl? Red had studied a lot of the human culture and their companions in order to better blend in, but they'd never heard that word before. "No, I don't think I have." They admitted.

Yellow's smile only grew wider. "Well then, you're in for a real treat, my friend!"

It turned out that axolotls were bright pink, slimy, water dwelling things. Red couldn't really call them cute, per se, but they were... interesting. Yellow, on the other hand, clearly adored them.

"Hi there Axie, hello Lottie!" She cooed. "How are you two doing today? I want you to meet Red. He's my bestest friend in the universe! Well, besides you guys of course."

Bestest friend in the universe? Red thought they were just vent buddies. When did their status change? What caused it to change?

"Wanna hold one?" Yellow's voice brought the impostor out of their thoughts. "Don't worry, they'll be okay out of the water for a minute or two."

"Oh uh, sure. Why not?"

Axie (or was it Lottie?) was just as slippery as they'd imagined they would be. But still, they had to admit, the creatures did have a bit of charm to them.

Yellow picked up the other axolotl, stroking it with a single finger as she held it lovingly. "Wanna know something cool about axolotls? These guys spend their whole lives in a larval stage. So they're kind of adults and kids at the same time. Like me! That's probably why we get along so well. Right, lil buddy?"

Red was about to reply, but suddenly a loud buzzer went off, indicating that someone had called for an emergency meeting.

The duo made their way into the cafeteria, (the normal way because now would be the worst time to be caught venting) and soon all six crewmates were present and accounted for. Though they tried their hardest not to show it, Red was confused as to why this meeting was called. They'd barely done anything since they got here. But as White began speaking, it became clear that that was the problem. "Alright, everyone. It's time we discussed the elephant in the room. It's been almost a week since the message from HQ about an impostor, and yet no one has died. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I want anyone to die, but it's a little..."

"Sus?" Yellow asked.

"...A little bit, yes."

"Maybe HQ made a mistake?" Blue wondered out loud. "Maybe there isn't actually an impostor here after all?"

"There's definitely an impostor." Purple interjected. "They sabotaged the lights while Yellow was helping me swipe my card."

"Right," White agreed. "Blue and Green were with me while that was happening. Red, where were you?"

"They were with me!" Yellow said with a proud grin. "They're my vent buddy!"

Red gaped, not bothering to hide it as the room fell deathly quiet. Yellow's smile faded when she saw the others' reactions. "Huh? Guys? What's up? Did I do something wrong?"

"...Vent... buddy?" White asked slowly. "What do you mean by that, Yellow?"

"Oh, you know... we crawl around in the vents together. It's super fun, faster than taking the normal way too. You should try it sometime." Though she was trying to sound cheerful, it wasn't hard to detect a slight nervous trimmer underneath the mask. Oh, this could not possibly get any worse.

"Yellow," This time, it was Green who spoke. "Only impostors can go in the vents."

"That's what Red said, too. But that's clearly not true since we were both able to vent just fine." And things just got worse.

All eyes were now on Red, and it took all their willpower not to start fidgeting. There were a lot of emotions building up inside of them that they were finding difficult to keep under wraps.

"Oh come on, guys!" Yellow chastised, seemly regaining a bit of her bravado. "Venting isn't like some serious crime or something, is it? Besides, if Red really is an impostor, so what? They haven't killed anybody."

"The only reason I haven't killed anyone yet is because you keep getting in my way!" Red had reached their limit. They had failed and were about to get ejected because of stupid Yellow and her stupid venting ability that she never should have had in the first place! And all the emotions finally took the form of one they could understand the best: anger. And they had no intention to hide it. What reason was there? They were dead anyway, might as well relieve themself of the burden before they got thrown into space.

"You!" They shout, standing up and jabbing a finger in Yellow's general direction. "All I wanted was to complete my mission and bring glory to my people, but you sabotaged me every step of the way! You should have followed the rules and stayed out of the vents like a good little crewmate, but nooooo! You had to stick your stupid human self where it doesn't belong and leech off of me, literally dragging me away from my prey every chance you got! Were you seriously so desperate for companionship that you blatantly ignored the signs of your hunter? You're pathetic!"

Now, Red had been prepared to do a lot of terrible things. Murder, turn friends against each other, frame when they saw Yellow, naive youthful little Yellow stare at them with wide, shining eyes before promptly bursting into tears... they felt like the scum of the universe. So maybe it was a good thing they were going to fail.