Day 3, August 4th, Prompt 148: OQ family playing Among Us

Regina kept her promise. After finishing her last meeting, she headed downstairs for their family video game night. She found Henry and Roland on opposite ends of the couch, with Henry using his phone and Roland on his tablet. Henry's laptop was also set up on the coffee table, another gaming app running on it.

"What's all this?" she asked, motioning to the laptop. "Isn't it all on our cell phones?"

"Yes," Henry said. "This is for Discord though. Since we can't all be together at once, it's easier if we all talk using this app. It allows us to hear everyone else who isn't here with us. Plus Roland prefers actual meetings where we talk it out versus type in the chat. He isn't fast enough yet, but he's learning."

Robin walked in from the kitchen. "Our Chinese is here for later," he reminded Regina. "You're off kitchen duty tonight."

She smiled up at him. "Thank you," she said. "It's been a while since we've had takeout."

Regina sat on the loveseat and clicked the game, watching as Henry input the special code on Roland's tablet to put them in the same room. Robin plopped down beside her, putting enough space between them so they couldn't see one another's screens. Henry had been adamant about them not cheating by looking to see who was crewmate or imposter. Apparently Roland liked to cheat that way. Which is why Regina had completed a few practice games earlier with strangers, and she felt she understood the layout of the game a little better now. Hopefully, she wouldn't require any help, or her status would be known to everyone.

Regina typed in the code that Henry gave her, watching as her character appeared in a game room with other players. They were in a control room of some sort, with everyone customizing their characters by a computer.

"You made it, Momma!" Roland squealed. Regina smiled at his excitement. Roland's player was orange and wearing a bag on its head. His username RoYourBoat appeared above his head, which Regina thought was very cute and fitting for her favorite nine year old.

Henry and Robin were already in the room as well. Henry aka TheGameMaster was dark blue with a plague doctor mask, while Robin aka Outlaw was brown with a plant contraption to complete his look.

Robin leaned over to explain how to change her color and find a hat she liked. "It's to set you apart from everyone else and personalize your character," he explained. "Find something you like. It's all in good fun."

Her phone buzzed with another playing joining. It was Zelena. "Hey guys!" Zelena said, her voice coming through the speakers on Henry's laptop. "I finally figured out Discord so we can chat while playing."

"Awesome!" Henry said. "Mom is playing with us too. It's her first time, so we're teaching her the ropes."

"TheWickedWitch is your username?" Regina asked, unable to hold back her laughter. "Very creative, Z. You're even green with a witch's hat."

"You've hardly room to talk," Zelena said, running her character in circles around Regina's. "You're MrsLocksley. What are you, a school teacher?"

Regina ignored Zelena's retort and scrolled through her options for attire and color quickly. She settled on purple with wolf ears as flair. She decided against the crown to keep her character somewhat unique and not a replica of her Enchanted Forest persona. David and Mary Margaret had just joined the game, bringing their total to seven players. David, whose character was also David, quickly turned himself cyan with a knight's hat. Mary Margaret aka LadyCharming was pink with a flamingo hat. According to Henry, they were still waiting on Emma and Killian to join before they could start the game. They could have up to ten players, but Henry said that nine would be a good number.

"There will be one impostor," Henry explained. "They will be going around killing everyone one by one. Their goal is to not get caught. Our goal is to figure out who it is while completing our tasks. We're on a mission, and we beat the imposter if all of our tasks are completed."

The game buzzed with Emma and Killian joining. Emma dubbed herself as Swan with a beanie, and she changed to a grey color. Killian called himself TheJollyRoger, selecting black with a pirate's hat for his character.

Numbers appeared on the screen in a countdown. "Alright, let's get this started," Henry said. "Remember the rules. Don't tell who the Impostor is if they kill you. Call a meeting if you're alive and figure out who it is."

"And no cheating!" Roland said as Regina's screen changed to read crewmate and then to the map.

Everyone headed out of the cafeteria. Regina read her tasks first. She was to swipe her card in Admin, empty the chute in O2, prime the shields, and chart their course. She remembered Admin from her practice game, so she headed there. David, Mary Margaret, and Roland were also in there to swipe their cards.

"Do we all get the same tasks?" Regina asked.

"No," David replied. "A lot of people get admin to swipe their cards, but the rest will differ."

"Does anyone want to watch me scan in MedBay?" Emma asked. "I can prove I'm not impostor that way."

"Sure," Regina said. "Just let me swipe my card first, and I'll meet you there."

It took three tries and perfecting the speed of her swipe, but she completed the task. She checked her map and headed in the direction of MedBay to watch Emma scan. If Emma could prove she wasn't the impostor, Regina could team up with her to keep herself safe from whoever was.

Regina reached the door of MedBay. Emma had beaten her there, but a bone had replaced her character's head. She was dead.

"Oh my god," Regina said. "How do I call a meeting? I found a body"

"Press the megaphone where it says report," Robin replied.

She pressed it, watching as the screen changed to a chat. "Emma's dead," she said, remembering to discuss her findings by talking instead of typing for Roland's sake. "She was in MedBay alone. She was supposed to meet me there, but she went ahead without me and was killed."

"Did you see anyone?" David asked. "Was anyone else around or in the room?"

"No."

"They probably vented," Roland said. "They knew you were on your way."

"Any thoughts on who it is?" Mary Margaret asked. Everyone chorused back no. "Alright, let's skip the vote."

The vote was skipped. No one was ejected, and the game resumed. Regina made her way to O2 to empty the chute, but the game was interrupted by another meeting before she completed the task.

"I found Roland dead in electrical," Henry said. "I didn't see anyone, but I heard the vent."

Regina glanced up at Roland. He had crossed his arms across his chest in a pout, upset he had already been killed. "Not fair," he said.

"The only other person I saw in there was Killian," David said. "I had to fix the wires, and he was toward the back."

Killian scoffed. "It isn't me!" he exclaimed. "Ask Robin. He's been with me this whole time."

"I was with him for part of the time, yes," Robin confirmed. "We split ways for a few seconds though. I stopped to empty the chute outside of electrical before joining him."

"Sounds like Killian then," Zelena said. "Let's eject him."

Regina voted with everyone else. Killian was ejected, his character spinning into outer space.

He was not the imposter.

"David must be guilty then," Robin said. "He was quick to blame Killian."

As soon as the cool off finished, Henry called another meeting. It was unanimous that David must be it despite his insistence of innocence.

David wasn't the imposter either.

This left Regina, Henry, Robin, Mary Margaret, and Zelena in the game.

As soon as the game resumed, Regina finished emptying the cute in 02. It directed her to the second part of her task, which was to go to storage to empty the chute there as well. She checked her map, trying to determine the best route to take there. She headed off, just as the game started blaring an alarm about the electricity.

"What's happening?" Regina asked.

"It's the impostor," Henry explained. "They can do that to the electricity or the oxygen levels. It's to distract us so they can complete another kill with everyone working to fix the problem."

Regina saw the group as she went by the communications room en route to storage. She noted that Zelena, Henry, and Robin were already in there working to restore the electricity. She headed in as well, unsure of how to help since this was a new feature when it dawned on her.

Mary Maragret wasn't in the room.

Regina gasped. "How do I call an emergency meeting?" she asked, trying to hide her excitement at determining who the imposter was. "I think I know who it is."

"Go to the cafeteria and hit the button on the table," Robin told her, finally restoring the electricity in full.

Regina hurried to the cafeteria, hitting the button as soon as she got there. A little breathless and surprised she was enjoying herself this much, she declared: "Mary Maragret is the imposter. She has to be. She was the only one not working to fix the lights with us."

"What?" Mary Maragret shrieked. "I am so not the impostor."

"I don't know," Robin said. "I never saw Mary Margaret this round. Henry and I did all the work in the control room, but she never came by."

"Where were you?" Zelena asked.

"I was in security," Mary Maragret said. "I was watching the cameras to see if anyone was killed out in the open. I was going to report it if it was."

"You can do that?" Regina asked in surprise just as Henry interrupted with the obvious.

"You do realize the cameras don't work when the electricity goes out, right?"

There was a chorus of "ooohs" and "he's got you there" from everyone playing, even the deceased. It seemed that Henry had backed Mary Maragret in a corner, and she fumbled over her next words.

The vote popped up, and it was unanimous yet again. They ejected Mary Maragret from the ship, watching as she tumbled out in space. The game confirmed LadyCharming was the impostor before showing a victory screen for the crewmates.

They all cheered. "Good job, Momma!" Roland said, crossing the room to hug her. "See? You're good at this game. You figured out who the killer was!"

"I guess bingeing all of those true crime shows paid off," Regina joked. They had all returned to the control room. "Who's ready for round two?" she asked.

Everyone immediately agreed. Henry started the countdown again, and Regina couldn't help but smile and look around the room at those there with her in-person as well as those only there virtually. She was grateful for each of them, especially for this needed distraction during quarantine.

Among Us wasn't a terrible game after all like she feared.