Chapter Text
"You see anything down there?"
Black sighed, rolling their eyes as they adjusted their back against the metal thing pressing into their sides. Clean the vents, Cyan had said. It'd be easy for a night-vision-having, shapeshifting, alien invader, they said.
Well, yes, Black was eager to help their crew in any way they could, Black wasn't very fond of these new vents. They couldn't even really be called vents. They were more like holes in the ground that no one had bothered to patch up in centuries. Rather uncomfortable for Black, who was used to the sleek texture of steel.
"There seems to be dust," Black joked, using their tentacles to sweep the dust cloth around. "Oh! I made a discovery! A dust bunny!"
"Literally amazing," Lime replied with a cackle. Their face appeared above, grinning madly. "Never seen one before. Do tell."
"That's another one gone," said Black, dipping the cloth back into the water bucket. "Any more?"
"Those are the only vents nearby the seismic stabilisers." Lime hummed in thought above ground. "I believe Pink and Blue need you in medbay?"
"On it. Thanks, Lime." Black popped out of the vent with a smile, saluting Lime before they travelled onward to Pink and company.
Black heard the distinct sounds of voices from above as they resurfaced. This caught a rather surprised Cyan off guard, who flinched a little before they regained their cool. "Ah, Black, nice of you to join us," they said with a polite nod in their direction.
Black sheepishly waved back with a tentacle. It wasn't much to write home about just yet, but Black was happy Cyan was at least trying to put Black on even footing with the other humans in mind. Maybe White and Red's unorthodox plans had worked. Black had to admit, when they had first stowed away on the Skeld, the last ally they would have expected to have was the captain - yet, White seemed the most fiercely protective of Black so far. It was a situation that warmed Black's multiple hearts.
"You guys continue," Black finally said in reply, looking at an amused Pink and Blue. "I mean, unless it's important and you don't want me eavesdropping. I can go elsewhere."
"It's okay," Pink said immediately. "You stay down there and clear rocks. Cyan just wants us to know where everything's kept."
"It should be rather easy. Purple is very organised and keeps things arranged by size," Cyan continued, turning their back on Black. Black was unsure if this was a dismissal or a signal of trust.
Hang on, did Pink really say to clear rocks?
Black shrank back down into the vent, observing where metal met shoddily placed gravel. Someone really should clean this up. How old was this space base anyway? If even Black found the standards subpar, surely it wasn't good news for whatever function they served? Then again, did they serve any function? Black distinctly remembered a vent in the office that served absolutely no purpose other than spooking an already jittery Purple.
"Your rocks," said Black minutes later, popping out of the vent to gesture with them. With expert aim, Black flung them all into the nearby trash can in several graceful arcs.
"Nice, Black, all that asteroid shooting really was good training for you," said Blue, laughing as they clapped.
"...asteroid… shooting?" Cyan repeated with an odd look on their face.
Blue realised their mistake then. They turned to Cyan, hastily correcting, " Yeah, um, don't worry, it was just at asteroids, we promise! Black's still harmless!"
"No, that's not the issue here," said Cyan with a frown. "It doesn't matter who does it. As long as they're doing it without proper certification, that's rather dangerous at best! Who allowed them access to the controls?"
Pink and Blue looked at each other.
"It's Red, isn't it?" Cyan concluded with a sigh, slapping their hands against their head. "Ugh, for the love of… when you landed I didn't imagine Red would be almost as much of a hassle as Green and Orange!"
Black, make your escape, Pink mouthed at the stricken alien in the corner. Black gestured at Blue, but Pink just shook their head as discreetly as possible, before waving Black off. Black gave one final awkward smile before retreating back into the earth and heading to… literally anywhere else.
To be honest, Black had no idea what they were doing now. This new system of vents was a dense network they weren't used to. Black found themself popping outside in the cold, and then in the bathroom, and then back in the office.
"Red, White, you're kinda in trouble," said Black when they ran into them in the vitals room.
"Cyan?" Red asked, smirking a little. They turned around to face Black in the vents, leaning forward in interest.
"Yeah, about that… they found out about the asteroid thing."
"Ah." White closed their eyes and sighed. "Should have known this would be an issue."
"I'll deal with their angry shouting, don't worry, Black." Red shrugged in a far too dismissive manner and now they were being waved off again.
So it was that Black was crouching beneath the offices, now at a loss of what to do. They had cleaned out every portion that needed cleaning, right? Were they dismissed? Well, there was no way Black was going to go to Cyan for orders now, so…
Maybe it wouldn't hurt to explore a little?
Black eagerly recalled the one place with a… a tree, as Yellow had explained to them. That was a fun place! It had lots and lots of leaves. And the grass on the ground! Surely no one would notice if Black chewed on the scattered dead ones on the ground, right?
If they remembered correctly, the tree playground was to their left. Heading in that direction, Black perked up when they caught sight of a few scattered leaves on the ground. Black picked one up in their jaws, frowning as they realised this leaf had a more waxy texture. Maybe it was because it had been dropped for too long? A fresh leaf, yes, that might be better.
Black emerged out of the hole in the ground, and was greeted by the sight of Purple sitting near the thick roots of the tree. They were completely silent, their knees to their chest, and they were holding out their hand to…?
"Oh!" Black yelped as they caught sight of the thing in front of Purple. More accurately, the little ball of fur. It was a bright blue furry quadruped with one eye, and its moist pink tongue was dangling out of its mouth as it panted.
Yet, at the same time, it caught sight of Black. It pulled its lips back in a snarl, a loud growl emitting from its chest as it bristled in anger. Black retreated a few inches back into the vent, all while shooting a surprised Purple a questioning glance.
"Shh, shh. It's okay," Purple finally said, putting one gloved hand on the back of the creature's head. It stopped growling, but it continued to stare at Black warily with its one eye.
"This is Black," Purple continued, gesturing at the half-human form Black was currently taking. "They're friendly. They won't hurt me. They're… like you? I think."
"We aren't," Black pointed out. "This critter's equally as alien to me as to you."
"Ah… right. I'm sorry."
"It's okay." Black clambered out of the vent, shifting back into human form to hopefully put the creature at ease. It gave a suspicious sniff, though it sat back down on its hind legs. Clearly nowhere near as comfortable as it had been with only Purple around.
"Sapient?" Black asked.
"Doesn't seem to respond to more complex commands, so I assume not," Purple replied. "Unless this is a baby of some kind. Do you know?"
"I don't really know anything about Polus beyond the three hour briefing Red made me memorise in one," said Black with a sigh. They tested their luck trying to sit down beside Purple. They didn't know who would bolt first - the flighty scientist or their strange blue companion.
"Does it have a name?"
"It responds to anything, but I couldn't really call it Cyan," said Purple in an almost regretful manner. "When I was sneaking food to it, though, it seemed to really like oatmeal for some reason. So its name is Oats now, I suppose."
"You were sneaking food?" Black turned, surprised at Purple's nerve. They hadn't thought they of all crewmates would go behind Cyan's back like that.
"I… I saw it in the snow, one day… and I couldn't just leave it alone," Purple muttered, watching as the blue creature started sniffing its own butt for some reason. "It was all alone, and it looked hungry… I know Cyan's on guard for impostor threats, but now that you're here, there's no way its one, right?"
It was the most Black had ever heard Purple speak. Willingly, anyway. "I… well, maybe?" Black nervously trailed their fingers down their legs. "I don't know much, to be honest. The academy was really vague. And they sent me here without much training… I'm lucky I'm still here, to be honest."
"I see." If there was anything Purple wanted to ask, the scientist thankfully kept their curiosity at bay.
Black and Purple sat for a while, watching as the blue alien contentedly laid down on its stomach, floppy ears twitching.
"What are you going to do with it?" Black asked.
"I don't know," Purple admitted quietly. "I haven't brought them inside yet because I don't know how Cyan will react. And Green and Orange might scare it off… and I don't even know whether it'll be able to coexist peacefully with all of us."
"Cyan's giving me a chance now, so they might be more open to it," Black replied. "This creature... it's probably harmless if it bonded with you so easily."
"You think?"
Black chuckled. "I don't think giving us free food will earn you any points in most of our eyes."
"Hmm." Purple turned back to the creature, obviously deep in thought. Black's attention was dragged back to it when it gave a loud burp and its tail whacked the ground repeatedly. Apparently it believed Black was of no danger now.
Most likely a prey species? It was also… actually kind of cute. Black felt themself smile as the creature, just like Black, clearly took enjoyment in chewing on the dead leaves on the ground.
"Maybe we should keep it around after all," Black finally said. "Would be interesting."