Being transported to the middle of nowhere with a life-threatening crisis had to spook the majority of the crewmates. It instilled fear and terror into the hearts of those who didn't know how to cope with it, but still afflicted trauma into the minds of those who did. Being scared and especially vulnerable, given the new environment, was not a good sensation to constantly experience.

Out of all the crewmates and their shared sense of trepidation, Pink was the most paranoid. Every corner that she turned she expected for there to already have been someone killed. Perhaps the impostor would be there, waiting for her with a knife or some kind of obscene weapon in hand. She shivered at the thought, feeling a cold sensation overtake her limbs and slow her down.

The scene played vividly in Pink's head, her pupils shrinking as she imagined the horrors that would be afflicted onto her if she wasn't careful. They would dispatch of her quickly, soundlessly, and secretly. The moment before she died, her eyes would drift upwards and lock onto the gruesome face of the impostor, red eyes and unhinged mouth and all, and that would be the last thing she ever saw. 

It was a terrifying thought, and the only thing she could do was aimlessly flit around the ship and complete her tasks, unable to do anything to prevent the impostor from striking against her and her crewmates. The mere idea of it made her bones rattle and color drain from her cheeks, spilling to the ground in red fright. 

As the ship trembled a bit, Pink was knocked out of her thoughts and managed to regain her senses in the midst of a moment of dread. There was a part of her that thanked the turbulence for bringing her back into reality, but another side of her rationality wished that she could stay in her fantasy and not have to face the realness of the situation. 

Knowing that this wasn't the right way to approach a crisis, she shook her head, took a deep breath, and peeled the soles of her boots off the floor in order to travel to her destination. The faster she got her tasks done, the quicker this nightmare would pass.

Approaching the medbay, the roar of her heartbeat and the rushing of her blood seemed to drown out any discernible noise that came from her surroundings. When a loud clang came from the hallway, she broke into a sprint, running like a madman towards the safety of the medical wing.

When she approached her station and checked that she was in the right place, Pink started to relax, her limbs slowly letting go until her irises settled on the vent gate near the scanning pod. Her body stiffened and her throat started to close, knowing that someone could very well be in there. Unable to look at anything else, she stood frozen at the door, back facing the darkened hallway as silence descended upon the atmosphere.

It was at this moment that the only thing she wanted was to feel familiarity. To know her surroundings and the situation. 

She wanted to feel safe.

She missed home, wherever it was. 

She didn't want to be here.

It was such a paining feeling, missing something that you didn't even remember. Your heart would ache and your eyes would water, but you yourself didn't have a damn clue as to why they did. How vivid these emotions were, but how numb you felt in response to them.

Then there was this... looming fear that followed. The fear of the unknown, of what lies behind the blackness of the shadows and in the depths of the undiscovered. Your muscles would tense, nerves sending the message to be cautious, lest you wanted to challenge the risk of suicide. The tips of your fingers would tingle and your ears would ring, and the sound of blood rushing to your face and your heartbeat were the only two sounds that drowned out the noises of reality. 

To Pink, the situation was inconceivable. 

But that quickly proved to be a foolish thought, as there was the sound of footsteps that went unheard. Multiple pairs of shoes clicked across the flooring of the ship, quickly advancing towards the medical wing. 

Pink's heartbeat grew faster as she started to see tears blur her vision while her face went white. 

The world stopped as a hand grabbed Pink's shoulder. She screamed with all the force she could muster and immediately crumpled to the floor, her hands over her eyes and her arms over her ears. Sobs started to ravage her body, guttural cries sounding around the room. A gasp could be heard underneath the wailing and the figure that had just entered the medbay immediately dropped to their knees and clasped their hands over their mouth in remorse. 

"Oh my God!" a voice exclaimed, "Pink, I'm so sorry!" 

After the apology, small hands started to quickly pat Pink's back, softly shaking her every so often to make sure she was awake. This continued for a minute until the curled-up crewmate mustered the courage to stop shaking and finally take a peek at who approached her.

It was Blue, accompanied by his kid, who kept their hands planted on her back, not noticing that she had already emerged from her unkempt position on the floor. When Blue's gaze locked onto Pink's he breathed a sigh of relief and offered a hand to his crewmate.

"Are you alright? Here, let me help you up."

As Blue hauled Pink up, his eyebrows furrowed seeing how her face twisted in agony and apprehension, tears dripping down her cheeks and onto her uniform. Giving a huff of regret, he hauled her up and made sure she was stable before letting go. With an awkward scratch of the neck, Blue looked at the teary-eyed girl and winced, afraid that he might spook her even more if he talked. When he hesitated, however, he felt a small pull on his sleeve.

Blue looked down at the little crewmate beside him, who stared up at him with an expectant expression as if to say, "Go talk. You should take responsibility." And as much as Blue didn't want to take initiative for the fear of scaring his comrade, if his child had urged him to do so, it must've been the right decision to make. 

 "Pink," Blue started, ambivalent, "I'm sorry that I startled you, I really didn't mean anything-" He cleared his throat upon acknowledging that his tone had been too sharp, and changed it to a softer and lower cadence. "I'm just here to do my task, not to hurt you, okay?" She glanced at him cautiously, uncertainty in her stare.

"How can I trust you?" she replied, hiccupping, "How do I know you're not the impostor?" Blue pressed his lips together in a thin line and bit his tongue, trying to formulate a response that didn't set off any one of the sensitive alarms in Pink's head. A spell of silence settled for the slightest instant, then disappeared as soon as Blue chimed out again.

"Look, I just need to use the scanning pod. That's it. Then I'll be out of here." Blue slowly took a step forward and raised his hands so that Pink wouldn't feel threatened. Once observing that there was no reaction to the movement, he took another, then another, until he was finally at the pod. Pink looked at him one more time, her irises trained on Blue's face. He raised his eyebrows and stepped into the scanning machine, making sure to maintain eye contact with his crewmate so that she could see the intent reflected in his gaze.

"You can watch me scan. Once I'm done, you can do your task without me around." Blue then pushed a button and the pod closed. Green lights lit up the inside of the glass panels as an automated voice rang out, commencing the scan. It took ten or so minutes for the process to be completed, but once the pod had gotten the information it needed, the lights turned off and the pod's door opened to let Blue out.

He cast a glance at Pink again, making sure that she had caught everything.

Her lips were parted as she brushed some of the hair out of her face and wiped her eyes. She seemed rather embarrassed, unable to meet her crewmate's gaze as he strode up to her. Blue gave a small chuckle and tilted his head, trying to get a glimpse at the rosy coloration that tinted Pink's cheeks. She kept her eyes trained on the floor and her eyebrows furrowed as blood rushed to her face and her skin grew warm.

"Now that you know I'm safe, I hope you realize that there's nothing to fear." Blue's tone was calm and understanding, the velvety texture of his voice gentle on Pink's ears. It was enough for her chin to raise and for her irises to meet his without faltering. Blue smiled in delight upon seeing that Pink had finally learned to trust him. He reached out a hand for her to shake.

"It's nice to meet you." 

"Likewise." Pink dipped her head a bit when shaking Blue's hand, still not used to the suddenly cozy atmosphere. She still felt uneasy about how she reacted earlier, starting to have second thoughts about how melodramatic she was. Never really expecting Blue to understand, she tried apologizing to mitigate the damage on his view of her.

"Sorry for... acting out like that." 

The moment the words left her lips, Blue immediately jumped at her comment, waving his hands around in a panic. Pink's eyes widened at his reaction, not expecting such a unexpectedly spooked response to come out of someone like him.

"No! No, I was stupid to be so bold in rushing in like that- I mean, your reaction, if anything, was completely normal. I honestly don't know why I was so calm before. Maybe I was just trying to cope -- I mean, we all have different ways of doing so-" Blue rambled, trying to spin his inner thoughts into coherent sentences so that Pink could get to know his perspective. His mumbling and expressions of jumbled phrases came to a stop when he felt a tug on his sleeve. Looking down, Blue found his child gazing up at him with pouty lips and furrowed eyebrows. They reminded him that he needed to hurry towards his next task, lest the crewmates wanted to lose.

Blue sucked his teeth, contemplating about the situation with Pink, but had no choice but to trust his better judgement and leave to go and do his duties.

"It was nice meeting you, but I'm afraid I have to leave and go do and go do my other tasks," Blue commented, making his way to the door, "If you need any help, I'll be in Admin." He gave her a small, yet sentimental grin and waved goodbye. Pink returned the gesture with a bright look in her eye, and the corners of her mouth upturned.

"I'll see you around."

The two looked at each other for a moment. The ship's turbulence suddenly wasn't as rough anymore, and the world blurred as both of the crewmates just stared at one another. The walls gradually melted into ruby bliss, and in their ignorance, all was well in the world. But once they blinked, the moment was suddenly gone and the rose-colored light faded from the background. 

Pink turned to the button board and gave a soft laugh, her face blossoming into a smile as she did so.

"Yeah. I'll see you soon, Blue."