[Synopsis: Ever since Player started to genuinely return Captain's friendship, the latter and Veteran have been quarrelling over the spot as his best friend...Fortunately, Player has come to his own conclusion on the matter. One that will(hopefully) bring about peace between them all.]

[Location: Polus Outpost]

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When Player spawned into the dropship, he looked a bit contemplative, hanging his head low and tapping his fingers together thoughtfully...The last few days hadn't been that great between him, Veteran and Captain. Particularly between the latter two. They'd started up their "who's Player's real best friend?" war again, and things were getting more and more tense between them. Yes, Veteran had been his best friend for longer, and he still considered him as such, but he'd since grown more fond of Captain as well, and he was at about the same spot as Veteran on his friend list...that spot being the one at the very top. But they knew that just as well as he did, and they didn't care for the other occupying a space in Player's life that they felt they should each have all to themselves...He wasn't sure what to do about it.

As a matter of fact, he could hear them arguing from the other end of the dropship at that very moment.

"Nuh-uh, NOOO way. That was MrCheese who said that, not Player. He'd never just kick me to the curb like that. Especially when I knew him first."

"But he said it to my face! He said that he knew he was my best friend! If you don't believe me you can ask him!"

"Psh, yeah, I'll ask him. Then I'll find out you're full o' crap."

"Really! Huh! And you think you can get away with saying things like that to me, do you, Veteran?"

"Ohh, tough guy now, are we?"

When Player saw them raise their fists at one another, he finally stood up from where he was seated, stormed over to them, placed himself in between them and shoved them apart.

"Would you guys just stop fighting!?" he snapped at them. "You've been at each other's throats for three days! Both of you need to knock it off!!"

They didn't respond. They just looked at Player, then at each other, then at him again, a bit startled by his outburst...The red crewmate sighed deeply, then spoke again.

"Look...I consider you BOTH to be my best friends. But I'm getting a little tired of this rivalry you two have over who's better. Can you two at least try to put that aside and be nice to each other? I know you both get along with me, but if you're always fighting with one another, do you really think that's gonna be good for any of us?"

"...Guess not," Veteran grumbled.

"Just make an effort, okay?" Player said to them. "I don't like seeing you guys fight with each other, it...It's been making me upset."

"Oh my God, I...I had no idea," Captain replied. "I'm sorry we upset you, Player. I-I'll try to make things right."

"Thank you...Now how about we start up the game?"

"Sure thing, Player! Lock and load, everyone! And remember! This going to be a THREE Impostor game, so everyone stay on their toes!"

The countdown began, and soon enough, Player found his role screen coming up.

Oh, sweet! I'm an Impostor! he said to himself. Who are my teammates?

He looked to either side of him...And his eyes widened in surprise when he found Veteran and Captain standing there.

Whoa...This has never happened before. Ho, boy...This is either gonna be super awesome or an absolute nightmare.

They spawned into the dropship, and everyone inserted(and pretended to insert) their keys into their proper places. Once that was done, Captain gave the order.

"Everyone SCATTER!"

The crew dispersed...Player, Veteran and Captain managed to branch off towards the lab along with Goober and Bro without drawing any attention.

"Alright, gang. We've got two victims waiting for us in here," Captain told his companions. "Problem is, I'm not sure if anyone saw us follow them, so it may or may not draw attention to us."

"I've got an idea," Player replied. "If we cut the lights right after we kill them, then head to Electrical with everyone else, that'll put less of a spotlight on us, won't it?"

"Sounds about right. For all they know, someone else could have done it while the lights were down."

"Exactly," Player nodded.

"Uhhhhhhh, WHAT'S goin' on here?"

They'd caught the attention of Bro and Goober with their planning, and they were both staring at them. Goober's eyes were as wide as dinner plates, and Bro's eyebrows were raised.

"Man. You guys really gotta keep your voices down when you're plottin' to kill people," he remarked.

"Veteran, Captain. Would you two like to do the honors?"

"Don't mind if we do, homeslice," the yellow crewmate remarked as he and Captain whipped out their pistols, shooting each crewmate right through the head. As soon as their dead bodies hit the ground, Player called for a sabotage, and the lights illuminating the snowy outpost began to dim.

"Okay, guys. Let's go," Player told them, leading the group towards the lab exit.

...And encountering a familiar brown figure making his way in.

"Pfft."

"Oh!" Captain exclaimed, slightly startled by PoopyFarts' unexpected arrival. "Hey there! PoopyFarts! How are the tasks coming along?"

"Pfrrrrt, thbbt."

"Ooh, you're going to inspect the samples, huh? Well! It sure is a nice day to do something like that! Isn't it!?"

"Pffft, pfrrt? Thbbbbpt."

"What? Me!? I'm not nervous! You're nervous!"

"Yeah, you know what? I'm gonna end this now."

Player withdrew his knife and plunged it into PoopyFarts' back several times, securing them a third kill.

"Welp, that's three. Now let's get to Electrical before the lights come back on."

To their good fortune, there was already a large crowd in Electrical trying to fix the lights...And when more than one person was working on them, it was never easy to get them all lined up properly, as someone would switch it back as soon as it'd been pressed, unaware that they were undoing the other crewmate's work.

The three of them simply stood in the stack for a bit, waiting for them to come back on. When they finally did, the crowd dispersed again, and the three of them branched off into O2, hot on the tails of MrCheese and MrEgg...They could hear them speaking to one another as they headed down the hallway towards them.

"So, how are the tasks coming along, egghead?"

"Good, good! Just have to fix the wiring and empty the garbage in here! You?"

"Tree and canisters. At this point, I think Imma soft clear you, because we've been hangin' for a while and, hey, I'm not dead yet, heh heh."

"Well thank you, MrCheese. I was thinking the same of you, myself."

"Man...It's weird seein' them get along so well now, ain't it?" Veteran remarked.

"That, I've got to agree with you on," Captain nodded. "Our cooldowns are almost empty. Shall we make our move?"

"Sounds good. MrCheese is mine."

"I call dibs on MrEgg then."

"Good thinking, you two," Player smiled. "I'll stand guard and kill anyone else who might come along. See, it's not so hard getting along, is it?"

"Well, I suppose it's gone alright so far," Captain figured. "Come on, gang. Let's get down to business."

They all approached MrCheese and MrEgg disarmingly, putting on the best innocent façade they could manage.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite cheesy omelet duo," Captain said as they drew near. "How are the tasks coming along, companios?"

"Not bad, not bad," the orange crewmate replied. "We were just finishing up here in O2. I think we're gonna pair up for the rest of the round; he seems safe to me."

"Quite so," MrEgg nodded. "An egg-cellent plan, if I do say so myself."

"Yeah, it sounds like a gouda idea, heh heh."

"Say, guys?" Player asked them as he stood by the wire panel and pretended to fix them. "I'm just curious. Where's TheGentleman at?"

"Oh, he's, uh...not in the best mood today," MrCheese told him. "Ah, today's been kind of a clumsy day for me, and I kinda ticked him off earlier when the glass milk jug slipped outta my hands...on top of me knocking a vase onto the floor by accident. So, yeah, it got a little messy between us this morning."

"Oh. I see," Captain responded.

"Yeah, we're just taking some time apart to cool down a bit. Figured I'd hang with MrEgg for a while."

"Huh. What a coincidence," Veteran chimed in. "We were just cooling down ourselves!

"That so, huh?" MrCheese nodded. "Well, good for you fellas."

"Yep. Good for us. Bad for you, though."

"What's that s'posed to mean?"

"Wait," MrEgg realized, a moment too late.

"Now, Veteran!"

Upon Captain's command, the two of them opened their Impostor maws and shot their pointed tongues right through each crewmate's visor, killing them on impact.

"We clear, Player?" Veteran asked.

"All clear. I'll sabotage the stabilizers and shut the O2 doors to keep people off our-"

Before he could finish speaking a body was reported. Someone had located PoopyFarts's corpse in the lab, and they were all teleported right to the Office. Stoner had been the one to report.

"Duuudes, like...PoopyFarts is in Ghost Town U.S.A. right now, and he left his body behind, just lyin' on the lab floor."

"すでに5人が死亡していますか!?" Ninja exclaimed. "うわあ、これらの人は冷酷です."

"Wait. MrEgg and MrCheese are both dead too!?" TheGentleman gasped. "Oh, what have they done to eggy boy and beanie boy...!?"

"Alright, Does anyone have any leads?" Sheriff asked everyone. "We gotta start putting pieces together, and fast."

"Well, I don't think it's Player," Veteran answered him. "He and I have been hangin' a lot this round, and usually when he's an Impostor, he tends to stay away from me."

"I can confirm!" Captain chimed in. "I, ah, I've passed by them every so often while switching from place to place doing my tasks!"

"Hmm. Well, I guess you boys are clear, then," Mother nodded. "Dum, Wizard, where were you two at?"

"Well, I've been in the Specimen Room pretty much this whole time," the rose crewmate replied. "I'm gonna have to go back there to unlock the manifolds when the meeting's over."

"I was busy in Comms," the maroon crewmate responded, adjusting the pointy blue hat he wore on his head. "Just finished uploading my data in there, and I just flipped the switch to reboot the Wifi."

"You know, now that you mention it, I think I saw you head that way earlier..." Mother recalled. "So you're probably telling the truth."

"Say, Dum," Sheriff addressed. "Which entrance did you go into Specimens from?"

"I went in through the lab, but there were no bodies in there when I went."

"Hmmm..." the tan crewmate hummed, his gaze narrowing at her a bit. "...I say we skip for now, but maybe keep an eye out for Dum. She's at the top o' my sus list."

"Sheriff, come on..." Dum pouted.

"Sorry, sugar cube, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. You were the last person in the location of the body."

"Hey. That's my sugar cube you're talking to there, mister," Captain defended. "Besides, how do we know it isn't you?"

"Why in the Sam Hill would I be askin' so many questions if I were an Impostor?"

"Simple. To build an alibi off of the crew's information," Player pointed out. "So I'm putting you on my sus list."

"Me too," Veteran added.

"Me three!" Captain continued. "However, I still do recommend we skip for now and focus on our tasks. We can't afford another crew loss right now, just in case we vote wrong."

With that, everyone cast their vote.

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Player:
Veteran:
Captain:
TheGentleman:
Dum:
Sheriff:
Wizard:
Ninja:
Stoner:

Skip: **********

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No one was ejected. (Skipped)
3 Impostors remain.

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"Remember, gang. Keep up with your tasks," Captain reminded the crewmates. "Now, everyone SCATTER!"

The crowd broke apart again. Mother, and TheGentleman headed out the west exit, Dum and Wizard went south towards Decontamination to go to Specimens, Sheriff went over to check the Admin map and Player, Veteran, Captain and Stoner all made their way out the east exit.

"Hey, Captain," Veteran said. "Nice job defending Dum and sussing Sheriff. We can use him as a scapegoat once we get a couple more kills in."

"Oh, really? Well! Ah, good, good," he nodded. "...But, uh, can we spare Dum? I don't really wanna kill her."

"Aw, come on. She won't hold it against you. Ain't that right, Player?"

"Only if we absolutely have to," Player told him. "We can use her as an alibi if we play our hands right."

"Oh...Well, uh, who does that leave us with, then?"

"Wizard, Mother, Stoner, Ninja, TheGentleman...And Sheriff," Player told them. "Stoner's right in front of us going to the lab, so he'll be an easy one."

"Hey, uhh, did you guys say somethin' back there?"

Stoner turned around and faced them, a curious glint in his dull, tired eyes.

"Oh, crud. Did he hear all that?" Veteran asked, panic beginning to well up in him.

"I doubt it," Player assured him. "Stoner's a little hard of hearing; he told me last time we were both Impostors together."

"You mean the first round you won on the Skeld?" Captain asked.

"Yep...Sorry, Stoner, but you're out of time. Captain, go 'head and take the shot."

"What wazzat, broseph?"

Before he could register what was happening, the white crewmate whipped out his pistol and shot him through the head.

"Come on, guys," Player told his partners. "Let's flee through this vent right here!"

Player lead them into the vent by the weather node along the south lab wall, and they all hopped in, one after another...As they crawled through the tunnel heading inside the building, they continued to plan.

"So, what should our next victim be?" Veteran asked.

"I say we go for Wizard," Player suggested. "He's a pretty lousy Impostor, so trying to accuse him during a meeting won't work well."

"Good point," Captain remarked. "I think he and Dum went into the Specimen Room. I'll keep her occupied while you guys do the dirty work."

"Good plan."

They hopped back out of the vent and found themselves in the bathroom...Only to be caught red-handed by Ninja turning around the corner as he went to fix the wires.

"さて、私たちはここに何を持っていますか?" he smirked. "皆さん同じ場所にいますか?"

"You do realize that two of our cooldowns are empty, right?" Player asked him.

"...おや."

The smile fell from Ninja's face, and he knew he was done for the moment Player pulled out his knife. The next thing he knew, he was being stabbed, and seconds later, he was hovering over his corpse, invisible to all who still lived...Including the Impostors.

"That's two. I'll take care of Wizard," Veteran offered. "Now let's head into the Specimen Room and check things out."

They left the lab bathroom, headed into Decontamination, got sprayed down, then made their way down the hall...

"Phew! Finally done!" Dum said once she had the manifolds unlocked. "How's it coming along with the reactor, Wizard?"

"I keep pressing the wrong button on the last-ARGH! I did it again!"

"Oh, I'm sorry you're having so much trouble there. I'll stay here until you get done, okay?"

"Well...Thanks for that."

"You go ahead and distract her, Cap," Veteran whispered, his voice so low that his companions could barely hear him. "Player and I'll sab the lights and down Wizard. See if you can get her to go with you to Electrical."

"Gotcha."

With that, Captain headed into the Specimen Room, a warm smile on his face.

"Howdy, Dum!"

"Oh, hiya Captain!"

They approached one another, locking hands and nuzzling their visors together.

"Glad to see you're still okay!"

"Same to you!" he chirped as they parted. "Say, do you think Wizard is safe?"

"I'm PRETTY sure he isn't faking that reactor task," she confirmed. "He seems to be having a little trouble with it."

"Oh, well that's a shame. Hope he gets it right."

"Would you two mind taking your PDAs elsewhere?" he asked them. "I'm trying to start this thing up-OH, NOT A BLOODY THIRD TIME!"

It was at that moment the lights started to dim, shrouding the Specimen Room in darkness.

"The Impostors cut the lights again," Captain remarked. "Here, take my hand, Dum."

She reached out for him, and they locked hands again...He could feel her shaking.

"You scared, Dum?"

"A little nervous, m-maybe..."

"Come on. Let's get out of here and head to Electrical so we can get the lights back in working order. I'll keep you safe."

"Thanks, Captain."

He took her down through the west hall and into south Decontamination...And it was then that Wizard FINALLY pressed the correct final button for the reactor and started it up.

"Phew...'Bout time," he said to himself. "Now, I'd better get out of here before an Impostor finds me."

"Too late, bud."

The gravelly voice came from right behind him, and before the maroon crewmate even knew it, he was being skewered alive by a long, pointy tongue...Player and Veteran peered down at his corpse, then looked at one another.

"Nice one, Veteran. That's two more people down," Player told his best friend. "Now, we only need one more kill to win this...You head up back into the lab. I'll go south and look for Sheriff. If for some reason someone finds a body before I can get him, then we pin the blame on him. Sound good?"

"Sounds great," the yellow crewmate nodded. "Now let's-"

He was interrupted by a body report, and they were all whisked away to the meeting room again. It turned out that Sheriff had discovered Stoner's body outside the lab, and he had a stern look on his face.

"Where was the body at, Sheriff?" Captain asked him.

"Just outside the lab. Not far from a vent."

"Yeah, not gonna lie, I think I smell a self report," Veteran accused. "I saw Stoner fixing a node over there right before the blackout started; he couldn't have been dead for long."

"Not so, Veteran; I just checked the vital monitor, and I discovered that he was already dead."

"Can anyone confirm that Sheriff was on vitals?" Player asked...Nobody could confirm.

"Well, the last time I saw Sheriff, he was heading into Admin," TheGentleman remembered. "I'm not sure if he went to look at the map or if he went into Decontamination to reach the Specimen Room."

"I was watchin' the map," Sheriff told her.

"Wait. Wizard is dead too!?" Dum realized. "But we weren't gone that long, were we!?"

"This must've happened shortly after we left to fix the lights," Captain told everyone. "And seeing that Sheriff claims to have been in Admin, it wouldn't surprise me if he managed to sneak past us while we went through to leave the Office, then go to Specimens to kill our ol' buddy Wizard. Our vision isn't as good as theirs, especially during a blackout. So he probably would have been able to pull a move like that."

"Wow, that...Actually makes a lotta sense," Veteran responded. It legitimately did, as much of a lie as he knew it was, so it surprised him that Captain was smart enough to think up such a convincing story. He was impressed, to say the least. Even more so considering that he was normally a terribly obvious Impostor most of the time.

"Yeah, I'm castin' my vote for Sheriff," Veteran decided. "How 'bout you, TheGentleman?"

"Well, we're already down to four crewmates and three Impostors; since Captain's theory makes logical sense, I suppose I'll cast my vote for Sheriff as well. Mother. What say you?"

"Hmm..." the cyan crewmate hummed. "I don't know about you, but Captain isn't usually so analytic about situations like these. Part of me kinds thinks he's an Impostor concocting himself an alibi and using to cover himself and his teammates."

"But Captain's not like that as an Impostor," Player defended. "Normally, he stands out like a sore thumb. Besides, he and Dum fixed the lights, and they're both still alive!"

"Maybe it's both Captain AND Dum," Sheriff wondered, to which Dum adamantly defended herself and her boyfriend.

"You stop accusing Captain and I, you scoundrel of the wild west!" he hollered at him. "You know what? I'm casting my vote for you again! You with me on this, Dum?"

"I'm in!"

Pretty soon, everyone had cast their ballots, and the results came in.

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Player:
Veteran:
Captain:
Mother:
TheGentleman:
Dum:
Sheriff: **

Skip: *****

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"Aw, nuts..."

"Then the vote masses!" Captain announced. "Sorry, Sheriff, but it's off to the fiery abyss of pain for you!"

"Do you have to make everything sound worse than it already is?"

That was that. The tan crewmate was carried off to the lava pit by the crew and thrown over the edge...He emitted a blood-curdling scream as he was burned to a crisp, and as he reached out of the lava pool one last time, begging for someone to grab onto him and pull him out, the others saw the truth of the matter flash before their very eyes.

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Sheriff was not An Impostor.
3 Impostors remain.

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"Wait...It wasn't Sheriff?" Dum thought out loud.

The sound of three pistols clicking made her freeze...Player had the barrel of his gun right up against his sister's head, Veteran doing the same with TheGentleman and Captain doing the same with Mother.

"...Nope," Veteran smiled cheekily before all three of them pulled the triggers of their guns.

BANG

BANG

BANG

With that, the Impostor victory screen showed up, displaying Player, Veteran and Captain all together, having secured their win without losing a single teammate.

"Ha ha, YES! We did it!" Player cheered as they all spawned back into the lobby. "See, guys? That wasn't too hard, was it?"

"Guess not. But, uh, Captain was oddly intelligent that round, gotta say," Veteran remarked.

"Well, I...suppose I had intention to impress, Veteran," Captain told him. "Figured that we might get off on a better foot if our first round as Impostors together didn't end up disappointing you or Player somehow."

"Huh...I see," the yellow crewmate remarked. "Well, I gotta admit, it worked pretty well. Not bad, compadre."

"R-really? I mean...Of course it worked! I'm not one to let people down, y'know!"

Player held back the urge to giggle a bit, but his smile showed through all the way.

"So, um...I was wondering, Veteran. Since things went so well today, would you and Player be free to hang later when we retire to our quarters?"

"Maybe."

"How' bout we all meet up in my room later and play some Super Smash Bros Brawl?" Player suggested. "That oughta get us all somewhere."

"Dude. That sounds AWESOME," Veteran beamed. "Six o' clock sharp?"

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Captain exclaimed excitedly. "But, uh, could you maybe go a little easy on me, Veteran? I only ever play the game with Player, since he has a copy and I don't, so I've...got some skills to master."

"Huh. Well...Alright. Since you're a newbie, and all that. I won't actively try to tear you to shreds in our first match."

"Ah, thanks a million, Veteran!"

Without any warning, Captain reached out and squeezed Veteran into a tight hug, nearly pulling him right off his feet in the process.

"Agh! Dude! You're in my personal bubble. Appreciate the thought, but you're a little close...Player, he's not letting go. Imma need some help."

"Nope."

"What-Ack!"

Player did the same from the other side, and before Veteran even knew it, he was sandwiched in between them.

"What the heck is this?"

"I call it the Triple-decker Best Friend Sandwich!" Captain answered him. "Eat your heart out, Subway!"

"I say! That was some splendid Impostor work you three pulled off!"

"Egg-cellent, if you ask me!"

"Yeah, guess it was pretty good, heh heh."

TheGentleman, MrEgg and MrCheese all approached and congratulated the Impostor trio on their win, quite impressed.

"Oh, gracious. You appear rather stuck in the middle, Veteran. Ha!"

"Ya think?"

"Yep. He sure is!" Captain giggled. Player let out a sigh of relief as they all stood there sandwiched together...Things seemed to be going alright after all.

And hopefully, they would continue that way.

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Man, I just realized a lot of my one-shots take place on Polus. Well, I mean, it is my favorite map, but am I overdoing it?

Well, whatever the case, there ya have it! Now, ah, what should I write next? Anyone have any ideas? A lot of mine are still in the alpha or beta phase, lol.