[Synopsis: MrEgg decides to serenade his lovely lime lady friend Ria one round in hopes of winning her over. Seems simple enough...But it turns out the list of things that could possibly go wrong is longer than he initially thought. Will he overcome the obstacles and successfully earn Ria's heart?]

[Location: The Airship]

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The three crewmates that'd spawned in the main hall, Captain, Player, and MrEgg, all split up to do their assigned tasks. Player noticed as he and MrEgg headed into Showers that he was going especially fast, and he had a pretty serious look on his face.

"Uh...MrEgg?" he addressed curiously as he started collecting the towels around the room. "Everything okay?"

"Everything's fine, Player," he responded curtly. "I just want to get everything done here in an orderly fashion. I've got something I want to do once I finish my tasks."

As soon as he finished bumping the shower head back into place, he hurried back out of the room.

"I'll let everyone know you picked up the towels next meeting!" he called out as he left his red-clad companion in the dust.

"...Huh," Player said to himself. "...Wonder what he's up to?"

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...

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DEAD BODY REPORTED

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"I found Captain in the cockpit," Player explained to the crew. "Nobody else was around, but it looked like he was stabilizing the steering just before someone got him.

"Anyone else have any leads?" TheGentleman inquired.

"It's not Player," MrEgg quickly defended. "I saw him picking up the towels at the start of the match."

"Well, guess that rules out you," Veteran nodded. "Anyone else got any leads?"

"Hmmm..." Ria hummed, eyeing the pink crewmember.

"Um...Yes, Ria? Is something wrong?"

"I'm not making an accusation yet," she said. "But I have noticed you acting a little on edge this round."

"On edge? Ah, well..." he replied, scratching the back of his head as the pink of his face darkened a bit. "I'm just in a hurry to get all of my tasks done, and I've been trying to avoid people as much as possible to keep from being brutally murdered."

"Is that so?"

"Indeed."

"Humph..." TheGentleman huffed, not 100% convinced yet. "I say we skip this vote, but if anyone sees MrEgg acting suspicious aside from what we already know, then we do something about it."

"Sounds good to me," MrCheese nodded, following his associate's order.

"I can assure you all that you will see me do nothing out of the ordinary," MrEgg told them. "Well...not until all of my tasks are done, at least."

"He said that there was something he wanted to do once all of his tasks were done," Player remembered. "So, I'm gonna skip and soft-clear him, okay?"

"Sounds like a plan," Veteran agreed. The rest of the votes were cast, and everyone voted in favor of the skip.

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No one was ejected. (Skipped.)

2 Impostors remain.

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The meeting ended, and the crew dispersed into different areas of the map to finish their tasks...Every so often, one of them would run into MrEgg, but before they could greet him or ask him what he was up to, he always gave them a quip first and then immediately walked off.

"I'm rather busy, MrCheese, can it wait a while?"

"Veteran, if you're the Impostor, please don't kill me. Not yet at least."

"Good day, TheGentleman, cheerio."

Everyone thought he was acting odd, but most of them were convinced that MrEgg was a crewmate; were he an Impostor, he wouldn't be actively trying to avoid everyone as much as he was, and considering the cooldown that was present between an Impostor's kills, he wouldn't have much of a reason to hurry, except to flee a crime scene. But out of the two bodies that'd appeared thus far(Captain and PoopyFarts) he hadn't been anywhere near either one.

After a while, MrEgg began to slow down, and he approached the Cargo Bay looking relieved.

"Ah...Nearly everything is done. And all I've left to do is fix the wiring in here."

He connected the wires of the panel, letting out another sigh to ease himself...And accidentally masking the sound of footsteps approaching.

He didn't realize someone else was approaching until he finished the wires and turned around, coming face-to-face with...

"Ah! Ah...Oh, gracious," he gasped, the familiar lime-clad figure with the bandana wrapped over her head standing barely a foot away from him. "Ria, you startled me for a minute there."

"Did I?" she teased, a thoughtful glimmer in her visor...MrEgg gulped as his thoughts from before came back to him...He didn't want her to meet him here just yet.

And especially if she had malicious intent this round.

"...Ria," he began, his gaze hardening just a bit. "I need to ask something important."

"What's that?"

"Are you an Impostor this round?"

She froze where she stood. The pink crewmate saw the nervous glimmer in her eyes, and continued to speak.

"I'm not going to report you if you are," he assured. "I just...need to know. And if you are, I need you to promise me, just this once, that you'll spare me...Please."

She looked over her shoulder just to make sure nobody else heard them, then turned back to MrEgg and sighed.

"...Yes," she admitted. "Do you need to know who I'm working with...?"

He shook his head.

"Just tell them I asked to be spared. Like Player said, there's something I've planned to do this round, and I'd rather not take the risk that something will go horribly awry."

"What exactly did you want to do...?"

"I..um...Y-you'll see in a little while," he answered, a nervous blush dusting his face. "Just go find your partner and pass on what I told you, alright, Ria?"

"Huh..."she responded. "Well...okay."

"Ah, thank you, thank you so much!" he exclaimed, pulling her into a hug with enough force to twirl the two of them around. "I knew you'd understand!"

"O-oh..." Ria stammered, turning nearly as pink as MrEgg himself. "Well, i-it's no problem, I'm happy to help...!"

When MrEgg finally snapped back into the moment and realized what he'd just done, his visor popped wide open and he scrambled backwards.

"U-uh, well...Why don't you go kill Bro for me, o-or something like that? He's a tosser if I ever did see one, e-especially this round."

"Ha ha, yeah. I'll get right on it!"

With that, Ria turned down the corner, passed the bathroom stalls and disappeared into the lounge...She didn't seem all that upset by his unintentional display of affection, which came as a bit of a relief. But still, he preferred not to be obvious about it yet.

MrEgg didn't deny the fact that he'd developed feelings for Ria overtime. They hadn't known each other for very long, but even so, he could sense that a strong bond had already formed between them. He wanted to tell her how he felt...But whenever he had the chance, he turned it down. He was scared to death that if she rejected him, it would ruin their good friendship. And that would not only add a second tarnished relationship to his track record, but it would also discourage him from ever making a third attempt.

He had asked his ex-associate, TheGentleman, about the situation a few weeks ago when he was still weighing his options, and had gotten an interesting slice of advice.

"Well, if you're too nervous to tell her outright, why don't you just SHOW her?"

"Show her?"

"Yes, yes, indeed old chap! They say actions speak louder than words, so why don't you demonstrate your feelings towards dear Ria by doing something special for her?"

"Pardon my French, but that's a bloody good idea! Hmmm...But what do you suppose I should do to convey how I feel?"

"Well...I'm afraid that will be up to you, MrEgg. Whatever you're good at that you think she will take a liking to; that's all I can really suggest."

It'd gotten him off to a good start with planning, at least. Never would he find another friend like TheGentleman, even if their official partnership was long over...And after much internal debate, a lot of practice once he made up his mind and several hours of looking at himself in the mirror, reassuring himself and amping up his confidence, he decided that he was ready.

And after so much time and preparation, he was NOT going to let this opportunity go to waste.

Not this time... he promised himself as he unhinged the straps fastened over one of the cargo boxes. How something like the item in the box had ended up on the Airship, he had no clue, but considering that its owners were supposed to be a master criminal organization, it did make a bit of sense to want to steal something like this...Especially if it was of particularly high value.

...And supposedly, the more valuable it was, the better it worked.

When MrEgg finally had all the straps removed, he pushed away the other boxes around it, creating a clear space in the cargo bay big enough for him to work in. The last thing he needed was clutter around the spot.

"Uh, MrEgg? What exactly are you doin' in here?"

He turned his head around as he cleared the space out, and found himself looking up at a yellow-clad face with a crown atop its head.

"'Sup?" He greeted as he came down towards him. "Heard you were doing something in here, and I wanted to see if you needed help."

"No, I think I've got it," MrEgg replied as he tried to peel the heavy-duty duct tape off of the flaps along the side of the box. "Thank you anyways."

But he wasn't having a very good time trying to get the tape off; it refused to come off the box normally, and it refused to tear in his grasp...Veteran rolled his eyes and smirked in an amused fashion, then stepped forward.

"Step aside, MrEgg," he said, drawing a razor-sharp knife from his back pocket. "These things can do way more than just brutally kill people."

He jammed the very tip of the blade into the left end of the tape, then slid it down the strip, cutting it clean in half just along the small space between the box flaps underneath it...They popped loose as soon as Veteran had removed the knife, and he stepped aside again.

"All yours, dude."

"Wow...Uh...Many thanks for the assistance, Veteran!" he told him, pushing the flaps open even more to reach what was inside.

"So, uh, what exactly is in this thing? And what do you plan on doing with it?"

MrEgg grunted as he tried to pull whatever it was out, mumbling something about how an object with wheels on its legs shouldn't be so difficult to move.

"Urnf...I know you already got the box open for me, but do you suppose we could pull it out by the front end together and see if that frees it?"

"Sure."

"You're a life saver today, Veteran," he thanked. "Ironic, considering you're one of the two Impostors, but if Ria explained the situation to you, then I know you're not going to kill me in cold blood."

"Yeah, she said you had something you wanted to do without dying," Veteran remembered as he grabbed the object from underneath, just off to MrEgg's right. "What did you say this thing was again?"

"I...never did!" the pink crewmate strained as the two of them pulled the massive object all the way out of the box and into the light of the room. "Ah...Just see for yourself."

They both stepped back, and Veteran got a clear view of what it was they'd just gotten out of storage.

"Whoa...I had no idea we had something like this on board."

It was a grand piano, and it looked absolutely brilliant even with the fine layer of dust coating the top of it. MrEgg flipped up the fall and revealed the keys, then slid his finger from the left to the right, pressing down on each one of them.

"...Not one sour note," he remarked, satisfied with its condition. "This will do perfectly."

"Do you know how to play that thing?"

"I've been playing it ever since a year after I left home," he replied. "With almost four years of experience in now, I should certainly hope that I know how to play it."

"Oh...Okay, then."

"I've honed my skills double time every day for most of the month thus far, and I think I'm ready to show them off..."

But as soon as he said it, his confidence drained from his gaze, and his hands started to shake, just a bit.

"...I just hope nothing goes wrong when I do."

"Hey, come on, man. If you've been practicing for that long, sounds to me like you'll do fine," Veteran assured him. "Just relax and do what you gotta do, y'know?"

"You think so?"

"Yeah, sure I do."

"Well...In that case," MrEgg continued as he pulled out a cloth to wipe off the piano's lid and keys with. "...Would you be so kind as to fetch Ria for me? I'll clean this thing off and grab a stool from the lounge while I wait for you."

"Sure thing. But, uh, just a bit of advice: I might wait to actually start playin' that thing until after the next meeting. I was there when she killed Bro, and the only reason he hasn't been found yet is because his body's locked in the bathroom stall. We killed him while he was complaining about cleaning the toilet, and you know as much as I do that people like to open all the doors as they go down in that direction."

"That so, huh? Well, I must say that certainly is a crappy way for someone to die. Ha!"

"Heh heh, yeah...But I'm serious, man. You should probably wait until-"

"Oh my God!!"

Player's voice rang out from the left-end stall.

"After someone finds him...Here we go."

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DEAD BODY REPORTED

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"Oh, look at that, Bro's pushin' up daisies," MrCheese stated, not sounding particularly upset. "Where'd you find him, Player?"

"In the bathroom stall...And I think I know who killed him."

MrEgg tensed.

"Well, don't keep us in suspense, Player, tell us!" TheGentleman urged.

"I'm leaning towards Ria," he answered. "Because she and Bro just passed me as I was sorting the records a minute ago, heading down through the lounge."

Oh no...

MrEgg started to shake again. He had to do something about this, or else she'd be ejected!

"I-I don't think it was Ria!" he quickly defended. "She was with me for a while when I was fixing the wires in the cargo bay, a-and I'm still alive!"

"But the cargo bay isn't far from where Bro's body was," Player reminded him. "I'm not saying you're an Impostor, MrEgg, because I don't think you are. My guess is that the reason she didn't kill you back there was because her cooldown was still active."

"I-I don't know! She seemed p-pretty crewmate-ish to me!"

Player rolled his eyes.

"Look, we've GOTTA vote someone out, or else the Impostors will win with a double kill! MrEgg, I don't know what you planned on doing this round, but have you done it yet?"

"No!" he almost screamed, desperate tears forming in the corners of his visor. "But I'm READY to! And I need HER TO BE ALIVE TO SEE IT!!!"

He pointed a finger at Ria, who looked pretty bewildered by how adamant he was about the situation.

"Please...Please skip the vote, I beg you all..."

One of the tears in the corner of his eye spilled, and he turned his back to Ria as he reached up to wipe it away...He didn't want to end up crying in front of her. Not now. Not today...

The red crewmate sighed; he wasn't sure what MrEgg had planned, but if Ria had to be alive in order for it to be done, and he'd been trying to accomplish it all round, he couldn't turn him down.

"Well...Alright, I'll skip the vote. But after you do what you gotta do, we HAVE to vote someone out."

A small, grateful smile managed to find its way onto MrEgg's face, and he sniffled one more time before turning back up to look at his fellow crewmates.

"...Thank you, Player."

"It...It's fine. I was probably gonna lose again, anyway..." Player replied.

"...Everyone meet me in the cargo bay," the pink crewmate finished just before the meeting ended.

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No one was ejected. (Skipped.)

2 Impostors remain.

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As promised, everyone spawned back into the cargo bay. The first thing they eyed was the new addition to the room; the unboxed piano, sitting in a large clearing that was free of other crates and boxes.

"Whoa...!" Player marveled. "We have a piano on this ship?"

"Blimey, it looks fabulous!" TheGentleman gushed. "I'd no idea we had something like this on board! Although I do wonder what it's doing in the cargo bay and not the vault. It looks to be of rather high value."

"Its size might have something to do with that," MrEgg surmised as he ran back with a stool from the lounge. "But we're not here to chitter-chatter about how nice it looks or what it's doing here."

He took a deep breath in, then turned to Ria, who'd been staring at the massive instrument in awe ever since they'd gotten there. He gently took her by one hand with his own, and their gazes locked.

"...Ria," he said to her. "I've been meaning to tell you something that I...find difficult putting into words. So rather than trying to explain what I feel, I'd like to show you instead."

The look of wonder in her eyes widened into surprise, laced around the edges with anticipation. He let go of her hand, headed over to the piano, sat himself on the stool at the keys and pulled out a set of sheet music he had with him...He'd carried it ever since his arrival.

He set the sheets up on the stand, stretched his fingers out, cracked his knuckles, took one last deep breath, then positioned his hands on the keys.

...You're ready, he said to himself one more time. ...Just relax and do what you have to do.

And with that, he took a look at the title of the piece at the top of his first sheet one more time.

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"Clair de Lune"
"Claude Debussy"
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Then, as soon as he scanned over the first notes, he pressed his fingers down on the keys and started playing.

Quietly...Smoothly, MrEgg, he reminded himself as he went along, the notes flowing softly from the instrument like a calm river, tranquil and steady...The crewmates' eyes grew wide with astonishment. Aside from Veteran, who had half a clue based on what he'd been told earlier, nobody had any idea until now that MrEgg played the piano. Let alone THIS well.

Mother of all things British... TheGentleman said to himself; he knew that he was difficult to impress, but he had to admit that MrEgg was blowing them all away, and it would only get better from that point on. ...You've really outdone yourself this time, old chap!

They all continued to stand there and listen, MrEgg focused heavily on the notes across the sheets in front of him as the song progressed...Ever so steadily, the slow tempo grew just a little quicker, the volume increased very slightly, and the peaceful tone of the notes coming from the keys gained the smallest touch of solemn seriousness as the pianist gradually started pressing down on them harder.

TheGentleman and MrCheese looked at ease, and were leaning against one another. Player and Veteran were smiling, their visors slowly shutting as they took in the music's peaceful tone...Ria continued to stare at MrEgg with wide eyes, that bewildered expression from before still painted across her face. She, out of everyone, looked the most impressed.

...But as much as he wanted to turn his head and read the look in her visor a little better, just to get an idea of what might be going through her mind, MrEgg knew he couldn't risk peeling his eyes off of the sheet music; he would slip up for sure if he did, and then the whole thing would be completely ruined.

I've become a bit of a perfectionist over the course of the past few weeks, it seems, he thought, remembering just how hard he'd been on himself sometimes whenever he missed a key, or failed to press down on it the right way for it to make the right sound; looking back on it, he realized that he'd probably overreacted a few times.

...But this was meant for Ria. Someone who always seemed to brighten his day, no matter how dark and gloomy it was, and find a way to make him laugh or smile whenever they were together. After a while, he'd begun to realize that she was slowly settling into the empty hole in his heart that TheGentleman had once occupied, and he realized that he had to take action if he wanted it to stay that way.

And she deserves the best I can offer, he acknowledged. ...So that's what I'm going to give.

MrEgg's eyes narrowed as he went on, being especially careful once the fast part set in, his fingers gliding swiftly over the keys like rapids through the shallows. Most of the other crewmates had their eyes trained on his hands as they went, staring at them in complete and utter amazement; how did he make it look so easy? It was like his mind and soul were intertwined with the instrument itself, able to tap into the beauty of its sound at will...Not just anyone could accomplish that. This result wasn't just from all the practice their pink-clad companion had gone through.

It was a gift.

And there was no denying that MrEgg most definitely had one.

As the notes grew even higher and faster than ever before descending into slower lows again, TheGentleman felt the sensation of a tear slowly forming in the corner of his visor, and it was only when the music had grown almost completely silent again that he finally decided to let it fall, gently brushing it away with his thumb as he emitted a light sniffle.

"...TheGentleman?" MrCheese whispered, having noticed his associate's discrete emotional state. "Are you okay?"

The black-clad crewmate nodded in response and pulled his partner close.

"It's just...so touchingly beautiful. S-something about it just..."

He stopped there, not wanting to disturb his friend's performance by mistake. He and MrCheese stood there holding each other in silence, ever in awe as the liquid melody streaming from the instrument continued.

"...Man," Veteran rasped. "He's rockin' that thing, ain't he?"

"Yeah...Wow. The more you know about someone, am I right?"

"Like, I knew he was a half-decent singer from that music video he made when he was still getting over TheGentleman, but I had zero idea until just a handful o' minutes ago that he could play the piano with double the wow factor as that."

More than just double... Player said to himself.

The pianist had made it into the final stretch of the piece. Sweat had begun to accumulate against his brow at that point, and it was hard for the crew to tell whether he'd even given himself the opportunity to blink throughout his performance thus far.

Don't miss a key, he continued to remind himself. You've nearly done it. You've gotten this far without so much as a single slip-up...Do NOT make one now.

...It was only when the music had grown as quiet as it was in the beginning again and entered the last handful of bars that MrEgg's expression finally softened a bit, and he drew a deep, but quiet breath inward as he played the end of the piece.

Keep it quiet...Rallentando...And finally...

As he played the final arpeggio, he finally released the breath he'd been holding in as the notes held out...It was only when they had grown completely silent again that he finally turned and stood up off of the stool he'd been sitting on, now able to face his peers.

...And get a proper look at Ria's face.

He gulped, fearful that things wouldn't go well at all.

"Well...That's what I wanted to tell you," he told her, humbly folding his hands behind his back. "That's how I feel about you and I...And what I think could be between us."

He took her hands in his again, their gazes locked.

"...What do you say, Ria? Do you...feel the same way?"

There was only silence between them for several long, suspenseful moments. All the while, MrEgg was on edge. What would she say? What would she do? Had he just gone and ruined everything between them, just because of some stupid crush!? Why did ever even think...

...

Before it could crash, his train of thought came to a screeching halt.

Was that...a smile he saw forming on her face? And was she holding his hands right back?

He reread the look in her eyes...Pure, sheer elation. That's all he saw.

...It wasn't hopeless.

"R-ria, I..." he stammered, tears pooling in his visor. "I lov-"

Before he could finish, she flung herself forward without any warning. Just like he had earlier, MrEgg caught her up into the hug and spun around from its force, holding her close once the two were standing still again.

"...I love you, too,"

His tears started to flow freely, and he held her even tighter. Ria returned the embrace, gently running her hand down the side of his soaked face...Both of them were crying now, and the heartfelt display took place in front of the entire rest of the crew. But they didn't care about them. They had each other now...That was all that mattered.

They might have forgotten that the others were standing there for a minute had they not burst out in a clapping, cheering applause.

"Ha ha, bravissimo, MrEgg!" TheGentleman applauded, whistling before he continued. "That was one of the finest performances I've ever seen!"

"Cheese louise!" MrCheese exclaimed. "You got the goods, don'tcha?"

"Man, that was amazing!" Player chimed in. "Man, I've gotta take a few pages from your book, you know?"

"Awesome, dude."

Ria broke free from the hug and looked him in the eye again.

"Go on, MrEgg," she urged him, wiping the tears of joy from her face. "Take a bow...You're a shining star."

He smiled the biggest smile he'd made in a long while, then faced the crowd and took a bow. The cheers from his friends rang even louder.

"Thank you, everyone, for the support," he said to them. "It means a lot to me...E-especially from you, Ria."

"What do you say?" she replied, taking his hand in her own. "You wanna head out and go somewhere after this round?"

"Well, I...happen to know a place not far from here that serves up some pretty good tea and cakes. Would that interest you at all, m'lady?"

"That sounds like a great start!"

"Then we shall. And...Ria?"

"Yeah?"

He drew her in again and wrapped her into one more hug.

"...Thank you. Y-you've made me the happiest man aboard this ship today."

The lime-clad crewmate nuzzled her visor up against his, then planted a peck on MrEgg's cheek. A red blush quickly dusted over his face, and he gently rose a hand up to rest on the spot she'd kissed.

"I was happy to."

"Hey, uh, hate to interrupt the moment," Veteran suddenly announced. "But don't we still have a game to finish?"

"Oh, yeah, you're right!" Ria realized, reluctantly pushing away from MrEgg again to head over to MrCheese...

"Wait, Ria, what are you-?"

The orange crewmate was interrupted by the sound of a gun cocking, and the barrel of said pistol rising up just inches away from his visor.

"No hard feelings, MrEgg? I remember you saying once that you two were on better terms now."

"Hey. It's the thought that counts," he grinned.

"A'ight, NOW!" Veteran called out, the two of them quickly making short work of MrCheese and TheGentleman...Player sighed.

"I called it..." he remarked as the screen faded to black, the Impostor victory screen showing up before them all. Despite yet ANOTHER loss, though, Player wasn't very upset.

Well...At least it still ends well for MrEgg, he said to himself. ...He did good.

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I would like to address the misconception that the towels and guns tasks on the Airship are actually not visual tasks, as many other people, including myself, previously thought. But for the sake of making sense to fellow crewmates from their point of view, I made it a visual task here anyways. XD

So what'd you think? RiaEgg's a good ship; needs more love if you ask me, idk.