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Part 1 of The Last Of A Dying Breed Universe (Among Us/Sanders Sides AU)
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Published:
2020-10-01
Completed:
2020-10-08
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11/11
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The Last Of A Dying Breed (Among Us AU)

Summary:

Crew: 76
Message Designation: Warning
Multiple crews have reported a being called an Imposter infiltrating the ship. An Imposter, through experimentation on one of the first beings reported, is a creature with an extremely high IQ, capable of trickery and manipulation, a being with tentacles that can pierce through bone, and a master of camouflage. Beware. It could be a member of your crew!
Message End.

More and more Imposters were ratted out on ships that now had the knowledge that they existed. There seemed to be at least one on each ship, and with this pattern, Patton knew the focus would soon settle on Crew 76, the only crew who hadn't yet found their Imposter.
Of course, Crew 76 was a lot more mature than those that threw out their whole team in an effort to save themselves from making a mistake with guessing the Imposter. And because of that maturity, none of the crewmates had been ejected, and Patton had not yet been found out.
Of course, that could be because Patton hadn't killed anyone yet.

I saw this AU going on, and I wanted to put a twist on it!

Notes:

(See the end of the work for notes and other works inspired by this one.)

Chapter 1: Crew 76

Chapter Text

Crew 76 had never had a death, and it was starting to confuse many. After all, every ship had the same pattern, with at least one or two of the crew being Imposters. It was unusual for a crew to be without an Imposter, which put crew 76 in the limelight. Theories were thrown around. Maybe the Imposter hadn't killed yet to save face, or maybe they were waiting to kill until the ships reached their destination. Maybe there just wasn't an Imposter, or maybe the entire ship was Imposters! The rumors reached an amused Crew 76, who knew that if they were all Imposters, they'd definitely know.
Of course, nobody had made a theory for the real reason.
Patton smiled, looking at the happy little crew surrounding him. Each of them had their own story, their own reason for coming on the journey, each one fascinating. Patton had to admit to himself that he had begun to get quite attached to his kiddos, the crew that was so supportive and kind. He had not heard one accusation. The lack of Imposter killings was not commented on. For Crew 76, Imposters didn't exist.
Patton wouldn't dissuade them from that notion.
In truth, Patton had never been like the other Imposters. Back at their home planet, he had been the outcast, shunned for his bubbly behavior and his reluctance to kill, as Imposters were meant to do. His existence defied what it meant to be an Imposter, and while he felt some guilt over that, it wasn't all too bad being a pacifist. For one, the lack of killings cemented trust in the crew. Nobody suspected or accused anyone, and it was altogether much more peaceful. And then, there was the connection he was able to build with each member. They had no idea he wasn't human, and after a quick and subtle scent check, Patton had deduced that he was the only Imposter in his ship. His kiddos were safe.
For that is what they'd become. His kiddos. Maybe not his children, he didn't feel like a father, exactly, but he definitely felt like...oh what did Roman use? Mom friend? Yes, a mom friend. He loved taking care of them, calming Virgil down from an anxiety attack or tucking Logan or Roman in when either of them overworked. In return, nobody commented on how bad he was at tasks. In fact, they assigned him to things they knew he could do, and he often found himself doing domestic chores around the ship.
Other crews told Crew 76 that being bad or not doing tasks was something Imposters did.
Crew 76, to Patton's relief, didn't seem to care.
It both worried and relieved him. Either they knew he was an Imposter, and didn't care, or they didn't, and honestly believed he was a Human.
Patton didn't care. He was still part of the crew, and that was all that mattered.
Though he wished he could flex his tentacles a little more often.
----
On the second week with no killings, the rumors picked up even more. 'Why the heck was Crew 76 spared from an Imposter?' was one of the main questions, along with the theories that had been conceived in the beginning, and a few new conspiracies that Patton knew for sure weren't true, even if he wasn't the Imposter. After a few more days of this, Crew 76 called its first emergency meeting.
To talk about the most ridiculous theories and laugh over them.
Well, most of them laughed. Logan tried to hide it and Janus snorted, but the rest were on the floor wracked with giggles.
Patton couldn't remember ever feeling so loved.
He never wanted this to end.

Chapter 2: What is your story?

Summary:

Crew 76 thinks about what brought them to the ship in the first place, and how their attitudes might have changed after hearing about the Imposters, or in Crew 76's case, lack thereof.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Roman was ashamed of his reason for boarding the T.S. Sanders. It was a beautiful ship, and its mission was fascinating, but Roman had come for the economics. His parents had told him what the plans were for the ships, finding a new planet to inhabit, and they included the reward that would be given for the people who decided to go on the mission. So many ships, so many crews...some people even had to be turned down. Roman and Remus would have been two of those people, but their parents had the money to bribe with, and in the end, Roman and Remus boarded the T.S. Sanders, and they set off with the adventure of a lifetime.
And then, Roman had heard about the Imposters. When he'd first heard the warning from another crew, he-and many other crews- were a little skeptical. The crew that called first was never heard from again, except for one message that said 'you're too late'. Some wondered if the message was sent by the 'so-called Imposter' or by a crewmate as a joke. Some even said the crewmate sent it before they died. When the deaths began rising, the doubt in Imposters went down substantially.
But even with all that evidence pointing to an Imposter being on every ship, Roman had never seen any evidence of one on Crew 76. No killings, no sabotage, nothing other crews had reported had happened. Crew 76, in Roman's eyes, was perfectly safe. They didn't seem to have an Imposter at all. Roman trusted everyone on the crew to keep him alive, and they came through when he needed them, so he would let that be for now.
----
Janus didn't want to be on earth anymore. To be perfectly frank, Janus didn't want to be anywhere anymore, but he decided that being on a ship who's mission was to find a new planet wasn't so bad. He had more power over his life here than he'd ever had. On this ship, in the middle of space, with so many potential ways it could go wrong, and he had never felt more safe or happy in his life. He found he loved this turn of events.
Finding out about the Imposters gave him pause, messed with his minds. On one hand, having someone go around the ship killing his crewmates was a terrifying thought, especially with how kind they had treated him from the moment he entered the T.S. Sanders. On the other, this was the chance to die he had always looked for. The chance to let go of the life he had been forced to live.
But then, no deaths had occurred, and it had appeared that Crew 76 had no Imposter, something so unheard of at this point that it put them in the spotlight of suspicion, and Janus wondered how things were going to go. Would the other ships turn on them with all the rumors going around? Would the crew think it was him? He felt a mixture of disappointment and relief. Most of it, he found, was relief. He was glad that nobody was going to be hurting his friends. He wondered when he'd started seeing them like that.
----
Remus had tagged along with his brother the moment he mentioned that their mom and dad wanted him to go. There was no way he was letting Roman go alone on a spaceship full of people on the journey of a lifetime. A chance to see new species of creatures and plants? New things to prank with? A new life away from the parents that had treated him like an odd child his entire life? Oh, you bet Remus was going to take it! He knew that Roman would enjoy his company anyhow. His brother had been the only one there for him for a long while.
And then Remus had learned about the Imposters, and his first thought was of a serial killer. There was chance for this entire ordeal to be a one-time thing. And then more crews had fallen to it, and some had ejected the right person and survived, and he wondered if there were that many serial killers, or if the Imposter things were really alien life that had travelled to earth somehow, and stolen away into their ships assembled as cremates.
And, if that theory were true, Remus would immediately think of Patton, who had showed up on the ship last, in a bit of a tizzy. Of course, Remus didn't actually think it was Patton, since the boy was the kindest person he'd ever met, tolerant of everyone in the ship. He took all of Remus' intrusive contributions with a patient, and sometimes even curious smile. No, Patton wouldn't kill someone. He'd had plenty of an opportunity to do that.
----
Logan had come for the knowledge, and for the stars. A chance at new life on the planet they were sure to find, A chance to see the stars close-up...Logan couldn't pass up the opportunity. For years, he had trained to be an astronaut, and had passed the training program to qualify for a spot on a crew with flying colors. The T.S. Sanders was a place he was no happy to be. He had wanted to be up in space for so long, and now, he was finally going to achieve his dream. He was unbearably excited.
The Imposters posed a new threat for Logan. If these foreign people got to the planet they were planning on inhabiting, would they kill everyone there? Would they ruin the mission? It was likely, and he had warned the other crews already to keep away from landing on a planet until they were absolutely sure there were no Imposters. By the reports by crews still dealing with Imposters, that advice was being taken, but wasn't helping with the issue.
And he couldn't tell if there was an Imposter on the T.S. Sanders. There had been no killings, no sabotage, no suspicious behavior or threats...there was no evidence to use to logically reason out an Imposter. Logan wasn't afraid. He knew Crew 76 would stay in the air until they found their Imposter. He wondered if the possible Imposter on the T.S. Sanders knew that yet.
----
Virgil hadn't been sure about boarding the ship at first. He had gone through the training to see if this was something he could handle, and found the tasks good for his anxiety, but at the same time, being out there in space, where anything could go wrong if he messed them up...it was a bit daunting. He took the time needed to figure out if this was something he wanted to do, and when he heard what the reward was, he knew it was going to be yes. The money being paid would be enough to get on his feet, and that was something he definitely needed, given the state of his family.
He'd been so afraid of the Imposters when they'd first been reported. Crews who had watched crewmates die in front of them, crews who had lost near everyone before finally finding the Imposter. Crews of two, of three, cut down to less than half of what they started with. The accusations, the anxiety, the constant proof of innocence, and the danger everyone was constantly living in frightened Virgil. He had wondered how long it would take until T.S. Sanders had its own issue.
But it never came. The T.S. Sanders remained peaceful. No accusations, no pressure, no need to fret over one's life, because there was nothing to worry about. No evidence of an Imposter even stepping onto the ship. He was safe, Patton would remind him as the boy calmed him down from yet another panic attack. Patton wouldn't let anyone hurt him, he'd added, and he sounded so sure that Virgil couldn't help but believe him.
----
"So, Patton, what brought you here?"
Patton smiled indulgently at Roman, used to the other man not finishing his questions. "Here?"
"The ship. What brought you to the program."
Patton pretended to think, after all, it was a question that required some internal searching, but currently, his internals were going nuts. He didn't want to lie to his team, but he couldn't afford to be found out. He couldn't be left behind...losing his friends...it would break him. No, he had to think of something. It didn't have to be much, just something to get them off his trail. How could he do that...
"I...well, I didn't really come here willingly," he started, wincing at the fragile quality of his voice. "My parents...well, they really wanted me to go, and I...I didn't want to, but they insisted. They paid for me to go, and...I couldn't disappoint them." Patton supposed that was true enough. His parents had told him that he would need to go out and infiltrate a ship to kill the crew, or they would have to report him to the boss, and the boss would have to kill him for insubordination. He noticed his team's sympathetic looks, and knew he had given them the info they had wanted.
He hated withholding info...
He hoped if they ever found out, they would understand.

Notes:

Hope you enjoyed! The riddle of the '76' in Crew 76 is still up for speculation. (hint: has something to do with the alphabet as well).
Requests are open for oneshots, this au, and the school au!

Chapter 3: Cyan and Red

Summary:

Patton spends some time with Roman, helping him write about their experiences on the ship for a book Roman wants to make.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

It was funny how good Patton had begun to get at doing tasks. After a few days of sneaking around, watching his crewmates perform the tasks, he'd started going around doing them too, and eventually, they began giving him tasks, praising him for 'finally trusting himself to help them'. And it was true, as his excuse had been his clumsiness, and how he wasn't sure if he could trust himself around their tasks. They seemed proud that he'd gotten over that fear.
Today's tasks were pretty simple, sending him into navigation to chart their course, and apparently giving Roman the opportunity he'd been wanting. Patton could feel him enter the room, his steps sure and bouncy, as if he was excited about something. Patton stifled a fond smile, waiting until Roman got close enough for a normal Human to hear before turning around, twisting his face into one of pleasant surprise. Roman's responding grin nearly blinded him.
"Hello, Pat! Are you done with your tasks for today?" he asked cheerily, hands balled up in front of him as he bounced.
"This is the last one, kiddo! Why, what do you need?"
"I have a passage of my book I'm working on, and I'd like some help."
"Book?"
Roman looked surprised for a moment, before his expression melted into realization, and he grasped Patton's gloved hand and began pulling him towards the cafeteria, where a small journal sat, its colors slightly faded. "This," Roman gestured dramatically to his journal. "Is a document that will one day be read by all on earth, revered as the only book written by a crewmate during our mission! I wish to document everything we see, and everyone we see! And, as you've heard, I need your help."
Patton tilted his head, an eyebrow raised. "How could I help with this?"
"I want to make a document for everyone as a person, like your favorite colors and favorite food. Maybe even your favorite music or your worst and best memories. I want to know about you, and I want to be able to allow other people the opportunity to know my crew as I wish to as well. I've already done a few of our crew, but I still need to do yours!"
Roman rocked back and forth, smile bright, and honesty, how could Patton say no to that?
----
Roman had wanted to know Patton's story from the moment the other man had stumbled into the ship and sheepishly told the crew that he was incredibly clumsy, and worried it would hinder them. He had asked before, what had brought Patton to the ship, and the bubbly father-figure had seemed so sorrowful as he told the story of his betrayal, one performed by his own parents! The injustice!
He owed Patton this. A moment to talk about himself and tell his story to the world, and he wasn't surprised when Patton's worst memory revolved around his parents, though he was slightly worried when his best memory happened on the ship, and not at home. Whether he knew it or not, Patton was revealing much more than he probably thought he was to Roman. He was baring his soul to him- so willingly that it actually worried Roman- and he didn't seem to notice that worry as it showed on Roman's face.
Roman vowed to make Patton's time on the T.S. Sanders as wonderful as possible.
He deserved it.

Notes:

Hope you liked this. As always, requests and questions are open!
In my last chapter, a question came up from Kamula7. They said, i'm curious, are the others in agreement with logan that they'll stay in space until there is enough evidence that everyone is human or they figure out who the imposter is?
So, I figured I'd post my answer here for anyone else who had that question. This will be a common theme with the questions, since I want to acknowledge everyone's contributions to fleshing this out.
So, my answer:
It's a little bit of a doozy. They don't mind the suggestion, and they definitely agree that that's the wisest course of action, but at the same time, they don't know if there's an imposter or not on the T.S. Sanders, so...they're probably worried that they'll never be able to land, and with the rumors of the Imposter being all of them, the other crews are a little...suspicious. So, they agree with the plan, but they don't know what it will mean for them when they finally find the new planet.
And Patton is just terrified, which is understandable, because he knows the other crews are suspicious, and desperate to put the Imposter thing behind them, so much so that he believes they might kill off Crew 76 just to make sure none of them are Imposters.

Chapter 4: Cyan and Yellow

Summary:

Patton finds Janus questioning his worth. He makes sure to correct his views.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Patton found him next to the ejection door, staring into space (heh, literally). He knew this was a normal occurrence, but lately, Patton had found himself alarmed by how often Janus drifted to this particular part of the ship. The ejection door was extremely dangerous, and while Imposters could generally survive without oxygen, Humans could not survive without oxygen for more than a few minutes.
And it was this worry over the Human that brought Patton to the ejection door again.
"You know," he began, hoping he hadn't startled the Human. "I find you here more than anywhere else on the ship."
"Yeah...I know."
Patton frowned. "Do you like the stars?"
"I...not exactly? I like them...but it's not the reason I'm here."
"Then what is?"
Janus leaned against the wall, lowering himself to the floor with his legs drawn up to his chest. This position was one Patton often saw Virgil collapse into during an anxiety attack. Like he did with the purple-suited Human, Patton slid next to Janus on the floor, putting a hesitant arm around him, wondering if Janus would be adverse to touch like Virgil was sometimes. He was relieved when Janus just leaned into the offered affection. "Just...tired. Part of me wants to hold out until we find the new planet, in case there's something worthwhile there, but...after Logan's suggestion, I'm starting to think we may never land on this planet. I...I'm scared, Patton..."
Patton had realized halfway through when Janus said 'hold out', but now it really sunk it. Janus wanted to die. He spent time around the ejection door because leaving through it led to certain death, and he always zoned out there because he was likely going over the pros and cons of leaving. Of letting go and giving up. Patton stifled a worried sob- Janus didn't need that right now- and leaned against the Human.
"Janus, we need you on this ship-"
"Yeah, for tasks."
"-No. Because you make this crew complete."
Janus looked up, and Patton could see his wide, hopeful eyes behind his helmet. He continued.
"I've seen the impact your presence has had here. You listen to everyone when they need to talk, and the help you've given me with caring for them isn't something to scoff about. The amount of care you put into the crew and the relationships you have with them is extraordinary," Patton's smile was soft as he added, "And I really admire you, Jan. You've fought these feelings and thoughts for so long, and you've pulled through and kept going. You're stronger than you think, and I'm glad to be a member of this crew with you."
----
Janus sobbed, throwing himself into Patton's arms, ignoring the bump of their helmets. He'd never heard such kind words directed at him before. Never had he been told he was strong, never been told he was admired by someone. The most compliment he'd received from anyone was people awkwardly complimenting him for his looks over the years, something he just...couldn't accept.
But Patton saw past his appearance. What he was born with didn't matter. It was what was inside that counted for Patton, and Janus found himself crying harder with that realization. He didn't care about the vitiligo, didn't care about his clothes, didn't care about anything on the outside. For once, he could really feel like Crew 76 cared about him instead of everything he couldn't control.
God, he was thankful for them.

Notes:

Hope you liked this one. I know it goes into some dark stuff, but I hope you liked it anyhow. I love hurt/comfort, and my boy Janus needs some of that.

Chapter 5: Cyan and Green

Summary:

Patton listens to Remus rant about his findings on Imposters, and how cool they look. Patton restrains an impulse.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Though the reason was unknown to him, Patton felt a kindred spirit in Remus. Maybe it was because his intrusive thoughts,- and his impulsive need to share them- reminded Patton of his own instincts, and how hard they were to hold back. With Remus, it was like he was with another Imposter, one just like him with the same views, and both of them were talking about how hard it was to keep it inside. Their inner demons, and their lies...intertwined way too often for them.
Patton often found Remus skipping around the ship, doing random tasks in no particular order and often striking up conversations with any of the crewmates that passed by, but Patton found him in communications this time, sitting in the office chair with a notebook filled with writing. He looked up as Patton entered, smiling. "Hey, Pattie! Come look at this!" he held out the notebook, a large grin on his face, and Patton reached over and took it, looking over the notes for a moment. It took reading them over again to realize what exactly he was seeing. Notes on Imposters.
Patton looked over each note, surprised by the detail in which Remus went into it, and by the time he was finished, if he wasn't an Imposter, he'd know all he needed to know to spot one. Why...why was Remus showing him this? Did he...did he know? Patton dreaded the consequences of Remus figuring out. His brother trusted him with his life, and the crew seemed like Roman. They'd side with them with no problem, and Patton...Patton would...
----
Remus watched Patton's reactions closely, seeing the surprised and slightly disturbed expression on his face. "Well, kiddo, this are some pretty detailed notes! How'd you learn all this?" Patton asked, looking up at Remus with his head tilted to one side like a puppy begging for a bone. Or, in this case, for an out. Remus knew, deep inside, that Patton was the Imposter; had known for a while. He just needed proof. Actual proof.
Then, he could confront him about it.
For now, though, Remus held in his questions, and answered Patton's.
"Communications is open to all the crews that have had Imposters too! I just asked them all about what they noticed, and notated everything they said! I got so many results! I wonder how the tentacles of an Imposter feel? Would they be slimy and slippery, or would they be dry and tough? Oooh, now I want to meet one just to see it truly!" he couldn't hold back that particular fascination. He really did want to know what differences an Imposter had to a human, and what these differences looked and felt like. He hoped he hadn't alarmed Patton too badly.
When Patton just laughed and rolled his eyes fondly, Remus knew he'd escaped that particular outcome.
----
Patton wanted to show him.
Wanted to show him.
Remus wanted to know. Remus was his friend.
Remus deserved to know everything he wanted.
Everyone did.
Want. To. Show.
No. No. No.
Can't show.
Keep inside.
Smile. Hide. Leave.

Notes:

Hope you enjoyed this! Requests are open!

Chapter 6: Cyan and Blue

Summary:

Patton and Logan talk about families. Logan tells Patton about parts of his family that are...not so accepting of him. Patton resists the urge to assure him his worries are unfounded.

Note: (I know people might be confused about the new add-ons, since Roman and Janus didn't have them, so I'll explain. As he becomes closer and closer to the crew, Patton is losing more and more of his control, not because he wants to kill them, but because parts of him want to help them, and helping them would cause him to be revealed as Imposter. Don't worry. It isn't a mistake)

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Patton and Logan often found comfort in each other as the hour got later. When the other members of Crew 76 went off to sleep, they would often stay awake, Logan working on planning out everyone's tasks for the next day, and the schedules everyone was to have. Patton knew that it often got lonely sitting there, writing out papers in the silence. He found it a little unnerving even though he had nothing to worry about.
Though, at this particular time, Logan was quite distracted- restless, Patton thought- jerking around and nearly knocking a few things over, zoning out and staring off into space sometimes for seemingly no reason. It was starting to concern Patton, and for a horrifying moment, he thought that Logan might be having the same problems as Janus. He wasn't sure if Logan would even accept comforting however. It didn't seem likely, what with the Human's general demeanor.
Patton couldn't let this go on, though.
"Logan? Is something bothering you? You seem...distressed tonight."
"It is always night up here Patton, since there is nothing to discern night from day like there might be on earth-"
"We have earth time to tell us that down there, it is eleven in the night, so that isn't an excuse. What's wrong?"
"I-just thinking," Logan trailed off, expression grim. Patton wondered what the Human could be so distressed about.
"Well, I just know that talking helps a lot with making someone feel better," Patton whispered, though he knew Logan could still hear him. And it was true, he supposed. He felt a lot better talking to the other sides than sitting there alone, and since Imposters weren't very good with feelings, it was often he found himself alone in the mothership. After getting the chance to experience communication with someone willing to listen to him, he had become rather attached. If that was how he- someone new to communication as a concept- perceived such things, than how must it feel for Logan...
"I just want you to feel better," Patton added, waiting for a response from the other, who had gone suspiciously silent.
Well, suspicious until he heard shaky breaths he was taking.
----
Logan knew he could trust Patton with this. With anything, really. The other had proven himself to be an excellent listener, and a problem-solver, something Logan definitely needed. with that thought in mind, Logan leaned back in his chair, turning towards Patton. "You know how we are allowed to receive emails from back on earth, and while they take a bit to get here, we can communicate with our families that way?"
Patton nodded, leaning forward. Logan continued.
"Well, while most of my family is accepting of my-um...identity- there is still some issues about it that don't sit well with my grandparents on my mother's side. They had wanted my mom to have a girl, so they could have a pretty granddaughter to brag about, and, well...it didn't turn out that way," Logan winced, remembering the first time he'd told them. The way they had paused to stare at him, and then went straight back to dead-naming him and using the wrong pronouns like he hadn't even said anything, even worse bringing up dresses they had seen, and asking Logan if he wanted to try them on to 'feel like the girl you are'. "They...they didn't want to accept it. I was struggling with my life and identity, and they couldn't accept it!" Logan put an emphasis on the they, his voice rising as it went. He blamed them. He hated them! He didn't want to, but he couldn't help it!
Patton leaned forward even more, putting a comforting hand on Logan's shoulder that he found himself leaning into.
"And now, they've sent me an email- well, they sent their 'granddaughter' an email- saying that they hope I like space, and that I've finally 'gotten over my phase'. I...how do you respond to that?"
Patton hummed, and then snorted.
"Email them and tell them you're in a ship with 5 other guys because the program recognized you as the man you are."
Logan froze, his mind reeling, before he began laughing, and while the sadness wasn't all gone, and there were still tears running down his face, his heart felt just a little bit lighter. Yes, Patton was right. That was the perfect thing to say. And he would. He'd write it, and send it, and he'd enjoy imagining their reaction to it.
"I'll go write that now," he smiled shakily. "Thank you, Patton."
"Always, Lo."
----
He wanted to tell him.
Patton had the sense of smell to tell everything from a person's age to their gender.
Everything.
His scent could detect so much, and he wanted to tell Logan how valid he was.
That when Patton smelt him, there was no traces of being female at all other than his incoming menstrual cycle.
Logan was not a girl.
Logan was a boy.
Patton wanted him to know!
He wanted!
No!
Stop. Calm. Hide. Leave.

Notes:

Hope you Enjoyed! Requests are open, as usual.
On a side note, has anyone found out why the Crew is number 76? (for those who need a hint, it has to do with the alphabet)

Chapter 7: Cyan and Purple

Summary:

Patton finds Virgil in distress, fearing for the outcome of the mission. Alternatively, Patton fighting his instincts because every part of him wants to comfort his dark, strange son through very suspicious ways.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Patton knew for sure that he was the only Imposter on the ship, so it was a little worrying when the lights suddenly flickered and popped out, casting the ship into darkness. Patton hadn't done the sabotage personally, which meant it must have been done by one of his crewmates. But who? And why? Patton ignored the darkness, his eyes already adjusting to it as he moved towards electric. It was there, in front of the fuse box and curled up in the corner, that he found Virgil, the Human hyperventilating in what Patton could recognize as an anxiety attack. He quickly scooped up the Human, pressing the other's body to his own. "It's okay, Virgil. You're okay."
"Pat-!"
The desperation and worry in Virgil's voice was what did it.
Immediately, Patton's instincts were on edge, every muscle in his body tense with the realization of a danger he didn't even sense. Virgil's cry had activated a primal instinct instilled in every Imposter, the need to protect. When an Imposter imprinted on someone as family, this instinct would kick in without fail, and the very fact that it kicked in while Virgil was in distress...
Patton had gotten more attached than he'd thought.
"Virgil. It's okay. I've got it, buddy, I just need to..."
He reached inside the fuse box, flipping the switches on, watching the lights turn back on. His focus, however, was more geared towards the trembling being in his arms- his being. His son. His child- he needed to protect him, had to know what was wrong, had to fix it. What was wrong? Where was the danger. Patton couldn't sense anything! He sniffed, scenting for other presences. He glanced around every corner of the room, searching for whatever had dared to make his kiddo upset, but nothing stood out.
And then he heard them. The quiet ramblings coming from his chest.
"I'm not the Imposter, Pat, I promise! I walked in, and the room seemed a little more scary than normal, and I-I just thought- I thought that the fuse had the- the lights to elec- I was going to turn it on and get more light so I wouldn't panic that was all I was doing please don't-" Patton cut his son off with a hand to his mouth and an understanding upturn to his lips. If Virgil kept up this rambling, he was going to snap, and releasing the gases that Imposter's used to put restless children asleep was not going to go over well with the rest of the crew.
"I understand kiddo, and you're safe," he said quietly. "Let's get you into a bed, yeah? I'll take care of the task in here."
----
Virgil had never felt safer than in Patton's arms.
The other carried him across the ship, settled him into the bunks of the Crew's shared space, tucked him in much like a parent would, and settled on his own bed to stay with Virgil as he fell asleep. Virgil had never been so attended to, what with his mother and father working most of their days away and his siblings needing the extra attention themselves to flourish and grow. He'd spent most of his life catering to everyone's needs but his own, and he could tell that Patton wasn't going to let him get away with that anymore. In fact, Virgil had noticed himself start to use the term more and more in his head even though he knew, logically, it wasn't the reality. It just...felt right.
It felt so...right...so...
"Goodnight, Dad," he whispered, feeling himself slipping into sleep.
He didn't miss the sharp intake of air from the other side of the room.
Nor did he miss the hushed, "Goodnight, Kiddo," he got back.

Notes:

Hope you enjoyed!
I got an extra long question from SortOfABigDeal, who says, This is a really cool idea, I like it! So crew 76 - I assume everyone has a specific rank. From what I’ve seen I’m guessing Logan is Captain, right? He seems like the one in charge.
I’d like to see more of this AU’s lore on Imposters and how they work. Like, is there a list of all human crews that Imposters just get assigned too? Are there specific crew mates that are supposed to be killed off first?
In most games at least one crew mate is left alive at the end of an Imposter victory - is there a reason for that in this AU? Something like ‘kill every crew mate and then kidnap the human captain and return to home base’ because that’s what I’ve seen other AU’s do.
And I have come with an answer:
I would say that Logan was definitely elected Captain. Out of all of them, he seems to be the most mature, and he comes up with a lot of the solutions to the problems Imposters cause. Imposters are assigned to a crew depending on the difficulty of infiltration. If a crew is adept at sensing when something might be off, or a member of the crew was a detective on Earth, the Imposter sent by the Boss would have the skill to hide from them until the very last moment. Patton is a wild card for the Boss, and the Boss sees Crew 76 as an easily infiltrated crew. Yes, the Imposters have a list of the crews, no the specific crew mates are not specific. It's up to the Imposter to figure out who needs to die depending on how suspicious of said Imposter the crewmate is (they know too much? They die.). The goal of the Imposters in the AU is to hide within the ship and wait for the Humans to arrive at the 'new planet' before taking over (the Imposters want to find a new home too), so really, the only reason the first Imposter was found out was because of their inability to do tasks. After that, awareness stopped the other Imposters from remaining without suspicion. The whole crew is supposed to be eradicated. There is no 'one left over' in this AU.
And with that, requests are open, and I hope you enjoy whatever comes next!

Chapter 8: Suspicions

Summary:

Patton's instincts begin surfacing, and the crewmates begin noticing

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

It had started with Roman. Patton had called an absentminded greeting to the other man who was- presumably- passing admin, only to get a confused response back from the other side of the cafeteria. While Roman didn’t mention the incident, Patton was sure he felt the man’s stare on him while he made lunch two hours later.
The next person had been Logan, who had shifted slightly, his scent permeating the room, and suddenly all Patton could smell was mint. He’d found himself complimenting the smell before he could think about it. Logan also didn’t mention it, but out of the corner of his eye, he could see the blue-suited Human smelling himself, his gaze calculating. Each time that gaze landed on him, he shivered.
Then it was Janus, who had been cleaning up the mess he’d made from spilling fuel on the lower engine. Patton had felt Janus’ distress from the other side of the ship, and before he could comprehend it, he was moving through the vents, emerging and closing the vent just as Janus lost his footing and fell backward. Patton had moved forward and caught him before he'd even got close to hitting the ground. He knew that this show of strength was suspicious in and of itself, but he was lucky that Janus was in shock, and didn’t mention it.
Virgil had been next as he ran to Patton, screaming about seeing a shadow outside the ship window, and Patton had felt the instincts rear within him, a deep predatory growl erupting from his throat. Virgil had frozen, his body relaxed, but his eyes wide with surprise. He had tried to make the excuse that he was just being playful to make Virgil laugh, but he knew the other wasn’t buying it at all.
He wasn’t even sure if he had done something around Remus at all, but he must’ve done something, because Remus kept looking at him like he’d given the other man his deepest secret and told him it was between them. Like there was a conspiracy. Each time an Imposter was brought up, Remus glanced towards Patton and rolled his eyes, and Patton really couldn’t be sure if he knew what Patton was, or figured Patton was just as exasperated with the subject as he was. Either way, Remus seemed to know something, and Patton would be lying if he said it didn’t bother him.
----
Roman hated doing wires. Despised it. He always ended up attaching the wires wrong, causing them to pop right back out of place, or worse, he closed the fuse box on a loose wire, and the others, tense from the pulling of the loose wire, would come loose all at once, forcing him to start over. But, it was necessary, and he did it because if he didn’t, someone else would have to.
He knew that he wasn’t alone in frustration. Right now he could hear the loud beeps of a rejected card as Patton continuously swiped it in Admin. Roman would have laughed, but his exclamation was cut off by a loud shouted greeting from Patton. Meant for him. From Admin.
There was no way Patton knew Roman was in the cafeteria. No way he had been able to hear Roman’s footsteps through his helmet either. It was impossible, and though he called a confused greeting back, and decided not to mention the occurrence, he found himself watching the other side, dropping light objects to see if the other would pick it up.
He did. Every time.
Roman didn’t want to believe it...but what else was there?
----
Logan’s feet had been sore for a while, the bottoms unused to the amount of walking he’d been doing since boarding the T.S. Sanders. He was by no means a lazy person on Earth, but when you walked the same stretches of ship all day every day, it was bound to do something to your body, and Logan’s was sore.
So, he’d begin using hand lotion on his feet, and while he wasn’t sure if this was a scientifically correct solution to the problem, he found comfort in the fact that even if it didn’t work, at least his feet wouldn’t stink when he stripped out of his suit to shower and sleep.
When Patton commented on his scent while they were working in the same room on their respective tasks, Logan had been speechless. Patton was on the other side of the room, and had somehow smelt Logan’s feet through the other’s boots and his own helmet, something Logan couldn’t even do, and those were his feet!
Patton avoided eye-contact for the rest of his task, and Logan chalked it up to embarrassment about mentioning such a strange thing, but deep within him, Logan knew that it wasn’t that.
He just didn’t want to believe…
----
Janus cursed his clumsiness as he worked on cleaning the lower engine from the fuel that he had spilled on it earlier that day. Logan had told him to clean it after the crew had made sure he was alright after his trip to the floor, and Janus didn’t blame him. After all, the last thing Janus wanted to do was burden the other members of Crew 76 with the mess that he had made. Never in a million years.
Of course, the moment he leaned back to rest for a moment- a small break from the constant motion of cleaning- his clumsiness had decided to kick in again. He felt his feet slip first, and after that, the rest of his lower body followed suit, a cry of fright leaving his mouth as he fell off the stool, body flailing.
He imagined what could happen if he fell. Would he break a bone? Twist his spine mid-air? Could he die from a fall this small? He closed his eyes, tortured by the images going through his mind, but before he could hit the harsh metal of the floor, he was caught in a strong, solid embrace.
Patton.
A man who still had trouble carrying a bag of flour. A man who probably weighed way less than Janus, had caught him as he fell, and was currently supporting his body weight and the impact of his fall with no issue.
The shock settled into Janus after a few moments of standing there, and he was glad Patton seemed to realize that and didn’t put him down, because there was no way he was going to stand after that. In return, Janus didn’t say anything about it. He had a feeling Patton didn’t want him to mention the impossible logistics of their current situation.
----
Virgil knew that it was irrational to be so afraid of a shadow outside the ship, especially since it could’ve just been gas releasing from the ship, or even just a trick of the light. Apparently his anxiety didn’t register on the same brainwave, because it immediately kicked into high gear. What if someone was trying to get into the ship?
He screamed, hoping to attract someone that could help him, relieved when Patton came running. He rambled about the shadow he’d seen outside of the window, telling Patton that he was afraid, and wasn’t sure what to do. If there was anything he was expecting, it wasn’t the deep, guttural growl that left Patton’s throat, nor the protective way his hold suddenly tightened. Virgil felt his body relaxing, though his mind was in a tizzy, running over every possible situation where a Human growl could ever sound that wildly predatory. There was none.
He barely listened to Patton’s excuses, his mind a whirlwind of emotion. When Patton excused himself to go patrol to ‘satisfy his anxiety’, Virgil had yet to move, and even when the other had disappeared, he found himself standing frozen in the hall, the explanations flying through his head.
It couldn’t be.
No! Patton was...Patton was…
----
Remus spent quite a bit of time in communications after he finished his tasks, listening to the results of other crew’s experiments on Imposters. Everyone was desperately working to find a foolproof way to detect an Imposter, to ensure that no crew would need to blindly sacrifice in order to stop one from infiltrating their ship.
After many trial and error experiments, one crew tested the scent of strawberries, and found that any time something with strawberry fumes was nearby, the Imposter’s tentacles would come out to examine the object. Sometimes, the Imposter themselves didn’t even realize it was happening. Remus decided to test it.
Taking some of the strawberry hand sanitizer that Roman had yet to use, he coated his hands in it. Each time he waved his hands, his nose got blasted with strawberry, so he assumed that was a success, and simultaneously cursed his brother for buying something so strong and not using it to block the scent of body odor he always had after one of his ‘necessary workouts’.
Remus waited until Patton was assigned to do a task in Communications to use the sanitizer, coating his hands in the liquid- which stung as it sunk into each open cut he had received during the trip- and waited for his test subject. He wasn’t disappointed.
As soon as Patton entered the room, Remus began waving his hands subtly, the fan on the desk blowing in Patton’s general direction for extra oomph. Sure enough, Patton didn’t notice, but tendrils of black began creeping out of Patton’s suit, edging cautiously towards the scent. Remus held in a scream of excitement, his eyes wide with barely concealed joy.
Soon, Patton moved on to his next task, and the tentacles lost interest and receded back into his suit, but Remus couldn’t forget how beautiful they looked, and how alive they were. He wanted the others to see them.
But then again, how would Patton react to that?

Notes:

I hope you enjoy. If this is a little more lackluster, it's because I had this chapter beautifully written, almost done, and accidently closed my tab. It deleted everything and I can't get it back...this is okay, though.
But, yes, the Alphabet to Number code is the right answer, and the 76 in Crew 76 stands for 'Thomas' using that code. Great job to all who guessed, even if you didn't get it right!

Chapter 9: The Discussion

Summary:

Patton is busy and the rest of Crew 76 talks about the things their suspicions.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Logan made sure Patton was busy with tasks, citing Virgil and Janus’ need for recovery from the shock of their incidents. Thankfully, Patton bought it, and when the others finished their tasks, Crew 76- down a cyan-suited member- met in the bedrooms, gathering in various places in Janus’ dorm.
Seeing nobody else willing to talk, Roman sighed. “I’m pretty sure we’ve all been experiencing weird things around Patton, and while I know nobody here wants to suspect our bubbly companion for anything, I’m pretty sure the things we’ve been seeing and hearing can’t be explained, right?”
The others nodded, faces grim. None of them enjoyed this...this unknown variable. They all desperately wanted to believe that what they Patton had been to them was a one-time thing.
It couldn’t be that way now.
“Can we list things we’ve seen that we consider sus- I’m sorry, Virgil. Things we consider strange?” Logan asked, placing a gentle hand on Virgil’s shoulder to calm him. It was strange how close they had gotten in so little time. And to think the reason was because of Patton’s ‘I’m going to gather you all for meals so we eat together!’ policy…
“Superhuman hearing. He ended up shouting a greeting to me- in the cafeteria- from all the way in Admin. There was no way he could have seen me, since we were separated by a wall, which means he somehow heard me come into the cafe, through both his mask and the wall,” Roman shrugged.
Tame. There could be a few explanations for such a thing, like Patton’s ‘hey, Roman!’ being a call for help with a task.
“He somehow smelled the mint of the lotion I rubbed on my feet through my boots and his helmet,” Logan said, voice quiet.
A little less probable, but Patton could have caught a whiff thanks to Logan’s shifting and the fan in the room, so it wasn’t ruled out as too strange.
“He caught me in the engine room as I fell. That’s one-hundred and forty pounds of human impact landing directly on a man who- by look- shouldn’t weigh much more or less than me. There’s also the question of how he got there. If I’m correct, Patton had tasks on the other side of the ship that day.”
That didn’t really have an explanation that made complete sense. Patton could’ve gotten over there in time to save Janus if he had, for some reason, been going that way, but he had no reason to. And then the strength he exhibited...it wasn’t very common, but Logan and Remus were sure it had an explanation they didn’t know. They resisted the urge to research it.
Virgil seemed reluctant, but with a bit of encouragement by Roman, he finally gave in. “I got scared of that shadow thing. When I told Patton...he...well, he growled. It was this really deep growl, you know, like a...I was going to say lion? Maybe? It’s not a sound I can make anyway, and I looked up human growls just to see if there were people who could make that noise…”
“And?”
“Nothing. Just a really bad search history,” Virgil replied sheepishly, and the crewmates were startled into laughter, a little bit of joy in the dark. They had known this conversation was going to be hard, but...it had turned out even worse.
Remus’ face made them nervous.
“I already know Patton is an Imposter-”
There were immediate protests, but Remus held up a hand, commanding silence.
“The other crew have been testing the Imposters. If they catch them, and can handle them, they start the testing. We’ve been trying to develop a foolproof way of detecting Imposters. One crew found the scent of strawberries.”
Roman’s face lit up in realization.
“So, when other crews tried it out, and all of them reported that each Imposter reacted the same, it was confirmed as a way to find Imposters. Their tentacles automatically search things out when they smell like strawberries. They must like them or something,” Remus paused, waiting, and the crew felt that realization sink in.
“It worked, Rem?”
“Like a charm, baby brother.”
Well, there it was. The kicker.
“Can we...can we see? Is that how we’re going to reveal it?”
“I...don’t think we should reveal it in a subtle way. Patton seems to be denying his instincts, and if that’s true, revealing it in that way might...distress him,” Logan suggested. Virgil whimpered.
“So, direct then? Telling him we know? What if he…”
They knew what Virgil was about to say. It was Janus who spoke up.
“Virge, Pat has had ample time to kill any of us with no way of being discovered. He could have killed any of us at any time, but he hasn’t. No sabotage, no killings, nothing to suggest he was an Imposter. With all that evidence, I really don’t think he’d react badly at all.”
There was silence, and they all turned to Remus, who nodded.
“No strawberries,” he whispered, setting the sanitizer down on the desk and sliding it away.

Notes:

Hope you enjoyed! I love this!
By the way, there was a Sanders Sides stream on Youtube for Among Us, with a player for each character, all in character, voice chatting and everything. It was amazing, and when I got the chance, I (I am known as Lonce Allivander on Youtube) created a support group called the TCSG (The Crofters Support Group).
They told me to spread it, and others are going to spread it, so I decided here would be a good place to do so.

Chapter 10: The Confrontation

Summary:

Crew 76 confronts Patton. Alternatively, the crew spends a lot of time trying to get angsty Patton to accept their fluff!

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The cafeteria was silent, Patton’s footsteps echoing too loudly in his ears as he emerged from the storage entrance, his eyes automatically drawn to the group sitting around the middle table, their eyes trained on his own. Patton barely stopped the lump threatening to make its appearance in his throat, and he moved into the room, sliding into a seat in between Remus and Virgil, blinking around at the other members of Crew 76.
“So, kiddos, is everything okay? You seem really stressed?”
Virgil whimpered, and Patton’s eyes snapped to him. He automatically shifted closer, reaching for Virgil’s hand and squeezing it gently. Virgil gave him a small smile, and the others shared looks, smiles coming onto their faces too.
“Patton,” Janus whispered, his tone slightly unsure. “We know it’s you.”
Patton sighed, smiling at Janus fondly.
“Yes, I was the one who was leaving you guys the cookies. And I don’t regret it, nor will I stop doing it!”
Remus burst into surprised laughter, his head making a thunk on the table as he flopped onto it. Janus snorted, and Logan let out his own sigh, his filled with exasperation. “While I am glad we finally know who has been leaving the packages of cookies in our bedrooms- not that we ever thought it was anyone but you, Patton, you’re so obvious- shall we focus on the matter at hand?”
“Another one?” Patton asked, twitching when Virgil squeezed harder on his hand.
“Yes. We know you’re the Impostor, Patton.”
----
They all winced at the tears filling Patton’s widening eyes. The lump they could visibly see in his throat. He cleared it, letting go of Virgil’s hand and balling both up in his lap. “I-...” he trailed off, leaving the sentence unfinished, and gosh Roman wished he could take back his words. This...he would have preferred anything but this!
“Patton-”
“No, no, it’s okay.”
“No, wait, you don’t understand-”
“I do, Janus. I get it.”
“Patton, this isn’t what we-”
“It’s okay, Logan. I’ll just-”
“Please, Patton, just listen to us!!” Virgil’s voice was hoarse, tears streaming down his face, and Patton’s eyes widened, visibly sharpening into seriousness. The other swept him up, cuddling him and whispering assurances. Obviously, the same instinct that Remus had been talking about had kicked in. Other Impostors on other ships had shown signs of growing attached to the little crewmates, the children of the crews who decided to go on the mission. The Impostors would protect them as their own, their instincts acting in much the same way that Patton’s were now.
“Patton, I’m okay, but you need to listen. We’re trying to explain, but you keep on interrupting,” Virgil murmured. He felt Patton’s curls brush against his cheek as the other shook his head.
“There’s nothing to understand or explain, Virgil. I knew I wouldn’t be able to hide for long. You’d have...you’d have figured out eventually. I just...hope you won’t be too rough as you throw me out of the eject station…?”
There was a moment of silence, and then…
“Are you kidding me!?”
“Patton, that was not our intention at all!”
“Pat, we aren’t throwing you out!
“Chill, Patty!”
Virgil could see the tears on the other’s faces, their faces a mixture of shocked outrage and underlying guilt and sadness. The fact that Patton thought they were going to hurt him…
“Patton, that isn’t it. That’s not it at all. We aren’t-”
“Virgil, I am an Imposter. A creature that will not make it should the other crews discover me. You won’t be able to land until they test everyone, and I’ll be thrown out anyway. I can survive without oxygen, and I’ll just float in space. If that...makes you feel better,” Patton said this with a smile, but it was ruined by the tears streaming endlessly down his face.
“Then we won’t land.”
“Logan-”
“No. We won’t. Patton, you don’t deserve to die-”
“Logan, this is unreasonable. You came to find a new home-”
“-so did you-!”
“-And I won’t be the reason you lose it, so please-”
“Dad, for god’s sake, you haven’t killed any of us. You haven’t sabotaged the ship, you haven’t hurt us, you’ve been the kindest person we’ve ever met, and for an Impostor, that is new ground we’ve never encountered. The other crews will understand, and if they don’t, we won’t land. We are too close to you to give you up now!”
“Virgil…?”
Virgil gulped, a little nervous despite his declaration.
“Did you just call me dad?” Patton’s voice was disbelieving, and Virgil huffed a laugh.
“That’s all you got out of that?”
Patton smiled, giggling wetly. “No, of course not. I...okay. Okay. But, when you get tired of me-”
“Pat.”
“Fine! Okay! If you get tired-”
“Mm-mm!”
Patton grumbled, though his voice was cheerful. The crew knew the worst had passed. Now, it was time to console, and love, and hopefully think up a plan before the next day.
“By the way, how did you know?” Patton was genuinely curious.
“Well, all of us had our...moments with you, but it was mainly Remus.”
“Really?”
“Yeah! Your tentacles really like strawberries. I put on strawberry hand sanitizer, and they were all for it, coming over to me and everything!”
“You did what!?!?”
They laughed at the embarrassed flush of Patton’s face, the tension faded.
All was well.

Notes:

Hope you enjoyed, and that this was the outcome you were hoping for, because this was what I was planning. It was agonizing not revealing any of the big details until this moment! Guess I know how authors like Uru-chan (the author of Unordinary) feel when they're asked about potential main events that happen in the future!
As always, requests are open on the request page on here, and in the comments of any of my works, as well as my Tumblr, TheTeam6.

Chapter 11: So, what now?

Summary:

This will be my last chapter of this story, but I will take One-shot requests or requests for other stories. If you'd like to see more of this universe, I can do that, and if you want to see others as the Impostor, or anything, I'd do that too! I also take non-Among Us requests if that's something you'd like to do, and I have a request specifically for that!

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The explanation to the other crews was long and awkward. Patton had a lot of talking to do, from answering their Impostor-related questions to just telling them why he hadn't decided to kill the others in Crew 76. He'd spent over four hours in front of the computer when Remus had finally called an 'enough' and sent Patton to eat lunch, telling the other crews that any other questions could be directed through the other members. Of course, some were unhappy, with the blatant dismissal or the fact that Patton was an Imposter, but n both situations, they couldn't do much about it.
Patton found himself slipping into the same habits with the others he'd had since they first boarded the ship.
Of course, there were the moments that Patton's inhuman behavior became more pronounced.
Like when Patton was helping Roman more with his book, and Roman had to enter a completely new passage, where Patton could tell him the truth about his past, about the life he had left, uncensored and left for Roman to see. And of course, Roman still wasn't used to Patton shouting greetings to him from impossible distances and sensing him before he even stepped inside the same room, but he had gotten used to thinking of it as part of Patton's charm.
Or when Janus found himself yet again by the ejection door, and suddenly felt a bunch of tentacles pull him into a hug while Patton did tasks on- what he later found out- was the other side of the ship. He’d noticed the other being a lot more protective, and his ears had picked up the shifting in the vents behind him enough to know that the other watched him do a lot of his tasks when Patton thought there could be a danger. He found it endearing.
And then there was Remus, whose relationship with Patton hadn’t changed much, both of them still finding the similarities in each other now that they could be more open about it. Remus couldn’t ‘get used to’ or ‘forget’ that Patton was an Impostor, but he could definitely enjoy the interesting conversations on primal instinct and on what had been dubbed ‘the strawberry sanitizer incident’. Patton was becoming more of a parent to Remus than his own had been.
Logan often found himself with Patton when he was experiencing moments of extreme dysphoria. The other sat with him and laughed with him over the emailed response to his grandparents. Patton helped him hit send, and they had watched it load and go through together. It wasn’t often that Logan asked, but sometimes he would request that Patton scent him. At first, Logan had thought that to be an awkward question, but Patton had understood immediately, his smile soft, and well...Logan couldn’t take that back now. He got regular scent checks where Patton confirmed, over and over, that Logan was a boy. “You’re valid,” he would say in a teasing robotic voice, and then burst out laughing while hugging Logan tightly as the other trembled with relief that was just as intense each time.
And nobody could forget Virgil. Virgil who had, after some careful consideration, began calling Patton dad. It had been slow, but Virgil had started to give up on ever getting the acknowledgement from his father that he’d needed as a boy. He had cut himself off to such things, and now that Patton had arrived in his life, he was learning to let someone be that figure. His favorite moments with Patton were the ones where the other lost control. Where the other would wrap him in tentacles, and hold him close, growling about the ‘stupid Karens thinking they can hurt my storm cloud!’ when Virgil told him about his workplace. He had built up to talking about his childhood, and though Patton was slightly less aggressive, whenever his biological dad was mentioned, Patton growled at the sadness Virgil’s voice took on, and Virgil found that to be the best thing he could have asked for.
It would be slow, understandably, but Crew 76 on the T.S. Sanders was already getting used to it.
After all, Patton couldn’t be considered an Impostor anymore.
He was just their friend.

Notes:

In case you didn't see the summary, this is it:
This will be my last chapter of this story, but I will take One-shot requests or requests for other stories. If you'd like to see more of this universe, I can do that, and if you want to see others as the Impostor, or anything, I'd do that too! I also take non-Among Us requests if that's something you'd like to do, and I have a request piece specifically for that!
and with that, I hope you enjoy!

Notes:

Hope you enjoyed this! It might be a multi-chapter, so if you want to see something specific for this AU, I'd suggest requesting it on the request piece.
On another note, I wonder if anyone can figure out why the Sanders Crew is numbered 76?
There is a reason~

Works inspired by this one:

  • [Restricted Work] by Anonymous (Log in to access.)