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Chapter Text

Gustav ran as quietly as he could. His plan had been to release SCP-2396 to draw attention from his setting off the on-site nuke, and it had worked perfectly so far. Now he just needed to get to the panel controlling the bomb.

The lights above flickered and his legs suddenly stopped mid-step, causing him to lose balance and fall over.

A strangling force seized his mind and locked his body in the position it was in. He toppled forward, completely frozen, as if he'd been turned into stone.

A voice, familiar, yet warped and distorted, sighed.

"O̵h̵,̸ ̶G̵u̴s̷t̵a̵v̶.̷ ̸G̴u̴s̸t̷a̴v̵,̶ ̸G̴u̶s̷t̶a̴v̷, ̶G̶u̴s̴t̵a̶v̷.̸"

No. No, no, no!

His body suddenly began moving again on its own accord. It picked itself up from the ground and turned.

A tall, slightly rotund figure walked closer and closer. Its irises glowed an angry crimson.

B-Billy?!

"Y̴o̸u̵r̸ ̴t̶h̵e̷a̴t̵r̴e̸ ̷m̶a̴j̵o̸r̶ ̴m̷a̴y̷ ̷h̴a̶v̶e̵ ̷b̷e̷e̵n̷ ̵u̵s̷e̸f̵u̴l̴ ̶i̴n̸ ̶f̸o̴o̶l̷i̵n̴g̵̴ a̷ ̶c̸o̵m̶m̶o̶n̷ ̸a̷u̷d̵i̴e̴n̴c̷e̸,̸ ̵b̵u̶t̴ ̸i̵t̵ ̸w̵o̶u̶l̷d̷ ̷n̸e̴v̵e̸r̷ ̶h̸a̴v̴e̴ ̴s̸a̴v̷e̸d̶ ̴y̸o̸u̸ ̸f̸r̶o̷m̸ ̵a̵ ̵t̸r̸a̴i̶n̶e̴d̴ ̷e̴y̶e̸ ̵w̸h̶o̷ ̸w̸a̶s̵ ̴t̷h̶e̸m̷s̵e̸l̷v̷e̷s̵ ̸o̸n̴c̵e̵ ̴a̶ ̶s̵i̴m̷i̷l̷a̶r̸ ̷i̵n̸d̷i̴v̴i̴d̵u̵a̵l̸.̴ ̴I̶'̴m̷ ̵m̸o̵r̶e̸ ̵t̶h̵a̴n̵ ̵j̵u̸s̷t̶ ̵a̷ ̷w̵i̸s̸e̴c̷r̵a̶c̴k̸i̶n̸g̴,̴ ̴h̵a̴p̸p̶y̶-̷g̴o̸-̷l̴u̶c̸k̶y̷ ̸s̸l̶o̵t̵h̶,̶ ̷y̸o̸u̴ ̶k̷n̵o̸w̴.̷"

Wh-What?! Didn't he release his control over-

"Y̷e̸s̸,̴ ̷I̴ ̵d̸i̵d̵ ̷r̷e̸l̵e̸a̸s̵e̶ ̸t̶h̵e̸ ̷m̸i̶n̸d̴s̴ ̵o̷f̵ ̸a̷l̶m̴o̴s̵t̷ ̶a̸l̵l̸ ̴m̸y̸ ̵v̷i̷c̴t̴i̵m̸s̸. ̶A̵l̸m̵o̵s̴t̷.̷ ̵Y̴o̴u̷ ̶s̶e̶e̵,̸ ̶t̷h̴e̸r̷e̴ ̵a̷r̸e̷ ̵t̷w̷o̸ ̶t̶y̷p̸e̴s̴ ̴o̸f̴ ̵p̶e̸o̴p̴l̸e̴ ̷w̶h̵o̸m̶ ̵I̸ ̴d̶i̵d̴n̷'̵t̷ ̶r̸e̸l̴e̵a̶s̸e̴.̸ ̷O̷n̷e̶ ̴b̸e̶i̴n̶g̸ ̵t̴r̶u̷l̴y̶ ̷h̴e̸i̴n̷o̴u̶s̷ ̸c̵r̷i̸m̸i̸n̸a̸l̶s̷,̸ ̸l̷i̸k̴e̷ ̶r̵a̶p̵i̴s̶t̴s̵ ̷a̵n̷d̶ ̸s̴e̴r̸i̶a̶l̷ ̵k̵i̸l̶l̵e̴r̸s̷.̵ ̸T̶h̴e̴ ̵o̵t̶h̴e̵r̴ ̵b̴e̵i̵n̸g̵ ̴C̷h̴a̶o̸s̶ ̴I̷n̷s̸u̶r̶g̴e̸n̶c̵y̴ ̵o̴p̷e̸r̴a̶t̷i̴v̷e̷s̷.̸ ̸"

If that's true, then why didn't-

"N̶o̴w̷,̶ ̵I̵ ̸w̷i̸l̵l̸ ̸a̷d̶m̴i̵t̵,̶ ̵I̵ ̵w̶a̷s̴ ̸n̸o̷t̶ ̶i̵n̸ ̸y̷o̴u̸r̶ ̸m̶i̶n̸d̷ ̵a̷t̷ ̵f̵i̴r̷s̷t̶.̵ ̵D̴o̸ ̵y̵o̸u̸ ̸r̶e̷c̷a̷l̶l̷ ̴t̸h̸e̵ ̴d̸a̴y̶ ̸y̴o̸u̸ ̵a̴c̴c̷i̵d̴e̸n̴t̵a̴l̶l̷y̴ ̷v̶i̸e̵w̵e̷d̷ ̴a̸ ̸c̸o̸l̸l̸e̴c̷t̷e̴d̷ ̴o̸f̸ ̶p̷h̸o̸t̸o̶s̸ ̶o̸f̶ ̵m̴y̸s̴e̵l̷f̷ ̶t̴h̸e̵ ̵F̶o̸u̴n̷d̵a̵t̸i̷o̷n̵ ̷p̵l̵a̷n̷n̵e̵d̷ ̸t̸o̷ ̶u̵s̶e̵?̷"

A flash of the memory came back to him. The photos spilling out of that drawer...

"A̵l̴s̴o̷,̸ ̷y̸o̷u̶r̵ ̶m̵e̸m̸o̴r̷y̸ ̶i̵s̷ ̵w̵o̷r̸s̷e̸ ̶t̸h̸a̵n̸ ̶I̶ ̶t̷h̸o̵u̴g̶h̶t̴.̷ ̴D̵o̵n̷'̴t̶ ̵y̸o̶u̶ ̴r̶e̸c̶o̴g̷n̷i̷z̵e̸ ̶m̶e̴?̷"

Billy's body glitched, revealing a far more creepy visage underneath the brown-furred, chubby body.

You... You're-

"Y̷e̵s̷.̷ ̴N̷o̴w̵ ̴c̷o̸m̷e̷ ̶w̵i̴t̸h̸ ̴m̴e̶.̷ ̸I̴ ̶i̸m̵a̵g̷i̵n̸e̷ ̸D̶i̵r̵e̵c̵t̴o̶r̷ ̶J̶o̶n̶e̵s̶ ̸w̷o̵u̸l̴d̴ ̶b̴e̷ ̵v̷e̵r̴y̷ ̸i̵n̸t̷e̸r̸e̷s̴t̶e̵d̸ ̵t̶o̸ ̷k̵n̵o̶w̸ ̷t̵h̸a̵t̶ ̸t̸h̸e̷ ̸s̷o̷n̴ ̷o̸f̵ ̷o̷n̸e̶ ̷o̸f̴ ̸t̷h̵e̷ ̷I̵n̴s̵u̶r̴g̴e̸n̶c̷y̵'̴s̷ ̷f̶o̶u̷n̴d̷e̷r̶s̶ ̴d̵e̸c̷i̷d̵e̶d̷ ̵t̴o̸.̴.̶.̷ ̸p̷a̸y̸ ̸t̸h̷e̴ ̶F̶o̸u̵n̴d̷a̶t̷i̵o̵n̸ ̵a̴ ̶v̶i̸s̸i̷t̷,̸ ̴s̷o̶ ̷t̵o̵ ̷s̸p̷e̶a̸k̵.̵"

Billy turned on his heel and walked in the direction of the director's office. Gustav could only inwardly whimper and watch helplessly as his body, under the Slow-Burn Sloth's complete control, walked after Billy to the gallows.

Chapter Text

Several months later...

The tall, pale creature paced about its cell. It was little more than a solid steel box with a door that would allow the creature within to be relocated if need be.

Despite the dismal air of this place, the creature was content to spend the rest of his days here, if only it meant not hurting anyone.

The alarms suddenly blared and its head whipped around.

"The facility is experiencing multiple Euclid- and Keter-class breaches in containment. Evacuate immediately."

Containment breach? Again?

The creature simply loped over to the corner and sat down, leaning back against the wall. He'd learned that if he just stayed quiet in his cell, then no one would notice him and he would be left alone.

Wait.

Were those... footsteps? Coming towards his cell?

A flash of bright light suddenly burst into the dark cell right next to him. It vanished as quickly as it had appeared, but in that time he saw a young woman in a white coat and glasses rush into his cell.

What? Who is that-

The two locked eyes and in that instant, he felt that uncontrollable, unconscious rage-panic that swelled up within him whenever someone looked at his face.

A scream began to rise in his throat and he pressed his fists to his temples, trying to fight the tide of fearful rage threatening to spill out.

Chapter Text

Dr. Collingwood screamed and, without thinking, bolted to the opposite side of the pitch-black cell like a frightened rabbit.

I'm already dead, aren't I?

She could hear 096's voice. Any second now, it would run at her and kill her. She shut her eyes tightly, bracing herself. Any second now...

The scream slowly died down.

Soft footsteps padded towards her. They were slow, deliberate.

God, please let this be quick.

The footsteps stopped. Then there was the noise of plastic sliding on concrete. She opened tentatively one eye, still keeping her gaze on the ground.

Lying there on the ground in front of her was her keycard.

Gathering her courage, she picked up her card, safely tucking it away in her pocket before looking around. SCP-096 was sitting on the ground in front of her a few feet away, hunched over and nervously wringing its hands.

Wh-Why didn't it kill me? I looked at its face. And why did it give me back my keycard?

Gulping, she picked up the card.

"Um... thank you?"

096 raised its head ever so slightly, just enough so that it could see her, then quickly put its head back down. She thought she saw its lips move, but couldn't hear it say anything, if it did.

"S-Sorry, I couldn't hear that."

096 looked up again. This time she could hear an incoherent mumble.

"Could you speak up please?"

The creature's shoulders rose and fell with a deep sigh and it looked up for the third time.

"Hello," it whispered shyly, just loud enough to be heard. Its voice was soft and gentle and unmistakably masculine, sounding neither young nor old. It was hoarse as well, as if 096 hadn't spoken in a long time. The creature had a strange accent that she couldn't quite place.

"So you can talk."

Seemingly a little braver, 096 scooted just a little closer.

"Just because I-I don't talk doesn't mean I can't," he whispered.

Now Dr. Collingwood could make out the details of the creature's face. 096's face was thin and gaunt, his pale skin stretched tightly over bone. His pale lips were downturned into a permanent frown and his eyes had a sad, resigned look.

"Do... do you have a name?"

"Y-Yes. My... My name is John. W-What's yours?" John was still acting quite shy, but at least she could hear him clearly now.

"Dr. Collingwood."

A half-smile, partly amused and partly rueful, tugged at John's mouth. "Oh. Billy talks about you all the time."

Her eyebrows shot up. "You know Billy?"

"Y-Yeah. He was my only friend up until I got captured by the Foundation."

Dr. Collingwood was about to reply when footsteps cut her off. Lawrence's voice boomed out, calling her name.

"Molly? Molly! Where are you?!"

Dr. Collingwood sprang to her feet. John picked himself up as well.

"Well, looks like I have to leave," she said softly.

"That... might as well be for the best." John's voice was a whisper again. "I'm sorry, but I... I think it's better if you don't remember this."

"Wait, wha-"

The last thing she could recall from that moment was what seemed like a mass of solid steel hitting her in the jaw, the world tilting, and everything going black.

She couldn't even remember hitting the floor.

Chapter Text

Dr. Collingwood opened one eye slightly, then quickly shut it again from the blinding light flooding into her retina. The side of her face felt swollen and her jaw was thumping.

"Molly? Molly, are you okay?"

She blinked several times as her eyes adjusted to the bright light and tried to slowly get up, her head spinning a little.

A hand gripped her upper arm and helped her sit up. It was Lawrence. She looked around, trying to figure out what had happened. Dr. Buck, Agent Green, and Carson were there.

"Lawrence, what happened?"

"We found you lying unconscious in SCP-096's cell, while 096 was sitting in the corner. How did it not kill you? There's no way you could've just knocked yourself out."

"I..." She swallowed, realizing that she didn't remember anything from after she'd stumbled into 096's cell by mistake. "I... don't actually know."

Dr. Buck raised an eyebrow. "You don't remember anything? At all?"

She shook her head.

Carson shrugged. "D*mn, you musta gotten hit on the head pretty hard, then."

----------------------------------

Dr. Collingwood winced as she looked in the mirror. The entire left side of her jaw was purple and swollen. She tentatively reached up, her fingers lightly brushing the bruise and almost bit through her tongue with the shock of pain that followed. She swore under her breath and quickly bandaged it up.

Hopefully this gets better tomorrow.

Chapter Text

Mr. Moore raised an eyebrow. "Dr. Collingwood, are you okay? Your jaw doesn't look too good."

"Don't worry, it's nothing," she murmured back, clapping her hand over the bruise. It had gone down quite a bit since last night, having turned paler in color, but hadn't really shrunk at all.

She lowered her head and walked a little faster. Director Jones had called a sudden meeting today about the containment breach.

She ended up arriving early and took a seat next to Dr. Buck.

"What is this about?" she asked.

"I have the feeling that it has something to do with you accidentally stumbling into 096's cell," Dr. Buck replied.

After a while Director Jones entered the room and stepped to the front.

"Good morning everyone. As you are aware, after yesterday's containment breach, a scientist was found lying unconscious within SCP-096's containment chamber." Dr. Collingwood felt the director's eyes on her and lowered her head.

Jones continued. "The head researcher for SCP-096 was checking over the audio recording equipment recently installed into its cell and found this." He held up a tape, which he inserted in a VHS player.

The first sound that could be heard were the distant alarms, then noise of metal sliding on metal. Then footsteps and heavy breathing as the sliding was heard again, then a scream which Dr. Collingwood recognized as her own. More running footsteps. A scream being forced back.

Silence.

Then slow, soft padding and a scraping noise. Quiet once more. Then her own voice again.

"Um... thank you?"

No response, then a mumble.

"S-Sorry, I couldn't hear that."

A slightly louder, but still incomprehensible mutter.

"Could you speak up please?"

A deep sigh. Then a soft, male voice said quietly "Hello".

As the tape went on, something tugged at the edge of her mind. The other voice in the recording sounded familiar, even though she was quite sure that no one else spoke like that.

Finally, the ending of the tape.

"Well, looks like I have to leave."

"That... might as well be for the best. I'm sorry, but I... I think it's better if you don't remember this."

"Wait, wha-"

What sounded like a smack rang out, which was followed by a muffled thump and the tape ended.

Jones took out the tape and folded his hands, looking straight at her. "Can you recall your encounter with SCP-096 now, Dr. Collingwood?"

"His name is familiar, as well as his voice, but nothing more, sir."

"Very well then. This meeting is over."

Chapter Text

John paced about his cell. Ever since he'd been brought to this place, it thankfully had prevented anyone from seeing his face and he was mostly left alone, giving him time to think without fear of being disturbed.

His mind puzzled over what had happened during the containment breach from two weeks ago.

When he had locked eyes with that scientist, fear had overtaken him, knowing what was about to happen. The panicked fear-rage had risen up within him, as it had done every other time, and he'd fought it as hard as he could, trying to control it, like every other time before.

This time, finally, he succeeded.

When he'd opened his eyes again, she'd fled to the far corner of his cell, cowering in fear. Her keycard was lying on the floor.

For a moment he'd been torn. Even without his rage-reflex, he was still extremely shy and had never had the opportunity to pick up social skills, but at the same time he loved helping others. Eventually the latter won out and he'd managed to scrape together the courage to approach her and give her the card.

The look of fear on her face reminded him of a boy he had once befriended. The poor child had fled up a tree, and it had taken quite a lot to convince the little boy that he wasn't going to hurt him.

But what had surprised him the most was how Dr. Collingwood had reacted. Not with fear or disgust like he had imagined.

The fact that she seemed so... friendly to a monster baffled him. Then again, she had been able to redeem someone like Billy, so perhaps that wasn't so surprising.

Why? I'm an ugly, stupid, worthless monster and a failure. I don't even deserve to exist. Why did she even bother talking to scum like me?

Thinking about her brought back the same feeling that first meeting with the boy had. He wasn't quite able to put a name to it.

Pity. It's just pity, nothing more. She'll probably forget me in a few days anyway. I deserve it.

He sighed and sat back against the cold wall of his cell. He wasn't good at lying to himself.

Chapter Text

Dr. Collingwood looked around, then sat down and sighed in relief.

Maybe today is the day Billy finally leaves me alone and I can have some peace and quie-

"Oi, Molly! How's it going?"

Sh*t.

"Speak of the devil," Lawrence muttered. Even though Billy was a friendly SCP, he could be plain infuriating at times. And lately he had been bugging her even more than usual.

The sloth-man plopped down into the seat next to her. "Uh, Molly? You gonna answer? That bruise on your jaw seemed pretty bad. Are you sure you're alright? No dizziness or headaches or-"

"Billy, I'm fine now."

"Okay, good." Then he seemed to cheer up again. "So, I see you met John."

"Well, sort of, I guess? I don't really remember anything."

"I've known him for quite a while before the Foundation captured him, and I tell ya, he's the nicest person I've met. Next to you, of course. He's still a bit of a 'Shy Guy', though. Get it?"

She rolled her eyes and groaned good-naturedly. Bad jokes and corny puns were Billy's bread and butter.

"So you're familiar with John?"

"Yes, very. I only found out that he was in this facility about a month ago, though. You better believe that I talk to him whenever no one's listening."

Chapter Text

Dr. Collingwood buried her face in her pillow, trying to fall asleep. Ever since she started working at the Foundation, the horrible things she'd seen would often keep her up at night.

It's fine, she told herself. It's fine, it's fine, it's fine. 106 isn't hiding in the closet, 173 isn't going to try and snap your neck, and 682 isn't patiently waiting for you to fall asleep and let your guard down to devour you.

She sighed and let exhaustion slowly lull her to sleep.

"Hey, Richard, catch!" Molly hurled the Frisbee at Richard.

He reached up and caught, throwing it to Sophie, who threw it to Ben, who threw it to Hannah.

"Hannah! Over here!" Molly flailed her arms above her head. She usually messed up on catching, well, anything that was thrown at her, but it didn't stop her from trying.

The Frisbee soared through the air and dove into a section of thick brush.

"I'll go get it." Molly scrambled over to the bushes.

"Be careful," Sophie called out. "You never know if there's snakes hiding there."

Molly looked over her shoulder with a grin. "Don't worry, I'll be fi-"

Bzzzzzzzzzzzttttttttzzzzzzzzz.

The children froze in fear, Molly with her hand still in the bush. There it was. That dreaded rattle. The one noise they all never hoped to hear. Molly slowly, more slowly than she ever had and ever would in her life, turned her head back towards the bush.

Bzzzzzzzzzzzttttttttzzzzzzzzz.

"Don't move, Molly, don't move! Don't even breathe!" Ben whispered.

Molly was forced into a staring contest with the reptile. The Frisbee had landed right on top of it and her hand was inches away from the snake's face. And it wasn't happy.

Bzzzzzzzzzzzttttttttzzzzzzzzz.

The serpent's head was right between her hand and the toy. There was no way she could grab it fast enough to avoid the snake's strike.

Richard cried out. "Mr. Collingwood! Help! There's a rattlesnake and Molly's right in front of it!"

"I'm coming! Molly, stay still!"

"Hurry!"

What seemed like a collection of needles stabbed into Molly's hand and she cried out.

It had bitten her.

Dr. Collingwood jerked awake and strained her ears for any noise. Nothing.

"I-It was just a dream," she told herself. "It was just a dream."

Her eyes darted to the U-shaped semicircle of little dots situated between her thumb and index finger. Two of them were larger and darker than the rest where the venom-laced fangs had punctured her skin.

She had almost died that day.

Chapter Text

"SCP-049 has escaped containment. Evacuate the facility immediately."

John snarled when he heard the announcement. He knew that hateful doctor and prayed that no one would be killed by him. 

That idiot. Can't he see what his "cure" actually does to people? Or is he just denying it?

Dr. Collingwood peeked out of the supply closet, looking around, her senses on high alert. She didn't see SCP-049 and made a break for it.

A deep voice with a slight reverb echoed behind her. "Fear not, young lady, for I am the cure."

She swore under her breath and sprinted, trying to put as much distance between herself and 049. One touch from him would be all it took to kill her.

John's head snapped up when he felt it. Whenever someone looked at his face, he would always be aware of their location until they perished.

Someone was nearby. And right behind them, although he couldn't sense it but was still able to hear, was...

A red haze seemed to blur his vision as anger consumed him.

This wasn't the sort of fearful, panicked anger he used to feel whenever someone viewed his face. No. It was rage and hate and sorrow all mixed into one potent, virulent ichor.

He howled and tore down the door of his cell, sprinting as fast as he could without losing control over his direction. A researcher was backed up against the wall and 049 was approaching her.

"YOU!" John screamed and he seized the doctor's throat.

Dr. Collingwood heard a scream and the tearing of metal.

"YOU!"

A white blur barreled down the hallway, grabbed 049 and hurled it all the way to the end of the corridor.

The plague doctor slowly staggered upright.

"Ah, John. I was not aware that you were imprisoned in this place as well."

"Quiet, you bird-faced sadist!"

"Now, now, there is no need for that sort of lan-"

"Shut up!" John slammed 049 into a wall. "Go within ten feet of anyone ever again, and your beak is gone. Try to 'cure' them, and you're dead. Succeed, and there won't be a bloodstain left of you! Do I make myself clear?"

049 gulped. "Y-Yes sir, very clear."

"Then go back to your cell and never come out again. Understood?"

"U-Understood."

John released 049. "Then go! "

The plague doctor needed no further encouragement, scrambling away as fast as his legs could carry him. John slowly turned, a look of concern on his face, until he saw her

He stumbled back, suddenly surprised, before pressing the back of his hand to his eyes and running away.

Chapter Text

"John, wait!"

Dr. Collingwood ran after John and ended up following him all the way back to his cell. The door had been torn down and John was curled up in the corner of his cell.

She cautiously stepped in. "John?"

The guilt in his voice made her want to run over and give him a hug. "Leave me alone."

A crackle made her turn. Billy was standing in the doorway.

"Come on, Johnny Boy, you said you wanted to talk to her," he said softly.

John sighed and turned around. He didn't get up though, and his head was still on his knees.

"Dr. Collingwood, I... I-I'm sorry."

"Sorry... for what?"

"Punching you in the jaw."

"It's fine, it's fine. I know you weren't trying to hurt me."

John mumbled something unclear.

She cocked her head. "What did you say?"

"Nothing, it's just..."

"It's just what?"

John's head shot up. "It's nothing!" he snapped at her. He quickly sobered, putting his head back down. "Sorry."

She shook her head. "Don't worry. It's okay to be upset."

Billy stepped into the cell. "John-"

"Leave me alone," John said quietly. "I don't want to be around anyone."

Billy sighed. "Alright then."

The sloth put a firm hand on Dr. Collingwood's shoulder and steered her out of the cell.

Chapter Text

Billy let out a sigh. John was a very light sleeper, but nowadays it was getting harder and harder to get him to talk at all. What was his deal?

Well, there was one thing that would always work.

"WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH A DRUNKEN SAILOR? WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH A DRUNKEN SAILOR? WHAT SHALL DO WITH A DRUNKEN SAILOR EARLY IN THE MORNIN'? WAY, HAY, AND UP SHE RISES. WAY, HAY, AND UP-"

John groaned. "Do you have to do that?"

Billy laughed. "Yeah, 'cause you seem suspiciously sleepy lately."

"I was already wide awake by the time you came around. I was just hoping you'd leave."

"You're really underestimating my persistence."

"I know."

"Look, man, it's just that I hate when my friends are sad. I'm trying to cheer you up. I can't stand the kind of depressed attitude you have."

"Then go away. Let me be sad."

Billy grinned. "No. But in all seriousness, I really don't understand why you act the way you do, especially towards Dr. Collingwood. It's really weird. I don't really know how to explain it."

"She might still be mad, or afraid of me, for punching her."

"Well, news flash, she isn't. She literally said that to your face the last time 049 breached containment, and trust me, she's a horrible liar. I'm telling you, I've seen her behavior every day since she first met you, and she's isn't mad at you one bit."

John was silent for so long that Billy started getting worried.

"John? Earth to John?"

"Look, when I said that she was mad at me for punching her... I knew that wasn't true."

"Then why did you keep insisting that?"

"Well... I..." John sighed. "Don't tell anyone I told you this, okay?"

"I won't. Sloth's honor."

"It's just... with everything that you told me, Dr. Collingwood seems like a really great person and I really want to know her better. But I don't want her to get hurt again. Once someone goes into the anomalous world, they're never quite safe again. If I got involved with her, she could be put in even more danger."

"Oh, right. That." Billy leaned back against the wall. "Still, it's not healthy for you to isolate yourself from everyone."

"How do you know that's what I'm doing?"

"It's in how you behave. You've never even tried to get help with your rage problem and never communicate to anyone except me, and that's because I can't trigger your rage response. I'm glad you got it back under control though."

"I'm trying to protect everyone," John snapped.

"Well, what if she's cornered by a dangerous SCP in a completely different part of the building during a containment breach and you can't get to her in time? She could die."

"That's..." John sighed. "That's not quite what I meant."

Billy thought for a moment.

"Now I get it. You want to protect her from yourself, right?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, so let me get this straight: You want to know her better and befriend her, but you think that the way to do that is to close yourself off and never come out of your shell? That's not how you make friends, John. We only really became friends once we opened up to each other, remember?"

"I... you're right."

Billy smiled. "So the next time you get a chance to talk to her, what do you do?"

"Actually try to talk to her?"

"Now that's the spirit! Oh, and by the way, the Foundation's planning to interview you tomorrow."

"Who's asking the questions?"

Billy groaned. "I hoped that you wouldn't ask that."

"It's Dr. Buck, right?"

"Yeah. You could've gotten worse though. You could've been forced to talk to Dr. Logan." Billy shuddered. He had nicknamed the man "Bearded Bastard" for a reason.

"I'll make the best of it."

"G'luck, man. You're gonna need it. Anyways, I'm gonna go check up on Molly now."

"Bye, Billy."

"Bye, John. See you tomorrow."

Chapter Text

Carson adjusted his ever-present helmet. "Are they sure about this? I know that 096 didn't attack Dr. Collingwood when she looked at it, but... you know."

Lawrence shrugged. "She looked at it twice, and she's still breathing, so I guess that part went away. Come on, let's go."

John looked up as the door to his cell was opened. Two men stepped in. One had a helmet on  while the other didn't.

"Alright 096, or John, I guess, time to go."

John raised a brow. "Lawrence?"

The helmet-less one stopped. "How do you know my name?"

"I've heard your voice before."

"Come on, guys, the longer we keep waiting the more pissed Buck's gonna be." Carson gestured with his head out of the cell.

"Alright, I'm coming."

-----------------------------------

John looked around the room. The wall to his right had a large window and there was a door at the wall opposite to him. He'd been seated at a plain wooden table with two chairs.

The door slid open and a tallish blonde woman walked in, scowling. John quickly stood up and held out a hand.

"I-I assume you're Dr. Buck?" His voice came out quieter and more nervous than he'd liked. Calm down, John. You practiced this about a few thousand times. You can't screw this up now. "You probably know me as SCP-096, b-but I prefer John."

"Good morning... John." She didn't seem to see his hand. He didn't mind though. He wasn't exactly used to the whole "shaking hands" thing.

Dr. Buck pulled out a clipboard and set it on the table.

"Where did you come from?"

"P-Pardon?"

"Your origin, John. Do you know?"

"U-Um, no. I-I absolutely have no idea where I came from or how I came to be."

"Well, if you don't remember where you came from, what's the very earliest thing you remember?"

"Well, I-I remember trying to climb up a tree and... well... I f-fell off and landed on my head. I'm pretty sure that fall is the reason why I-I don't remember my origin."

Dr. Buck glanced down at her clipboard.

"Alright then, are you familiar with any other anomalies or anomalous phenomena?"

"Y-Yes, some. 682, Billy, a few of the 939 instances, 035, 2191-3, and a few others."

"Very well, what do you know?"

"682 is o-one of the sons of the Scarlet King, Billy is much, much older than you think, everything or a-almost everything 035 says is a lie, and the 939 specimens are actually sapient. I can also confirm that this hypothetical SCP-2191-3 is very much real. I've seen it with my own eyes."

"What do you know about SCP-001, if you know anything about it at all?"

John drummed his fingers on the table. "Well, I do know about the - how many interpretations of 001 are there, dozens?- the Gate Guardian, the Factory, and the Spiral Path, but I don't believe that they are the true 001. No. It's a different SCP, I'm sure of it. I'm not gonna say it, though. It's not what you think. After all, what's the best way to hide the true identity of SCP-001? Don't classify it as SCP-001. "

Dr. Buck looked thunderstruck for a moment, before stuttering out a reply. "How do you know-"

"Don't ask, I won't tell. But I can tell you that it wasn't from reading the archives of any anomalous organization."

"Alright then, next question. Why, prior to," she cleared her throat, " that containment breach did you attack people who saw your face, and why did you cease doing so after that particular containment breach?"

John blinked, swallowed hard, then put his head down on the table.

"SCP-096?"

He ignored it.

"John?"

Don't think about it don't think about it don't think about it don't about it-

"Are you going to answer the question?"

John's head snapped up.

"If you want to know so badly, then why don't you go ask SCP-049?!" John roared as he slammed a fist into the table. Dr. Buck jumped and the speaker blared.

"SCP-096, remain passive!"

John took a deep breath. "I-I'm sorry, it's just... I-I really don't want to talk about it."

"Moving on," Dr. Buck continued. "Do you have any regrets?"

John stared at her for a second, then let out a bitter laugh.

"Ask anyone who's lived as long as I have that same question. If they say no, then I say they're either lying or a sociopath."

"Mm-hm. Why did you never try communicating to us if you were sapient the whole time?"

"I..." John sighed. "I-I really didn't want to hurt anyone, and I doubted if anyone would listen."

"The former is understandable. Now, you did seem to imply earlier that you have lived for a significant amount of time. How old are you exactly?"

John pushed back his chair. "I... don't know exactly, but I-I do remember being around when humanity's first ancestors climbed down from the trees after I had fully grown up."

"Hm. Interesting. What do you think about humanity?"

"Well... I... I don't exactly know how to explain this, s-so bear with me. I've spent most of my life alone, just avoiding everyone, doubly so after I started having those uncontrollable rages. So I'm not entirely sure what my opinion really is. It's kind of... a sort of confused pity-admiration. Confused because I have no idea how your kind managed to survive more than a few decades, pity because you have to live in a world like this, and admiration because of... well, all the things you invented. You've committed horrific atrocities against yourselves which still give me nightmares to this day, yet you've also done great things. In some ways, humanity is the greatest anomaly of all."

"Very... philosophical for someone who never learned philosophy," Dr. Buck remarked.

John shrugged. "It was the best way I could explain it."

"Anyways. What is your connection to SCP-049?"

John put his head down on the table again. "I knew you would ask that," he mumbled.

"So-"

"Next question."

"John-"

"Next question. Please, " he pleaded.

Dr. Buck glanced down at her clipboard again. "What are your thoughts on the Foundation?"

"That... is also complicated. I-I feel the Foundation does many horrific things, but sadly, they are often the only thing that can be done. Procedure 110-Montauk was, as the Ethics Committee ruled, the least cruel thing that could be done in order to you-know-what. That's the level we're talking about here."

"How do you-"

"Don't think that I never pay attention to anything happening outside my cell. I can hear your gossip."

"Well..." Dr. Buck looked at her clipboard one last time. "That's the end of it."

"Nothing more to ask me?"

"No.

"A-Alright then. I hope you have a good day, Dr. Buck."

She gave him an odd look. "You too, John."

Chapter Text

"SCP-682 has escaped containment. I repeat, SCP-682 has escaped containment. Evacuate the facility immediately."

John gulped. 682? The Hard-To-Destroy Reptile? Him?

John shuddered as one of the countless attempts to destroy 682 came to mind. Specifically, the one where he himself had been sicced on it.

It had gone as usual. 682 had been shown an image of his face, making him attack the reptile. He'd managed to destroy a large portion of 682's body, but he had sensed something horribly, utterly wrong about the creature. Like it shouldn't exist. Which was saying something considering the things he'd seen before. He'd had a fear of 682 ever since.

John shrank into the corner of his cell, praying that 682 wouldn't notice him and that it would be stopped soon.

Dr. Collingwood gulped. Oh God, no, please no-

"Are you kidding me? Again?" Lawrence shook his head. Agent Green swore.

She didn't wait to hear what else they were going to say and ran as fast as she could.

Fear ran down John's spine when he felt 682 going after Dr. Collingwood. Without thinking he crashed out of his cell and sprinted down the hallways, following the lead of the sixth sense that told him their location.

He paused right outside of the room both were in, fear still keeping him from just charging in headfirst. His fear-addled lizard brain shouted "What are you doing?! Get out of here!" while his heart and conscience shouted "No! You can't let 682 hurt people!"

John shook his head, clearing his mind, and smashed into the room. 

Dr. Collingwood stepped backwards, away from 682, until she felt her back hit a wall. Her eyes darted to the door out, then to 682. There was no way she was going to be able to ran past and make it to the door in time.

The door suddenly exploded and a white blur tackled 682, pinning it to the ground. It was a tall, frighteningly thin humanoid creature with pale skin.

"John?!"

"Just get out of here!"

She nodded and ran for the door.

---------------------------------

"Dr. Buck!"

Dr. Collingwood had finally managed to catch up with the other researcher. 682 had finally been contained, but John was nowhere to be found.

"Where's John?"

"He should be in his cell. Why do you ask?"

"He wasn't in his cell. When 682 trapped me... John... he saved me."

John burst out of the facility. "Dr. Collingwood? Dr. Collingwood!"

His eyes scanned the sea of black armor and white coats. Even with his sixth sense, the worried frenzy he was in made it hard to focus.

There!

He bolted towards her and scooped her up in his arms, burying her face in his shoulder.

"There you are!"

Dr. Collingwood whirled around and was caught in a crushing bear hug. Her feet left the ground. 

"Thank God you're alright," John whispered, tears in his voice. "I thought you were about to die."

"JohnIcan'tbreathe," she wheezed.

John quickly let go of and set her back down. "S-Sorry. D-Did I hurt you?"

"N-No," she panted. "It's fine. Just be a little more gentle, okay?"

"John! I missed you so much, buddy!" Billy grabbed John in a hug, lifting him off the ground as well.

"Billy! What the- Oh, forget it." John pushed on Billy's face. Dr. Collingwood let out a breathless laugh.

 Billy let go of him. "Whatever ya say, Johnny Apple-"

John quickly clapped a hand over Billy's mouth. "Don't you dare say it."

Carson snickered. "Lemme guess, Johnny Appleseed?"

Billy grinned. "Look, when your name is John and you spend an entire day running around with a cooking pot on your head-"

"Billy, shut up!"

"Alright, fine. Take a chill pill, man."

Dr. Collingwood bit back a grin. "John, did you really spend a whole day running around with a pot on your head?"

John's face was now firetruck red. "No! Billy's lying!"

"Judging by the look on your face, he's probably not."

"Oh, get over here, you little rascal." John grabbed her in a headlock and raised a fist, the red suddenly gone from his face and wearing a wide grin. "Noogie!"

"John! No! I don't like noogies!"

Billy and Carson roared with laughter as John playfully ground his knuckles into the top of her head.

"Dammit, John! Stop!"

"Alright, fine. I release you from my torture." John let go of her, still with that big stupid grin on his face.

Chapter Text

Dr. Collingwood smiled a bit when she saw John. After that containment breach, everyone warmed up to him just a little bit more, but John himself was still as shy as ever. He was friendly to her, but stayed away from everyone else. Billy had told her that John hated crowds (read: any group of people more than three), so that was helpful in trying to introduce him to others. Unfortunately, she'd found that out a little too late.

Dr. Collingwood gave John a comforting smile as the door slid open. He seemed slightly less nervous than he did this morning and he gave her an anxious smile back. Then his eyes turned to see the small group of personnel in the middle of the room.

His face immediately went paler than she'd ever seen and he bolted.

So yeah. Not trying that again.

"Ready John?"

He took a deep breath. "This only one person?"

"Only one person, I promise."

"Then I'm ready."

The door slid open and John had to bend down to get through. Lawrence was on the other side, eyeing John warily.

"Hi, John."

"H-Hi, Lawrence."

Overall, Lawrence and John had hit it off, with the latter perhaps feeling a little more assured that anyone who met him wouldn't immediately hate him

John's meeting with Carson was similar in success. Carson was still a deadpan snarker and John was shy as always. At the end, they seemed to be okay with each other. Mr. Moore went the same way.

As for Dr. Buck, that was... a little more questionable in success. There was still that feeling of not really considering John to be a person, but at least it was better than that disastrous interview with Donna.

Dr. Collingwood had debated getting John to introduce himself to Dr. Logan so that the latter could see that he really was friendly, if painfully shy, but eventually decided against it. Billy would always tag along to give John support, and she'd carefully hidden the fact that Dr. Logan had been the one who ordered John's termination. If Billy found out, she highly doubted whether even John would be able to stop him from just flat-out murdering Dr. Logan.

Chapter Text

"BOO!"

Billy burst out of the janitor's closet with a scream.

Dr. Collingwood let out a yelp as John's hand closed around her wrist with a grip of steel. He had a bit of a habit of grabbing onto her whenever he was startled or scared.

"Ow!"

John quickly let go and Billy rushed to her. "Molly, are you okay?"

"Don't worry, I'm fine. It just hurts a little. John, could you be a little more careful when you grab my arm or my shoulder next time?"

John nodded, staring at the floor with a look of shame. She patted his shoulder.

"It's okay," she said reassuringly. "I'm not mad."

He didn't respond.

------------------------------

Dr. Collingwood jerked her hand away when Lawrence tried to reach for it.

Lawrence raised an eyebrow. "Er, I don't mean to pry, but why are you holding your arm like that?"

"Oh, uh, nothing."

"Looks like you hurt your arm."

"Uh... I banged it against a table."

"Must've been a very... interesting table."

She let out a sigh and gently grabbed his hand. "Don't worry about it. I'm fine."

He looked down at her arm for a moment, then his eyes widened in alarm. Without warning he grabbed her forearm and rolled her sleeve back, revealing a large, purple bruise in the shape of a hand. She winced as his hand passed over it.

It was right then when John walked in.

A few people had walked over to see what was going on. Dr. Buck looked over at John with a stern expression.

"Is this the first time this happened?"

"No."                                                                                        "Yes."

John glanced at her. "Don't lie," he said quietly.

She sighed. "No, this isn't the first time."

John could've sworn he felt everyone's eyes on him. All looking at him with accusatory looks.

"I-It was an accident... I-I-I didn't mean to... i-i-it-"

It was no use. His chest felt tight and the walls closed in.

Your fault your fault your fault your fault YOUR FAULT YOUR FAULT YOUR FAULT YOUR FAULT YOUR FAULT YOUR FAULT YOUR FAULT YOUR FAULT- 

John gulped, then ran out the door.

Chapter Text

John ran, away from Dr. Collingwood, away from pain, away from friends, away from family. Finally he came to a stop and leaned against a wall. His eyes burned from tears and his heart twisted from guilt.

A familiar, chipper voice seemed to come from behind the wall. "John?"

"E-Eddie? I-Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me. Oh man, I missed you so much. I never thought I'd hear your... voice..."

"Eddie? You okay?"

"Y-Yeah, it's just... are you okay?"

"I'm fi- okay, I'll admit it, I'm pretty upset right now."

"Why?"

"Well, you see, there's this researcher here named Dr. Collingwood, and..."

John told Eddie everything. His first meeting with her, trying to erase her memory of him, saving her from 049, everything. Including the events of today.

Eddie stayed silent, listening intently to everything he said. After John was done talking, he asked only one thing.

"What's Dr. Collingwood's full name?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"I have my reasons. And it's important."

"Her first name's Molly."

Eddie was silent for a moment. When he spoke again, his voice was uncharacteristically full of worry.

"Whatever you do, do not let her or any associate she has anywhere near our containment cell."

"Wait, why?"

"It's... complicated. Tell Billy too, but no one else."

"Got it."

Suddenly a feminine voice called out, sounding panicked. "John? John! Where are you?!"

John heard Eddie gulp. "Get away from our containment cell, now. "

Chapter Text

Dr. Collingwood had been walking around for the past five minutes, but even now she couldn't find any sign of him. Her footsteps quickened to a run when she heard John's soft, padding walk.

"There you are!" She ran up to him and placed a hand on his pale shoulder.

John pushed her hand off.

"Go away," he murmured dejectedly.

"John-"

"I said go away!" He spun around and backhanded her across the face, sending her sprawling on the floor. Billy burst in from another door.

"What happened he- John, what the- !"

"Don't worry, I'm fine." Dr. Collingwood sprang back onto her feet.

John backed up against the wall, eyes darting between the researcher and the sloth-man.

"Calm down, man, we know you didn't mean to," Billy said reassuringly. Lawrence, Agent Green, Carson, Mr. Moore, and Dr. Buck crowded into the room.

"Uh, what's going on?" Mr. Moore stared at John nervously.

"No, no, no, none of you understand." John clutched his head and his voice rose and rose. "It's like living in a world made of soaked tissue paper. If I touch someone or something, it'll break, completely on accident. I can't lose control, even for an instant. If I do, I could destroy something, or even..." his voice dropped to a sobbing, choked whisper, "kill someone. And... and that someone could be-"

"John," Dr. Collingwood said quietly, "you're getting better at not hurting me."

John glared at her. "Am I really getting better at not hurting you, or are you just getting better at hiding it?"

With that, he bolted away. Dr. Collingwood tried to run after him, but Billy's firm hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"I'll try to talk to him," he said quietly, his usual fun, joking, laid-back demeanor gone.

Chapter Text

Billy walked at a calm pace. He was pretty sure he knew where John had run off to, so took his time to think.

Why is he like this? I know and understand what he just said earlier, but this is just too far. I understand why he feels this way, but it's self-destructive and making everything worse. Now that I think about it, I did hear him rambling a while ago about SCP-049...

Billy stopped in front of John's cell and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?"

"Billy."

No response.

"Come on, Johnny. I need to talk to you."

"Fine. Come in."

The door slid open and he walked in. John quickly went back to his corner, not even looking at Billy. Billy sat down cross-legged on the floor.

"John... so, lemme guess, this whole thing has to do with SCP-049 somehow, right?"

"Yes." John said curtly, his teeth gritting together.

"This isn't a healthy way to deal with grief, John. You're only making things worse for yourself."

"I'll be fine."

Billy grew stern. "If this keeps up, no, you won't." In fact, I'm kind of surprised that you haven't had a psychotic break by now.

"Then how?"

"Maybe vent to Dr. Collingwood? Whenever I vent to you I feel a lot better after that."

"No!"

"Then how else?"

"I... don't know. Anything that doesn't involve being a burden to her?"

Billy sighed and stood up. "It's up to you. I can try and point you in the right direction, but in the end, it's your choice. I can't and I won't force you to do something you don't want to do. But believe me when I say this, Dr. Collingwood trusts you more than almost anyone else. I say almost because, ya know, she's in f*cking love with Lawrence, but that doesn't matter. The thing is, that fact that, from her point of view, you don't trust her actually hurts her. You're anything but a burden to her."

"Did she tell you that?"

"Not exactly. But I can see it in her eyes. And she did admit to me that she wants to help you, but doesn't know how and feels horrible for that."

Billy turned to leave, but just as he came to the door he stopped and turned around.

"Think about that," he said quietly, before he left.

Chapter Text

"Dr. Collingwood? Can I talk to you?" John hissed.

"How about during lunch break?"

"Sure. I'll be in the supply closet."

---------------------------------

Dr. Collingwood closed the closet door behind her. John was standing at the other end of the room.

"What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Well..." John scratched the back of his head. "You know how I've been really... protective of you all the time, yet I also stay away from everyone?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, you see... there's a reason for that. You don't mind long and drawn out?"

She checked her phone. "As long as we have time."

John drew in a deep breath. "Well, it all started a few years after a massive epidemic in Europe, better known as the Black Death. I was roaming around a forest - this was before I started attacking people who saw my face - when I met a little boy, around seven or eight years old. The poor kid ran up a tree when he saw me and it took a lot to get him back down. So after convincing him that I was friendly and wouldn't hurt him, I helped him down from the tree and we started talking."

"You really like kids, don't you?" Dr. Collingwood remarked.

John nodded. "The boy's name was Edmund and he was mute, blind in one eye, and was a survivor of a disease that would later be known as polio, but very bright. He would carry around a writing slate in order to communicate to people and was one of the sweetest people I've ever met. So you can imagine how I felt when I learned what he endured at home. His parents would often use leeches to try and 'cure' whatever was wrong with him. The church thought that he was cursed and priests regularly came to his house to try and exorcise him.

She shuddered. "That must've scarred him. The leeches, I mean."

John winced. "He hated them. Other children would make fun of him and he was, all in all, a social pariah. Me? I thought that there was nothing really wrong with him and that his parents should be proud of his character. After all," John chuckled bitterly and gestured to himself, "when you've been treated like a monster and less than nothing your whole life, it's easy to relate to the ostracized."

His face turned sorrowful. "I loved that little boy like a brother. He was my only confidant during that time and the first friend I ever had. A year later I met a strange plague doctor on a seldom-used forest road."

"That was SCP-049, right?"

"Yeah, although he went by a different name at the time, which I've long forgotten. So we talked for a while, and I ended up asking him to take his mask off."

"And you were surprised when he said he couldn't."

"Yes. That was a bit of a shock, but the thought that there were other friendly anomalies like me in the world was... comforting, honestly. For a while, at least. He told me about his quest to cure the so-called 'Pestilence'. So I wished him well and we went our separate ways. A few days later Edmund told me that people were going missing from the village and I thought to ask 049 about that, hoping that because of his more inconspicuous appearance that he would be better informed than I was. We came to some... let's just say, heated words. It took all my self-control to not throw him off a cliff, although I probably should have."

John sat down on the floor, breathing heavily.

Dr. Collingwood gulped. I know where this is going.

John's voice dropped to a low growl. "Sure enough, Edmund disappeared a few days later. I looked all over for him, even through the windows of his home, but it was no use. Soon I overheard his parents talking about a tall, thin, pale ghoul who supposedly took their son. Apparently someone had spotted me talking to Edmund the day before he went missing and jumped to that conclusion."

"They were talking about you, right?"

John nodded and his voice began to break.

"Yes, even though it wasn't me. I ran into 049 again, who said that he had 'cured' Edmund and all the other people who had disappeared, and showed me one of the people he'd kidnapped. That's how I learned that he turns them into zombies. It didn't help that all the townspeople thought that I was responsible. I say 049 walking out in public one day. I was so, so, angry that I couldn't control myself and attacked him. The whole town came after me with pitchforks and torches, screaming and cursing. He got away in the chaos. I ran through the woods trying to escape them, leading to the whole forest burning down. The people... the light of their torches and their expressions made them look like demons from the darkest pits of Hell. Back when I attacked people who saw my face, that was the image that flashed through my head right before I lost control. It gives me nightmares to this day."

The two were silent for a moment, Dr. Collingwood still trying to process everything that he just told her and John simply curled up into a ball, his head on his knees, trying to hold back sobs, sitting on the floor. It took a moment for her to hear it.

"If only I'd been more careful... i-if only I was less blind If only I told Edmund to stop seeing me it's my fault, it's my fault, it's my fault, it's my fault, it's my fault it's my fault it's my fault it's my fault it's my fault it's my fault it's my fault it's my fault it's my fault it's my fault it's my fault it's my fault-"

"John." Dr. Collingwood gripped his shoulders. "John, look at me."

His pale, milky eyes glanced upwards.

"It's not your fault," she said, her voice gentle, yet firm. "Considering that 049 is possibly delusional, there was no way you could have known what he was actually doing or what the 'Pestilence' is. I don't know what it is. Billy doesn't know what it is. No one knows what it is."

John didn't reply. Instead he just wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his chest, burying his face in her shoulder.

"Ever since then... I-I'm so afraid to make new friends, especially human ones," he whispered, sobbing. "I... I don't want to see you get hurt. Y-You're so nice... too nice, e-especially t-to a horrible monster like me. I wouldn't be able to bear it..."

She managed to wrest her arms free from his grasp and hugged him back.

"If you ever need to talk to someone or just vent, I'll always be there," she promised.

If John ever needed a shoulder to cry on, she'd gladly offer hers.

Chapter Text

"Hey, John?" Dr. Collingwood sat down next to the tall, thin SCP.

"Hm?"

"Do you... like anything in particular?"

John stared off, his eyes not focusing on anything. "I... don't really know. I doubt it's worth mentioning anyways."

She shook her head. "John, you really need to stop treating yourself like this. You do matter, even if everyone else doesn't think so. Even if the entire world were to hate you, I wouldn't. Besides, we're off topic."

John rubbed his temples, trying to remember what he liked doing. The hundreds of years of depression he'd suffered had sucked all the joy out of his life, including his hobbies, to the point where he wasn't even sure what they were anymore.

"Well... I guess I like reading..."

"Hey, I do too! What kind of books do you like?"

"Well... I've read Don Quixote, Pride and Prejudice, the Sherlock Holmes books, Sense and Sensibility..."

"Wait, wasn't Don Quixote in Spanish?"

"Molly, I've been alive for as long as humanity itself has existed. Do you really think English is the only language I know?"

The two friends talked and talked and talked for a long while, discussing works of literature both classic and modern.

John chuckled. "I guess we're both book nerds then."

Dr. Collingwood grinned. "It's not that bad."

Finally John gathered the courage to ask the one question he wasn't sure he wanted to ask, but really wanted to see the reaction to.

"What's the worst book you've ever read?"

Her cheerful, chipper disposition immediately dropped. She slowly pulled a book with a poorly-illustrated cover out of her bag. On it was the title "Empress Theresa".

"This," she said in a deadly growl, " this, " she flipped through all the pages, "THIS is my NIGHTMARE!"

John would look back on that day with both fondness and fear.

Chapter Text

"Sh*t, sh*t, sh*t!" Simon yelled. "Brothers, quick! Our father's breached containment!"

"I'm coming!" shouted the other two siblings.

The trio rushed towards the hole their father had busted through the concrete wall of their cell, praying that it would not be too late.

--------------------------------

"Multiple specimens of SCP-939 have escaped containment. Evacuate the facility immediately. I repeat, evacuate the facility immediately."

Dr. Collingwood ran through the site, inwardly swearing at her luck. She was smack-dab in the middle of the building again and had narrowly avoided several of the 939s.

A voice called out to her from down a long hallway. "Molly! Over here!"

She stopped. Was that really Lawrence, or a 939 instance?

"Hurry! We don't have much time!"

Loud thumps, snarls, and the clacking of what seemed to be metal against tile made her turn around. A 939 instance was running full tilt straight at her.

Screw it. I don't have a choice.

She ran towards the voice, praying that it wasn't a trap, and burst into the room where Lawrence's voice had seemingly come from. The room was empty. Or so it seemed.

Something slammed into her from the side, knocking her to the ground and slamming her head into the floor. Her glasses were knocked off in the tussle.

When the jostling stopped, her back was pinned to the floor, making her look up at her assailant. It was a massive 939 instance, larger than any she'd ever seen. Its snout was bony and fleshless, skin stretched tight over bone, making its head resemble a red skull. Its body had a hulking, muscular frame, perfect for taking down all but the largest of prey. Across the creature's face was a wide, unnerving slasher smile.

It lowered its head until its nose was just half an inch from her collar and sniffed her skin. After it had done that it let out a cruel laugh and, to her shock, spoke in a deep, harsh, snarling voice.

"Finally, after so many years, I've found you."

Chapter Text

Another 939 instance picked up her fallen glasses and crushed them in its paw.

"Won't be needing these anymore," it cackled. It came closer, then suddenly lashed out with its claws and ripped her left ear off.

The grin of the one pinning her down somehow grew even wider as she cried out. "Pity that your father isn't here to see you die."

One of the doors slid open and Lawrence came charging in, raising a gun and pointing it at the one on top of her. "Let her go, unless you want a bullet to the head!"

It laid its claws over her neck. "A small metal pellet will not kill me, stupid ape. Attack and I will slit her throat. Leave, and you will be spared."

Lawrence gritted his teeth. "I'm. Not. Leaving. Without. Her."

"Hmph. Very well then. Grab him."

A group of 939s swarmed Lawrence, slamming him to the ground and digging though his pockets, ripping any weapons he had to shrapnel.

"So this is the fool so madly in love with you," said the one still pinning her down. He seemed to be the leader. "Not only a demon, but a seductress as well? My, my, my."

Dr. Collingwood snarled back at him. "Never. Insult. Lawrence. In front. Of ME!"

She raised a fist and slammed it into her attacker's jaw with all her strength. He recoiled, seemingly surprised, although his grip on her didn't loosen one bit. Once he recovered from the shock of her sudden outburst his face twisted into a snarl.

"Your blood is filled with the corruption of demons," he growled, "yet you seem to have no such marks on you." His paws passed over her face. "I shall... change that."

A flash of red filled her vision and something raked across her left eye, tearing through her skin.

A door flew off its hinges and a large, red blur slammed into the 939 pinning her down. It was yet another 939, with the same hulking, muscular build but a more normal-looking head. It stood in front of her, growling, the spines on its back standing straight up. A second and a third 939 joined and flanked it.

"Leave. Molly. Alone," the largest one snarled.

"Sons? What are you doing?" The one that had just clawed her in the face seemed to stare (as much as an eyeless creature can stare) at the three 939s in shock.

"Standing up for the weak and the helpless, Bloodfang, " the smallest said, snapping its jaws together.

"Traitors!" The 939 that ripped her ear off lunged at the smallest. The biggest one batted it out of the air. John stepped out of the ruined doorway, Billy right behind him. The former unhinged his jaw and screamed.

"I swear to all that is good and holy, if any of you beasts ever try to lay your filthy claws on any of my friends again, there won't be enough of you left to bury!"

Billy didn't say a word, but she caught a glimpse of his head twitching. His irises had changed from their usual bright blue to deep red.

The leader growled something under his breath and howled. More 939s poured into the room. One of the friendly 939s wrapped his tail around her arm and dragged her out the door.

"We need to leave now!"

Chapter Text

Dr. Collingwood winced in pain. She'd been given some gauze to press against her wound, but medical help didn’t seem to be arriving anytime soon.

The door slid open and John darted in. Three 939 specimens followed him in. Billy stayed near the door.

"Dr. Collingwood, are you okay?" John called softly.

"I'm fine."

The smallest 939 bounded up to her, seemingly full of energy.

"Hi there!" he said cheerfully. "I'm Edward, but you can call me Eddie."

He held out his paw, his ivory claws gleaming in what little light was in the room. She reached out and tentatively shook it.

"So," John began, "Dr. Collingwood, these are Eddie's two older brothers, Simon," he pointed to the middle 939, "and Charlie," he pointed at the biggest one.

Simon simply nodded at her, his ebony claws tapping incessantly against the floor. Charlie gave her a soft smile, the scars on his face making it lopsided. His claws were blood red.

Eddie began running around the room, cheerily introducing himself to everyone while Simon repeatedly tried to drag him away by the tail and get him to shut up.

"Come on, Simon, I'm just trying to cheer everybody up!"

"You're annoying people, Eddie."

"Oh, fine. Whatever you say, Simon Says."

"You can stop beating the dead horse now," Simon snapped back. "Not that it ever was funny in the first place."

"I'm still trying to calm down from... you know."

"Still."

Eddie flicked his tail, scratched himself, and said, "Is the Lawrence guy here?"

Lawrence gave him a look. "I'm right here."

Eddie bounded over to him and clapped him on the shoulder. "I've heard of you, bud. Dragging yourself out of a hellish otherworld - twice, no less! - evading a stalking predator without even knowing it, having the reflexes to call reinforcements before being charmed by that ice cream truck, and more! You must've been born under a lucky star!"

"Uh, thanks, I guess."

"Eddie, please don't bother him," Charlie said softly.

"How 'bout a good ol' song?"

They were all silent for a moment. Then Simon let out a defeated growl. Eddie's feet began to thump out a beat on the floor.

"There once was a ship that put to sea, and the name of the ship was the Billy of Tea. The winds blew up, her bow dipped down, oh blow my bully boys blow. Huh!"

Eddie leaped up, somehow thumping his feet against the floor in perfect time. "Soon may the Wellerman come, to bring us sugar and tea and rum. One day, when the tonguin' is done, we'll take our leave and go."

Charlie joined in. "She'd not been two weeks from shore, when down on her, a right whale bore. The captain called all hands and swore," his voice grew high and harsh, " 'I'll take that whale in tow!' "

The two brother's voices melded together perfectly. "Huh! Soon may the Wellerman come, to bring us sugar and tea and rum. One day, when the tonguin' is done, we'll take our leave and go!"

Eddie jumped and darted around, dancing with surprising grace. "Before the boat had hit the water, the whale's tail came up and caught her. All hands to the side, harpooned and fought her, when she dived down low."

Simon began reluctantly singing along with Charlie and Eddie. "Huh! Soon may the Wellerman come, to bring us sugar and tea and rum. One day, when the tonguin' is done, we'll take our leave and go!"

Eddie's voice rose to a high tenor. "No line was cut, no whale was freed, but the captain's mind was not of greed, for he belonged to the Whaleman's creed. She took that ship in tow."

"Huh! Soon may the Wellerman come, to bring us sugar and tea and rum. One day, when the tonguin' is done, we'll take our leave and go!"

Eddie bounded up to Lawrence again and threw an arm around his shoulders. "For forty days, or even more, the line went slack, then tight once more. All boats were lost, there were only four. But still that whale did go."

"Huh! Soon may the Wellerman come, to bring us sugar and tea and rum. One day, when the tonguin' is done, we'll take our leave and go."

Eddie leapt back before all of them. "As far as I've heard, the fight's still on. The line's not cut, and the whale's not gone! The Wellerman makes his regular call to encourage the captain, crew and all!"

"Huh! Soon may the Wellerman come, to bring us sugar and tea and rum. One day, when the tonguin' is done, we'll take our leave and go. Soon may the Wellerman come, to bring us sugar and tea and rum. One day, when the tonguin' is done, we'll take our leave and... GO!"

Dr. Collingwood clapped. "That was really good!"

Dr. Buck rolled her eyes. "They're a bunch of voice-changing SCPs, why wouldn't they be good?"

Chapter Text

Charlie dug his claws into the floor with a growl. Now that his father knew that he opposed him, the results were not pretty.

"Explain yourself, you disgraceful mongrel!" His father stopped circling him and snapped his teeth together.

"What exactly did Collingwood do?" he shot back.

"You know! And do not speak that accursed name!" roared his father.

"It wasn't their fault!"

"Shut up!"

His father dragged his claws across Charlie's face, slicing open an old scar over where his left eye would have been. Charlie backhanded him in response.

"You are a failure and disgrace upon our family," Charlie began. "You had the audacity to ask for the birthright that rightfully belonged to my uncle. Luckily, due to both his numerous ailments and his kindness, it had already been decided that it would be given to you. Then, upon seeing that I was a runt, you dump me on my uncle who already was dealing with both the loss of his wife and having to raise his son, on top of   his failing health. Oh, but that's not all! You also tried to indoctrinate Cornelius into accepting your racist beliefs and neglected to even try to take care of your own sons! And now you bring disgrace upon Gallant's memory by being an intolerant, racist, xenophobic idiot while at the same time claiming that it is in the name of so-called 'justice'. Justice my a**! This is not justice, this is attempted murder! I am ashamed to have such a pathetic Execratus as my father!"

Bloodfang ground his teeth and clawed at the floor. Charlie knew that he wouldn't try to fight him. Despite his father's skill and ferocity, he was growing old and it wasn't worth the trouble anyways. Exiling him would be pointless, trapped as they were, and would only make him even more hated by the pack. There was nothing he could do.

Charlie turned his back on his poor excuse of a father and walked to the corner of his cell to lie down. A few minutes later he could hear light footsteps cautiously making their way towards him. He'd heard them before and sat up.

"Hello, Sharpclaw."

"Hi Charlie." Sharpclaw sat down in front of him. He was a youth and had only recently undergone the transformation from human child to young Execratus, shedding his old skin and head and growing new ones.

"Why'd you come?"

"I... I wanted to ask you some questions."

"Alright. Ask away."

Sharpclaw seemed to hesitate for a second. "Why is Bloodfang mad at you? You didn't do anything wrong."

Charlie sighed. "I don't understand either. Bloodfang has always had... a few screws loose..."

"More like all the screws loose."

"Right, right."

"Also, why does he want to kill the..." the youth dropped his voice, "the Collingwood lady? She seems like a nice person. I've asked my parents, but they always dodge the question."

He chuckled. "She is a nice lady, but Bloodfang, along with a few others, don't believe that. Nor do they care. I'm guessing that the reason your parents dodge the question is to avoid attracting attention to themselves."

Charlie could almost hear Sharpclaw's frown as he spoke. "But I still don't get it. Some of the other pack members harp on and on and on to the point where you'd think that she was the Scarlet King's daughter. I know it's not true, but why do they all say that? It makes no sense."

Charlie shook his head. "There might be a cure for cancer, but there's no cure for willful ignorance."

Sharpclaw was quiet for a moment.

"Charlie," he said, a bit of hope in his voice, "c-can I do anything to help you in some way?"

"I'm afraid not physically. I don't want to put you in danger. But the fact that you care gives me hope, and considering where we are, that means the world to me."

Chapter Text

Charlie lifted his head when he heard Billy's soft, padding footsteps. Simon and Eddie sat up.

"Hey Billy, whatcha comin' over for?" Eddie rapped his claws against the wall.

"Well, apparently, the Foundation's planning to interview Charlie."

Simon groaned. "Please don't tell me that either Buck or Logan is the one he'll be forced to talk to."

"No, actually. It's Mr. Moore."

"Phew. Good." Eddie leaned against the wall. "I'd hate being forced to talk to either of those boring jerks."

"Yeah. John had to get interviewed by her and he said that it wasn't so bad... but still."

"Is Molly okay?"

"From what I've heard, yeah. Her left ear got ripped off, but it's fine now. Her face got clawed though, and she's still wearing that bandage. Also, why did you call her by her first name? You just met her yesterday."

"We heard Dr. Buck refer to her by her first name," Charlie cut in quickly. "When's my interview?"

"Tomorrow."

"Alright, then. Anything else you got to say?"

"Well... yes, actually. Dr. Collingwood... remember when you gave that epic 'you suck and here's why' speech you gave to your dad?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

"Molly told me that she heard you berate your dad. She's really busy today, so she told me to tell you that she's really thankful that you stood up for her, to your own family, no less."

Charlie smiled. "Well, tell her that I really appreciate it."

"I will."

As Billy's footsteps grew fainter and fainter, a thought filled the Execratus's head.

She hasn't changed one bit from when she first came here.

Chapter Text

"What's Dr. Collingwood doing? I haven't seen her the whole day." John looked across the table at Billy. They were in the staff canteen and lunch break had already started.

Billy shrugged. "Don't know either. Can't you sense where she is?"

"I can, but that doesn't mean I know where she is, and if she's doing something important, I don't want to disturb her."

"We'll wait," Billy offered. "She might just be busy or talking to her coworkers about... whatever."

20 minutes later...

"That's it, we're looking for Molly." Billy stood up and briskly walked towards the door. "And I'm pretty sure I know where she is."

"I'm coming." John followed after him. Billy knew these winding corridors better than he did.

Eventually they came to SCP-999's containment cell and Billy typed a few numbers into a keypad. The door slid open, revealing Dr. Collingwood sitting at a table with her hand covering the left side of her face, looking like she'd already finished eating. 999 was sitting at her feet.

"Hi John. Hi Billy." She waved, keeping her head down.

"Molly, why didn't you go to the staff canteen? We've been waiting for half an hour. Is something wrong?"

Dr. Collingwood shook her head, seeming sheepish. "I can't hide anything from you two, can I?"

She let her hand fall away, revealing a massive scar; three large, raised, pale lines running from just below her hairline, down across her left eye, and ending just above her mouth, pulling her upper lip into a slight sneer or snarl. There were smaller, paler scars all across the claw marks where the injury had been stitched up and the top half of her left ear was mostly gone. Her eye itself seemed to be fine though.

She averted her gaze from them. "I didn't want you guys to worry about me."

John looked at her for a moment, then slowly walked over and wrapped a long, gaunt arm around her shoulders. "Look, we worry because we care."

Billy grinned. "And besides, isn't that what friends do?"

Dr. Collingwood looked up, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

"Thanks, guys," she said quietly. "Billy, I know that I might've called you an annoying little sh*t a few weeks ago, but you're still a great friend."

"Hey look, when you feel better, we all feel better." John playfully ruffled her hair. Then he caught her in a headlock, held her against his ribs and scrubbed the top of her head with his knuckles.

"John! Dammit, not again!" She tried to wiggle out of his grip.

"Alright, fine, you little squirmy wormy." He let go and hugged her.

Chapter Text

Charlie laid his head down on his paws, waiting for Mr. Moore to come. He'd felt his way around the room he'd been put in a. One of the walls had made a thunk instead of a tap when he rapped a claw on it, so it was likely glass, and likely what Mr. Moore would be behind.

Finally he heard footsteps behind the wall of glass, making him wish that he still had eyes to see. He sat up.

"Greetings, Mr. Moore."

"Hello, SCP-939. Can you remind me which one of the three brothers are you again?"

"I am Charlie, the eldest."

"Thank you. The first question I want to ask is, where did your... species come from?""

"Well, I personally don't exactly know, but we do have a legend of how we came to be. According to that legend we were once every bit as human as you, but we were cursed into becoming... well, what we are today. In fact, we call ourselves the Execrati, or Execratus in the case of individuals, meaning 'cursed'. You have probably guessed that by the fact that our children are perfectly human and non-anomalous for a time. The reason, as well as the entity responsible for the curse, varies from telling to telling. Some say it was the Scarlet King, others say a human shaman or sorcerer, yet others say a different being entirely was at fault."

"Do you know anything about other anomalies?"

"You probably already know that I am good friends with John and Billy. I do also have knowledge of other anomalies, but since that knowledge is mostly comprised of legends and folktales, I'm probably not the best source to get information."

"What is your opinion on SCP-001, if you have one at all?"

"I have little knowledge of it. I am aware of a few of the many interpretations of that slot and my uncle has told me stories of an entity I suspect to either be or is related to the Gate Guardian."

"Why did you never try to communicate with us?"

"Let me ask you this: Would you have listened? Not that I would have blamed you, you had every reason to not trust a single word out of our mouths, with our voice mimicry powers and whatnot. Besides, my brothers and I were trying our hardest to stay under our father's radar. The reason why you never heard us speak as ourselves is because, with our voice-changing abilities, we can speak in frequencies outside the human hearing range. It's not a problem for us, as our hearing is far, far superior to yours in order to compensate for our blindness."

"What exactly made you call your father a, to quote your own words, 'racist, intolerant, xenophobic idiot'?"

Charlie scoffed, almost laughing. "Well, for starters, he's racist against humans. And really all non-anomalous beings, but humans in particular. Which is odd, considering that we ourselves start life as humans. If he didn't bother to hide his sapience from you, you would've found that he has a tendency to go on... let's just say very, very, very vulgar, racist rants. In fact, I doubt that you would ever want to hear him speak again if you had the misfortune to accidentally eavesdrop on one."

"What is your opinion on humanity?"

"Well, I see your kind as kin, for we were all once one of you. But I also see you as blessed, for you possess the gift of sight, one of the greatest things in all the world, yet so few truly appreciate it."

"What would you do if you were to escape?"

"I would still hide. I don't wish to hurt anyone, I just want to be left alone."

"What are your thoughts on the Foundation itself?"

"Well... I feel that, despite its many flaws, the Foundation is arguably the least morally reprehensible of the many organizations that deal with my world. The Chaos Insurgency is filled with idiots who don't understand - or don't care - that anomalies are not toys to be played with, the Serpent's Hand are far too complacent, the Global Occult Coalition is overly xenophobic and don't quite seem to grasp that half the time, attacking or killing an anomalous entity - especially a powerful one - makes things worse, the Factory, well..." Charlie let out a bitter laugh, "must I say anything about it?"

"Well... that's it. We're done." Charlie heard a scrape and nodded.

"Have a good day, Mr. Moore."

Chapter Text

"So, what is everyone planning to do for Mother's Day?" Billy looked around the table expectantly.

No one really answered.

"Anyone?"

"They probably don't have time," John said.

----------------------------------

John hummed a song to himself, wandering aimlessly through the facility, just minding his own business, when he heard two voices shouting. He stopped.

One voice was high-pitched and seemed to be on the verge of tears, while the other was more muffled, but John could make out a deep, bass voice similar to Charlie's, but harsher and throatier, with a snarling tone.

"I did your mother a favor! She never saw you for what you were, you scar-faced, born-out-of-wedlock daughter of the Scarlet King!" roared the deep voice.

"Shut up!" screamed the high-pitched one.

"You know it full well, Dr. Scar! It is as plain as the scar on your face!"

"F*ck off!"

Dr. Collingwood suddenly ran past him, her hand covering the scar on her face.

Lawrence's voice suddenly trailed after her. "Molly, wait! Where are you going?!"

Lawrence suddenly ran up to him. "Do you know where she went?"

"Wait, what's going on?" John asked.

"That's what I'm wondering. All I know is that Molly and Bloodfang somehow got into a shouting match. Also, where did she run to?"

John pointed him down the hallway. Lawrence quickly thanked him and ran off.

Chapter Text

"Too bad the 939 brothers can't really spend time with us," John sighed.

"I agree." Dr. Collingwood nodded. "They seemed really nice."

"We could talk through the wall of their cell," Billy suggested, fiddling with a pencil in his claws.

"Bloodfang or his sycophants could hear us, you know," John reminded him. "And Dr. Collingwood can't do that at all because... you know."

"Yeah. I know." Billy reached over and ruffled Dr. Collingwood's hair. "Mother's Day is tomorrow, by the way."

She looked away. "Billy, stop that."

"No. Never," he replied with a grin.

She rolled her eyes.

-------------------------------

Dr. Collingwood logged out of her computer, took off her glasses, and pinched the bridge of her nose. The phone rang. She picked it up and brought it to her ear.

"Hello?"

A low, husky voice name from the other end. "Molly? Sweetheart, you there?"

She gulped. She knew that voice. "Dad?"

Her father chuckled. "Is everything going alright for you?"

"Yeah."

They talked for a long while, reminiscing about the old days and her childish antics. She hadn't seen her father in a long time and missed him dearly. Eventually it always came to the one topic that she hated thinking about, but could never be avoided.

"I miss Mom," she said softly.

"I know, sweetie, but at least she's with the Lord in heaven now," her father said comfortingly.

"I-I know."

They talked for a little longer. Once it came time for him to hang up, she shut her eyes, wished him well, and stammered out a quick goodbye.

Chapter Text

Dr. Collingwood slowly went over to the mantelpiece. There were three photos arranged on top of it: one of her as an infant, another of her and her friends playing in the backyard, and in the middle, a picture of herself, her entire family, and her friends at a carnival.

She picked it up and wiped away the dust that had accumulated from years of neglect. One of the corners had been torn off.

She shook her head and placed it back on the mantelpiece with a sigh.

She swallowed a sleeping pill with some water and collapsed into bed, feeling the chemicals seep into her bloodstream.

When she woke up, she found herself in a run-down bedroom. However, it didn't seem to be hers.

Where am I?

It looked familiar, but she couldn't quite tell why. She slowly got up and walked over to the window. Outside was a large backyard with mostly dried-out grass and weeds. Then it clicked.

No, no, no... please don't tell me it's this again...

Dr. Collingwood peaked into the hallway, looking around. The door creaked on its rusty hinges, almost falling apart when she touched it. The rest of the house was in disrepair and the walls were riddled with large holes. She went up to her father's bedroom and stuck her head inside.

In her father's chair was a decaying corpse that was missing its right arm from the elbow down. It suddenly leaped off its chair and lurked towards her and she slammed the door shut on it.

The short hallway outside had changed to what seemed to be a long, dark chamber. The door that she had just closed was gone. She reached out and touched the wall. It felt like slightly moist earth.

She looked down at her feet and her limbs seemed to turn to lead weights when she saw a rattle the size of her arm about two feet away from her.

Oh God, no...

Beads of sweat collected on her forehead and her heart began to race. She looked around, her eyes just barely able to make out winding, scaly, grey-and-black diamond patterns.

"You have got to be kidding me..." she muttered under her breath. She drew in a deep breath and began to make her way across the nest, trying not to awaken the sleeping rattlers.

Her foot brushed against something and she froze as a low hiss filled the chamber.

Screw it.

She bolted as the rest of the snakes began to wake up and give chase. One nearly snapped her foot off. After about thirty seconds what was at first a small group of snakes turned into a tidal wave of the reptiles. She had no idea how she made it to the other side without being trampled, but she did. There was a small hole that was just big enough for her shoulders to pass through and too small for any of the giant rattlesnakes to follow her. She dove into the tunnel and frantically crawled through, her glasses almost falling off in her mad dash to escape.

Eventually she dug her way out of the tunnel into the middle of a large grassy field. She stood up, dusted off her clothes, and adjusted her glasses. A large bag, like the kind used to store rice or grain, was lying near her feet. A dark liquid was seeping out the bottom. Curious, she tried to lift the bag. The bottom gave way and the contents spilled out.

Dr. Collingwood stifled a scream as her mother's mutilated face stared back at her. Her mother's mouth was wrenched open in a silent scream, her eyes glassy and dead. Sirens shrieked in. the distance.

She clutched her head, eyes burning, heart pounding. The ground seemed to spin under her feet, the world closing in on her.

Finally it all seemed to stop. The sirens went quiet. She opened one eye, noticing that she seemed to be in a different place once again. Breathing heavily, she slowly straightened up and looked down at her hands.

Why am I holding a daisy?

There was a gravestone next to the road. She knelt down to read what it said.

Sarah Collingwood, Age 39

Loving Wife, Caring Mother, Kind Soul

No... no...

Her vision blurred as tears ran down her face. She buried her face in her hands

Why, why, why?! Why didn't I go with Mom, I could've warned, saved her- it should've been me, it should've been me!

She reached forward to place the flower down and wipe away the dust from the gravestone. Right as her hand touched the stone, the scar on her face seared with pain.

It all disappeared and became the decayed, ruined parody of her childhood home. The house growled and rumbled, as if it was displeased. High-pitched, childish whispers rang in her ears, laughing, jeering, taunting her. Her ribs cracked and buckled inwards. She screamed again, blood spurting from her mouth as spears of bone pierced her heart and lungs.

The floor cracked and broke, dropping her in an endless abyss. She was falling, falling, falling forever. She tried to keep her eyes open as her heartbeat slowed. Something curled around her arm and up her neck. Another rattlesnake, a normal-sized one this time. It looked at her and bared its fangs in an evil grin, then forced its head into her mouth and down her throat.

Dr. Collingwood woke up screaming, tears streaming down her face.

Chapter Text

"So, what is everyone planning to do for Mother's Day?" Billy looked around the table expectantly.

No one answered. Molly awkwardly ran her fingers through her hair.

"Anyone?"

"They probably don't have time," John said quickly.

----------------------------------

Observation duty for the 939s was a little bit more… mentally stimulating, Dr. Buck supposed, after that containment breach. Most of them were still fairly quiet, but seeing the children run about and play, joyfully shouting now that they didn’t have to keep their voices down, was both grating and… a bit of a relief, a break from the usual bleakness (although she’d never admit that to anyone).

She absentmindedly took another sip of coffee, glancing down at some document on the table, when a low, gruff voice caught her attention.

“Wonder where the scar-faced b*tch is right now.”

She set her mug down, eyes carefully scanning the screens showcasing every inch of the 939 pack’s containment cell. Off in the corner were a pair of large, hulking specimens.

The second spoke in a rougher, snarling voice. “I have no idea. Do you think she’s watchin’ us now?”

“Don’t ask me, I don’t have a f*cking clue.”

“Well”, said the second in a voice like poisoned honey, “haven’t you heard what day it is?”

“Nope. Ain’t got no clue about the date nowadays. I ain’t no gossip.”

“Why, you’d know the answer if you just listened to the unshed monkeys around us. It’s the day before Mother’s Day.”

The first one almost seemed to stare for a second (as much as an eyeless creature can stare), before bursting into laughter.

“Oh man! Her ancestors must be giving her h*ll!”

Dr. Buck glanced back at Dr. Collingwood. “What are they talking about?”

“I haven’t got a clue,” the other researcher said, almost robotically. Her eyes darted away from Dr. Buck.

The second laughed even louder. “I did her mother the greatest favor, didn’t I?”

“Indeed! I have no love for humans, but she did deserve better than the scar-faced, born-out-of-wedlock daughter of the Scarlet King she got.”

A snarl so feral that Dr. Buck was honestly shocked that it didn’t come from the monitor made her turn to look where Dr. Collingwood had been sitting. The seat was empty. She twisted in her seat to look behind her. Dr. Collingwood was pacing around the room.

“Is there something wrong, Molly?”

“I’m fine.”

The gruff voice drew Dr. Buck’s attention back to the monitor. “Are we entirely sure that it’s a wise idea to let them hear?”

The snarling 939 laughed, louder than ever. “Speak louder! Let them know! Let them all know! Let them hear about how Dr. Molly Sarah Collingwood, such a sweet, kind, perfect little angel , killed her own mother!”

Dr. Buck almost jumped a mile as an inhuman shriek escaped Dr. Collingwood’s lips.

“SHUT UP!”

The snarling one went on, shouting for all the cameras to pick up. “Weren't you in that house, Molly? Why didn’t you hear your mother? Why didn’t you see her?”

Dr. Collingwood was gripping the edge of the table near the door. Her knuckles were white and her face was red. “SHUT UP, YOU- !”

“Why didn’t you hear her scream? Why didn’t you cry out for help? Oh, because your ears were the ears of a pathetic hu-”

Whatever the 939 had to say was drowned out by a furious roar and a crash as Dr. Collingwood suddenly overturned the table she was gripping like it weighed nothing, tears streaming down her face.

“SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP! ”

The 939s paused this time, tilting their heads.

“Huh,” said one. “She finally heard us.”

“I doubt she wasn’t listening before. She just decided to put on airs and be all high and mighty and pretend she didn’t care. Now, how many humans have been killed for such arrogance?”

A real sob escaped Collingwood’s throat, and before Dr. Buck could even think of what to say or do, the door had been opened and the younger researcher had bolted down the hallway.

Chapter Text

Dr. Collingwood rushed to the restroom and quickly splashed some water over her face, hoping that no one had seen her cry. She looked up into the mirror and her eyes lingered on the scar on her reflection for a moment. Then, for a single instant, it changed.

She saw a different woman that bore a startling resemblance to herself, around her age, but with longer hair tied back into a ponytail. The expression on the woman's face was fearful, but her eyes were glassy. There was a deep gouge in the side of the woman's face, right where her own scar was.

Dr. Collingwood stumbled back, nearly falling over, and the hallucination vanished. She buried her face in her hands, feeling tears running down her face again, and burst out of the restroom. She ran blindly, pushing past other staff, found a dark, empty room, and shut herself in. She collapsed onto the floor, slowly curling up into a forlorn little ball.

The heart-wrenching sadness, the stares from her peers, the numbing depression, the self-loathing, forcing herself to forget the incident, losing control and ripping her mother out of the carnival photo, everything from her mother's death came crashing back on her.

She wanted to disappear into the floor.

Why, why, why?!

Chapter Text

If I were Dr. Collingwood and I wanted to hide from everyone, where would I go?

John slowly walked towards where he instinctively knew she was - or at least, that was what he'd hoped. He'd had to backtrack countless times through the labyrinth of hallways that was the site. He and Billy had split up to cover more ground. All the while his mind was puzzling over what had happened today.

Why would Bloodfang do that? She didn't know that anomalies existed up until she joined the Foundation, so it can't be some slight from her like he keeps repeating ad infinitum. So what is it?

He'd lost focus on her location while thinking and would have walked right past her hiding spot had his keen ears not picked up a low, muffled murmur.

What was that?

He focused again and backtracked to a door. He cautiously reached out and pulled it open.

Dr. Collingwood was curled up into a little ball in the far corner of the room. She didn't seem to notice him, even as he inched closer and closer.

John slowly sat down next to her. "Dr. Collingwood?"

No response.

He raised his voice slightly, thinking he had been too quiet. "Dr. Collingwood?"

Still nothing.

He reached out to touch her shoulder. She flinched away.

"Go away," she whispered.

"Molly-"

"Go away!"

"Molly, please, I-"

She whirled around to face him, shaking uncontrollably. There were no tear marks on her face, but her eyes were red. He jumped when she raised her voice.

"Every year, it's the same. Every year on the eve of Mother's Day, everything, all my mistakes, my failures, my regrets come back to haunt me! The snake bite, Mom dying, the bullies, everything! Then when Mother's Day actually comes, all I can do is smile and pretend to be fine when I want to grab a knife and slit my throat with it, all in the name of 'professionalism'!" She practically spat the word out. John gulped and stepped back.

Her breath grew more and more uneven. "Then I go home and cry myself to sleep. It's been more than twenty years! Twenty! F*cking! Years! And I still can't get over it! And if that's not f*cking enough, Bloodfang was so kind as to etch a reminder of that day into my face!" She jabbed a finger at her scar. "It's my fault, it's my fault, it's my fault, it's my fault!"

A disturbing thought crossed John's mind. Dr. Collingwood couldn't be much older than 30. If her mom died over twenty years ago, she would've been a kid at the time. Edmund's death had destroyed him mentally and emotionally, and he was a fully-functioning adult at the time.

How badly has her mother's death damaged her? And how long has she been holding it all in?

Now she was shouting, still trying to force herself to not cry. She blubbered something more, but it was too incoherent to understand. Finally she stopped and turned away again, her body trembling from the effort of trying to hold it all in.

John hesitated for a moment, then slowly reached out and gently wrapped his arms around her. She resisted for a moment, before just burying her head in his chest.

John sighed. "Molly, it's not your fault. You had absolutely no control over Bloodfang's choices. And it's okay to grieve. In fact, it's necessary. Just let it all out." He gently rubbed her back.

Dr. Collingwood stopped trembling for a long moment. John held his breath, praying that she'd listened.

Then she burst into convulsive, gasping sobs. Her shoulders heaved and shook as she finally released years of pain and sorrow.

"B-Bullies... in high school..." she choked out. "Laughed... at me when.... I cried.  Said that... th-that I w-was a baby and should get over it..."

"It's okay, it's okay," he said assuringly. "I'm not going to make fun of you for being upset. I've gone through this sort of thing too. I understand."

She cried for what seemed like a whole hour, before finally beginning to quiet down. The two simply sat there, in that quiet, dark room. She turned her head and glanced up, just enough for John to be able to see her scarred eye. Tears were still streaming down her face.

"John?" she whispered. Her voice was hoarse.

"Hm?"

"I... I'm sorry for shouting at you like that."

"It's fine. You were upset and angry, and you have every right to be."

After a long while she calmed down enough to stop crying. John stood up and helped her to her feet, gently wiping away the tear stains on her face.

"John... I know I told you to leave me alone earlier, but now that you're here, I feel a lot better. Thanks for being here."

"No problem. Molly, just... if you ever feel alone, just remember that I'll always be here for you."

Chapter Text

"Hey, Molly?"

Dr. Collingwood turned to see Billy slowly walking up to her. He seemed serious, not his usual cheery self.

"Charlie asked me to write this and give it to you." He handed her a piece of paper that had folded into thirds. "He said that he would've written and delivered it himself, just that, you know, he's blind and stuck in a concrete cell."

She slowly unfolded the paper.

Dear Molly Collingwood,

I am deeply sorry for my father's shameful treatment of you. Even knowing his character, I would have never thought he would sink to this. My brothers are equally disgusted by this act. I cannot imagine the pain that this has caused you. However, I hope it will be of some comfort to you that most of my pack does not support my father in any way, and ever since we revealed ourselves to be against him, some have actually become quite vocal in their displeasure, namely several youths and a few elders. I also wish to warn you that there is a rift growing between my father and his followers, and the rest of us. I will try my best to keep my pack together, but, as they say, a house divided against itself cannot stand. Know well that my brothers and I will do everything in our power to protect you, but please, stay away from our containment chamber. If you have no other option than to go there, then tread lightly and carefully, and do not speak. I will try to find some way to put this in your hands tomorrow morning.

Sincerely yours, Charlemagne.

"Charlie was pretty upset when he learned that his dad had, you know," Billy drew his thumb claw across his throat, making a "Kccch!" sound, "-your mom. He was apologizing to everyone - literally everyone - when he found out. I wrote it because John's handwriting is pretty much unreadable and I hid it in my room."

"Why does Bloodfang hate me so much?"

Billy shrugged. "I got no idea."

Lawrence walked in and spotted the letter in her hands. He pointed at it. "What's that?"

She handed the letter to him. He scoffed when he finished reading it.

"Bloodfang's the one who owes you an apology, not Charlie."

She shook her head. "That'll happen when SCP-682 becomes a cuddly teddy bear. Bloodfang called me a scar-faced born-out-of-wedlock daughter of the Scarlet King, so we can just forget about that."

Chapter Text

Charlie shook his head tiredly. His ears were starting to hurt from Simon and Eddie's shouting.

"If we don't have to tell her, then don't tell her! It could cause her even more emotional pain!" Simon shouted.

"We should!" Eddie snapped back.

"She doesn't have to know!"

"Are you sure? Because if we told her earlier, she might've not been caught by our father and nearly killed!"

"Hey, what's going on here?" Sharpclaw whispered to Charlie.

"They're... discussing whether or not Dr. Collingwood should be told... you know."

"More like yelling and screaming about it."

"Yeah." Sharpclaw raised his voice over the cacophony of the two brothers' arguing. "Simon, why do you think she shouldn't know?"

Simon stopped. "You're young," he said softly. "You shouldn't be burdened with things like this."

"I'm gonna undergo my Ceremony of True Maturity in a year or two. I'm not just a kid anymore. I say I should be learning about things like this."

Charlie nodded. "To be fair, he is right. And Sharpclaw is trustworthy. It's important for him to learn how to deal with conflicts and disagreements between families in a civil way."

Simon drew in a deep breath. "I... I feel that it's not necessary."

"Why?"

"It could cause more trouble for her."

Eddie's claws scuffed the floor. "Charlie, what do you think?"

Charlie let out a deep sigh. He'd shoved this decision to the back of his mind ever since he had first learned that Molly worked here, but due to all the recent events, he couldn't put it off any longer.

In an instant the decision was made. Molly had to learn the truth.

"We should tell her. It's not just our family matter, it's hers as well. She has a right to know."

"Then how exactly will we do that? I highly doubt Director Jones trusts us enough to allow a private conversation with her," Simon rapped his claws against the floor. "And knowing them they might just choose to violate her privacy and ours entirely by videotaping the whole thing."

"He does trust Billy and Eddie though, more or less," Eddie pointed out. "You guys know about how the former captured the Chaos Insurgency mole. We could ask them for help."

Charlie nodded. "Alright then, that's what we'll do."

Chapter Text

"Dr. Collingwood, John and Billy have informed me that Charlie has something very important to tell you," Director Jones said sternly.

"Um, okay?"

He nodded. "Follow me."

He led her to an empty room. Two folding chairs were leaning against the wall in the corner. Charlie was quietly sitting in the middle of the room, fiddling with his tail. Director Jones soon left, closing the door behind him.

Charlie pointed towards one of the chairs. "Have a seat."

"It's fine. I'll stand."

Charlie sighed. "You'll understand once I tell you. So for some background, at the time that this all happened, Eddie wasn't born yet, so there was just me and my brother. I recently shed my skin at the time, but Simon hadn't done so yet."

"Shed your skin?"

"It's our transformation from normal human child to the beastlike form you are most familiar with. We rip off our human skin and head and grow new ones, then consume the old."

"Okay then. Carry on."

"I was born a runt and scorned by both my peers and my father. In fact, he neglected to raise me and my brother at all, dumping that responsibility onto his older brother, my uncle, who was called Gallant. Uncle Gallant was what you call immunocompromised and was constantly ill. He was frail despite being in the prime of life and his left arm and hand were shriveled to the point of being useless. He had a son of his own, named Cornelius. I just called him Corny, though."

He paused and chuckled a little.

"I'll be honest, even though Cornelius was very kind and sweet-tempered, he wasn't the brightest. He was secretly being groomed to be the pack leader by my father when he grew up, as he was of a much stronger build than I, even though it was against the pack law. In our pack, the role of leader is always passed from the parent to the eldest child, regardless of gender. The birthright can only be passed to others in extreme circumstances, like if the original holder dies, is proven unworthy to have that title, or simply cannot lead the pack properly. In my father's case, it was because my uncle was deemed too sickly to be able to handle the stress of the position."

Dr. Collingwood shook her head. "That's one messed up family situation right there."

Charlie nodded. "My father kept trying to force his racist beliefs onto poor Corny. I would have probably been jealous of him if not for that fact. Luckily he never accepted them, and told me in private that he was terrified of my father. I would often help him avoid Bloodfang. I suspect that the only thing that kept him from downright hating my father was because he was such a kind soul. He was just too good for this sinful earth."

"Sounds like he was a really nice person."

Charlie smiled sadly. "Alright, onto the actual story. Simon's birthday and his Shedding Ceremony were both fast approaching. We were living near a rural neighborhood and in that town was a farm with a herd of cows. So my father thought that it was a good idea to steal one of those cattle for Simon's birthday, as it is customary for the child to be allowed fresh, raw meat after they finish shedding. Corny and I, still being young and dumb, decided to tag along and help out. Uncle Gallant came too, as my aunt, his wife, had recently died from being trampled by cattle and wanted to prevent the same thing from happening to us. We were creeping through the shrubs and passed by a house when we heard shouting and gunshots being fired. A man had spotted us and mistook us for wolves."

Dr. Collingwood gulped. "He shot you?"

Charlie nodded, his face sorrowful. "Me and Corny were terrified and I was crying. It was the only time I've ever seen my father scared. My uncle tried to shield us with his body and he got shot, but he. couldn't get to Cornelius in time. Uncle Gallant died almost instantly, while Corny died the next morning."

He stopped for a moment, chewing his lip.

"That was when my father's downward spiral began. He became agitated, irritated, and frequently went into uncontrolled rages. He would shout incoherent nonsense, destroy nearby objects, and sometimes even attack other pack members. He started clawing me and Simon whenever he disagreed with him. And mind you, we were mentally still children."

Dr. Collingwood gulped. "Please don't tell me-"

"Yes," Charlie sighed, "these scars are from my father's claws. The one that stands out to me in particular is this one." He pointed to a scar of the left side of his face, over where his eye should be. Three parallel lines running from the bottom of his scalp to his jaw

"Why?"

"Criminals were marked this way in the past, usually with an 'x' inside a circle, so that children who hadn't undergone their shed yet would be able to identify them. But the stigma associated with facial scars is still quite strong in some circles. Anyways, I'm getting off topic. So my father became obsessed with revenge upon the man who had shot Gallant and Corny. But he deemed death too mild a punishment for him. You see, my father, along with being racist, firmly believes in the philosophy of 'an eye for an eye', but taken to its extreme. So he spied on the man and found out that not only did he have a wife, but that his wife was with child. So he swore that he would kill every son the man ever had and essentially declared war upon his family."

Charlie let out a grim, rueful chuckle. "Funnily enough, the man never did have a son. He did, however, have a daughter."

The pieces that were always there, but never seemed to quite fit, suddenly clicked together. Dr. Collingwood's eyes widened.

"That man... he was my father, wasn't he?"

Charlie nodded solemnly. "Yes. But that fact that you weren't a boy didn't stop him. In fact, it seemed to make him even angrier, that fate should try and make a joke out of his promise. Once you reached kindergarten, that's when it started. He stalked you to school and back. He studied your father's routine. He gathered as much information as he could. Then he tried everything he could think of to kill you. But he never got the chance. You see, I had been making my own plans. I spied on him, just as he did to you. I would distract and delay him to give you time to get away. I would often sneak off to check on you. My brothers helped, along with a distant cousin of mine named Humboldt. I'll admit, there were times that I wished I was still human so that I could befriend you."

A wistful smile spread across Charlie's face.

"One day, I found you playing in the grass field that was a good distance from your house. You were perhaps four or five at the time, so you probably don't remember. I simply stood guard, ready to protect you from a wild animal, when I caught my father's scent. Luckily, the wind was in my favor, so he did not notice me. I panicked and eventually decided to face being attacked by a wolf. I screamed and threw myself to the ground, snarling like a wolf, clawing at my own flesh to make it more convincing. Sure enough, my father was too distracted to notice you running away. I never saw you in that particular field ever again."

"My dad never let me go there. He said that I was almost attacked by a wolf. Now I know the real reason."

"Good."

"Bloodfang killed my mom," she said quietly, her voice shaking. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Charlie seemed quite uncomfortable and spoke in a softer, gentler voice than she had ever heard him use. "I legitimately didn't know. I thought that if he had been the one to kill your mother, he would be shouting it from the mountaintops, not caring who should hear. I was horrified when I found out. Bloodfang never stopped trying to kill you, but he never got another chance like that one in the clearing. Once you moved out of your father's house, my father was enraged and tried his hardest to find out where you were moving to, but somehow he never did. Once you actually did leave my father tried to force the pack to follow your car, but was outvoted by the elders. It wasn't long after that we were caught by the Foundation and contained here. In all honesty, I was relieved. I thought that it was the end of the matter and that there was no chance that my father would ever find you."

Charlie paused and let out a bitter chuckle. "Fate was not so kind, however. Lo and behold, several years later, my father caught wind of a research assistant who was suspiciously similar to you. I am ashamed to say that I had become lax in my efforts to oppose him and that I didn't quite believe that it was you at first. Until I heard your voice and mannerisms."

Without a word Dr. Collingwood pulled a chair from the corner and collapsed into it, pulling off her glasses and putting her head in her hands. The world felt like it was spinning.

Charlie rushed over to her. "Are you alright? Do you want me to get you some water?"

"I-I'm fine. It's just... a lot to process. Let me think for a minute."

He fell silent, and slowly lay down on his stomach next to her, resting his head on his paws.

After a long while, she took a deep, shuddering breath.

"Okay. I think... j-just continue, if you have anything more to say."

Charlie's voice dropped to something barely above a whisper. "I didn't learn that you had come to work here until a few weeks after my father did, and by then he was already making plans. He had to put them off, though, as it was harder for him to scope out information when he was restricted to a concrete cage. I only realized how mad he truly was the night before he broke containment. Luckily we managed to get a youth to warn Billy and John."

She looked up. "So all this effort, all this planning and stalking, just to kill me for something that was an accident and that I didn't even know about? Is Bloodfang insane?"

"It is likely."

She pinched the bridge of her nose. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Look, Molly, if my father ever tries to insult or hurt you again, know this: you are braver and truer than anyone I've ever known. You knowingly - and willingly - place your own life in danger every time you go to work. You know the true nature of SCP-999 and you know that, as it's caretaker, you hold the very fate of all existence in your hands. That is a responsibility that would crush most. What do you do? You lift that heavy weight the way Atlas lifted the heavens onto his shoulders. The man who lacks fear is not brave, merely fearless. Those who act in spite of their fear are truly brave."

"That's my job," she said softly. "I have to do it."

Charlie chuckled. "True, those parts are your job, but there are just as many things that were most assuredly not part of your job. You had the patience and persistence to warm the heart of that Dr. Buck - she is called Ice-Heart by the children of the pack for good reason. You had the kindness and understanding to help Billy turn from his former dark ways. You had the bravery to reach out and befriend a being - John - that everyone thought was little more than a feral monster, including himself. I feel extraordinarily lucky to have the honor to see you blossom into a fine young woman, and keep the same kind heart from childhood to now. That's more than I can say for some people."

He hugged her, playfully tousling her hair as he did. Her smile slowly curled into a faint smile. Usually she hated it when people messed up her hair, but this time, she didn't mind.

Chapter Text

"Hey, Molly, how's SCP-999?" Eddie fiddled with his tail.

"Oh, he's okay."

"Not scared of him anymore?" he said teasingly.

"Nope. Not anymore."

Billy's head whipped around as the familiar click-click of heels drew closer and closer. "Guys! Dr. I-Don't-Give-A-F*ck is coming!"

Simon glared at the sloth, which was remarkable considering the fact that he had no eyes. "Really, Billy? Really? I hate her as much as you do, but there's no excuse for that."

Charlie got off his seat and bowed when Dr. Buck came by. "Good afternoon, Dr. Buck."

Billy was facing away from Dr. Buck, fists clenched, eyes shut. Dr. Collingwood snapped her fingers in his face and next to his ears. "Billy? Billy? Hello? Anyone home?"

Charlie poked him in the back. "Billy? Wake up, silly head, just because you're ignoring Dr. Buck doesn't mean that she suddenly doesn't exist. That's not how things work around here."

Billy, still not looking at Dr. Buck, spoke through gritted teeth. "Hi, Blonde B- I mean, Amelia."

Dr. Buck seemed to ignore him and turned to Charlie. "I apologize for my very-" she coughed, "-unprofessional behavior towards your father when, well... you probably know."

Charlie laughed. "There's no need to apologize. He deserves to experience the full scorn and hatred of everyone here. I've never seen Soaring Hawk laugh so hard in his life, and I've known him since I was a boy."

Dr. Buck raised an eyebrow. "Soaring Hawk?"

"One of the elders of the pack."

She nodded. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting with Director Jones to get to."

Dr. Buck turned and walked briskly away.

John glared at Billy. "Look, I'll be honest, Dr. Buck's far from the most friendly or warm-hearted or moral person I've met, but she's not the Scarlet King. Was that really necessary?"

"Yes. Yes it was. She may have changed, but she needs someone to make sure that she doesn't forget what she's done to others."

Billy stood up and left.

Chapter Text

Eddie plopped down in the seat next to Dr. Collingwood, a merry smile on his face. "How's it goin', Chipmunk?"

"Chipmunk?"

"You sound like one."

"Your older brothers both give tubas a run for their- ACK!"

John had ambushed and grabbed her in a headlock. He raised a fist with a playful grin on his face. "Noogie!"

"John! Nooooooo! Stop torturing me like this, dammit!" She tried to wriggle her way out of his grip, but she might as well have been trying to wrestle with an elephant. Or a steel statue.

Charlie closed his paws around his snout, but it didn't stop him from grinning like a maniac. Billy clapped his hands over his mouth. 

After what seemed like an hour John stopped. "Alright, fine. I shall release you from my torture." John let her go.

She sprang out of her seat and promptly ran all the way to the other side of the room, out of the reach of John's long arms. 

But John felt like he just had to add something to that, so he called out, "C'mon, Shorty, I promise I won't do it again for the rest of the day."

Her voice drifted up the hallway. "I'm not short! I'm perfectly average height!"

"Yes you are!"

"Am not!"

"Am too!"

"Do you want me to start calling you Johnny Appleseed?"

The SCPs all looked at each other, then burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter.

Chapter Text

John noticed that Dr. Collingwood wasn't quite herself when she sat down next to him at lunch break. "Dr. Collingwood? You okay?"

"I'm fine," she muttered through gritted teeth. He'd seen her leaving a meeting earlier today with an oddly... frustrated (?) expression, lips pressed into a thin line, jaw clenched, brow furrowed, eyes blazing.

"You look... frustrated, or something like that. Just plain upset."

Billy dragged his claws across the table. He also seemed a little more pissed than normal.

John turned to him. "Was it Dr. Buck?"

"No," Simon growled. "Something worse."

"It's the f*cking Bearded Bastard," Billy grumbled.

John sighed. He had heard stories from other staff members about how harsh Dr. Logan was. "What did he do?"

"Dr. Logan was being a jerka** again, that's what," Simon snapped. "What else do you expect from him? You've heard what he's like."

John glanced at Dr. Collingwood again. Still doesn't explain why she looks sort of angry. She's never upset without good reason.

Charlie gave John a confused look. "I don't get it either. Whatever he did, I wasn't there to hear it."

Eddie almost shrieked. "He was f*cking sh*t-talking John!"

John could feel his old anxiety coming back. "Di-did I do something wrong?"

Dr. Collingwood put her head down on the table. "No," she growled through her teeth.

"Then I don't mind. It's not a big deal if I didn't do something wrong."

Eddie was about to reply but for the fact that Dr. Buck walked in, with Dr. Logan trailing behind her. The former didn't look too happy about that fact. Dr. Collingwood sighed and sat up.

"Good to see you again, Dr. Buck. Hello, Dr. Logan." Her head was turned and lowered just enough for her scar to be hidden.

Dr. Buck nodded. "Good to see you too, Dr. Collingwood." Dr. Logan was quiet.

Charlie's face curled into a half-smile. Simon merely nodded at Dr. Buck, ignoring Dr. Logan entirely. Eddie couldn't even manage that. He just turned away from them. Billy was giving him a hard stare.

Chapter Text

Billy looked away again and swore something under his breath. John could hear something along the lines of "f*cking a**hole".

"What'd you say, Billy?"

Billy didn't answer. Instead he stood up and slowly walked towards Dr. Logan.

"What the actual h*ll is wrong with you?!" he shouted.

John flinched. "Uh, Billy-"

"You act all polite and professional when John or any of us SCPs are around, then you talk sh*t about us behind our backs! Who the f*ck does that sort of thing?! And don't think that I didn't hear it, I absolutely did. I know, John's killed people before, but that was because he wasn't in his right mind and he never got the help he so desperately needed because no one knew enough - or, in your case, after he came back to his senses, didn't care enough - to do so. And that's not the only thing, oh no . You act like a sh*t to both Molly and Lawrence, and they're the two nicest f*cking people here! The former's so nice that she was not only able to befriend Elsa's long lost sister here," he jabbed a claw at Dr. Buck, "but she was also kind enough to give a monster like me a chance! She never asked anyone to thank her, she doesn't brag about it, she tells everyone to think nothing of it! She goes out of her way to lend a helping hand to everyone and make their day just a little bit better! And what do you do? YOU THROW IT BACK IN HER FACE!”

Billy's voice was starting to get weirdly low, almost sounding distorted. John gulped. Dr. Collingwood stepped back and placed a hand on his arm. She was shaking.

"John, what's going on with Billy?"

John opened his mouth to reply, only to get cut off by Billy again. Billy was now shaking a fist at Dr. Logan.

"You know why we respect Dr. Collingwood and Lawrence? Because they're good people who actually care for others. Unlike you! Normally, I would never say this, but..."

Billy drew in a deep breath.

"YOU A-ARE WOR-R-R-RSE THAN DR. F*CKING BUCK! SHE MIGHT HAVE BEEN UNBEAR-EAR-EAR-EARABLE, BUT Y-YOU TAKE THAT TO A WHOLE 'N-NOTHER LEVEL! YOU LITER-ER-ERALLY DECIDED TO BA-BAD-MOUTH JOHN R-R-RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE PERSON WHO CARES ABOUT HIM LIKE HE'S HER BROTHER-THER! YOU'RE NOT EVEN S-SORRY! YOU ARE-ARE ABSOL-ABSOLUTELY F*CKING DISGUSTING AND I HOPE YOU GET WHAT YOU DESERVE!"

His voice was now warped and glitching heavily and he stepped even closer to Dr. Logan. Any apathy the researcher might have felt before was all gone now, replaced with pure fear. Billy's fur had darkened and his head was twitching uncontrollably. His movements were twitchy too and his eyes had turned from blue to red.

Dr. Collingwood immediately rushed to Billy and tried to pull him away from Dr. Logan. What happened next seemed to occur almost in slow motion.

Billy turned, lifted his arm, and hit her in the jaw with what seemed to be almost a lazy punch, the kind intended to intimidate, not injure. It went far worse than that. She was sent flying across the room and slammed into the wall.

Lawrence cried out and rushed over to her, taking her in his arms and trying to shake her awake, but she didn't move a muscle.

The room was dead silent. Billy's fur and eyes had gone back to normal and he stared in horror, first at Dr. Logan, then at Dr. Collingwood, then down at his own claws.

Lawrence raised his head, eyes blazing and filled with tears. "You... You killed her!"

John came up to him and pulled him out of the room, to his containment cell.

Eddie leaped across the room and grabbed Dr. Collingwood's shoulder, shaking her hard. "Molly? Molly!" His hand lightly brushed her jaw.

Her eyes snapped open and her head whipped away from Eddie. "OW!"

Eddie flinched. "Are you okay?"

"I... I think so... my head hurts..." She pressed her face into Lawrence's chest. "J-Just... give me a minute..."

Lawrence shook his head. "No. We're getting you to the doctor."

Chapter Text

"I'll be honest, that scared me more than anything else in my whole life," Lawrence said. "I never thought that Billy could do that."

John shook his head. "If you knew him fifty years ago, you wouldn't be surprised."

"Speaking of Billy," Eddie tilted his head to listen for Billy's padding footsteps, "where's he right now?"

"Still in my room, crying," said John.

Simon raised a scarlet brow. "That doesn't exactly sound like the Billy I know. You know how insistent he is in making sure that all his friends are okay."

"He's changed a lot over the years." John messed with his fingers. "I almost didn't recognize him when he first found out that I was trapped here and tried to talk to me."

The door slid open. Billy walked in, his head down.

"Ay, Billy!" Eddie grinned. "How's it goin', pal?"

"Where's Dr. Collingwood?" Billy chewed on his claws. The bubbly quality of his voice was gone, and now he was completely serious.

"In the hospital wing. She's still pretty angry at Dr. Logan for bad-mouthing John. I'll go with you if you want." Eddie stood up.

Lawrence turned away. He'd done his best to hide it, but it was painfully obvious to everyone who paid attention that he was still pissed at Billy. Luckily, the sloth seemed to notice and didn't look too keen on staying in the same room as him.

"It's okay, I'll go alone."

Chapter Text

Billy gulped. He knew that Dr. Collingwood probably wouldn't be mad at him for punching her across the room - it was an accident, after all - but he was still scared. He had promised to himself the moment he joined the Foundation to never let his temper get away from him, for fear that it would undo everything he had worked so hard for, only for that to happen. Right in front of and to his closest friend, no less! He could have killed her so easily, had that been a claw slash instead of a punch...

He walked like a robot to her room, barely remembering what room the nurse said she was in. The Foundation had been hesitant to allow him to see anyone recovering from injury, and he didn't doubt that he might get his privileges taken away again, but he had to see her, if only to make sure that her neck wasn't in two pieces.

When he entered her room she was just lying there, sleeping. He pulled up a chair and sat down next to her, not wanting to wake her up. He stared off into space, wondering how he was going to apologize-

"Billy?"

He jumped and looked around. Dr. Collingwood had awoken and was propping herself up.

"Hi," she said softly.

Billy put his head down and looked away. "H'lo," he murmured back.

She reached out to touch his arm. "Are you okay?"

"Well..." Billy took a deep breath. "I want to tell you that I'm really, really, really sorry for punching you a few days ago."

"It's alright. Just, next time, take a moment to calm yourself down before you break something."

The two were silent for a moment, before Billy spoke again.

"To be honest, I'm kind of wondering how you're always so d*mn calm all the time," Billy laughed. "You work in the same place as the two most obnoxious and insufferable people on the planet. How the h*ll does that not drive you insane?"

"Because I work with SCP-999?"

"Well, I guess that's part of it, but that's definitely not the entire reason."

She just shrugged. "I'm normally a pretty calm person."

"True. Seems like you're physically incapable of feeling anger at times."

"Oh, I definitely can. I was pretty mad at Dr. Logan for saying those things about John. I just don't understand why he would do that."

"Whelp, the one thing that a criminal and a kind person have in common is that they think everyone else is like them."

"By the way, where's John? Is he okay?"

"He's okay. He usually just shrugs off anything thrown at him, as long as it's not continually piled on over a long time. People bullying his friends , on the other hand..."

Chapter Text

"Man, it sure looks like Molly's childhood bad luck's comin' back,” Eddie remarked.

John tilted his head. "Since when was she ever unlucky?"

"Haven't you been paying attention?"

Simon shook his head sadly. "Life's not done putting her on the breaking wheel."

Lawrence shrugged. "Probably because she works here. I get into near-death pretty often."

"No." Charlie shook his head. "She was the kind of person that one might describe as 'unluckily-lucky'."

"Did you get run over by a bus four times in your childhood?" Simon asked pointedly.

"Um, no?"

"Oh my God, please don't start this conversation." Dr. Collingwood put her head down on the table.

Simon didn't seem to hear her. "Well, first, she has our father constantly trying to murder her when she was a child. She moves away and he can't find her. Then when she comes and works here and just so happens to be in the same facility that we're in. Then there's all the," he coughed, "things that happened to her in childhood."

Eddie gave Dr. Collingwood a strange look. "But seriously, who would fall face-first into a bunch of cacti? "

Simon gave his younger brother his patented no-eyes glare.

"Wait, did that really happen?" Lawrence looked at her. She nodded.

"It was a bunch of cholla cacti. Picking the satanic spine-covered pads out of my skin sure was fun ." She spat the last word. "And, trust me, those spines are painful, and they're even worse to try and pull out. The little barbs on them literally rip out tiny chunks of flesh when they come out."

Charlie winced. "I've been on the wrong end of a cholla's spines before, so I understand."

"You know it's bad when a Foundation scientist calls something that's non-anomalous satanic," Billy said.

"That's not even the most satanic plant she's tangled with," Charlie added.

" Please do not remind me," she begged.

Everyone was silent.

"Yeeeeeaaaaaaah... let's not talk about that," Eddie said quickly. "So, in a nutshell, Lawrence was born with a four-leaf clover in his mouth, while Molly was born with a 'Kick Me' sign on her back. And the reason why she never dies is because, if she's dead, Destiny can't torture her anymore. She was called Madame Misfortune when she was little for a reason."

Dr. Collingwood glared at Eddie. "We do not speak of that."

Chapter Text

Sharpclaw gulped, silently reciting to himself the speech that he had been planning out for months. When Charlie had told him that there was no way for him to safely help them physically, he'd been sad. Dr. Collingwood was, as far as he knew, a kind-hearted individual, and the fact that the pack was too afraid to do anything about Bloodfang was maddening.

A teacher of his once said that all it took for evil to succeed was that good men did nothing. Now it was coming true right before his very eyes. Bloodfang's followers were everywhere. Standing up to him alone would likely be suicide, but if the whole of the sane members of the pack did so at once...

And that was why he had spent the last few months trying to figure out how to rally the pack instead of enjoying what was left of his childhood like Charlie told him to. And he thought - he hoped - that he had finally gotten it just right.

It's perfect, or at least as perfect as I can make it. Now I actually need to figure out how to present it and how to get the pack to listen to me...

A loud roar caught his attention and he jumped into the air.

Oh no no no no no no no-

"O Execrati of the pack! Today we shall finally carry out the task I have been faithfully pursuing for so many years, and avenge the death of my dear brother!"

Several of his sycophants cheered and snarled, coercing the rest of the pack into doing so as well. Sharpclaw heard the loud smash of concrete being shattered and the thumping of dozens of clawed feet on tile. He rushed after the noise, praying that his speech would work.

I can't hold this off any longer. Now is the time.

Chapter Text

Charlie ran throughout the facility, the alarms blaring in his ears. John and Billy were busy delivering the rest of the staff out of the facility. He heard Molly cry out in fear and ran even faster. He came to a door and smashed it down. His keen nose caught the smell of the entire pack, including his father, and Molly. He could almost smell her fear too.

A deep growl, rumbling like distant thunder, rose from his chest to his throat and grew in volume. "I said... leave her... ALONE!"

He roared the last word and lunged at his father, fangs ready to tear his throat out. Someone else tackled him and clamped their jaws around his neck. Another gnawed on his right forearm. Two more sets of jaws closed on his tail and his left ankle. He struggled, twisting and turning, but couldn't handle four pinning him down at once.

Dr. Collingwood looked back at Bloodfang. His face was set in a wide grin, making his skull-like head even more demonic-looking. The massive 939 stepped closer, chuckling.

"Finally, on this day, justice will be brought to my dear brother. On this day, the flesh and blood of the murderer shall be destroyed!" His sycophants cheered. One of the other 939s raised its head a little, a solemn, sad look on its face, as if trying to apologize nonverbally. Bloodfang lowered his voice a little, speaking directly to her. "Enjoy your death, for you are only the first..."

She gulped, shut her eyes, and braced herself for the crushing bite to her skull.

But it never came.

Before anyone could move a muscle, a small 939 sprang from the assembled pack members, leaping from the crowd and right in front of Bloodfang.

"No!" The word was shouted, brave, but shook a little.

Bloodfang looked surprised, but quickly regained his composure. "You are but a child, Sharpclaw. You know nought of these sorts of matters. Remember your place."

The little 939 squared its shoulders. "Even a child would know that what you're doing is wrong. From the story you tell, it sounds like revenge by proxy. You should know well that our pack condemns that sort of behavior. Besides," the 939 - Sharpclaw, apparently - pointed at her, "she wasn't even born yet at the time of Gallant and Cornelius's deaths, so there is no blood on her hands."

"Sharpclaw-" growled Bloodfang impatiently.

"And it only happened because you thought it was a fine idea to steal cattle when you could have just hunted deer like a normal person," added Sharpclaw. His voice sounded a little more confident and a little sharper than before.

Bloodfang only growled in response, but took a step back.

"So, all because of an incident that was basically your doing, your own brother and nephew died and you blame someone else for it. A someone who, may I add, didn't even know you existed and couldn't see what he was shooting at. I see no one who deserves the blame more than you. You decided to steal someone else's property. And you think it's okay to blame someone yet unborn? To literally stalk an innocent little child? To murder a mother? If that is acceptable to you, then you are unfit to lead this pack." Sharpclaw stepped forward.

Bloodfang snarled. "You have no authority to declare me unfit to lead."

"No, I do not, but I can voice my opinion on the matter." Sharpclaw turned to the rest of the pack. "Should we really stay silent on this? Should we allow this sort of behavior? Here I stand. I have given you my reasons as to why I have chosen to speak up. Judge me if you wish. If you agree with me, come forward. Don't be afraid. To those who support this stain on our pack, kill me if you want, but you have shown yourselves willing to kill a child, a sin unforgivable according to our law."

Bloodfang was shaking with rage. He suddenly sprang forward and slashed his claws across the child's face. Sharpclaw stayed silent, not even covering the wound, just stood there, unmoving, with a grim, determined snarl.

A collective growl rippled through the pack. Four young-looking 939s ran to Sharpclaw. One looked older than him.

"Sharpclaw, Sharpclaw, are you alright?"

A pair of larger 939s, adults seemingly, slowly came to the front. One quietly fussed over Sharpclaw while the other simply glared at Bloodfang.

Bloodfang looked aghast. "Swiftclaw, Razorspine, what are you doing? Bring him back here!"

The one that had been fussing over Sharpclaw snapped at Bloodfang. Its voice was female. "Perhaps the question that should be asked is, what have you done?"

The other 939, seemingly Sharpclaw's father, snarled at Bloodfang. The spines on its back stabbed the air. "The only reason why I didn't speak up is because I was afraid, for it seemed like everyone in the pack would kill me if I said a single word against you. But this is the last straw. I care nothing anymore. First you attacked a harmless lady after it was proven that she knew nothing of your grudge against her father, now you dare lay your claws on my son! Come forward, fight me if you wish, but I can assure you that at least three of your sheep will die before I perish."

More of the 939s gave Bloodfang disgusted looks and went over to Sharpclaw. More and more joined the young 939 until there were only a few left standing with Bloodfang.

"Wh-What?! This is treason!" screamed Bloodfang.

An elderly-looking 939 stepped out of the crowd. "The pack has spoken, Bloodfang. Stop this madness."

Another of the elderly called out to Dr. Collingwood. "O daughter of man, blessed with sight, how many still stand with Bloodfang?"

Bloodfang roared. "This is not madness! That demon deserves to suffer in the darkest pits of h*ll!"

She silently counted Bloodfang's supporters. "Ten."

"Ten? Only ten?" scoffed one of the red-skinned creatures.

Another old 939 stepped out from the crowd. "Please, my son, do not do this. I feel every bit as hurt as you do about Gallant's death, but the daughter does not deserve death. The pain from losing a child is one no parent should ever experience."

"He has hoodwinked and made us fear for our lives, just to kill someone who is harmless!" shouted another.

Sharpclaw reared onto his hind legs. "When one becomes leader or joins the Council of Elders, they swear an unbreakable oath, sealed with their own blood. One part of this oath is that they must never kill or decree the execution of an innocent. Bloodfang has most assuredly violated that!"

The rest of the pack began to shout angrily. "Oathbreaker! Oathbreaker! Oathbreaker!"

An elder shouted, "SILENCE!" The pack immediately quieted down. Bloodfang attempted to speak, but he was stopped by that elder.

"From this day forward, no one in this pack is to obey your orders. You are no longer leader of the pack."

"No, no, NO! I am the head of this pack, without me you would crumble, you would-"

A tall, slender, pale figure appeared in the doorway. "I told you that you would die if you ever tried to kill Molly again!" John unhinged his jaw and let out a hideous shriek, causing the pack to cower in fear.

"Do not kill him," said the elder who had decreed the removal of Bloodfang's position. "Let him live in his shame."

Bloodfang snarled and stormed out of the room. An elder who hadn't spoken yet turned to the rest of the pack. "Everyone, back to the cell. Make sure Bloodfang goes there too."

With that the pack spilled out of the room, except for Sharpclaw. His father turned and called out to him. "Son? Let's go!"

"Just a minute, dad! I wanna talk to Dr. Collingwood."

"Sure, but make it quick."

Chapter Text

"Thanks for standing up for me... uh... sorry, what's your name again?" Dr. Collingwood gulped, realizing that she'd forgotten the 939's name in the heat of the moment.

"Sharpclaw. My name is Sharpclaw."

"Yes, Sharpclaw. Thanks for standing up for me."

Sharpclaw shrugged. "Our teachers always told us to give a voice to those who don't have one. And even though Charlie and his brothers were protecting you, and some were displeased, no one else was really speaking up, not even the elders. I felt that someone had to. So I did."

Charlie slowly came over to Sharpclaw and smiled. The 939s holding him had been made by the rest of the pack to let go. "I'm proud of you, little one."

Simon and Eddie suddenly burst in, John, Billy, and Lawrence following after them. "Charlie! Molly!"

"Oh, don't worry, we're fine," called Charlie. "And all because of this lil' tyke."

Sharpclaw waved at them, an adorable little smile on his face. "Hi!"

Lawrence looked at the young 939, then chuckled. "You have to tell me later."

----------------------------------

"So he managed to convince the whole pack with just a speech? Wow." Lawrence stared off in the direction of the 939 cell.

"To be honest, he didn't need to change anyone's opinion. The pack already hates Bloodfang. He just needed to convince them to actually speak up," Eddie said.

"Actually, he wouldn't. His reputation is already so bad that the pack would turn on him if he even touched a child," Simon remarked.

Charlie turned to Dr. Collingwood. "Sharpclaw talked to me a few months earlier about you. He said that he wanted to help, even though he couldn't. At least, that's what I thought. But I was wrong. And I've never been happier to be wrong."

Chapter Text

"How's it going, Chipmunk?" Eddie said playfully.

"You're still callin' her Chipmunk?" John gave him the ol' "Eddie WTF" look of his.

"She sounds like a chipmunk that inhaled a little too much helium."

"Eddie..." Simon facepalmed. "Eddie, why?"

"Still," John sighed, "don't do that."

"Er, guys?" Lawrence looked at Dr. Collingwood and Charlie awkwardly. "I'm sorry if this is a little intrusive, but..." he turned to Charlie, "You seem to know an awful lot about Dr. Collingwood for some reason."

Dr. Collingwood glanced at Charlie, then back at Lawrence, then quickly stood up.

"Lawrence, can you promise me you won't tell anyone?"

He nodded.

"Meet me in the janitor's closet..." she quickly checked the time, "when our next break starts."

------------------------------------

Dr. Collingwood glanced at the door, hoping that no one would hear them.

"You gonna tell me?" Lawrence looked at her expectantly.

She let out a sigh. "Just don't don't tell anyone, alright?"

"I won't."

She told him everything. Her father accidentally killing Charlie's uncle and cousin, Bloodfang stalking her, Charlie saving her life when she was a child, everything.

"So, basically, your father killed Bloodfang's brother and nephew on accident, so he thinks that it's fair to kill you and your mom?"

"Basically."

"Okay, now that is just wrong."

Dr. Collingwood shook her head. "He's insane, alright? What the logic of insane people is, we can only guess."

Chapter Text

Eddie began talking in two voices, switching between the two. "Johnny has nineteen bottles of dish soap, and he gives Molly- Wait, why does Johnny have so many soaps? Mind yo business, Davey!"

John and Dr. Collingwood spoke at the same time. "Eddie!"

At the same time Simon gave his little brother his no-eyes death glare. "Seriously, Eddie?"

Dr. Collingwood shook her head, muttering something about "chaotic little sh*ts" under her breath, then stood up and left the room.

Lawrence clapped his hands over his mouth, stifling giggles. Carson's helmet hid his face, but his whole body was shaking with held-back laughter.

Oh God, Molly's so cute when she's-

"Thinkin' about how cute Molly is again, huh?" Billy asked dryly.

Lawrence glared at him. "Don't you dare."

"Don't worry," the sloth said sweetly. "Your search history and the stupid pickup lines you practiced in the men's restroom are already enough blackmail material, so I don't need any more."

Lawrence's eyes widened in alarm while Carson was sent into another fit of hysterical giggles.

Simon facepalmed. "Really, Billy? Really?"

Billy went on. "Oh, that's not all the blackmail I have on ya, Lawrence." He learned forward, lowering his voice. "I also know that-"

"Shut up!" Lawrence hissed. "Carson’'ll hear!"

John rolled his eyes and Charlie and Simon shook their heads. They all knew what Billy had been meaning to say.

Chapter Text

If there was one thing about the 939 specimens that was well known, it was that they could shape their voices into whatever they wanted, often for imitation. Not even voice recognition technology could tell the difference. It was definitely terrifying if utilized correctly, being able to lure the unaware straight into a 939's jaws. More trained or simply talented individuals could speak in echoing, static-filled, or even multiple overlapping voices at once, making it great for intimidation. Others could throw their voices, leading victims (or pursuers) on wild goose chases and sometimes into traps.

It was a versatile ability that could be adapted to almost any situation, to lure and attack or defend and protect, and could be a fearsome and deadly tool in the right hands.

Eddie used it to be an annoying, chaotic little sh*t.

Dr. Collingwood froze as Eddie repeated what she'd just said to Dr. Buck... in her voice.

"Never do that again!" she said in alarm.

Eddie grinned. "Never do that again!" he parroted, her voice still coming out of his jaws.

"Eddie, shut up!"

"Eddie, shut up!"

"It's not funny!"

"It's not funny!"

"Eddie! Stop that right now!"

"Eddie! Stop that right now!"

Dr. Buck cut in. "Eddie, shut your toothy jaws before I flip the table."

Eddie returned to his normal voice, laughing at the mischief he made. "Alright, fine."

However, it wasn't always that easy.

One day Dr. Logan was ranting again, and the SCPs had the bad luck to not only be the target of his rant,  but also be physically there to hear it.

He was going on and on, insulting Billy, berating John, and implying that Bloodfang's misdeeds made the 939 brothers monsters. John looked like he was about to cry.

Then Eddie began to talk in Dr. Logan's voice. Or, more accurately, a high-pitched, whiny parody of it.

"My legal name is Bearded Bastard, but I yell at people when they call me that because I'm too ashamed to admit that it's the truth. I'm so insecure about myself that I tear other people down in order to feel like I have any self-worth at all. I'm not racist, 'cause I hate everyone equally, it's just that I'm so much of a coward that I only really show it to people I don't consider human."

Eddie went on and on and on, poking fun at Dr. Logan's heartlessness and mocking his views on anything or anyone with an SCP designation.

Eventually Dr. Logan snapped and shouted, "JOHN IS A WORTHLESS MONSTER! WHY ELSE WOULD THE O-5'S APPROVE MY PROPOSAL TO THROW HIM INTO THE SUN?!"

Eddie went quiet. Everyone froze. It was so silent, you could have heard the sound of a wasp's footsteps.

Dr. Collingwood's heart was beating so hard that she was sure everyone in the room could hear it.

Oh no. Oh no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no oh sh*t oh sh*t oh sh*t oh sh*t oh sh*t oh sh*t oh sh*t oh sh*t oh sh*t oh sh*t oh sh*t oh sh*t oh sh*t oh sh*t oh sh*t oh sh*t oh sh*t oh sh*t oh sh*t oh sh*t oh sh*t oh sh*t oh sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t-

Simon let out a roar. "SO YOU WERE THE IDIOT WHO DECIDED TO THROW HIM INTO THE SUN!"

Eddie bared the hundreds of needle-like teeth in his jaws and a feral growl pulsed in his blood-red throat.

Billy let out a blood-freezing shriek as his eye turned from crystal blue to violent crimson. He bent down, seemingly so that he could wind up to spring, but he never got the chance.

A flash of white crossed the room and something hit Billy in the side of the head with the force of a high-caliber bullet. The pissed sloth collapsed limply to the floor.

Eddie seemed to suddenly fly though the air, but not in a straight line and not at Dr. Logan. He crashed into Simon and both lay still on the ground.

John hauled Billy up on one shoulder, put Simon and Eddie on the other, and carried them away. Charlie slowly paced after him, his head lowered in shame.

Dr. Buck shook her head. "Dr. Logan, come to my office later."

Chapter Text

"That was a very stupid decision, Billy," Director Jones said sternly. "If not for the fact that you have helped the Foundation as much as you have, you would be punished far more severely. I understand your reasons for being angry, but that does not justify attacking personnel."

Billy simply nodded. When he'd found out that there had been an attempt to terminate John (before he regained control over his rage-state), he'd understood, but had been extremely upset by it. In fact, Dr. Collingwood's submission of a proposal was the only thing he still somewhat held against her. But at least she'd come clean and apologized for it. Bearded Bastard didn't even try to give any apology for throwing him into the sun. Still, in hindsight, trying to attack Dr. Logan was not the best idea.

Eddie and Simon sat in the seats to his left and right. Eddie had on a straight face, but emitting from his throat, too low for the human ear to detect, was a deep, frustrated growl. Simon had his head down, partially hiding his incensed expression.

------------------------------------

"I do not blame you for being attacked by Billy, Eddie, and Simon, but admitting that you were the one who proposed that John be terminated by being thrown into the sun was an incredibly stupid idea that could have gotten you killed. Be a little more careful what you say next time." Dr. Buck glared at Dr. Logan.

"Alright, alright, I know," he snapped. "I still stand by my opinion that 09- John is little more than a nuisance to us."

Dr. Buck shook her head as the bearded researcher stormed out of her office. John saved Dr. Collingwood from an SCP that he has a phobia of. And was so nice that he saved you from his friends when you admitted that you were the one who tried to kill him. How thick is your skull?

Chapter Text

Billy cursed under his breath as he ran through the facility, doing his best to avoid the notice of the Chaos Insurgency soldiers. He wished he had John's ability of knowing where people were. His footsteps slowed as he heard a gunshot and someone cried out. 

Please don't let them find me, please don't let them find me, please don't let them find me, please don't let them find me...

Dr. Collingwood peeked around the corner. No one was there. Good.

She ran down the corridor, trying to keep her footsteps as light as possible.

A gunshot rang out behind her. Something pierced straight through her leg and it buckled under her. Before she could even begin to process what was happening, cuffs were slapped onto her wrists and a gag was tied around her mouth. A Chaos Insurgency soldier stood above her, while a couple others were pouring out from a room behind them.

"Come on, Evan, can't you ever do something stealthily? There are anomalies here, for God's sake!"

The Chaos soldier above her turned around. His voice sounded sheepish. "Oh, uh... sorry."

Billy's lip curled as he listened to the two speak. Well, you just got the attention of one of them.

The lights above flickered.

"Ah, crap," growled a soldier. "Power outage? We'll never get outta here!"

Dr. Collingwood thought she spied a dark figure standing behind the group of Chaos soldiers when the lights flickered again. The lights then just shut off and a tall, stout person rounded the corner behind them.

One of the soldiers called out to it. "Do you know a way out? This place is like a maze."

It didn't answer. Instead it just stopped, standing just far away enough to be hard to see.

"Uh, dude? Say something, please? You're creepin' me out."

No answer. 

Instead, a pair of tiny, glowing red pinpricks appeared on the figure's face where its eyes should be.

The soldier standing above her screamed and bolted while the rest began firing. The figure leapt at the soldiers, revealing a set of five sharp claws on each of its hands. In a few minutes all the soldiers had been torn into shreds except for the one that had run away. The figure turned towards her and the lights flicked back on.

It was Billy. But he looked... different. His normally dark brown fur had turned black as pitch and the paler brown fur on his face was bone-white. His claws looked longer than normal and his entire body seemed to glitch slightly. But the most drastic change was his eyes. They had turned into endless black pits, with a red pinprick in the middle.

He clutched his head and his entire body spasmed, and he seemed to "glitch" back to normal.

Chapter Text

Billy grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up. His claws - which seemed longer and sharper than normal - sliced through her bonds and the gag was ripped off her mouth.

"Are you alright?" The normal playfulness in his bright blue eyes and the rage when they had turned blood-red was gone, now replaced with worry.

"Other than a bullet through the leg, I'm fine."

"Molly, that does not count as 'fine'."

"It's as fine as I'll probably ever be in this sort of situation."

He half-dragged, half-carried her through the facility searching for a way out. The two almost crashed straight into Lawrence and Carson.

"Molly? Are you okay?" Lawrence reached out a hand.

John and Charlie's heads popped around the corner.

"Molly? Oh, thank the stars you're alright." The big 939 ran up to her. John seemed to see something and lept behind them.

"Everyone, stay back! I'll deal with- ARRRRGH!"

Two gunshots rang out in rapid succession. A Chaos Insurgency operative had been trying to sneak up behind them and been spooked by John's sudden lunge.

"John?!" Billy rushed to his friend. John snarled and shook his head. A pair of bullets fell out of his eye sockets and clattered to the floor.

The next thing the two heard was a vicious roar.

Chapter Text

Billy whirled around to see Dr. Collingwood standing and propping herself up against the wall. Her face was twisted into a snarl, accentuated by her scarred eye. The scar itself was flushed red. The sinews in her neck were standing out like waxed rope.

She howled with rage and lunged at the Chaos soldier, punching him right in the face with enough force to crack his visor and tearing off his helmet, then beating him, snarling all the while about how she was going to kill him. It made Billy almost feel sorry for the guy. Almost.

Dr. Collingwood shoved the man over and began punching him in the face repeatedly, even though he was already unconscious. Lawrence and Thomas managed to drag her off of him before she could attract the attention of other Chaos soldiers. The man lay still as they left.

---------------------------------------

Charlie paced about the room worriedly. Dr. Collingwood had to be taken to the hospital wing for the bullet wound in her leg. Lawrence had told a few of the MTFs about her outburst. Earlier he had heard Molly call out to John weakly.

"John... are you alright?"

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine."

He had almost cried when he heard her say that. Even though she was injured badly, all she could think of was John, even though missing an eye - or both eyes - for him was a trivial injury, if a very painful one.

"Charlie?" He could hear Simon walking up to him.

"Yes?"

"Dr. Collingwood's fine, apparently. The bullet went straight through her leg."

"Will she still be able to walk?"

"Yes, but likely with a limp."

Charlie sighed in relief. "I-"

"At least it's better than her being six feet underground," Billy grumbled.

"Destiny ain't done treating her like a chew toy," Eddie growled.

John was silent.

Chapter Text

Dr. Collingwood shuffled out of the hospital wing, limping on her left leg slightly, and slowly made her way back to the staff canteen. It felt good to stretch her legs again after being cooped up in a hospital bed for several weeks.

She hadn't taken five steps into the room before a brown shape ambushed her and grabbed her in a hug.

"Molly! You're okay!"

She leaned back, trying to see who it was. A pale brown face and a pair of blue eyes greeted her.

A low, snarling voice spoke. "Billy! You could've hurt her!"

Billy let go of her and turned. "C'mon, Simon, I was worried about her. Did you expect me to not be excited when she came back?"

"Still. Be a little more gentle."

Dr. Collingwood laughed. "It's okay, I don't mind."

Eddie suddenly tossed a crumpled-up piece of paper at her. "Catch!"

She reached out to catch it... or tried to. Her hands missed it by about two feet.

"Did she catch it?" Eddie turned to Lawrence.

Lawrence gave her a sympathetic look. "No."

Eddie giggled, shaking his head. "All these years later, Molly, and you still can't catch. Some things just never change."

John groaned. "Eddie, shut up."

She sat down next to John. "Charlie, I wanted to ask you about this earlier, but I didn't really have the time to."

"Well, what is it?"

"Remember when Bloodfang breached containment again for the second time?"

"Yes."

"Well, are they going to replace him as pack leader?"

"Yes."

"Will... you be leader?"

Charlie was silent for a moment, then sighed.

"No. I do not believe that I am suited for that kind of responsibility. For all that Gallant taught me, it will be very little compared to actual experience. The elders are choosing a different person to lead."

"Have they made their pick yet?"

"No."

Chapter Text

Eddie raised his head as an unfamiliar set of footsteps approached them. He turned his head in (what he thought was) John's general direction. "Who's that?"

John sounded confused. "Who are you talking about?"

"Don't you hear that? Those footsteps?"

"That's Dr. Collingwood. Can't you recognize her scent?"

Eddie's keen nose caught a familiar smell. One that was ingrained into his instinctive memory more than any other. From childhood, in fact.

"Oh, never mind," he laughed, inwardly scolding himself. Her footsteps have changed. She limps now. I should've remembered that.

Eddie heard Billy and Molly snort-giggle.

"You're hilarious, Eddie," the researcher chuckled. "I'll be honest, for all the times I've called you a chaotic little sh*t, if it weren't for you and Billy, I would've probably forgotten how to laugh."

Eddie grinned, happy that at least he'd managed to lift Molly's spirits, even if it was at his own expense.

"To be honest, that goes for me too," Lawrence laughed.

Eddie heard Lawrence walk closer to Molly and the latter let out a slightly embarrassed little giggle.

They're holding hands, aren't they? They're holding hands, there is no way that they're not. Eddie grinned at the thought.

Simon piped up. "Lawrence, I want to talk to you privately."

The smile on Eddie's face vanished. Oh no.

Chapter Text

Lawrence gave Simon a confused look. "Why?"

"You'll know once I tell you."

Lawrence gulped. He got along just fine with the rest of the SCPs, but Simon rarely spoke to him and never seemed to be quite comfortable when he and Molly were in the same room.

Simon led him to an empty room, well away from everyone else. Once the door was shut behind them, Simon stood in front of it.

"Alright, now listen closely. I know that you and Molly are in a relationship, and there isn't anything inherently wrong with that. I acknowledge that she is an adult and that she can make her own decisions. But I want to ask you a few questions. I want you to tell me the honest answer, not what you think I want to hear."

Oh no. Oh no, no, no.

Simon began asking him questions. Not a few, a lot. Lots and lots and lots of questions. Why he loved Molly, when and how he'd realized his feelings, if he'd ever done anything that made her uncomfortable, and on and on and on. Once the hulking scarlet beast had finished his questioning Lawrence felt like he'd had all his secrets ripped right out of his mind and put on display for all the world to see.

Suddenly Simon grabbed him by the collar and slammed him into the wall. He was soon face-to-face with the hundreds of razor-sharp fangs in Simon's jaws.

"Listen very carefully, Agent Lawrence." Simon wasn't growling, but his voice was stone cold with a deadly undertone. "Break Molly's heart, and you won't live long enough to regret it. Understood?"

Lawrence forced his voice to be as steady as he could make it, but some of his fear still slipped through. "U-understood. Molly means everything to me. I'd never hurt her."

"Good." Simon released him, but still didn't move away. His voice softened. "I know you're not lying to me, so thank you for being truthful."

"U-Um..."

"You've got some steel balls on ya, kid. Don't use them to knock up Molly until you've married her, alright?"

"A-Alright."

Simon turned and left, leaving Lawrence alone.

Chapter Text

Dr. Collingwood walked through one of the facility's winding corridors. Even though she was used to it, at times it still felt like a labyrinth with no end, a maze that went on forever.

A door flew open and out came a high, shrill screech and a large, hulking shape came barreling out and grabbed her collar, lifting her up into the air. "Gotcha!"

She screamed. "LAWRENCE! CHARLIE! JOHN!"

A bubbly voice laughed. "Silly, it's just me! Billy!"

John and Charlie stormed into the hallway. John was the first to react.

"Billy, what the h*ll!"

Billy let go of her collar. "It was just a prank!"

"It's not funny! I actually thought that she was in danger!"

Dr. Collingwood glared at Billy. "You gave me a heart attack!"

"Well, now you guys know it was a joke! No need to be all freaked out and stuff."

She turned away, her lips slowly curling into a snarl, then to a grin as a plan of revenge quickly unfolded in her mind.

A few days later...

Billy grinned to himself as he strolled through the facility, thinking up more pranks to pull on site personnel. He decided to just go hang out in the supply closet. No one would bother him there.

He opened the door and just so happened to glance up. Up near the top of the doorway was a pair of glowing white eyes and an unnaturally wide grin with glowing white teeth.

--------------------------------

"WHAT THE F*CK!?"

Charlie's head whipped around in the direction of the voice. He held back a grin. Moments later one of the doors blew open.

"Wha-what's goin' on?" Lawrence sounded alarmed.

Billy sounded terrified. "Th-th-the there's a monster in the supply closet!"

"What? If something breached containment or broke into the facility, the alarms would be screaming like a little kid in a horror movie." Thomas sounded unconvinced.

A high, piercing laugh made Charlie wince. A door opened and there was the familiar uneven footsteps.

"Dr. Collingwood? What's so funny?" Charlie couldn't resist giggling when he heard Billy's voice. She sounded like she was laughing too hard to answer. Billy seemed to notice him giggling too.

"What's so funny?!" he yelled.

Lawrence chuckled. "Yeah, Billy, I think we all know who the 'monster' really was."

Charlie could hear the air quotes around the word "monster".

He didn't know how Molly managed to speak with how hard she was laughing, but she did.

"Gotcha back!"

Chapter Text

Dr. Collingwood ran as fast as she could, trying her best not to trip. Ever since she got shot in the leg, she could never run like she used to.

Several SCPs had breached containment. Luckily it wasn't the hugely dangerous ones, like 682 or 106, but if it wasn't dealt with quickly enough, there still was the risk of more being released.

The floor beneath her crumbled, dropping her into a dark room.

She looked around. The room felt more humid than the rest of the facility.

A deep voice, not too different from Charlie's, rang out from the shadows.

"Who goes there? Tell me your name and your pack, stranger."

"I-I am Dr. Molly Collingwood. I-I am part of no pack."

"A Packless One, hm? Your voice seems familiar..."

Some advice Charlie had given to her several months ago flashed through her head. He'd taught everyone who would listen how to greet a 939 they didn't know, but he had taught her one extra thing.

"Molly, I consider you my Blood-Sister, so listen to me carefully."

"Blood-Sister?"

"You are my sister in all but birth. When one is Blood-Sibling to someone, they become part of the latter's pack. I have taught you the Stranger's Greeting, but now I teach you the Call for Protection, so that my pack will recognize you as my Blood-Sister. Keep these words to yourself, and teach them to no one else."

"O Execrati of my Blood-Brother's pack, hear my call for help."

The 939 seemed surprised, but his voice was calm. "So you are Charlemagne's Blood-Sister. Still, I must make sure that you are really her, and not an imposter. Come closer."

She nervously took one step towards the 939.

"Closer."

A second step.

"And closer still."

A third step.

The 939 walked up until his snout almost touched her nose and simply stood there for a few minutes. Then he turned and called to his fellows.

"It is all well. She is human." The 939 turned back to her. "Follow me and sit where I tell you to. We will protect you until the breach is dealt with."

She nodded. "Thank you."

He laughed. "It is nothing. You knew the call for protection and are Blood-Sister to Charlemagne. That was the least I could have done."

He led her to what seemed to be the middle of the cell and she sat down, cross-legged on the cold floor. The 939 went away, and another came along. This one was bigger and with a more muscular build.

It smiled. "Greetings, Molly Collingwood." The 939's voice was male.

"H-Hello? Who are you?"

"I am Braveheart, once called Parehdaar, leader of the Wardens, the ones tasked with protecting the pack and enforcing the decrees of the Council of Elders."

"Oh, so you know Charlie?"

"Yes, I was a good friend of his when we still had not shed our skins yet." Braveheart's face grew sorrowful. "But we grew apart over the years as he watched over you and as I was trained by my father to take his place. And I am ashamed to say that I was one of the ones who feared Bloodfang too much to speak out. I honestly believed that most, if not all, of the pack was against me. But I know that fear is no excuse. I am a coward, and I do not deserve my title. I say that you deserve the name of Braveheart even more than my father did!"

Dr. Collingwood shook her head. "Everyone has moments of weakness sometimes. Even I do. I actually stayed far away from Billy until I realized how nice he actually was."

"Still, you did not turn him away, like so many others likely did. The one who does not feel fear is not brave, only fearless. The one who faces the danger despite their fear is truly brave. Also, I'm a bit curious. Can you recite the Verse of Brotherhood?"

"Hides as red as blood, claws as sharp as daggers, teeth like needles, feet that make no noise, ears that can hear a spider's footsteps, and voices that weave the most beautiful songs: these are the marks of our brothers, except for the rogue and the Oathbreaker, whom we scorn," she said, with just a little bit of pride.

"Mommy!" The voice of what seemed to be a young boy turned their attention to a small 939 that was pointing in Dr. Collingwood's general direction. "Is that the nice lady?"

"Steeltalon, it's rude to point your claws at someone, remember?" The 939's mother quickly turned to her. "I'm sorry about my son, he's very curious."

"It's okay."

Another young 939 called out to a group of children. "Come on, you guys! There's nothing to worry about! She's a human, I bet that I could take her! Besides, she's lame in one leg."

"Arngar! I'm sorry, Ms. Collingwood, my son's quite brash sometimes."

"It's fine, it's fine."

Braveheart chuckled. "There are three things in this world that can never be quenched: the earth's thirst for water, the fire's hunger for fuel, and the curiosity of a young mind."

Dr. Collingwood stared after the young 939s fondly. "Weren’t we all like that once?"

Chapter Text

"Her bad luck's come back, Simon," Eddie shook his head. "Her bad luck's coming back."

"That won't mean she gets run over by a bus again?" John asked hopefully.

Simon shook his head. "Nah, if she gets run over by a bus again, that's not bad luck, that's Ms. Frizzle screwing up for the fifth time."

Dr. Collingwood half-smiled. That brings back so many memories. Those were good times. John noticed.

"Hey, whatcha smilin' about, Shorty?"

"When I was a kid, me and my friends used to make this joke whenever I got run over by a bus that Ms. Frizzle screwed up and that I should sue her. Richard was the one who started it. He was visiting me in the hospital while I was recovering and said that to try and make me feel better and it ended up becoming kind of an inside joke in my friend circle. God, that brings back so many memories."

Lawrence gave her a slightly concerned look. "You make it sound like Ms. Frizzle screwed up multiple times."

"Well... I, uhhh-"

"She got run over by a bus four different times," Eddie said quickly. Simon gave him a death glare.

John and Lawrence spoke at the same time. "How are you still alive? "

She covered her face with her hands. "I don't know! I legitimately don't know!"

Chapter Text

Billy sang at the top of his lungs while waving a sign over his head reading "Molly Loves Lawrence".

"MOLLY AND LAWRENCE, SITTING IN A TREE, K-I-S-S-I-N- Ow!"

Simon backhanded Billy. "Oh my God, shut the f*ck up, we know already!"

Dr. Collingwood lunged forward and slammed her left fist into Billy's face. It didn't turn out like she expected. It felt like punching a brick wall.

"Ow!" She clutched her hand, tenderly rubbing her knuckles.

"You didn't break your knuckles, did you?" Billy stretched a hand out tentatively.

"I-I'm fine. I don't think I broke any - ow! - fingers."

Lawrence poked his head into the room. "Is Molly okay? I heard her yell."

"I'm fine- ergh. I just..."

Billy cut in. "I spooked her and she punched me."

Out of the corner of her eye she could see Simon swipe Billy's sign and begin quietly shredding it.

Lawrence glanced at the two, then left. Dr. Collingwood glared at Billy. "You're lucky I played along with that."

"It was just some friendly teasing! Everyone can see it anyway!"

"If everyone can see it then you didn't have to pull that stunt!"

Charlie set a hand on her shoulder and whispered into her ear. "Leave this to me, little one."

The scarred 939 went over to Billy and spoke in a low, firm voice to the sloth. A few moments later Billy left. Charlie slowly padded back over to her.

"Why did you call her 'little one'? She's a grown woman!" Simon snapped at Charlie.

Charlie grinned sheepishly. "Old habits die hard," he explained.

Dr. Collingwood raised an eyebrow at Charlie. " 'Little one'?"

"Well, that was what I called you for the longest time before I found out what your name was. But I still couldn't shake off the habit. Even after you came to work here, I still thought of you as that little girl I watched over so long ago."

"Well, don't... actually, I'm fine with the nickname, just don't call me that in front of my coworkers. Especially Dr. Buck. Or Carson. He'd never stop teasing me about that if he ever found out."

Chapter Text

"SCP-076-2 has escaped containment. Evacuate the facility immediately. I repeat, evacuate the facility immediately."

Dr. Collingwood gulped. Oh God, no. Oh God, please, no!

She tried to move about quickly while keeping her footsteps light, praying that Abel wouldn't hear her. There was no way she could defend herself or outrun him.

She was slowly making her way through a hallway, listening carefully for any sign of Abel's presence, when something knocked her flat on her back. A tall, lean man with dark hair and grey eyes stood over her. She could see a hint of red arcane symbols curling up onto his neck. Before she could even think of what to do Abel stomped on her left leg. She screamed when she felt bone splinter.

John's head whipped around when he heard a familiar voice scream and his eyes widened.

Oh no no no no no...

He heard Billy snarl. "That f*cking sh*t."

John charged in the direction he knew Dr. Collingwood was, following that intangible thread that tied him to anyone who saw his face.

"No, please! Don't do this!"

Tears streamed down her face. Her breath came in painful gasps. This was even worse than the bullet through the leg. Through her tear-blurred vision she saw a white blur tackle Abel and a brown shape grab her and pull her upright.

Billy glanced over at the two fighting SCPs as he half-carried, half-dragged Dr. Collingwood out of the facility.

He tried his best to not touch her crushed leg. Bits of bone were poking out of her bloody flesh. Once she was safe he rushed back to help John.

----------------------------------

Eddie fidgeted nervously. He wasn't sure if he should talk to Molly to try and distract her from the pain, but she seemed to do fairly well by herself. He could hear Simon muttering under his breath, but he couldn't make out the words.

Eddie tried to slowly walk towards her, wanting to talk to her when he felt his hand lightly brush against something. He heard a choked, muffled cry in response.

Chapter Text

Dr. Collingwood fought down the urge to scream. Her teeth felt like they would shatter at any moment. It was agonizing. She pulled her glasses off, tucked them into her pocket, and buried her face in her hands. She could hear Lawrence charge over from the other side of the room.

"What happened?"

"I-I-I don't know! My hand I guess just kinda brushed her foot! I-It was an accident!"

She opened her eyes just a little, just enough for her to see Eddie cowering in shame, his tail between his legs.

John grappled Abel and the two rolled back and forth on the ground, slamming into the walls, shattering everything around them, clawing at each other. Abel had managed to pull his fingers out of their sockets a few times, but he always set them back quickly.

Abel pulled a massive black sword out of... well, nothing, like he always did, when something large and hefty slammed into him from behind. Billy dragged his claws across Abel's back and gouged his eyes out. Abel tried to blindly swing at Billy, but the sloth ducked underneath the weapon and punched Abel under the jaw hard enough to send him flying across the room. Billy's fur was still brown, but his eyes were pitch-black with tiny red pupils. His body seemed to "glitch" into a black-furred, vaguely sloth-shaped mass every once in a while.

John pounced on Abel while he was still trying to get up, grabbed his head, and, using more strength than he'd ever had to use before, tore it off.

Abel's lifeless body collapsed to the ground and crumbled to dust. So did his head in John's hands.

----------------------------------

John burst into the room.

"Is Molly alright?"

His eyes darted around the room. She was nowhere to be seen.

Lawrence sighed. "She got taken to the infirmary."

Billy muttered something under his breath. John paced about the room.

"No, no, no, if only I ran faster, I-I could've saved her-"

Billy grabbed his shoulder and turned John to face him.

"John, stop. Listen to me. I know that this might be a little harsh, especially for someone like you, but the truth is, you can't save everyone."

Chapter Text

"Hey, Lawrence, is Dr. Collingwood okay?" John folded and unfolded a piece of paper into bizarre shapes, trying to distract himself from the fallout of the last containment breach.

Lawrence sighed. He seemed close to tears. "She's fine. Director Jones said that he's sending her home so that she can recover without risk of... you know."

"Can we say goodbye to her?" Billy asked hopefully.

"I... don't... know..."

"I tried asking as nicely as possible," said Eddie. "They said none of us are allowed in."

"I'll say goodbye to her for you," Lawrence offered.

Charlie nodded. Simon grumbled, but agreed.

"Who's gonna drive her home then? I'm pretty sure that people with broken bones shouldn't drive," Charlie asked quietly.

"My shift today wouldn't allow me to, so Dr. Buck volunteered."

Eddie growled. "She's finally doing something nice, eh? Took her long enough."

-----------------------------------

Dr. Collingwood balanced awkwardly on her crutches. She'd need surgery on her leg to screw the shattered bone back together. It still hurt with a dull ache whenever she tried to walk around. Once they were both in the car Dr. Collingwood turned to stare out the window.

Dr. Buck glanced at the rearview mirror. Dr. Collingwood looked more somber than usual and just a little bit tired. She stopped at an intersection and turned to her.

"Dr. Collingwood?"

"Hm?"

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine, I guess. Well, about as fine as someone can feel when they've just had their leg shattered and went through surgery to pull it back together." Dr. Collingwood pulled off her glasses and rubbed her eyes.

Dr. Buck noticed the traffic light change from red to green and turned back to the road.

The rest of the way home was silent. Dr. Buck glanced at her every so often, but stayed quite. Dr. Collingwood didn't mind.

Finally they were at her house. Dr. Buck helped her out of the car.

"Thanks for driving me home."

Dr. Buck nodded, but didn't reply. She looked genuinely upset.

She watched grimly as Dr. Buck drove away, then turned and pulled her keys out of her pocket.

Chapter Text

Dr. Collingwood slowly walked around the neighborhood. She hadn't run into Susan yet, and she hoped that she never would.

And, of course, that was when she heard that dreaded "Ahem!"

Great. I shouldn't have thought anything. She swallowed the urge to snap at the voice and turned around.

"Good morning, Susan," she said. Her head was bowed to obscure the scar on her face. And it had the bonus of meaning that she didn't have to look at Susan.

"At least you're hiding that ugly scar of yours. I don't want you scaring my precious babies," Susan remarked.

Her grip on her crutches tightened. Dr. Collingwood wanted to punch her in the nose. Susan would never shut up about how "absolutely hideous that scar of yours is". None of her other neighbors shared the same opinion, but were, honestly, probably a little too forgiving for their own good. Not that it did them any good. Susan was every bit as rude and insufferable to them as she was to her.

"Are you here just to criticize me, or to have an actual conversation?" Not that I think you know how to hold an actual conversation, but that would be a nice change for once.

"Shut up, you're being rude."

"And you calling my scar ugly wasn't?"

"I was being honest."

"So was I."

"Oh, shut up! You don't know anything!"

"You literally think that France is in Canada-"

Before Dr. Collingwood could reply Susan huffed and stormed away. She shrugged and went on her way. She shook her head as she walked back home.

My lord, how could someone something like her possibly survive in this world? She's even more detached from reality than Bloodfang.

Chapter Text

"Coming!" Dr. Collingwood shouted as the doorbell rang. She stood up, hopped on one leg over to her crutches, nearly fell down the stairs, and pulled the door open. Behind it were Lawrence and Carson.

"Lawrence? Carson? Why are you two he-"

Lawrence grabbed her in a hug. "To see you, of course!"

"The SCPs missed you a lot, too, but they couldn't come because... you know. John wanted me to give you this." Carson handed her a sheet of slightly wrinkled paper. The handwriting was written scratchily, as if with a shaky hand, and some of the letters were backwards.

Dear Molly,

How are you feeling? I hope you're okay. Everyone's been really worried about you ever since you broke your leg. Billy and Eddie aren't even trying to cheer everyone up anymore. Sharpclaw's starting to ask why everyone is so upset. We haven't told him the truth yet, but it seems like he's starting to (partially) figure it out. We don't want him to be upset, but Charlie also doesn't want to lie to him. I really hope that you get better soon. I miss you a lot. Also, I'm really sorry about my handwriting. I'm working on it.

Your friend, John.

"John's been beating himself up over his handwriting ever since he started writing the letter. It's not as bad as he says, but you know how he is," Lawrence shrugged.

Dr. Collingwood shook her head, laughing. "He's such a teddy bear."

"Can you show us around the neighborhood?" Carson looked at the surrounding houses.

"Of course!"

------------------------------------

"Hi Richard! Hi Emily!" Dr. Collingwood waved at a couple with two children.

The husband waved back. "Molly! Been a long time!"

The wife looked alarmed. "God, what happened to you?"

"Fell down my stairs," Dr. Collingwood said quickly.

Richard shook his head. "Man, your horrible luck's comin's back, isn't it? By the way, have you sued Ms. Frizzle yet?"

Dr. Collingwood burst into laughter. "You still remember that?"

"Come on, Molly, why would I forget the one thing we used to try and make you feel better whenever you ended up in the hospital again?"

One of the kids - the younger one, a little boy - ran up to her and hugged her good leg. "Auntie Molly!"

The other one - a little girl - looked a little more worried. "Are you okay?"

Dr. Collingwood gave the girl a reassuring smile. "I'm okay. Don't worry about it."

The boy pointed at Lawrence and Gustav. "Who are those two?"

"This is my boyfriend Lawrence, and this is Carson. They're my coworkers."

Lawrence crouched down and awkwardly waved at the two kids. "Uh... hi?"

"Romantic stuff is gross, ew!" The little boy ran off.

"Hey, I understand, little dude. I don't like seeing them all over each other either," Carson call after him.

Lawrence and Dr. Collingwood spoke at the same time. "Carson!"

"You're new here, right?" Richard looked almost nervous as he glanced around.

"Yeah. Why you ask?" Carson looked around, trying to see what Richard was looking at.

Dr. Collingwood winced. She knew that she was probably going to have to warn them eventually.

"You see, there's a lady living here named Susan. She's... let's just say, a bit of a bully. I ran into her three days ago when I was walking through the neighborhood and she immediately started calling my face ugly. She's been doing that ever since I came here. And trust me, that's not even the worst of what she does."

Carson groaned. "We got a Karen on our hands."

------------------------------

"Ahem!"

Here we go again. Dr. Collingwood slowly turned around. There was Susan, in all her Karen glory, with her husband and four kids.

"Who are those people?" Susan jabbed a finger at Lawrence.

"He's Lawrence, my boyfriend. And that's Carson."

Susan huffed. "Makes sense why he's dating you, he's just as ugly as you are. Probably couldn't score a better-looking woman."

Dr. Collingwood's scar flushed an angry crimson. Carson looked like he was mentally preparing himself to drag her away from Susan.

One of Susan's kids waved at Lawrence. He waved back. Susan batted her child's hand and screeched. "Pedophile!"

Lawrence opened his mouth to defend himself, but Dr. Collingwood cut in, speaking first to Susan's husband, then to Susan herself.

"Get your kids far away enough so that they can't hear me. Now, Susan, I'd like to have a word with you."

Susan's husband promptly whisked the kids away from her and she looked Susan right in the eye and said the words she'd never thought she'd say to someone other than Bloodfang.

"With all due respect - which, quite frankly, is no respect at all - please kindly f*ck off, a**hole."

Chapter Text

Weeks passed. Months. A whole year. Dr. Collingwood still didn't come back.

"How long has it been?" John asked. He sounded like he was on the brink of tears.

"Two years," signed Billy. "It's been two years, and she still hasn't come back." He buried his face in his hands.

Charlie and Simon were silent. Eddie looked like he was trying to force himself to not cry. Lawrence reached out and patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, Eddie. She's doing great so far. It shouldn't be long."

Dr. Collingwood slowly limped through the hallway. The fact that she'd shattered the same leg she'd been shot through by a gun didn't help. She entered the staff canteen, looking around.

"Guys?" she called. "You there?"

"Molly!"

Before she could react, a red blur tackled her to the ground, trapping one of her arms. Before she could even process what was happening, a voice started blubbering.

"Whathappenedareyouokay you were gone for like FOREVER!" Then it collapsed into sobbing.

Dr. Collingwood, after a long pause, chuckled. "You really missed me, didn't you?"

Eddie nodded. She wrapped her free arm around his big neck.

After Eddie's crying had mostly died down, she tried to get up, but he was too heavy.

"Okay, Eddie, ger'off me."

He didn't budge. She looked at Billy and John. Billy looked like he was about to bust a blood vessel from laughing so hard.

"You heard her. Get off." Simon was still Simon. Eddie obeyed and she slowly got to her feet.

John suddenly pounced on her, grabbed her in a headlock, and gave her a rough noogie.

"Gahhh! John!" she laughed, trying to push his hand away. She finally elbowed him in the stomach and he let her go.

Charlie laughed. "It's been a long time, Molly." He playfully ruffled her hair. "It's been really quiet without you. Too quiet, actually."

"Really?"

"Yeah!" Billy clapped her on the shoulder. "The family's not complete without you!"

"Ever since you left I haven't heard two words of sense spoken together in a single sentence." Simon glared at Eddie and Billy.

"Hey!" Eddie elbowed his brother.

A grin that made Dr. Collingwood look like the Cheshire Cat slowly spread across her face as she looked at her dysfunctional "family".

"I missed you guys too. All of you"

Billy raised his eyebrows. "Even me and Eddie's annoying sh*t?"

She chuckled. "Yes, even that."

Chapter Text

"Merry Christmas!" Billy rushed Dr. Collingwood from behind and grabbed her in a hug, lifting her off the ground.

"Gah! Billy!"

He put her down. "Gotcha!"

"I'll get you back for that."

"I know."

"Hey, guys, what's this?" Carson pointed to a single present underneath the Christmas tree that the staff had set up. It hadn't been there yesterday.

On the top of the present was a note reading "For: John". The sender's name wasn't on the present.

Carson handed it to John. He ripped off the wrapping paper, revealing a copy of Pride and Prejudice and a bright red scarf. Everyone crowded around to see the gift until it was time for them to head to work.

Dr. Collingwood was the last one to leave.

And just before she closed the door behind her, she turned...

... and winked at him, a sly grin on her face.