#i want to keep mangling my tag system further and further

[khmarrenian]

the feminine urge to make my tag system have the most incomprehensible names

[aliksims]

This is the first of two projects that I considered and gave up on multiple times before finally pulling through and getting at least a good solid start on pre-hiatus. ;>.< I tried using Aikea Guinea’s Wall Writing mesh (1) first, but the lighting (and therefore the color) was off, so I kept poking around until I finally ran across CatherineTCJD’s Wall Overlay sets over on MTS (2,3,4).

And they were perfect! ...Until I remembered why I hadn’t used them the first time I’d run across them; somehow among the various fixes over the years, the meshes had gotten slightly skewed, so they just didn’t perfectly match with the wall patterns they were supposed to replace.

But! Now that I have much more experience in MilkShape, I stiffened my resolve and fixed it myself. So! All 3 meshes (INside/Outside/Border decorative overlays) have been shifted slightly downward to match the underlying patterns exactly, and the lighting has been fixed on the INside and Border meshes to match the Outside mesh. The fixed meshes are included with their respective recolors. I recommend you check out Catherine’s original pages for the rest of the explanations regarding what these overlays do and do not.

So, without further ado... Each wall overlay comes in all 111 colors of the AKS Object Rainbow 3b (5). I own exactly none of them. To see what exactly all these colors are, where they are from, and who exactly the talented artists are that created them, please go here (6). (The color files are individually labeled with their original creator, palette, and name, but like usual I’ve probably mangled them beyond recognition by abbreviating everything.)

Five Of A Kind Diamond recolors individually packaged: http://simfil.es/3561478/

OR Five Of A Kind Diamond recolors in 1 package: http://simfil.es/3561479/

AND

Basic Maxis Borders Set (basic) recolors individually packaged: http://simfil.es/3561480/

OR Basic Maxis Borders Set (basic) recolors in 1 package: http://simfil.es/3561481/

AND

Fancy Maxis Crown (basic) recolors individually packaged: http://simfil.es/3561482/

OR Fancy Maxis Crown (basic) recolors in 1 package: http://simfil.es/3561483/

AND

Atomical Tile Plain (2-row) Set recolors individually packaged: http://simfil.es/3561475/

OR Atomical Tile Plain (2-row) Set recolors in 1 package: http://simfil.es/3561476/

Preview pictures, swatches, and color info are included with each download. I own nothing so you can’t sell it. :)

(1): https://www.thesimsresource.com/artists/aikea_guinea/downloads/details/category/sims2/id/649776/

(2): https://modthesims.info/d/422783/wallpaper-overlays-the-borders-edition-plus-a-maxis-border-hider-file.html

(3): https://modthesims.info/d/430730/wallpaper-overlays-the-inside-edition-plus-a-maxis-wall-hider-file.html

(4): https://modthesims.info/d/430386/wallpaper-overlays-the-outside-edition-plus-a-maxis-wall-hider-file.html

(5): http://aliksims.tumblr.com/post/189370841371/

(6): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dZBByQl0wWnq0KzoBNurRROeWshYBZ18ZZ5-t_Sx_4A/edit?usp=sharing/

PS- I compiled and reorganized a few of Catherine’s wall overlays to match my organizational system. THIS IS NOT ALL OF THE OVERLAYS SHE OFFERED so if you want all of hers, you’ll still need to download them from MtS (linked above). The reorganized files can be downloaded here: http://simfil.es/3565156/

...Did I first decide I had to organize all potential Maxis overlays first? Well of course! Should you become inspired to do your own wall overlay recolors (please tag me so I’ll know where to go find them!) and would like to use my attempt at a numbering system to keep them somewhat organized:

This is how I’ve organized all potential border mesh recolors: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1i0Ep1LYmOhij_fm2hgWo6OHSPeBmzrES38dAlWzgrQA/edit?usp=sharing

And inside mesh recolors: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ADf7Yj1y50AfptBokldKG1Ofc-pF29TrwPf2kBYnVcM/edit?usp=sharing

And outside mesh recolors: https://docs.google.com/document/d/197vQclXEwkR9M8XnCg91MRbKLBxUPgqcM1c00KqgcNY/edit?usp=sharing

[softcallofdutyimagines]

Day 6: Violent Delights | Prompt List

One sided Psycho!Makarov x reader (so just regular Makarov with extra steps)

This one is a reference to a George Romero quote, "Violent Delights have violent ends", which basically means that being a violent psycho can't be a long-suffering gig. One way or another.

Ps: ok but imma need you guys to plz check this one out (if you're comfortable) bc this is far and away my best one yet lmao 👀🤌🏻

Tw: mentions of gore and moments of non-con, but nothing explicit or over the top

You hold your breath as you sprint through the sewage system. This place is filthy enough, but the mangled bodies and remains littered throughout make it all the more sickening. It's too the point that the water is red with the blood of the victims.

All along the walls are messages and strange symbols. Some painted, some carved, right into the concrete.

You've been a detective for years now, and to this day, you've never seen anything as depraved as the case you're on now.

There had been several disappearences over the last couple months, with no clues as to a connection. Nothing about these people seemed to be consistent. Just that they were missing.

That is, until the bodies started showing up.

A corpse was found washed up on the shore of retainment pond, out flowing from the sewer. The body was mutilated almost beyond recognition. It seemed like a one off thing until another appeared. And another. And another. All butchered in similar fashions.

It's looks like someone just taking out their rage on random strangers.

A case was put together immediately, and you in charge. You were of course determined to find this nightmare of a murderer, but... It would seem you're not the only one who wants to get to know one another.

It started with random gifts sent to the precinct, made out for you. Flowers, chocolate, once even a blank valentine's day card. Then they started arriving at your door, the cards now filled with notes just as carefully penned as they are disturbing.

"Your eyes have the most sparkle I've ever seen. I want them"

"Do you like Lillys? They make me think of you. Soft, fragile."

"I know you're looking for me. I want to see you too"

"I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I lo-"

"Why don't you love me?...You will"

You had to move into special protection. Even then, the notes kept coming. You and your team searched furiously for any hint that would bring you closer to solving this. But it just never came.

The people kept disappearing, and the disturbed declarations of love kept coming. Until one day...

A package came for you at work. It's nearly wrapped and tied. "For my beloved, the seeker of my heart", the tag reads.

You aggressively tear the package open and lift the top. Inside lays a whole human heart. Perfectly intact.

The color rushes from your face at the shock, and the smell... The smell of coins fills your nostrils, but the knowledge that it's someone else's blood almsot makes you puke. Worse yet, you can make out a little lamented note beneath the heart.

You take it to forensics and when it can be safely removed... The note says, "Look no further. It's yours. Come find me"

On the back of the page are a string of numbers. Coordinates. You and a team make short work of finding the place. It leads you to the head of a sewer service entry.

The bars are covered in rust, implying the city has abandon it. And yet, the door hangs slightly ajar, the lock pad left purposely off. An invitation.

You take it.

And here you are, following what little trail you can make out as you crawl through the bloody waters. Your team tails behind as you take the lead, but your numbers have slowly dwindled as the time has passed. The system has several branches that your team has splintered off to take.

Soon, it's down to you.

You hope to meet up with them soon, particularly now that you're at the end of the line. A giant, cavernous room stands all around you, your only light source a couple rays of sun through a manhole cover up by the catwalk.

The room is covered in gore. It's a wonder no one has reported the stench yet. You sweep the area with your pistol and flashlight, but it seems... Empty. Perhaps you're too late.

You turn around and shake your head out. Damn it! You thought you had something...

As you make your way back the way you came. You pass by a nook in the wall and out shoots an arm to grab you.

Your screams are silenced by a pair of rough, grimy lips as they smash into yours. You struggle and fight against the shadowy figure, but the hands around your biceps hold fast as iron to keep you in place. Your head feels light, your lungs on fire, as if the oxygen is being sucked right out of you.

At last the kiss ends. The perpetrator takes a deep breath at the nape of your neck, drinking in the smell of you.

Acting on instinct, you headbutt him sharply and try to wrench yourself away. He cries out in pain and surprise, but manages to hold on as you drag him out into the light.

A rolling chuckles escapes him as he wipes the blood from his brow. "Leaving so soon? I thought you wanted to see me", he speaks in a thick Russian accent and tries to lean back in for more unwanted affection.

You slap him soundly and respond with your rank and declaration of arrest.

"I know who you are detective", he caresses your cheek, green and blue eyes staring with a sick love into the back of your eyes, "That's why we're here. Together"

He pins your arms to your side and backs you into the wall, "And you're going to stay, with me"

You spit in his face, "Go to hell"

He responds with a punch. It breaks your skin and releases a thin line of blood. You take the moment of freedom to reach for your holstered reserve gun, but it's too late.

You both wrestle against each other's arms for the gun. You're able to squeeze off a few rounds, but all you get is on to his boot. All it's good for is making him angry, as he instantly reacts to the pain with a burst of strength.

He wrenches your arm in the opposite direction. A popping sound is heard as you scream in pain and drop the firearm. He slams you against the filthy cement wall, emphasizing his words, "Don't make me hurt you again"

All of a sudden, his expression changes from an angry sneer to something last like remorse. He cups your cheek softly and kisses the bloody cut his knuckles made.

"I love you, detective. Ever since I first saw you...", he kisses you again and again, in hungry little bites as tears flow from your eyes. As thought he doesn't even notice, he smiles and forcibly turns you around to the room of carnage behind you.

"Do you like it? I set it up just for you. I wanted everything to be perfect for our first time", before you can react, he turns you around and shoves you to the ground, landing just on top of you.

The bloody sewage nearly engulfs you as you struggle to keep your mouth and nose above water. You thrash and fight and kick and scream as he goes first for your top...

"Detective! Open fire!"

A hail of gunfire lights up the dark tunnel, creating a smattering of fine holes into your assailant. He kneels above you, dripping blood from his chest and mouth and takes a ragged breath as he stares down at you.

"Bitch"

He wipes a mouthful of blood from his lips and, at long last, falls still.

[thekavseklabs]

Pros / Cons of Dating My Muse

Name: Vynathr (or Vynathra) Levnahra, Al-ke Roha Alria

Species: Aquatic/Sea Kei

Sexuality: Pansexual

Pros:

He is incredibly strong. You weigh nothing to him. If you wish it he can literally just carry you around the entire day and not really notice. Not so mention his other powers. For instance he can self-duplicate and become a hive mind at will, so he can go to work and can stay in bed and cuddle at the same time, no problem.

Considering the fact that he's constantly boiling with rage, he's shockingly patient. If Vynathr cares about you, he will literally wait for eternity when it comes to anything important. He has that time, and you are worth it. And if the answer isn't what he hoped for, that's alright. He will always, always accept your needs, wants, or lack thereof.

Cuddles! He wants them pretty much all of the time, and, well... World hard and cold? Vynathr's tiddies soft and warm, Vynathr's arms strong and safe. If he has his wings out, he can curl them around you both, so you can have a cozy dark room to snuggle and nap in at any time of day. And he purrs and rumbles and will stroke your hair and in general is just really nice to snuggle.

Vynathr is limitlessly determined and, depending on verse and timeline, Hella Fucking Rich And Powerful. If you want a thing, you are getting that goddamn thing, whether the rest of the world likes it or not. He will throw hands with the entire planet on your whim, and he will win. You are dating a man who is relentlessly shoving and blurring and breaking the boundary of godhood without even trying, expect no less.

His singing is lovely, and so is his art. When Vynathr is content (and he is, he loves you very much, and you make his life so much better just by being there), your life is full of beautiful things. Soft, low rumbling wordless song and hums lull you to sleep at night, clever hands play guitar in the morning, and you will recieve many little hand-carved figurines and sketches. He'll write songs for you, surprise you with them in quiet moments through the day.

Vynathr understands the need to go out and Do Things. He won't get offended if you prioritize your life or go out often or spend time with friends. He might not socialize with said friends if asked, but he lives a very solitary lifestyle, that's not a surprise. He mostly just dozes through their visits to avoid them.

He's easy to please. He has access to all the grand things- give him something small. He doesn't want much, and just time spent with him makes him happy- material things don't have to be fancy either. He'll appreciate and keep just about anything.

Cons:

As stated above, Vynathr is constantly shoving on the boundary between mortal and god, without trying. He has buried subconscious memories of times before mortals existed, before this body's birth. He is immensely powerful, and it's impossible to understand exactly whats wrong sometimes. Often he doesn't know either. All you can do is be there, and that's upsetting.

Vynathr has had an intensely fucked up time. Even if his curse is cured there are lingering effects. He is angry, often absolutely enraged over nothing at all. He has the hunger and drive to destroy planetary systems. Don't expect that to just go away, even if he stops.

On the subject of fucked up, he has a lot of trauma and emotional baggage. Vynathr considers himself to be the worst, most disgusting and harmful and just fundamentally awful thing that could possibly exist. A couple soft words wont get rid of that either. He will try to leave you for your own good, he will insult himself, he will refuse affection that he desperately needs.

He reacts explosively to small things if they set him off. If he feels something he doesn't understand (aka anything at all, he's a special kind of emotionally repressed), he might lash out or shut down or scream and fight about it. The man has no healthy coping mechanisms, at all. The majority of his vitrol may be directed at himself, but it's still a huge and at times dangerous mess.

Vynathr can be strange at times, and kei in general have some concerning ways to convey affection. Their sound for intense anger and deep satisfaction or pleasure is the same (a deep rumble low in the chest, distinct and different from a purr), and even by that standard Vynathr expresses himself strangely. His expression is generally harsh even when in bliss, and his ears are pinned back or lowered nearly 100% of the time. That vicious looking snarl and growl when he sees you is affectionate. Don't mind the huge claws and teeth.

Sharp boy. You will be bit. He might break your collarbone and mangle you a bit in the process. It's 'cause he loves you. He tries his best to remember to Not Do That, but instinct is a powerful thing at times. In general he is animalistic and scary and dangerous. Even the supposedly harmless stuff line shoving his face into you like a cat wanting to be pet has potential to knock you over.

Most importantly Vynathr is a fucked up man from a fucked up society. You are dating a monster, first and foremost, and that won't change. He's a harsh and violent person with a set of morals that aren't always going to align with yours. Even when he tries he is often blunt and harsh. You can't fix him and if you try to, you'll only break him further, make him more traumatized and untrusting and angry. You can only accept who he is in this reality, violence and all.

Tagged by: I stole it from @lxgatus a month ago and then forgot

Tagging: YOU. Say I tagged you

[dystovian]

The Last of Us: How to Disappear Completely

Chapter 2: Watchful Eyes

Summary: Within the past year you’ve done nothing but travel, survive, and live with two kids. Two kids who seemed to be fairing quite well in the apocalypse, and two kids who also seemed to be growing on you, and fast. But what happens when you and Sawyer leave the house to Ryan’s watch for a day?

Pairing: Joel/Reader, Joel x Reader (Future)

Warning(s): Language, Death, Anxiety, Grief

A/N: tried to make this chapter a little bit longer, but felt like i got a little too long so i feel like i might have rushed the ending 🥴 either way, i’m gonna try to update every couple days, but if i don’t i’m likely writing multiple chapters at once, either way..thanks for reading!

Tags: @hrk-fic-recs

2 0 1 9.

Kentucky.

It’s been a little over a year, and your luck has proven to be on your side. These two kids stuck to you like glue, protecting you while you did the same in return. Giving you shelter, food, and more. And yet, they rarely asked for anything, nothing but your watchful eye. It was easier than you thought, watching over a couple kids. Especially ones so capable, so strong. Yet...

So goddamned stubborn.

As you sat across them at the dusty dining room table you’ve had dinner at so many times, arms crossed over your chest, slouched into the chair as low as possible, and the thickest most outrageous urge to lean over and slam their heads into the wood. Ryan stood to the side, arms crossed just like yours, and a rifle leaning against the wall just beside her.

Sawyer, on the other hand, looked rightfully and royally pissed the fuck off. Sitting just across the table, hands entwined upon their lap. They had every right to be as stubborn as a boulder, every right to make the calls around here. But you’ve been pulling your weight too, and you can’t sit around and just let a couple kids make every damn decision.

“I’m going. Okay? It’s quieter if it’s just one person, anyways.” Your head leaned towards the other shoulder as you rolled your eyes.

“Exactly. Which is why I’m the only one who should go!” Sawyer snapped, a hand coming down upon the table with a sharp clap.

“Hey hey hey, hold on. I thought you said I was coming too?!” Ryan said, moving from her place against the wall to stand beside her sibling, betrayed at the change of plans which were originally meant to include her.

“I changed my mind. You’re not going, and like [Y/N] said....it’s quieter with just one person. I’m quicker on my feet too, and you know it.” Sawyer whisper-yelled, standing to appear taller and more authoritative against their sister.

“Quick doesn’t mean quiet, dumbass!”

“Just effing kill me...” You muttered, hands sliding down your face, their arguing continuing, as you slouched even further into the dining room chair.

This was meant to be a quick touch and go. You run into the building, grab what you need, and return home with a smile on your face. But, of course, you were meant to leave over two hours ago now, and your patience was running thin. These two kids insisted on doing it while you stayed behind and kept watch.

At this point, you were about to give up, just let Sawyer go and stay behind and keep watch with Ryan. But it appears the two siblings came to an agreement while you had tuned them out, and you would be going with Sawyer, and Ryan would have to stay back.

“That’s so not fair, man...” Ryan huffed, grabbing her rifle and stomping off into the living room. Sawyer turned to you, rolled their eyes, and stomped off to gather their things. God, were you like this when you were younger too? You should have apologized to your dad for being so...so annoying.

By the time you had left, Ryan seemed to have gotten over it. Opting to be proud of being so trusted to watch the place. You smiled, pulled the girl into a side hug, and left with a small feeling of hope pulling at your heart, and something sinister lurking within the pits of your belly.

But things went well, perfectly fine, in fact! You barely came across any Infected, nor any signs of other survivors. Though, you now had to spend the night at some nearby house due to the setting sun, you didn’t even care. You had what you needed, and you wouldn’t be going home empty handed. Sawyer was happy, as well. Being able to go home with just about anything was a plus, especially if it meant their sister wouldn’t starve to death.

“Get some rest. I can keep watch. We’ll leave the second the sun comes up, okay?” You pat the teenagers shoulder, your lips pressed together in an encouraging smile. The kid deserved some rest, all they seemed to do was work, hunt, scavenge. Anything to keep your bellies full, and your minds at ease.

The night was quiet, simple, although the snap of a twig alerted you to the presence of an Infected, it didn’t seem to notice you and it continued on its way. Going on your way that following morning, you couldn’t help but struggle to understand the weight in your stomach. The urge to stop and run all at the same time.

“Hey. You doing okay?” Sawyer stopped mid walk, turned to you, and rubbed your shoulder blade. Something they haven’t done before. They’re growing onto the idea that you’ll be with them a while, and you enjoyed the way that pit disappeared and was replaced with a warmth. You felt...easy. Happy, despite the loss of your sister. The loss that still pulled so heavy on your aching soul.

The moment is interrupted by another pat to your back, and you quickly nod, reassuring your friend that everything is just fine. Thinking, that’s all. Their hand slips from your back and they re-enter the pace they had before. You fall in place next to them, that strange feeling returning, yet you don’t address it. Not even to yourself.

When you return, you begin to understand. The house you grew to love had become quiet. Not even a clanking of the makeshift alarm system, which is literally a bunch of cans on a string. That feeling you had seems to have coated the early morning air as well, and Sawyer feels it too. You’re both stuck on the sidewalk, staring, waiting.

You waited for what felt like forever. What you were waiting for, you didn’t know. Perhaps for Ryan to come out with a grin, or for some infected to round the corner. And yet...nothing came. Not a grunt, not a chuckle, not even the ringing of the wind chime across the street. The both of you were stuck. Weighing the options, do you call out to the younger sibling, or do you go searching inside? You decided on the latter, and Sawyer reluctantly followed.

Entering the house, you felt like something had wrapped you around the chest and squeezed, giving you a warning, a threat of what’s to come. You sweep the first floor, and find nothing. You turn the corner and stare up the steps. That feeling, it comes again, but this time it stops you, and you can’t seem to force yourself up those stairs.

Sawyer, with their courageous efforts, shoulders past you and goes silently up the carpeted flight of steps. Not a creak within the wood underneath, nor a thump follows their wake. You follow, despite something telling you, no, screaming at you to run. Find somewhere safe, and don’t come out.

You get the answer to that feeling within seconds. Because the moment you reach that top step, the atmosphere shifts. It’s still quiet, but the silence is so loud. You know something is wrong, so terribly wrong. And you don’t want Sawyer to be the one to find what could have happened.

As Sawyer checks the first room on the left, you check the one at the end of the hall. And, unfortunately, you see it first, the ruined body of the girl you felt like a sister to, the girl that grew on you so quickly. A gasp leaves you, and Sawyer comes running, you panic and turn, hands coming to their face to block their eyes.

“Don’t look! No!” You heart rate was so frantic, frantic to keep the teen from seeing what had become of the young girl just in the room behind you. You turn them around, arms wrapping around their waist, wrestling their urge to see.

“Let me the fuck go! Now!” They were shouting, you didn’t even bother shushing them. Now that you had man-handled them to the ground, it was harder to keep your grip but you powered through. It didn’t work, though, Sawyer had slipped from your grasp and by the time you had rolled over, you saw them fall to their knees at the bedroom door.

You crawled up behind them again, arms coming to wrap them into some strange and uncomfortable hug. Letting them come apart in your hands, let their heart turn to ash due to the sight of their mangled sister. The cries were piercing, and your head felt like it was splitting. Sawyer’s fists slammed into the carpeted floor, and the cries grew louder and louder.

This time, you shushed them, and dragged them as far away from the door as possible, shutting it behind you. They didn’t fight, didn’t push you back. Just went limp, and sobbed into your chest. Your back leaned against the door that hid a scene straight out of some nightmare, and your front was covered by a grieving sibling.

—

The following morning, after Sawyer had finally fallen to sleep, and you confirmed the absence of Infected, you entered the room again. It felt wrong, almost forbidden, but you couldn’t leave her there. You gathered her up, placed her on the bed and covered her with a nearby blanket. This was hard, extremely. You couldn’t imagine what she had to have gone through to end up like this, and with the way she seemed to be missing so much of her it must have been Infected.

You sat on that bed and whimpered, your fingers rubbing your eyes to quell the headache reaching your skull. To quell the tears that spilled into your lap and the new ache that settled within the confines of your heart.

[kalee60]

Tap That

Author: Kalee60

Square Filled: C3 - Free Star - Middle Square

Ship/Main Pairing: Bucky/Steve

Rating: G

Major Tags/Triggers/Warnings: None

Summary: When Steve is distracted while waiting at a busy crosswalk on the way to an important meeting, he inadvertently meets the man of his dreams - but only after making the most mortifying social gaffe of his life.

Red faced and apologetic he tries to forget the incident.

But sometimes when things go wrong - they suddenly turn out spectacularly right.

Word Count: 2,129

Read on ao3 here

For: @buckybarnesbingo

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Steve was late, he hated being late.

Tucking his portfolio snug up under his armpit, he strode down the busy sidewalk, dodging people left right and centre, using the fancy footwork he’d learned from years of walking the streets of New York.

The coffee shop he was meeting his potential new client at was only a few blocks away, but it may as well have been on the other side of the ocean with the crowd and traffic lights he had to adhere to. Steve wondered errently if he should just jaywalk and dash across in between cars. He squashed the thought, he enjoyed not having to pay fines, and also he enjoyed being alive and not suffering death by delivery truck. It was close to peak hour after all.

Steve was hopeful that the meeting would go well. His design business was growing in leaps and bounds, but he needed just a little more exposure and steady clients on his books before he felt that he’d truly succeeded. And then once he felt like his career had reached a point it was self sufficient, he might take Nat’s advice and start to date again.

It had been a very dry few years, with only a couple of random hookups to keep his desires in check. But if he were honest he was reaching an age that, yes, sex was amazing, but he was kind of looking for it more regularily and with the same person. But finding that special someone with his hours and workload, was near to impossible, plus dating apps and set-ups with friends only went so far.

He wanted a connection, something tangible and electric.

Steve wasn’t asking for much at all. Just the impossible.

The crosslights ahead turned red and he scowled, hitching the portfolio up again, and felt a small tug on his knit jumper. He’d not even realised he’d caught a thread with the sharp corner of the folder, and as he tried to salvage the knit with one hand, he reached forward to press the button to hurry the crosswalk up, with the other.

Steve tapped it a couple of times, but didn’t feel the usual depress, or the sound, but he was too annoyed that the small amount of wool had come untethered, knowing he’d have to get out the needle and thread that night to fix it, to really notice the difference. 

He tapped the button again.

“I think you should buy me dinner first, before you go any further," a sardonic, yet deeply amused voice said.

Steve looked up to see the most beautiful man in existence standing before him, looking over his shoulder back at Steve, his blue/grey eyes sparkling with laughter and it took too long to realise he was speaking to him. To Steve.

“Excuse me?” He asked, and when the dark haired man with a smattering of stubble he suddenly had a desire to press his face against, gestured lower, towards their hips, it took him a long moment, embarrassingly so, to realise he’d not been pushing the button for the crosswalk.

He’d been tapping this man’s very tight and firm, and if he were honest, gorgeous ass.

“Oh shit, crap, um I mean, shoot, Jesus stop swearing. I am so sorry.” Steve managed to mangle out into the open and he must look like the biggest idiot to roam the world.

The chuckle the man let out was sinful, deep and Steve wanted to curl up in it, make him do it again and again, try to elicit a full body laugh.

“Don’t be, and please keep going, I want to see if I hear a ‘dang it’, or a ‘golly gee’.”

Steve’s face was flaming, he could feel the redness, the heat, and knew the slack jawed expression on his face, wouldn’t have been the most attractive.

“Please believe me when I say, I don’t make a habit of… accosting men at crosswalks.”

The man turned back towards the light which had just changed to walk, and Steve swore he heard him say, “pity.”

They ended up walking next to each other, both of their strides long and Steve kept throwing glances at the brunette. His jacket collar was pulled up against the cold, framing his gorgeous cheek structure, and he seemed to be about Steve’s age, plus he couldn’t see a ring on his finger. And Steve was officially creeping on a man whose ass he’d tapped at the lights (and didn’t that phrase bring up delicious images).

But, it seemed like the man was throwing just as many looks Steves’ way. And the appreciating glance at his snug knit made him glad he’d chucked it on. Nat had said it was a good fit, and paired with his dark wash jeans and loafers, he was casual yet smart and was glad now of his choice. Especially if he kept getting small side-glances from a man he wanted to gobble up.

Just as he was psyching himself up to talk to him again, Steve’s phone rang and as he fumbled to get it out of his back pocket, and answer it. The man had continued on, glancing once over his shoulder with a wide grin. And Steve was going to regret for the rest of his life that he didn’t chase after him, but it was his potential client on the phone.

After a quick three minute chat where they said they were running an hour late, Steve decided that he’d just go to the cafe and get some caffeine into his system, grab a bite to eat and work on the proposal. Or get lost in the memory of the perfect man.

He walked into the shop, the scent of grounds hitting him and he inhaled deeply. Steve loved the smell of coffee. Ordering the biggest they had on the menu, Steve waited for it, then traversed the earlish morning rush and found a free table, situating himself at it and taking a long sip, savouring it.

“Well, if I knew you were under-caffeinated, I could have excused your lack of unique swear words.”

Steve choked on his next sip, and praying milk didn’t just come out of his nose, he looked at the table next to him. The perfect man sat there, a smug look on his face, a coffee before him and an open text book, now laying face down as he beamed at Steve.

Once more he felt too hot, but managed to grin back.

“Believe me, I have some good ones tucked up my sleeve.”

Blue eyes snapped to his biceps, encased in the wool and he couldn’t help the little thrill that went through him as the man clearly checked him out.

“Yes, you do,” was the drawled response, and Steve felt it all the way through to his dick.

Holy shit - they were flirting. Steve was actually flirting, in real life, with somebody he was very interested in.

“Are you, er, are you meeting someone? I mean here, today, now?” Steve had managed to go from some semblance of flirting to utterly looking like a dork in three seconds. It was a new record.

The man’s grin was blinding, “nope, I’m just here to get out of the office for a bit, do some light reading,” he grimaced at the technical book, which looked like it had something to do with engineering, “and you?”

“Oh, I’m meeting someone in about an hour or so.” As the man’s smile dimmed, Steve realised what that sounded like, “for work, it’s a work thing. Fuck… sorry, again. If you’d like, you can join me, at my table I mean.”

“Sure,” the man didn’t even blink, suddenly sitting in front of Steve, coffee before him, book now shut, eyes trained on Steve’s. “I’m James, but you can call me Bucky.”

Oh, that was nice, a name, his dream man had a name.

The chuckle came again and James, no, Bucky was laughing at him, why? Fuck again.

“Sorry, I honestly am usually not this dense. I’m Steve.”

He held out his hand and Bucky took it, his palm warm and slightly calloused, the friction as their skin met, rough, in the way it would feel amazing running down his chest, lower and lower until -

“So Steve, when you’re not accosting men at traffic crossings, what do you do with your days?”

Almost an hour later, and two more coffees, Steve knew he’d never been so charmed before, or half in love with someone he’d just met. Bucky was everything he was looking for, funny, witty, smart and seemed to be eye-fucking Steve as much as he was in return. Giddy with excitement and anticipation he continued with his story about when his nose got broken in a fight with a kid seven years older than him in school, when he felt something against his leg.

Pausing, he saw Bucky’s grin widen and the movement against his leg intensified. Steve smiled and pressed himself closer, heart hammering in his chest.

Then Bucky leaned forward, motioning for Steve to as well. Tilting his body so they were only a breath apart, Bucky smirked then whispered, “Steve, would it be too forward of me to say that I really want to see you again, but with less people, more privacy and much less clothing, maybe get you to tap my ass again?”

Steve gulped, eyes shutting for a mere second in pure unadulterated want, Christ did he need that. Badly. Desperately.

“I’m sure we can arrange something.” He husked back and as Bucky smiled, eyes full of promise, Steve closed the gap.

Their lips met, still warm from their coffees, and Bucky tasted of all the good things in life, everything he’d been waiting for. Moving, he opened his mouth, still conscious of where they were, and deepened the kiss as much as he dared. Bucky was onboard, more than if the hand that came up and pulled at the back of Steve’s head was any indication, and paired with the small helpless gasp he felt on his tongue as he pressed it into Bucky’s mouth, he was going to enjoy their time together. Immensely.

The clearing of a throat shook them from their indiscretion, and Steve pulled back, noting the way Bucky’s lips were reddened and his desire to yank him back across the table and just take him was viceral. Bucky looked like he was ready to be thoroughly fucked. And Steve was definitely stepping up to the plate and would deliver on that front.

“Steve Rogers?”

His full name broke Steve out of his little bubble of fantasy,  the one where he was licking down Bucky’s spine, leaving nips and licks and bruises on his skin.

“Uh, yeah, Jeremy?” It was his client, with the worst timing ever.

Jeremy looked between Steve and Bucky a moment, but before Steve could say anything Bucky had neatly slipped from his seat, indicating for Jeremy to sit.

“Catch you around, Steve.” Bucky said with a smirk, slipping a small business card into his hand, then left the shop.

Steve looked down to read ‘James Barnes - Mechanical Engineering - Patent Attorney’ it was a mouthful, exactly what Steve hoped he would be. It also had a personal number scrawled on the back with ‘call me’ written in block letters.

“So Steve, I really like -”

“- hang on Jeremy, just excuse me for one second.”

Steve raced out the store, seeing Bucky looking down at his phone a few metres away waiting for the crosswalk. He strode over and without even thinking twice, tapped his ass a few times. Bucky jumped and turned around with a scowl on his face, until he saw Steve.

“Steve?”

Steve didn’t wait a second, just wrapped his arms around Bucky completely, squeezing him tightly against his body, holding him like there was no one else in the world except the two of them. Bucky melted into the embrace, his mouth opening into the kiss, tongues tangling until Steve was gasping for air. He pulled back and rested his forehead against Bucky’s for a second, inhaling deeply, looking into Bucky’s blue eyes.

“I’m going to call you,” he husked out, smiling like he never had before.

Bucky laughed, loudly and free, it was glorious. “Pal, I hope so, I’d hate to think you kiss all the men you accidently tap like that. Tonight?”

Steve beamed. 

“Tonight,” he promised, then gave Bucky one last chaste kiss, and waved goodbye.

Heading back to the coffee shop and his client, Steve felt a spring in his step that hadn’t been there for a long time, and put Bucky’s number in his phone immediately.

It was a good day. A very good day.

[lucarioisinthevoid]

AHHHHHHH I HAVE IDEA!!

How about Henry interacting with Helpy and the “annoying” Ultimate Custom Night characters! Maybe throw in Funtime Freddy!! Helpy could be his son or maybe Bon Bon reincarnated! Just sheer silliness and stupidity :p

Animatronics: Bonnie, BB, JJ, Phantom BB, Phantom Mangle, Phantom Freddy, Old Man Consequences, Trash and the Gang, Helpy, El Chip, Funtime Chica and Phone Guy! (Sorry, no Funtime Freddy here, wasn’t an option- though I don’t mind adding characters that aren’t an option, I would just had to write around that a little more, so I didn’t want to go all in. Events and surroundings all randomly generated like this in-game! Just with slight adjustments for a bit of writing flow). (Special note: This is an experiment. This is a whole ass chapter. Tumblr might not be the right place for it, but I have no better place to put it. If you have an idea on what would work better, I’d love to hear it, but for now this is just it. If you don’t want to read a long chapter, you should probably not press “read more” Honestly, this might not be as much fun as I imagined it to be, I’m terrible at making fun events, heh. If it is, take solace in the fact that it might be the only chapter of this kind on this blog.)

Henry groaned, his bones sending agony through his nerves. It felt like his insides had splintered and were now stuck in his flesh. His throat was burning, but he managed to open his eyes. He was- somewhere. At least it was a place. That was actually news, good news, last time he hadn’t been that lucky after all. Having a couch below him and a room surrounding him was actually a deep relief- it was a room he didn’t have to create himself. Sitting up, he looked around. It seemed to be some sort of employee lounge, a coffee machine, a tv and a couch, with lockers against the walls. A few posters painted the walls. -CELEBRATE!- They said, over and over again. Henry showed his teeth, a grin with no hint of amusement. “… that is what you would like to do, huh?” Standing up he stumbled a little, but the pain only served to keep him awake and grow his confidence. It HURT. And it was GOOD. It hurt, his body hurt, HIS BODY was REAL and in PAIN. When he left to the outside, he was surprised to see that he was inside of one of the oldest locations- at least in form. He was standing beside where the stage was supposed to be, coming from where the saferoom used to be, but to his surprise instead of a stage it was a giant price corner, filled with all sort of plushies and other goodies. Sweets and candies, candles, little gadgets… … and a silver coin among them. It shined and felt oddly… powerful. Ten Faztokens. The other things didn’t even have a price tag, so he decided that he would check back on that later. All items were hidden behind a thin glass wall and he wasn’t sure if he could break through it. Maybe he should try later. Moving further down, he realized a few more things were different- There were TWO pirate coves in the main area and- ‘Pssssst… hey… I have something to tell you…’ Abruptly Henry turned around. Where had that voice come from?! ‘Hey… hey, down here…’ It seemed to come from one of the hallways, leading down to the office. As quick as he possible could, he followed the source of the noise, the mysterious whispers slowly growing louder. ‘It is really… really… important…!’ Finally, he was near the supply closet, looking around. “Hello? Where are you? Who are you? What is this place?” The questions broke out of him more erratically than he wanted them too, the desperation and quiet panic bubbling under the thin veil of cold control- it was almost cracking out of him. ‘Pssssst…’ He spotted a little crate with eyes, and leaned down to investigate- Suddenly a loud noise! The thing was all up in his face, making a low noise, pure bass, causing his head to HURT, but not enough that he would have to hold his ears- Just enough that it shook his skin uncomfortably, from the inside out. Stumbling backwards, he shook his head, the crate had disappeared, leaving him with a headache and burning aggression, so potent that his throat felt sore, as though he had screamed from the top of his lungs… despite not a single noise having come out of him. Moving inside of the office, he was somewhat stunned. It looked like a bedroom. With closet and everything. The wallpaper and whole atmosphere felt… old. A child’s bedroom… except there was an office desk, with a fan, a microphone and a weird little action figure of Bonnie on top of it. Some air ducts were hanging into the room and there were- multiple vents, two doors- A flashlight. Quickly he grabbed it. Great- now all he needed was a taser and maybe he would feel like- “… Henry Miller…” A raspy voice sounded to the side of him, causing him to make a few steps back. In front of him, a creature was forming, a Freddy, burned and see through- It grinned. “… long time… no see…” “I have never met you.” “… your memory is failing you, Mr. Miller…” At this point it seemed to become more and more corporeal, reaching out to the table, its paws scraping over and only slightly moving through the material. Turning to the Pink Guy, he opened his maw a little, nothing visible inside. It was getting ready… “… that’s on you however-“ A squeaky voice sounded. “Maybe you should shine your light at him, Mr. Miller!” Instantly, the flash of his light ripped through the ghostly Freddy, who was quite disgruntled to say the least. “… Helpy… you are supposed to help US.” With that he vanished, giving Henry the chance to turn to around and see who’s mysterious helper was. His eyes fell on a little walking bear standing on the blue shelf, trying to hide between the purple fan. “Whoops…” “… who are you? Can you EXPLAIN this place to me?!” “I’m Helpy! Don’t you remember me, Henry?” Fully irritated the Pink Guy stepped back. “No. No, I did not make you. I THOUGHT about making you, but I never did!” “Oh my, Henry, you must have fallen on your head!” Helpy laughed. “But- I can’t help you actually. Everyone else will be mad! So I won’t tell you how the other people here work!” “Can you at least tell me who exactly these ‘others’ are?!” “Uhm… no. I don’t think so.” Slowly he was reaching behind him for something- But Henry couldn’t worry about it, as a phone suddenly started ringing. Shoving off the bear off the shelf (resulting in a little squeak), he tried to find the source of the noise, his head throbbing. He thought he shortly saw a “mute call” button pop up, but as soon as he saw it, it was already gone. Instead a receiver just- fell from the ceiling, randomly. How? Who KNEW- “Uh- hello? Hello, hello?” “… Phone Guy?” “Scott. Uh- anyways- uh, anyways, I wanted to record a message for you, to help you get settled in on your first-“ “This is not a recording. You just interrupted me. And why would there be a phone RINGING if you were to play a recording!?” For a moment it was quiet, then Scott started laughing. “You never changed, did you?” Irritated Henry skipped past that question, having more urgent matters to talk about. “Scott. Good old Scott. Listen, I think I am in some level of hell.” Dumbfounded there was silence on the other end, while the ghostly Freddy tried to reform, being instantly shooed away by the light. Until finally- “… yes of course. Of COURSE you’re in hell, Henry. Uh. What did you expect?” “I-“ “No, no, no, let’s uh- let’s talk about this. Where did you THINK you are? Because, uhm- not sure how to say this, but- uh- I DIED and I’m in HEAVEN right now and you DIED, sooo… uh- yeah.” “I am glad we talked about this. I cannot recall how I GOT here, however. And everyone seems to know me.” Displeased he shined the light at the grinning grimace of the phantom, before he could even fully form. “Yeah… uh… can’t help you. Actually, I have to go. You don’t have a noise activated animatronic around, do you?” “A- what?” “Hm. Too bad. Talk to you later!” “Wait-“ But before he could say anything else, the connection was cut, and his camera system was blinking up red. ‘Catch a fish!’ the title said, his head becoming dizzy as he watched the little red thing move from one side to the other. Wait, that wasn’t just- the noise and the flashing, the air was getting harder and harder to breathe! … smells like brimstone. He managed to catch the fish, albeit just barely, then opened the camera feed, where a warning sign was blinking. The camera itself was completely covered by another phantomlike animatronic, the Mangle this time. Shortly he blinked at it, shaking his head, then clicking the button that said ‘RESET VENTILATION’. A gust of fresh air instantly blew through the location, allowing him to finally breathe again properly. The fan itself seemed useless- he deactivated it. Having climbed back up, Helpy was back on the shelf, looking at him happily. “Are you having fun?” For a moment Henry looked at him, shining away the Freddy once more. “… no.” Out of the corner of his eyes he spotted Balloon Boy, staring at him with his terrible grin. Instantly he hit the button to shut the door, a dull thud coming from it right away. At least that one gave him a hint of satisfaction, pleased with the mental image that the obnoxious plastic abomination ran face-first into the metal wall. “But you look like you have fun!” Helpy reached behind him, before Henry shoved him over again, still not interested in what he was hiding. “You are TERRIBLE at reading emotions then. A useless AI.” Pouting Helpy sat beside the shelf, not answering this time around. Looking around, Henry got comfortable in his chair, slowly growing… a little bit hot. Huh. Seemed like the fan wasn’t entirely useless after all. Maybe it kept the heat from the hell around them away. … what an image… a Freddy’s in the middle of a fire-y pit. He hoped it wasn’t the case. That would make getting out a lot more complicated. “Is this all I have to deal with?” Henry asked Phantom Freddy, who chose not to answer, but only smile grimly. “… I can live with that.” Leaning back, he quickly flipped up the screen once more resetting the ventilation and shutting the vent to the side one more time for good measure. Again, a bonk. Hopefully Balloon Boy. He relaxed. A routine would form easily. Shine your light, reset the vent, keep the generator going, close the side vent for a while. At least for now the place seemed empty- Suddenly something DROPPED from the ceiling. Lights flashed a heap of shadow-y humanoid figures entered with what sounded like cameras, flashing and shining, making Henry’s head spin. On the top of his table stood Funtime Chica posing elegantly. “Don’t get distracted~!” She spun around showing herself off, then blew a kiss down at him. Then she turned to Helpy. “Helpy!!! Why didn’t you tell me our guest was already here!!!” She whined, upset. Her paparazzi had vanished again, she however stuck around. “My first impression was TERRIBLE! Because of YOU!” “I’m sorry Miss Funtime Chica!” Helpy didn’t seem bothered by the accusation. “He was just suddenly here!” “Aw- well- at least he’s a total cutie!” “Why thank you.” Henry rose an eyebrow, but tried to continue focusing on the plastic children trying to enter the office, as well as the Phantom trying to materialize behind her. “I appreciate the compliments, especially from someone who seems to have an eye for it.” “Oooooh, look at him~ so adorable~ I wanna pinch his cheeks!” Sitting down on the desk, the bird smiled widely, watching him. “How’s the night going~?” “Rather fast. I think I have a grip on it though.” “Hm? Are you sure~?” Before Henry could answer his tablet acted up. For a few seconds he saw the little 8-bit fishing game- but before he could catch it, the screen changed showing an add. “COME TO EL CHIP’S FIESTA BUFFET, WE HAVE-“ Instantly clicking on skip, Henry managed to get another glimpse at the game- And then it was gone, a red GAME OVER stuck on his screen. His breath was getting shorter as the smell of brimstone slowly started filling the room again, the red alarms blinking, but the screen constantly flashing error when he tried to access it. More and more his head hurt, the room seemed to become darker and darker- was this smoke?! Was smoke entering the room? Would he be poisoned by the gasses!? Desperately he rattled the screen, while Chica only giggled and left, Helpy watching intensely from the shelf. “You know, if you just wait a few minutes, it’s gonna-“ Frustrated Henry shoved him down once more, his mouth filling with a disgusting taste as the room began spinning- It all come together, once Freddy formed, the Balloon Boy loomed in the vent, a second after, the telephone was ringing- Suddenly the screen flashed back up and he instantly grabbed it, trying to get his bearing as he hit the button to reset, being stuck for a second too long on the grinning grimaces of both a phantom Balloon Boy and Mangle- the latter of which suddenly crawled out of the screen and while he managed to hit the button, his office had descended into chaos. Helpy was holding a horn, the phantom Freddy had almost formed, the phantom Mangle was slowly extending its neck towards him, screaming and gargling in insane glee and to top if all off, the screen flashed red AGAIN, forcing him to focus on that instead of the other two things- Balloon Boy was snickering as he tried to make his way inside, Henry barely being able to shut the vent on him before discovering the stupid crate from the start looking at him from under the table. “Uh- hello? Hello, Hello?” “Scott. Bad timing.” “That is my job!” Cheerfully the Phone Guy said. “To be as much of a nuisance to you as possible. Uh- glad to hear the high praise. How are you? Bad? Good. Uh- anyways, I will now read to you the company greeting, but only the imperfect, first draft so you feel bad about what bullshit you wrote!” “I can crush this phone.” “No, uh- you actually can’t! The afterlife is neat, huh?” “I can mute you.” “If you are fast enough. Which you obviously weren’t. You really grew old, uh- up there…” “MY REFLEXES ARE GREAT AS EVER.” “If it were the case you wouldn’t, uh- y’know. Fighting with me over this.” “I am not fighting with you, I am merely correcting you. As I always did while we were alive.” Stopping the petty crap, seeing as he wasn’t even sure if this WAS actually the real Scott, he turned his attention to more important things. “What is this place? Who made it?!” “Uh- Welcome to Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza! A magical place for kids and grown-ups alike, where fantasy and fun come to life. Fazbear Entertainment is not responsible for damage to property or person-“ Instantly Henry tuned out. “Good riddance, Scotty.” He mumbled to himself, taking solace in the memory that no matter what, this obnoxious Phone-head had been dead for much longer than he himself. While the words kept going in the background, he kept working, pausing as a bright green mechanical parrot flew through his office. But- it didn’t really do anything, so he decided to ignore it for now. A good amount of time passed with his voice in the background, until it was abruptly cut off- seemingly by the ad for El Chip’s. Once that was skipped, the office was quiet, aside from the fan. Finally! The silence lingered. For a second Henry felt a bit lonely. Not even the little bear was there anymore. There was enough to do though, as the air kept needing to be reseted, Freddy kept popping up, the parrot came through once more, the minigame, the annoying balloon children wanted in- At last… … it was five AM. One last time the call sounded. Henry allowed it to come through, despite eyeing the ‘mute call’ button. “Hello? Hello, hello!?” It sounded on the other side. “Hey! You’re doing GREAT. I, uh- didn’t expect you to last this long! I mean-“ He broke off. “Y’know. Usually I expected you to move on to other things by now… disappearing into the void like you should, seeing as there’s no out.” “I will not disappear.” “Huh. Guess I owe the person who made this place an apology. I was wrong-“ “Who?! Who was it?! Who are you TALKING about?!” But before anything could be said, the bell chimed. Six AM His screen changed once more, a high-score board showing, then loud music started blasting from the speakers, hyper and fast paced, the numbers blinking and colorful, rapidly climbing higher and higher as fireworks were set up on the screen and around Henry, raining down confetti as they exploded- GREAT JOB! FANTASTIC! The fireworks stopped and the jingle ended with a congratulatory little up and down. Then the office was dark. Slowly he stood up, leaving to the outside, checking for danger- “Hey! You won. Here, take this for your trouble.” Suddenly ANOTHER Freddy was there, a golden star on his chest- he dropped a battery into Henry’s hands that he had grabbed, then he walked off. “Wait- wait a moment! I need an explanation! I need-“ The bear was gone. After a while of searching around the place and not finding an exit, Henry finally sighed and made his way back into the saferoom- or employees only lounge, or- whatever. Inside it was just like before. Safe. Except this time the TV was on. And there was a Fredbear suit on the sofa. How? Who knew. Why? Hopefully not to kill him. Slowly he moved next to it, inspecting it. At this moment it seemed completely lifeless, yet somehow he felt watched. “Am I… interrupting…?” No reaction. Walking past the suit, he put away the battery. Still no reaction, but he could swear the creature was looking at him. Unsure he approached it once more, sitting down besides him. “… looking at… fuzzystatic. I see. I think I will… join.” Suddenly, a loud noise of came from the tv, then it flashed. INTERMISSION. A little bit later, Henry was done watching a samurai Freddy fighting an ULTRA edgy Foxy, he put his face into his hands. “… send me back out. Please. I actually prefer it.”

[illshowyourhurricanes]

Rewind, Restart (Prequel)

Instead of a part 2 this time, y’all are getting a little look at pre-Part One. Here’s Billy Russo, a few days’ time since his escape, all tortured mind and finding himself in the middle of a dangerous situation. 

Trigger warning: weaponry, mentions of death, fighting

Rating: PG-13/R

Word count: 2066

Hope you all enjoy! If you want to be added to or removed from my tag list, just shoot me an ask!

Taglist: @dylanobrusso @obscurilicious @the-blind-assassin-12 @something-tofightfor @ms-delos @madamrogers @lexxierave @agent-bossypants @yannii04 @gollyderek @carlaangel86 @bicevans @maydayfigment @thisisparadisemylove @ladyofnaps​ @malionnes​ @thesandbeneathmytoes​

He was haunted with images of skulls and blood.

Every night, it was the same. Whenever Billy managed to fall asleep, to quiet the torment and torture that burned and branded his mind, even his restful moments were stained with terror-- terror that Billy couldn't make sense of. And every single night, his reaction was the same: a scream, guttural, from a place so deeply rooted inside him, he sounded foreign to his own ears. His eyes, black as coal, flew open, wide and wild, his gaze darting back and forth in the darkness. Damp with sweat, shivering in fear, he was deafened save for the sound of his own heartbeat pounding in his chest, yet the part that Billy despised more than the repetitive night terror itself was, night after night, the last realization that hit him. His face-- ugly, disfigured, permanently slashed with scars-- was streaked with tears. 

There was a hammering in his head, a rush of adrenaline that had his chest heaving. Paranoid and delusional, his eyes searched the parameters of the room once more as Billy pushed himself up into a semi-upright position. His back was rod-straight, his ragged breathing the only sound in the otherwise stark silent room. Collapsing back onto his pillows propped against the headboard, Billy struggled to steady himself momentarily, inhaling deeply, jaw flexing. He ran a hand over his face, fingertips brushing across thick, numbing scar tissue. It was a reminder; a realization; a reawakening of anger and self-loathing, anguish and absence, abandonment of his severed mind-- any trace of an answer condemned. 

A sneer of contempt contorted his mangled face. Dropping his head into his hands, Billy cried without abandon, his body shaking, ransacked with sobs. Howling with torment and wretched in his agony, he abandoned his one perfected apathetic demeanor. He was an animal, a monster, a beast-- a vulgar, raging, impetuous abomination. Billy had lost everything he'd built from nothing and his stomach churned in disgust. He had returned to his birthright, had fallen to his roots. Billy Russo was a grunt, a gutter rat. He was cracking apart, shattering into splinters.

***               ***               *** .              ***

It was as if Billy was on autopilot. He walked purposefully along the streets of Brooklyn, his surroundings becoming more familiar with each block. Hands stuffed in the pockets of a worn coat, head covered by the hoodie he wore underneath, Billy found himself standing outside of the closest place he could ever call "home"- and it was gone. The Ray of Light Group Home had been bulldozed down. Apartments stood where housing had been, concrete poured and hardened over a lot that had served as a baseball diamond for generations of orphaned children. 

There was little that he remembered, and less than a handful of his few, scrambled memories were tangible, concrete. One of those had  a big part of Billy’s  life that he didn’t necessarily want to remember, yet clung to in an effort to have some sense of self-- no matter how demeaning and lonely. And it no longer existed. It was a surprise, but when he laid eyes on what had been constructed, memory of the complex came back to him in a rush. It was familiar; he’d known before that Ray of Light was gone. There was an importance to the apartments, a reason he remembered them instead of things that were paramount: the company Anvil that he’d founded, his knowledge that Frank’s family would be killed staying tucked away without so much as a warning… what had happened to his face. But he remembered this structure, and he stared across the street at the rows of windows built into the brick exterior. 

Time was a feeble thing, and Billy had no estimate of how long he stood still, just staring at his surroundings, his breath puffing out in small white clouds of smoke. Shoes scuffing over pavement caught his attention, his eyes searching through the darkness. Across the street, just outside of the housing development, Billy found the source of the sound. A dull, dim glow from the closest streetlight did just enough to illuminate two figures. The shorter of the two turned to leave and was roughly grabbed by the arm. The street lamp glinted off the blade of a knife.

Agile and silent, Billy darted across the street. His hand wrapped around the barrel of the gun tucked into the waistband of his jeans. 

"Hey!" he called out, coming to a stop no more than a foot from what seemed to be a confrontation. "Is there a problem here?" 

He was unfazed by the knife gripped in the male's hand, but with one quick glance at you- the one person the blade was threatening- it was obvious the woman in question was affected. She was frozen in terror. A bitter laugh dripped from the mouth of the male as he sized up Billy. Contempt darkened his gaze as he looked back at the assailant, silently daring him to make a move. 

"I don't know. Is there a problem, freak?" 

Freak. In one quick motion, Billy drew his gun, cocking the hammer as he pointed it toward the knife-wielding asshole. Billy looked at him, wild-eyed and silently begging him to antagonize either himself or the woman, who had slowly crept behind him further. Seconds later, the aggressor withdrew his knife, jogging in the opposite direction. 

Pocketing his gun, Billy turned to face her. "Please," she  begged, voice shaking, "Don't hurt me."

He shook his head slightly, most of his face shadowed by his hoodie and with help from the angle of the streetlight. "Are you hurt?" He looked over the stranger with a quick sweep of his eyes, a quick check for any signs of blood or other signs of foul play. 

She was visibly shaking, still struggling with the previous situation as well as with the knowledge that this man that appeared to care about her well-being had a gun and seemed quick to use it. Her tongue felt thick in her mouth,  dry like sandpaper. Taking a few deep breaths, she tried to steady herself, yet felt as if she could crumple to the ground at any given moment. 

"N..no," she managed finally. "No, he didn't have the time to hurt me. He asked me for the time, and I stopped to check and..." She trailed off, looking across the parking lot, toward the general direction Billy had come from. "And you appeared." Finally, she peered up at his face, seeing not much more than the dark shadow of scruff over his chin. "Thank you."

Standing still for a moment, Billy nodded in response. Instinct told him not to leave her alone just yet; that asshole could be hiding around the corner and neither of you would know the difference. He'd be much more keen to violence after being threatened and humiliated. 

"You live nearby?" Before she could answer, he cleared his throat and quickly scanned the premises. "You should let me walk you the rest of the way," he suggested, glancing back down at her. Without a beat of consideration, she nodded her head vehemently. This stranger had just saved her from another stranger, one who had pulled a knife on her. Somehow, she had faith that his motives were not ill-intentioned. 

He took a couple steps, slowing as she began to walk by his side. "I'm Billy," he volunteered, attempting to put her at ease. There hadn't been a shadow of recognition in her eyes at any point since Billy and his gun came to her rescue, and he was fully aware of that; it was the only reason he'd thought to offer his name. He'd seen the news. He knew he was a wanted man. He also knew that he looked nothing like the wanted man in the photo the media was using for identification.

"Hi, Billy," she said with a trace of a smile over her lips. "I'm Caroline... I live in this complex, so I won't be wasting too much more of your time." 

Billy's jaw flexed. He had mixed feelings about his former group home; he recalled the deep-seated knowledge that his mother didn't want him, the fucked-up things he'd had to endure as a child in the system. But, Ray of Light had provided him with a place to stay, food on the table, childhood friends he'd made until he was out on his own. It was no coincidence that he didn’t keep in touch; in the end, it was always everyone for themselves. Yet, throughout the years-- save for his time in Kandahar and seemingly endless torturous bullshit months he'd spent in the Sacred Saints-- it was Ray of Light that he'd come to when he needed to find some kind of fucking solace--to breathe. Had he visited in the past three years? Nothing came to mind: it was just another small, insignificant memory that he couldn’t recall. There was a hole in his life, a hole of the last three years, that plagued him more than the myriad of terrible things that had certainly happened to him. At least with those, no matter how much they stung, he was aware. 

"It's not a waste," Billy replied with a shrug, turning his attention to Caroline as the pair walked side-by-side. "I lived in this area as a kid. Couldn't sleep and ended up out here.”

Caroline nodded politely, her pace slowing as the two of you reached your building. "This is it," she  said, pulling her keys from her bag. She hesitated for a moment, glancing down at her boot-clad feet before attempting to meet Billy's eyes. From what she  could see, they were unnaturally dark. It was as if they were all pupil.  

"Thank you, Billy." Her voice was earnest, and she made a conscious effort to not allow herself to be overcome by emotion. The night had been quite overwhelming. "I wish I could find a way to repay you, but there's nothing that matches the value of not being tossed in a dumpster down an otherwise unoccupied alleyway." She forced a smile that didn’t reach her eyes; she didn’t have the energy. The knowledge that she very well could have ended up in that very situation-- instead of safely at home-- sent  a shiver down her spine.

Billy flashed a hint of a smile, gesturing toward the door. His feet stayed planted where he stood. 

"Go ahead inside," he suggested. Seeing this woman disappear inside safely would give him the go-ahead to leave with a clear conscience. A sudden flash of anger sliced through him. If he ever ran into the asshole that had tried to hurt her, he'd kill him.

"Caroline?" Billy called out. She stopped and turned just after opening the door. "Take care of yourself." Eyes lingering on her until she disappeared inside, Billy turned and walked away from that apartment complex, one he was all too familiar with, as clear as crystal in his mostly foggy mind. He’d spent a nice amount of time there… time with you. He continued to walk through the gridlocked streets, remembering your apartment number, the layout of your place, your name and your laugh and the way you bit your lip to try to stifle your moans and how it never worked… the way he’d walked out of your life without so much as a word. 

He needed to see you. Maybe you could help him fit some of those jigsaw puzzle pieces back together, jog his memory, sort things into the right order, a timeline that he could eventually use to think in a more linear fashion. Billy needed his life back, years of his life that he’d spent doing terrible things, unspeakable things he couldn’t imagine himself doing. He thought about the disfigurement of his face, upper lip curling in disgust as the mental image of his scars glared ugly in his mind. He knew he didn’t deserve to be allowed inside, much less any type of assistance in anything where you were concerned. But you were the only thing he had once, and for the only time since he could remember, you had wanted him too. Billy had grown to accept the fact that he himself was the one person he needed. But now, after all that had happened, he was a wanted man, a fugitive, a name, a fractured mind, and a hideous face. Now, Billy Russo needed someone other than himself, and that person was you.

[sonicrevival]

Ultimatum- Chapter 5 of 5: A Real Life

Last part of Ultimatum, tomorrow we move on to Arc 2, Reunions.

Read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18500557/chapters/44005090#workskin

Sonic: Revival- Ultimatum Chapter 5 of 5: A Real Life Emerl’s engines roared into life, lifting her from the ground and driving her straight toward Mecha Sonic. “Emerl, stop!” Sally called out, watching her draw her fist back for a punch, even as Mecha Sonic braced itself for the impact. “You need to come at it from a different angle, it’s too-” Before she could finish her sentence, Emerl’s fist slammed into Mecha Sonic’s chestplate, lifting the larger robot’s feet from the floor and launching it away, spiralling end over end until it crashed into the wall, bouncing off and crashing to the ground. “- strong?” “Oh yeah, this feels good!” She landed, rubbing her fist as she crouched beside Sally’s inert form. “You alright?” “I… I think I’m running out of energy. Can you give me another charge?” She asked. Emerl nodded, opening the back panel on the ring matrix, flooding it with another burst of Chaos Energy. “That should cover it… I’d advise getting the others to safety.” The Gizoid suggested, helping the Robian stand. “Are you sure? That thing was beating both of us, can you really do it alone?” “Yeah, I’ve got this.” “Alright then… but you’d best let me know if you need backup.” She looked up at the taller machine. “Will do.” Standing upright, Mecha Sonic shook its head, visor fixing on Emerl’s advancing form, Sally retreating toward the other injured Freedom Fighters. Growling, it aimed its missile launcher toward the Robian, the rocket streaking out from the tube. In a flash, Emerl appeared in its path, snagging the missile out of the air, spinning and lobbing the it back toward the source. Mecha Sonic curled into its shell to absorb the explosion, rolling forward, only to collide with Emerl, who had produced similar bladed armour for herself. Grinding against each other, neither could penetrate the other’s shielding, until Emerl boosted herself forward, ramming Mecha Sonic back into the wall. Both unrolled, the large robot throwing a heavy punch, thudding loudly against Emerl’s raised arms, pushing her back slightly. It fired its boosters, tackling her and lifting her away from the ground. She flashed again, disappearing from its arms, diving foot-first into its back, forcing it back to the floor. She sprang away from it, landing gracefully between it and her comrades. Flexing her limbs, she crouched down, her thrusters warming up. She launched herself back into the fray as Mecha Sonic stood up, crossing her arms in front of her as she closed in. Swinging her arms back out, delivering a brutal cross-chop to its armour, buckling its chestplate it, shattering the glowing bar around its midsection. It staggered, barely managing to meet her oncoming punch with one of its own, but her strength now more than equalled its own, the servos in its fingers fracturing under the stress. Another fist already incoming from the opposite side, Mecha Sonic brought its arms up to shield itself as the punches increased in pace, rapidly becoming a barrage of continuous blows. To an outsider, Emerl’s attacks looked more speedy and powerful than any variety of skilled, and an ordinary organic would not have been able to keep up with the speed of her arms at all, but Mecha Sonic saw that each of them, each individual punch, was focused, precise, targeted to pummel a joint, or a flaw in its armour, or even just around its defences to strike at its head. Out of options, with one of its hands now stuck as a fist, Mecha Sonic diverted as much power as it could toward the cannon contained within its chest. The battered armour plating opened once again, the hinge catching somewhat as it built up its second blast. Emerl’s assault didn’t cease, not even for a second, forcing Mecha Sonic to take a step back, then another. Finally, it spread its arms wide, exposing the blazing chamber of the cannon, about to fire. In that moment, the Gizoid’s fist lashed out and collided with its visor, cracking it in the direct centre and jolting the taller bot’s head back. It stumbled away from her, before focusing its flickering visor on her once more and opening fire. To Mecha Sonic’s shock, Emerl responded in kind. Her chestplate opened, exposing an already-charged cannon identical to its own, a blast of bright blue Chaos exploding out to meet its own red beam. She allowed the recoil of her own blast to shunt her backwards, widening the gap between them before she planted her feet, bracing to focus the full force of her attack against its own. The two beams surged against each other, energy arcing out from each of them, streaming across the room and tearing up the floor and walls, more and more power bursting from the clash between the two attacks, until finally, it exploded, throwing both of them back. Mecha Sonic met the wall quickly, steadying itself, while Emerl had further to fly, managing to keep herself mostly on the floor. Spotting the vague shape of her opponent through the smoke, Emerl took to the air, she formed the missile launchers over her shoulders once more, firing them down toward it. Mecha Sonic jumped over the explosion, racing upwards to meet her. It threw a desperate punch at her, and she casually sidestepped it, fingers wrapping around its wrist and locking tightly. Spinning in place, she dragged Mecha Sonic with her, building up her momentum before releasing it, bodily throwing it straight down into the floor. The ground crumpled beneath the impact, plates of steel ripped up as Mecha Sonic struck it, lying prone in the centre of the crater. As it tried to pry itself free, Emerl dropped from the air, chainblade appearing on her right arm in a flash of cyan. She slammed down, blades piercing through its mangled armour, impaling Mecha Sonic clean through the torso. For a moment, it jolted, struggling against the twin swords as their spinning edges carved into its body. Then, the flickering visor went dark, and Mecha Sonic’s body sagged, falling limp and silent. Emerl tore her weapon from its ruined frame, and stood back, folding her blades away once more and turning toward the exit, where Sally had taken their injured friends. Most of them were upright again now, and watching her approach with a mixture of confusion and wariness. She soon understood why, once Nicole returned to her systems and immediately had questions. “How did you do that? You were losing just as much as the rest of us at first, and then you beat it almost single-handedly!” She asked. “Easy, easy. When it threw me into the generator, I found the Emerald. I picked it up, and I think I absorbed it. Gave me a hell of a boost and that’s how I kicked its butt. Added, I needed to get a good look at its powers and moves and stuff to copy them. On top of that, I noticed that its energy levels began to drop off a bit more quickly than I expected once it started to actually fight everyone. Based on that, it made more sense to pace myself a little and soak up some hits before giving it a big burst when it started to flag. The Emerald helped with that, of course,” She explained, speaking loud enough for the others to hear. “Oh, well… alright then. Could you at least have told us?” “Sorry, I can’t talk all that well while I’m fighting. I have a bit of a one-track mind,” She shrugged. “Though to be fair, I did feel some sort of clarity once I really got going. I’ll have to investigate that…” She mused, drawing level with the others. “Everybody okay?” “Yeah, mostly,” Tails groaned. “That thing hit like a truck.” “I’ve never seen an Eggman bot fight that hard before,” Sonic added, leaning against the wall. He seemed to have taken the worst of it, along with Amy. “What was it even made of?” “I’m not sure. I think it’s the same stuff as the shield from the Egg Beaters…” Tails mused. “I guess there isn’t a lot of it, or he’d use it a lot more.” “Well, maybe he would, or he could just keep not doing that to keep his weird ‘game’ going. He is rather stupid like that,” Amy shrugged, using her hammer to support herself. “Maybe, maybe. Still, at least we’re done,” Silver sighed. “With Sally freed from Eggman’s control, the threat to the future should be ended. Thank you for your help.” “We owe you our thanks too, Silver. Without your help, I’m not sure if we could’ve saved her,” Tails replied. “So, back to the base?” Emerl asked. “We can get set up and turn Sally back to normal by daybreak!” “No, the main lab there is gone, and the city is still in Naugus’ claws. If we take Sal back there, he’ll do what he did to Bunnie and deroboticize her as a PR stunt,” Sonic shook his head, folding his arms. “His approval ratings have been sagging lately, he’s probably hoping for something like that to let him boost his support,” Nicole nodded. “On top of that, he clearly wasn’t sure how he did that to Bunnie. The last thing we want is him to screw up and make Sally’s situation even worse,” Tails added grimly, then snapped his fingers, stepping away from the wall. “We’ll take her to my lab in the ruins, and then bring Rotor and Uncle Chuck to meet us. Sally will be normal again before Naugus even knows she’s back.” “I, uh, don’t know where that is,” Emerl slouched slightly. “It’s alright, I can show you,” Nicole smiled. “I’ll transfer the data while we head outside.” *** Once the rag-tag party had warped themselves to the ruins, and Emerl had made a quick return trip to recover the downed Tornado, they convened in Tails’ workshop. Sally had perched herself on the workbench, Sonic standing next to her, holding her hand. Amy and Silver had taken two of the chairs, while Emerl leaned against the wall. Tails emerged from one of the side rooms, dusting his hands off. “Alright, I found the old Deroboticizer, but it’s not in great shape. So I’ll definitely need some backup on that front. Sonic, Emerl, can you two go get Rotor and Uncle Chuck?” “Sure thing, bud,” Sonic nodded. “Yeah, I can get us there and back in no time,” Emerl straightened. “Alright then, I’ll get to work on reinstalling Sally’s core. I should be done by the time you get back,” He smiled. “I’ll need you with me after that, Emerl. Since you absorbed the Emerald, we’ll have to set up a direct power transfer from you to Sally’s repair systems.” “Won’t be a problem.” “If I can interrupt…” Sally spoke up. “I think you should wait until morning. I appreciate that you want to turn me back to normal as quickly as possible, I really do… but, you are all exhausted. With the exception of Nicole and Emerl, you all need to sleep. Badly.” “But Sally-” “Tails, I’ll be fine for just a day longer. Emerl will be here to give me another charge if I need it, so I’m not going to expire in the night. And besides, I don’t exactly want you performing what amounts to a heart transplant on me while you’re barely awake,” She cut in, effectively putting her foot down. “... Yeah, that’s a good point,” He sighed, blushing slightly. “I didn’t think of it like that… Alright, I suppose we should turn in for the night, then.” “Yeah, sounds good,” Sonic nodded. “You’ve all more than earned it,” She smiled at them. Gradually, the group began to disperse, Amy, Silver, and then Tails heading upstairs to sleep. The workshop’s living space had a number of guest rooms, since the Freedom Fighters used it as a secondary base, so there was more than enough space for them all. Only Sonic remained up with the three machines, even though he looked even less awake than the already-resting trio. “Sonic, you really should sleep as well…” Sally looked at him, concern showing even through her mostly-solid face. “I will, Sal… I just… I wanna talk to you before I go. I’ve got some stuff that needs to be said,” He replied, eyes downcast. “Alright. Let’s take a step outside, then.” Stepping out into the cool night air, the duo walked to the edge of the hill. Sonic sat himself down, taking a deep breath of the sea breeze, blowing in from the ocean. Sally smiled down at him, before awkwardly lowering herself to sit beside him, leaning back on her arms. “It’s been too long since we were able to do this. Far too long,” She sighed. “You’re taking this really well, Sal. The whole ‘months spent as a robot slave’ thing,” He glanced at her. “That’s the one upshot of being conscious throughout the whole thing. I’ve had a lot of time to process things, enough to come to terms with what has happened to me. It wasn’t always like this. I fell apart pretty badly during the modification, and… I can’t imagine I’ll be getting over that any time soon. But as time wore on, I started to regain myself and fight back. It wasn’t easy, none of it’s easy… but I survived. I’m going to be my normal self again.” “I guess.” He sighed, placing his hand on hers. “So, what did you want to say?” Sally asked, turning to look at him fully. “Sal, I’m… Sorry.” “Sorry? What for?” “For not saving you faster! For not stopping the whole weaponizing thing from happening! For not being able to get you back for three months!” He yelled, tears filling his eyes. “Sonic, you don’t need to apologise for that. You did the best you could,” Sally gently grabbed his shoulder, smiling at him. “But it wasn’t good enough!” He retorted. “I wasn’t good enough. I couldn’t stop our friends from falling apart. I couldn’t save Antoine. I couldn’t stop Bunnie from leaving. I couldn’t help your family, or stop Naugus from taking over. I couldn’t stop him from kicking Nicole out. I couldn’t even keep myself focused on you, I was a terrible leader without you there, and I kept letting everything distract me. I was trying to save everyone, and in the end, I couldn’t save anyone. Not even you. I would’ve lost you again today if Emerl hadn’t done basically everything. She got Nicole into your head, she took down the Egg Beater, and she defeated Mecha-me… I didn’t do enough...” Sally’s heart sank, as she watched Sonic let it all out. She threw her arms around him, hugging him as gently as she possibly could. She brushed her metal lips against his cheek as she pulled him in. “You can’t blame yourself for what happened, Sonic. Trust me, I’ve been there… I know that you would’ve found a way to save me, and even if your plan didn’t work out, it still stopped Eggman from making anything worse. Do you know why he was running away from you?” Sally paused, and when Sonic didn’t respond, she continued. “He was running because the Death Egg was damaged when I had Nicole invert the beam of the World Roboticizer. He had to try and repair it, but every time he set it down to start working, you were there, and he had to run. You saved Lupe and Hathor from sharing my fate, or worse, and Nicole would never have even had the opportunity to bring Emerl to our rescue if you hadn’t captured me and called her. You say you’re a bad leader, but I don’t think you are. You had to deal with one of the worst possible situations anyone could ever face on your first outing as an independent leader. I would’ve struggled to make something good out of what you had to face, and I’ve been doing this for years.” “Sal…” “Sonic, let me give you some advice, from one leader to another. When you’re in charge, it’s easy to feel as though you have to shoulder all of the weight. Like every difficult decision is yours and yours alone, and the consequences of those decisions are entirely on your back. I know I felt that way for the longest time, and I couldn’t take it. Not forever. Eventually, I cracked, but by that point it was more of a breakdown than anything else. I’m sure you remember…” Sally gently touched Sonic’s cheek. “Yeah, it’s hard to forget, but we moved past that…” “Indeed… But my point is that no-one can blame you for the direction things went. You tried your hardest, and that’s what counts. And even if you ultimately didn’t succeed alone, we’re both here, we’re all okay. And when you only had Tails and Amy by your side… you did a good job, Sonic.” Finally, Sonic returned the hug, pulling himself closer. Sally leaned her head against his shoulder, and he rested his head against hers. “I love you,” He said. “I really don’t say it enough, but it’s true.” “I love you too, Sonic.” *** On the roof of the workshop itself, Emerl perched, staring out toward the ruins. Her eyes flicked over to the young couple for a moment, but she didn’t tune her audio sensors in to hear what they were saying, and she opted to pay them little mind. She had other things to concern herself with. “Something the matter?” She flinched, stumbling, just managing to catch herself before she tipped over the edge, and looked around to see Nicole giggling at the sight. “Such grace in battle, yet so clumsy on a roof!” The lynx laughed, floating beside her shoulder. For a moment, she wanted to snap back, but after seeing how stressed and upset she had been earlier, seeing the AI smiling and laughing, even if it was at her expense, felt good. “Y-you startled me, is all,” She mumbled, rubbing the back of her head. “I was kinda lost in thought.” “Oh really? What about?” Nicole asked, calming herself. Emerl shrugged, and looked back out toward the ruins again, fixing on the ancient stone tower, rising up above the treeline. “I dunno… It’s just… I feel like I’ve been here before. And I know I haven’t… but… It’s familiar. It’s real familiar…” Emerl sighed, sitting herself down on the roof tiles. “Hm… when we met, you were speaking Nocturnian… and the Fourth Great Civilization are theorized to have been in conflict with the Knuckle Tribe of Echidna… the ruins here were once their capital city. Maybe you have been here, and you forgot…” “Yeah, maybe…” *** The following morning, Sonic was up early. He still looked tired, dark circles under his eyes as he approached Emerl and Nicole. “I wanna get Uncle Chuck and Rote before they go to work. It’ll be a lot easier to get ‘em from home, rather than you warping in right in front of Naugus. We don’t want him to know what’s going on, after all,” He said. “Sure thing, let’s get going.” Emerl nodded. “Did you sleep alright, Sonic?” Nicole asked. “Not really. Tried, but it was hard. I kept worrying about Sal too much…” He admitted. “That’s understandable…” Nicole nodded. “Yeah… this is gonna work, right? You’re sure of that?” “Yes, I am,” She confirmed. “You need not worry. Sally will be alright.” “Alright, then. You’ve not steered us wrong before,” He grinned. “Ready, Emerl?” “Sure, Nicole just showed me where to go.” *** They arrived in Rotor’s home first. The walrus had just finished breakfast, and was rather surprised to find the two appearing in his home. “Sonic!? What are you- Wait, where did you find a Gizoid!?” He jumped back at the sight. “Hey Rote. This is Emerl, Nicole found her below Knothole, Tails said working on her was kind of a Brain Trust thing,” Sonic replied. “Hi, nice to meet you,” Emerl waved. “Huh, I guess Fiona was overreacting about the danger…” Rotor mused. “So, why the sudden visit? I mean, it’s great to see you again, Sonic, and it’s good to meet you, Emerl, but wouldn’t the door have been easier?” “We’re being sneaky,” Emerl beamed. “Yeah. The great news is that we got Sally back-” “You did!? Oh, that’s wonderful!” He grinned. “Yeah. The less-great news is that, thanks to the mods Eggman made, we’re going to have to make some complex repairs to properly bring her back to normal. We’ve got a plan, but we’re gonna need to warp you and Unc to Tails’ lab in the ruins. We can’t let Naugus know that we saved her until she’s organic again,” Sonic explained. “Alright, that makes sense,” Rotor nodded. “Let’s go, then,” Emerl reached out for the two. *** The trio arrived in the hedgehog residence seconds later, warping into an empty hallway. “I’m hoooome!” Sonic called out. “Also, I brought Rotor and a new friend!” “You might want to step back from Sonic,” Rotor whispered to Emerl. She did so, tilting her head quizzically at him. “Okay, but wh-” She asked, only to be cut off as the blue hero was mobbed by a trio of older hedgehogs, one of them clearly a Robian. “Oh, that’s why.” “Welcome home, Sonic!” Bernadette beamed, hugging him tightly. “Ow, careful, I took a lotta hits yesterday, some of it still hurts a bit!” “Sorry, sorry,” She eased up. “We weren’t expecting you back. I thought Nicole would’ve at least told us you were coming.” “Is everything alright?” Jules asked. “Better than alright, actually. We got Sal back, thanks to Nicole and our new friend,” Sonic smiled, gesturing to Emerl. “Oh, fantastic! And thank you, er…” The family paused, looking up at the armoured figure. She stepped a little closer, offering a mock bow. “Emerl, at your service. Nicole woke me up.” “The Gizoid from the lab…” Charles looked her up and down. “Well, she seems a lot less dangerous than we were warned about.” “I dunno about that, you should see her fight. I’m real glad she’s on our side,” Sonic smirked. “So she is dangerous, but only to the bad guys.” “I dunno, I almost fell off Tails’ roof last night,” She shrugged. “But I suppose I do fight pretty well.” “So, Sally is back with you, but why the cloak-and-dagger, son?” Jules asked. “Well, we don’t want Naugus to know about it until she’s flesh and blood again. Last thing we need is him trying to deroboticize her to boost his image and screwing it up, considering he doesn’t know how he did it,” Sonic explained. “Tails asked that we fetch Rote and Uncle Chuck to help with the Deroboticizer, while he and Nicole take care of repairs. So, we’re gonna warp back to the Ruins, fix Sal up, and by the time Naugus knows what hit him, it’ll be too late for him to do anything about it!” “Naugus offered the same deroboticization to me… but I don’t trust that monster as far as I can throw him, and I shan’t make deals with anyone that sought to harm my family.” His father mused. “Yeah, yeah…” Sonic sighed. “Wait, why can’t you be turned back?” Emerl asked. “Uh, forgive me for intruding, if that’s private, but, um…” “No, no, it’s fine. I was the first Robian, back when the Roboticizer was a tool for prolonging the lives of injured people. Unfortunately, my injury was too severe… if I am turned back to normal, I will die. And while more advanced Roboticizers could potentially fix the damage, this old body is not exactly compatible with them… I’m stuck like this. And while I could get a new body, something more agile and lifelike, I don’t want to throw this one away. Knowing my luck, a functioning cure would be found the day after,” Jules explained, a hint of bitter mirth in his voice as he finished. “Oh… I’m sorry.” Emerl looked down. “It’s not your fault, Emerl,” Sonic replied. “I know, but still…” “Sonic’s right. You can’t be blamed for your curiosity. Now, I believe you have work to do.” “Right, right. Fixing Sally. We should get going with that,” Sonic snapped his fingers. “Looks like I’m going to be late for work today,” Charles gave an exaggerated sigh, evidently faking his distress. “We’ll call in sick for you,” Bernie smiled, nudging her brother-in-law. *** When the four returned to Tails’ lab, they found the lab mostly empty. Nicole appeared briefly beside Emerl’s shoulder in miniature avatar form. “Rotor, Sir Charles, wonderful to see you again. Tails and I are already working on Sally in the smaller lab. The deroboticizer is already in the workshop itself, so you’ll be able to find it easily enough. Amy and Silver are still asleep,” She explained, before disappearing again. “Guess she’s busy,” Sonic shrugged. “Sounds like,” Rotor nodded, turning to the older hedgehog “I guess we should go get started.” “Agreed,” Charles nodded. *** Sonic had always hated waiting. At least, he hated waiting for information from the labs. While he wasn’t as impatient as he was apparently infamous for, at least, not anymore, waiting for any length of time for updates on Sally’s progress could best be described as torturous. As the morning progressed, little information was presented, however. At one point, Uncle Chuck had reappeared from the workshop and informed him that they had the Deroboticizer running, but that didn’t tell him anything about Sally herself. She was the important aspect in their current situation. As he thought about it, Sonic came to the conclusion that Sally being deroboticized mattered significantly less to him than her safety did. It was Tails and Nicole that he needed to hear from. At one point, Emerl disappeared into their room, so presumably they were getting ready to try and undo Eggman’s modifications, but he had seen how extensive they were, just from the outside, and knew that would be the single hardest part of the entire process. Shortly after Emerl went into the lab, Amy emerged from one of the guest rooms and made her way downstairs for breakfast. She looked like she’d at least slept better than he had, but she was still up surprisingly early for someone as tired as she had been the day before. In truth, none of the trio had slept all that well during their pursuit of the Death Egg, and they all really needed to catch up on rest. Yet, here they all were, awake. “Morning, Sonic,” The pink hedgehog mumbled sleepily, dropping two slices of bread into the toaster. “You sleep alright?” “Nope. Barely got any,” He shook his head, leaning against the wall. She looked up at him, concerned, but didn’t ask why. The answer to that was obvious enough. “Any news on Sally?” The younger hedgehog asked. “Not really. Emerl went in to help with the repairs. The Deroboticizer’s working again, Unc and Rote are just configuring it for her now. Other than that, nothing. It’s killing me.” “Right…” Amy nodded. “Sonic?” “Yeah?” “You… you really do love her, don’t you?” Sonic paused. The question wasn’t one he’d really expected to hear from Amy. She wasn’t exactly known for being the most perceptive of people. He especially wasn’t expecting to hear it right then and there. Still, it was something that would need to be discussed eventually. No point trying to dodge it now. “I… yeah. Yeah, I do,” He nodded. Looking up, he saw his friend’s eyes watering, her lip quivering. “Amy…” She sniffed, shaking her head, and smiled. It looked forced. “You don’t need to apologise. There’s nothing to apologise for, you haven’t done anything wrong.” “Yeah, well, you’re hurt, and you know I can’t stand hurting people,” He replied, walking over to the counter. The toaster popped back up, and Amy removed her breakfast, putting it on a plate and grabbing the butter dish. “I should’ve told you sooner, instead of dragging it out longer.” “You couldn’t exactly bring it up before, could you? When we were all younger and didn’t really know what we wanted,” Amy sat down, beginning to eat. “I suppose, but to be fair, you always came across as knowing exactly what you wanted,” Sonic shrugged. “Sonic, I didn’t even know the real you for the longest time. There was a point where I got to know who you really were and I had to re-evaluate what I thought about my feelings. I was just as confused as everybody else.” “Huh… I didn’t realise…” He paused. “It’s alright. If it helps, this isn’t really much of a surprise to me. I kinda thought it was going to go this way for a long time. I didn’t really want to believe it, but… it was always pretty obvious that this was the direction things were going to go,” She looked up, smiling more genuinely as she wiped her eyes. “You two were always good together.” “Thanks,” Sonic grinned. “And for what it’s worth, you’ll always be a great friend, Ames.” “Well, I do my best,” She returned the grin. *** Silver appeared shortly after that. He looked a lot better rested than either of them, which made sense. He wasn’t as over-stressed as the trio of Freedom Fighters, and he hadn’t been fighting as much as they had. Filling him in on the details didn’t take as much time as Sonic had hoped, and once that was done, it was back to waiting. With the two other hedgehogs around, he at least had someone to make small talk with, but he didn’t find the prospect particularly appealing. Just a distraction. What if something had gone wrong? What if they couldn’t fix her? What if overcharging her self-repair system only caused more damage? What if Eggman had hidden one last cruel trap in her body, and she was gone? The questions had been circulating in his brain for nearly an hour when the door to Tails’ lab finally opened, and the young fox stepped out, taking a pair of goggles off of his face and wiping his forehead with a towel. Emerl followed, Nicole sitting on her shoulder, and finally, Sally walked behind them both, her body restored to the same state it had been in when she first became Mecha Sally. Immediately, he raced over, hugging her, and she quickly returned the gesture. “Are you alright? Did it work? Can they change you back?” “Yes, yes, and yes.” Sally replied, smiling. “Oh thank Chaos,” He breathed a heavy sigh of relief. “He’s been going stir-crazy the whole morning,” Amy announced as she walked over. She smirked a little as Sonic’s cheeks turned scarlet. “Still, it really is good to hear that you’ll be okay again. We’ve all been worried.” “Thank you, Amy.” “How are you feeling, Sal?” Sonic asked. “I feel better already. Not as good as my normal body, but at least this shape feels almost like myself, just heavier and colder. And it’s good to have a full-sized brain again,” The Robian replied, flexing her restored body. “I’m not surprised it feels better, that is a significantly better body than the last one,” Emerl added. “I mean, not for combat, but everything is working like it should be, rather than sloppily modified to force it into use as something it isn’t meant to be.” “Yes, that’s true,” Sally nodded. “Anyway, is the Deroboticizer ready?” “Should be. They were just calibrating it, and while that takes time, we should be good to go,” Nicole replied. “Well, no sense in waiting, then. Let’s end this waking nightmare.” The group headed through to the workshop itself, where Rotor and Charles sat with mugs of coffee, beside the Deroboticizer, which hummed quietly, waiting for its patient’s arrival. Rotor noticed them first, setting his drink down as he stood up, rushing over. “Sally!” He beamed, hugging her. “I didn’t realise you were actually up and about, I thought you were just inactive and waiting for the transformation!” “Hello, Rotor. It’s good to see you again. You too, Sir Charles,” She smiled. “It’s been too long, your highness,” The older hedgehog bowed. “As for my mental state, Nicole released me from Eggman’s mind control yesterday. I’ve been active most of that time, though I did power down over the night,” Sally replied. “Well, let’s get you back to normal, then,” Rotor said, releasing her and walking back over to the machine. Pressing a few buttons on the control panel, he opened the door. “Alright, it’s ready.” “Thank you, Rotor,” Sally hugged Sonic once more, then walked into the Deroboticizer. There was a small chair inside, and she took her seat as the door closed in front of her. Outside sounds were muffled by the thick glass, but she was able to see the two older scientists operating the controls, before pulling a large lever on the side of the panel. The low hum of the Deroboticizer grew louder and louder, the pitch rising at the same time. Above her head, a blue aura began to shine, bright light filling the cylinder. She twinged, feeling the energies of the machine flooding into her body. It felt warm and comforting, and she looked down at her hands, just in time to see the metal begin to retreat from her body. It looked almost as if it was melting away, flesh and blood taking its place. She closed her eyes, smiling as the feeling spread throughout her body, washing away the cold numbness of her robotic form. She gasped as she took in air for the first time in far too long, letting out a long-needed sigh as she felt her pulse return, a little too fast at first, before it began to settle. She felt a dampness on her cheeks as, finally, it was over. She was herself again. The door opened with a hiss, and she stepped forward, stumbling on unsteady legs. She technically hadn’t used the muscles in them for months, nor had she eaten. Fortunately, before she could fall, Sonic was here, gently supporting her. Feeling his fingers on her shoulder, Sally threw herself into his arms, as the rest of their friends crowded around them both. Sonic held her close, kissing her gently as he wiped away her tears. “It’s okay, Sal. You’re home.”

[phinnsyreads]

Item #: SCP-009

Object Class: Euclid

Special Containment Procedures: Object is to be contained within a sealed storage tank of heat-resistant alloy with dimensions not less than 2m x 2m x 2m.

Under no circumstances should SCP-009 be exposed to temperatures in excess of 0°C when not undergoing testing, and no water-based solutions shall be allowed within 30 meters of the object's containment area. Object's chamber is to be fitted with temperature sensors which must be monitored at all times, and is to be kept refrigerated by no fewer than three (3) redundant cooling units. Any malfunction of sensors, or of coolant systems, is to be reported and repaired immediately. If at any time the temperature in the containment area climbs above -5°C, the chamber is to be locked down and flooded with coolant until temperatures return to safe levels (-30°C to -25°C).

Containment area is to be kept in total vacuum during testing, and personnel interacting with SCP-009 must wear full environmental protection gear. Following testing, all equipment, personnel, and other materials must undergo dehydration procedures and be quarantined for no less than 12 hours. Any moisture found displaying properties of SCP-009 is to be quarantined and added to the containment area as soon as possible. Living organisms found to be contaminated by SCP-009 are to be terminated by chemical dessication and extracted molecules of SCP-009 added to containment.

Description: SCP-009 is approximately ███ liters of a substance which superficially resembles distilled water (H2O), except with a distinct bright red hue. This red hue is discernible in all phases, and serves as the most expedient method of identifying contaminated matter before its anomalous properties manifest. In contrast to mundane water, SCP-009 assumes a liquid phase at temperatures between -100°C and 0°C, and a solid state above those temperatures. At temperatures below -100°C, SCP-009 vaporizes into a gaseous phase similar to steam.

Examinations of the atomic structure of SCP-009 have proved inconclusive. The substance appears to be identical to normal water molecules, with the exception of [REDACTED] in contrast to standard laws of enthalpy. Dr. █████, Site ██'s resident expert on Xenospatial Physics suggests that SCP-009 may originate in a universe with alternate physical laws.

The most hazardous property of SCP-009, however, is its ability to contaminate normal H2O. When in contact with any aqueous solution, SCP-009 will, through unknown mechanisms, transfer its anomalous properties to other objects and creatures. Testing has shown it capable of assimilating ice, steam, tea, fruit juice, seawater, blood, and [DATA EXPUNGED]. The time it takes for this process to occur varies depending on temperature and the exact chemical composition of affected matter, and had been observed as taking between 3 minutes and ██ hours.

Experiments on D-Class personnel have illustrated the process of conversion by the substance, which has been found to follow a consistent pattern:

1. Initial Exposure: Subject is exposed to SCP-009, and it begins assimilating any moisture present on the exposed surface. Creatures in this stage do not commonly notice any unusual symptoms except for a slight warming sensation.

2. Surface Conversion: Frost begins to form on the exposed area as the heat produced by the subject and SCP-009 itself raises its temperature above 0°C. This stage can take anywhere from one (1) minute to █ hours, during which time subjects begin to feel [REDACTED] crystals from the epidermis.

3. Deep Tissue Conversion: Exponential increase in temperature of SCP-009 causes runaway reaction throughout subject's body, resulting in [REDACTED]. Actual blood loss is minimal due to ice crystals [REDACTED], allowing subjects to remain alive and conscious for up to ██ hours.

4. [DATA EXPUNGED]

Testing on D-Class personnel was discontinued as of 4/23/20██.

Addendum: Circumstances of Retrieval: Subject was found in ████, Alaska, on 11/05/19██. The Foundation became involved after reports were obtained from the native ████ Tribe, who came across the mangled bodies of a team of seal hunters which had apparently been ship-wrecked ██ kilometers from the village.

All victims were found encased in red ice. Cause of death recorded as internal bleeding, though closer examination found [REDACTED]. It is surmised that the low ambient temperatures in the area retarded the freezing process. This prolonged the time to total conversion by ██ hours, and allowed the victims to remain conscious until [DATA EXPUNGED].

Origin of SCP-009 is currently unknown. Investigation into similar events or materials in the area is ongoing. Evidence at the scene suggests [REDACTED], possibly involving SCP-███.

See Exploration Log A009-1 for details.

— Exploration Log 11/05/19██ —

Situational Report: Mobile Task Force Beta-7 (The “Haz-Matters”) was deployed to recovery site to catalogue and safely retrieve samples of SCP-009 for transport to Site ██. Agent ████ Bryce (MTF-B7) made a visual inspection of the area and noted three (3) bodies, all male, between the ages of ██ and 40 years. Dr. ███, also on-site, surmised from the relative position of subjects that Mr. ██████ (Age 32; hereafter referred to as Subject Zero) was the origin point of [REDACTED]. Subsequent subjects are presumed to have been exposed to SCP-009 while attempting to help Subject Zero back to the wreckage of the boat. During standard perimeter sweep, Agent ██████ Hewes located what appeared to be humanoid tracks leading Northeast. After brief deliberation, a three-man team consisting of Agents Hewes, Whitmore, and Cassidy was dispatched to investigate potential security breach.

<Begin Log - 6:42:43 EST> Agent Hewes: We’ve found something, Control. It’s a cave. The tracks lead inside. Control: Copy, Hewes. What do you see? Hewes: Looks like a crack in the ice, its… maybe a meter tall. The opening’s not very wide. Agent Whitmore: Cap’n, we got a body!

[Unidentified shuffling noises are heard.]

Control: We didn’t copy, Hewes. Repeat. Hewes: There’s a subject here, control. Frozen in the Skip. Male… about 15. Looks like he was trying to crawl away from something. There’s a spear-gun here… also frozen. It’s been fired. Control: Any signs of trauma?

[There is a pause.]

Agent Cassidy: Without touching him, I can’t be sure. But it looks like he was stabbed by something. See how he’s gripping his chest here? Right where this spike is growing out… he might’ve been attacked. Hewes: Did you hear her, control? Control: Affirmative. Tag the coordinates for recovery, and proceed into the cave. Whitmore: We usin’ live fire, cap’n? Hewes: There might be hostiles, so yes. But keep ‘em in single-shot mode. Don’t want the guns getting too hot. Cassidy: Good call. Don’t wanna’ end up like this guy. Whitmore: [unintelligible] … that’s for sure.

[Agents ready their weapons and proceed. Approximately two (2) minutes pass.]

Whitmore: [unintelligible]. Control: Please repeat, Hewes, we didn’t copy. Hewes: Its… there’s a chamber in here, control. I’d say… 5 or 6 meters in diameter. It’s filled with red ice. In the middle… there’s a pool. Looks about 3 meters wide. Depth unknown. Cassidy: ‘The fuck hap- [screams are heard]

[Gunfire]

Control: Hewes, come in! Are there hostiles?

[There is a brief pause]

Hewes: Fuckin’ hell… negative, control, just- … Jesus, a fucking polar bear. Its dead. There’s dozens of bodies here. Not human. I see a few seals, a snow fox… and a… What the hell? Whitmore: ‘Da fuck is that? Cassidy: No, no, no, no… oh, god. Control: Hewes? Do you copy? Hewes: Cassidy found a… um… a spider. A giant spider.

[There is a pause, during which shuffling and hard breathing are heard]

Control: Is it alive? What do you mean by giant? Hewes: I mean fucking huge, control! At least a meter leg span. Its frozen… wait, no… shit, I don’t see anything inside. It almost looks like its made of this stuff. Cassidy: [unintelligible] not possible… we’re nowhere close to Germany. Whitmore: What? What about Germany? Cassidy: Cap’n, I’m pretty sure that’s thirty-twenty-three. Control: Repeat, captain? Hewes: Cassidy said the spider is SCP-3023, control.

[There is a pause.]

Control: That’s not possible, Hewes. Why would she think that? Cassidy: [Voice elevated] I’m sure, Control! I’ve worked with 3023. It’s an instance made of Skip-Nine! Whitmore: Wait, what’s 3023? Control: That is classified. Agent Cassidy, you are to speak no more of this. If the specimen is destroyed, there is no reason to worry about it. Please continue your search. Cassidy: [Mumbling] But how the fuck did it get here? Hewes: We copy, control. Cassidy, sweep the perimeter. See if there’s any side tunnels. Cassidy: But- Hewes: ████, that’s an order. Cassidy: [Unintelligible]. Hewes: █████, check these corpses. See if there’re any humans. Whitmore: On it. Control: Agent Hewes, how deep is the pool you mentioned? Hewes: Can’t see the bottom. God… I’m having SCP-354 flashbacks… this is not cool. Control: Focus, captain. Is there anything nearby you can use to measure the depth? Hewes: [Pauses] Well, the spider has a spear sticking out of it. Control: Can you safely retrieve it? Hewes: The suit should protect me, right? Control: All the same, try not to touch the affected material. Hewes: Alright… I’ve got it… should work. Looks to be about 1.5 meters long. Control: Copy that, Hewes. Proceed with caution.

[There is a pause.]

Hewes: Well, it’s definitely more than a meter deep. I could go further, but I’d have to get my hand closer to that stuff… suit or no suit, I’d prefer not to do that. Control: Affirmative, Captain. We’ll dispatch some D-Class with gear to test that out. Continue your search. Hewes: Copy that… Well, I guess I’m- Cassidy: [Voice distant] Captain! Hewes: Stand-by, control. What is it, Cassidy? Cassidy: [Voice distant] I think you’re going to want to see this, sir! I think I know where the spider came from! Hewes: Control, I’m going deeper in the cave. Control: Affirmative, proceed.

[Approximately one (1) minute of boots crunching on ice and packed snow]

Hewes: … Oh, that's not good. Control: What do you see, captain? Hewes: A… an aperture. About a meter in diameter. It's covered in the stuff… Cassidy!

[10 seconds of silence]

Hewes: ████, report! Control: Do you have a visual of Agent Cassidy? Hewes: No. Shit, she must've gone inside! Control: Please remain calm. Describe this aperture. Hewes: I- uh… it just looks like a tunnel, but there's no ice past the mouth - red or otherwise. I can make out a dim light coming from somewhere inside. Might be Cassidy's torch. Control: Is there anything else unusual? Hewes: Cassidy! Cassidy! Control: Captain Hewes, please respond. Is there anything else unusual about the tunnel? Hewes: Yeah, it's… it's wet. The walls are… and the floor. There's a puddle about a meter down. Shit, it's… the puddle is red.

[A few minutes of breathing and shuffling noises]

Hewes: Control, did you get that? Control: Affirmative. Stand-by.

[30 seconds of breathing, followed by approaching footsteps]

Whitmore: Yo, what's up? Where's Cassidy? Hewes: She went in there. Whitmore: … Yo, Cassidy! Holla' back, girl!

[30 seconds of Silence]

Hewes: [unintelligible], Control, I'm going in there. Control: Negative, Hewes! We're rerouting a team of D-Class for recovery. Your orders are to withdraw the rest of your team and await further orders. Hewes: [DATA REDACTED] Whitmore: Whoa, hold up! Take it easy! Control: You have your orders, Hewes. I don't think I need to remind you [DATA EXPUNGED].

[45 seconds of silence]

Hewes: Copy, control… let's go, █████, <End Log>

Addendum: 11/09/19██ After initial report and retrieval of specimens, it was confirmed that the arachnoid entity found by MFT-B7 (see attached file) was indeed a previously unknown instance of SCP-3023. Investigation has revealed the instance originated in [REDACTED] as a result of [DATA EXPUNGED].

Addendum: 12/06/19██ After repeated inquiries, it should be noted that the portion of coastline upon which the initial victims were found was barren rock approximately █ meters from the seashore, and was sufficiently dry and cold to prevent significant contamination of the surrounding area. Had the site been closer to the water, there is little doubt an extinction-level event would have ensued.

Consideration of upgrading SCP-009 to Keter class under review.

Addendum: 12/16/20██ Super-cooling of SCP-009 for the purposes of experimentation is disallowed until further notice. Personnel are advised that liquid nitrogen is only to be used on the subject in controlled amounts, and only until temperatures have reached acceptable levels.

Related note: Possible application of SCP-009 in cold fusion research pending evaluation.

Memo from O-5 Command: 1/09/20██ We've decided to keep this thing Euclid for now. We understand the concerns raised, but as long as you keep the power on and nobody goes near its containment area, there shouldn't be a problem. That's why we're keeping it in Site ██, after all.

As for the cold fusion research, we're putting a pin in that for now. Frankly, we don't have it in the budget for another SNAFU like Site ██. The salvage team still hasn't found Dr. █████'s [REDACTED]

Cross-Testing report 9507F23

The following experiment record was recovered via a chance occurrence of SCP-507 shifting into a universe in which the described test was carried out using SCP-107. The applicability of the reported findings to our own universe is pending review.

Input: 10mL of SCP-009 Result: "Red snow" fell in test area for 27 minutes with moderate intensity. Grass growing in test area began runaway reaction which ended with entire area being "frozen" within minutes. Notably, anti-enthalpathic reaction of SCP-009 did not extend past the effective radius of SCP-107, for reasons still under investigation. Non-grass plants in area turned bright red in color, greatly expanded, and mutated to display cyan-colored "tentacles" similar to those of species Drosera capensis. Mucilage produced by these tentacles later found to be tiny beads of SCP-009. How the plant is able to survive with SCP-009 integrated into its cell structure is currently under investigation, with preliminary hypothesis being the plant is a reflection of flora from the substance's native universe.

[The voice of Agent Hewes was provided by @iridethedirt.] [The voice of Agent Whitmore was provided by @navox-the-weary.] [The voice of Agent Cassidy was provided by Brittany █████ █████.] [The voice of the O-5 Command memo was provided by @ryanvoid.]