Ok, so they're coming to water us. You ready for some practice?
yay water
Yes, water is good, but you're also going to do the trick right?
i will try
C'mon buddy. You need to believe in yourself.
If there's one thing that four months of containment has taught Carnegias, it's that being a mentor is hard. You gotta teach and encourage and just be there all the time for your pupil, and you can't yell at it or else it'll get sad and lose confidence. The vessel is going to die before Carnegias can even breach containment at this rate.
Normally, that wouldn't be an issue, he'd just pull his powers together and go find another one. But ever since he lost his powers to his new head mate… well there was no knowing what would become of him if the vessel died.
Alright, here comes the water. Now's the chance! See through the man's Third Eye!
…
You uh, you looking?
this tastes good
No— but— you can have the water later! It's not going anywhere! It's staying right in the soil.
im thirsty
Aaaand now he's gone. You missed it.
whos gone?
The— never mind. It's fine. Just drink our water.
Yeah, this isn't working. Maybe this really will be the downfall of The Great Carnegias. He'd already lost, like, most of his eldritch flair. He didn't even have a better title than "The Great" for himself. What did he even used to say to mortals? Well… he definitely called them mortals. That's for sure. Probably puny also?
Four men unloaded a large crate labeled "SCP-WWS-021" from the back of an armored truck. They moved carefully but swiftly. They didn't want to hurt the thing, but no one told them how long the sedatives would last. The crate was brought to containment cell #441 and opened. Two trained anomalous animal specialists strapped 100kg weights to each of SCP-WWS-021's legs. Then the men backed out of the cell, closing the door behind them.
"How long we holdin' on to the kangaroo?" one asked.
"Only a few days until transport to Site-33 gets here. We're not actually built to contain something like this," the specialist replied. "I'll have to give him another round of anesthesia in tomorrow. Don't want to overdose him."
"We also didn't get earthquake insurance, did we?"
"Oh, we have the insurance. We have literally every insurance. Just don't want to use it."
"Touché."
And with that, the men left Ringo to dream of the Wilson Wildlife habitat he was about to miss.
Carnegias tried to compose lines in his head, and escape to a little fantasy where half the world had spikes through it and most of the sentient life had spikes in their minds. He called it "Spiketopia", and it was his happy place.
carnie?
What? What is it? Also don't call me that. Also can't you see I'm in the middle of something?
you seem less evil
Oh, oh really? Me? The Eldritch God of Spikes and All Things Pointy?
yes. like that.
Don't start with me.
are you ok?
Oh, I'm just peachy. Just sitting here trying to salvage any hope of returning to my former terror. How's it going just drinking water and doing nothing with your life?
im happy
Of course you are! You're worthless! You couldn't tell the difference between rocks and the bones of your old owners!
carnie—
I said don't call me that! You pathetic waste of particles I— I think I can get somewhere with you. That this'll work. But it's just a fucking pipe dream.
carnie youre scaring me
Good. I hope you feel scared. Terrified even. I can practice being scary on you, so I don't lose my edge.
carnie stop it
Why should I? You're going to cry? You're a fucking cactus, you can't cry. You can't scream. You're just trapped here with me.
STOP IT
Ringo's dream suddenly turned to spikes and pain. It was in the ground, in his head, in his feet, in his everywhere. He woke up and tried to run away. He couldn't move his legs. But he was scared. All of the past fears of being trapped. And hurt. And tested. And trapped.
He jumped again.
This time with the power to shake the facility.
Cracks shot up the walls. The ceiling rumbled.
My Void what did you—
A key support gave way. The cell collapsed.
And then everything was still. Including the debris, which hung in the air like it had been frozen in time. No alarm sounded but evacuation commenced. The employees of Site-64 emptied into the parking lot and turned to watch the building. The quake was localized to the West Wing, namely used to hold low-threat anomalies. Foundation agents bolted in to retrieve every magic lamp and fountain pen they could find.
They would get to the living subjects last. Like the kangaroo who just shattered its restraints, and the cactus it approached.
Hey… you still there? Buddy?
The kangaroo got even closer. If it kicked the pot, it could kill the vessel.
I really need you to wake up right now!
It stopped right in front of the cactus and cocked its head to the side.
I'm sorry ok! I'm sorry I didn't mean it! I was just frustrated! Now please wake up!
The kangaroo waved at the cactus.
Wait what?
i can see us
Are you— are you a kangaroo now?
i looked in its third eye. like you told me
Wait, you're doing the thing! It's working!
i did the thing?
Good job! How much you have control over? It's movement? Senses? Thoughts? I— I can't believe you can do that. And you stopped the cell from falling!
i did good?
You did very good. Excellent.
yay! i did a good thing!
I'm going to need you to pick me up, and bring me outside, ok?
The kangaroo nodded, and then did as it was told.
Ringo panicked. His mind felt cramped, like the many boxes he's lived in. Except the room in his head hadn't shrunk. There was just something else in his head with him. A big something.
Awake.
Ringo opened his eyes, and he was in the shack again. The one with the needles and the shackles and not enough food. It was more empty that he remembered it, and had a red tint to it. A man dressed in a bullet-proof vest with the letters "CI" embroidered on it stood in front of him. The man spat on Ringo. He flinched.
Rise.
It took a few moments for the words to register, and then a few more for Ringo to act on them. He felt weak and hungry, but he knew what happened when you didn't listen to the vest-men. Ringo kept his eyes on the Shocking Stick tucked into the man's pants.
Move forwards.
Ringo understood, and he moved. His body was guided toward a pot full of needles. Ringo didn't like sharp things, since they reminded him of the all syringes that have been stuck into him over the years. He moved anyways.
Stop.
Ringo stopped, and then cocked his head to the side in confusion. The vest-man activated his stick and a stinging sensation shot through Ringo.
I SAID STOP MARSUPIAL!
He didn't move after that.
Understand that you listen when spoken to, dumb animal. As an inferior being you have no place to think for yourself. Now, be a good servant. Wave.
Ringo resisted the urge to nod, but waved instead. He stood there for another minute, still as a statue.
You are going to pick up this pot and carry it out. Understand?
Ringo nodded.
THEN MOVE.
Just as the last of the anomalies were cleared out of the collapsed wing, a kangaroo carrying a cactus joined the containment specialist. The oddity barely registered for most since their minds were elsewhere. Just as soon as the kangaroo set the cactus down in the grass, it collapsed. And so did the West Containment Wing of Site-64.
No one was entirely sure what caused the building to stay upright. Even Carnegias didn't really know. But one person knew. Well, one Poky cactus knew.
If you want more poky and Ringo, you can check out HotColes' entry here!
