“Would you destroy it?” Researcher Johnston’s voice broke Chudley’s stare at the ticking clock on the wall. The pair had been sitting in the Administration’s waiting room for a meeting with Site Director Richter and needless to say, Chudley was bored.
“Destroy what?” Chudley responded.
“That flash drive you keep fiddling with.”
Chudley looked down in his hand at the 64GB flash drive that contained SCP-5938. He’d gone so absent-minded he forgot he had it with him.
“That would be against the Foundation’s creed, Johnston.”
“C’mon, when have you ever followed a rule?” Johnston said playfully.
Chudley smiled, “… Yeah if it were up to me I’d smash this thing into a million pieces. That way no one could achieve paradise like the author of the Set wants. Honestly, it would be my luck that these things are 1000% fucking invincible.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t touch SCP-6419 after everything that had gone down. No one would have blamed you.”
“Well, I was too busy being flashbanged by a certain individual.”
“Oh yeah… I forgot about that.” Johnston started to chuckle and Chudley too began to laugh, his nerves easing ever so slightly. “But more importantly… why are you so nervous?”
“Because we're about to go talk to Richter and if you haven’t noticed, she HATES me.” Chudley scoffed.
“She doesn’t hate you, she just wants you to be working toward your potential.”
“But no matter what I do, she still treats me like a child,” A wave of slight anger filled Chudley’s tone. “I’m pretty sure she does everything in her power to stick me with bottom-tier assignments.”
“She’s hard on all of us, man. Not to mention, it’s not like you make it easy on her. Weren’t you the one that accidentally deleted SCP-6419 and then made Quinn re-write the whole thing?”
“I plead the fifth.”
“Researchers Johnston and Chudley, Director Richter will see you now.” Richter’s secretary said from her desk. The door buzzed to allow them back into the admin offices.
“You escape prosecution this time,” Johnston said as they both stood up. Chudley put the flash drive back in his pocket.
“Showtime, lezz go.” They both walked through the door and back to Room 101, Richter’s office.
Inside, the always sharply dressed Richter was wearing a black suit, her red curls hanging down to her shoulders and a pair of thick-rimmed black glasses sat firmly on her freckled face. She looked up at the two of them from a file she is reading and asked, “You two had a proposal for me.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Johnston said as she and Chudley took their seats. “We would like to put in a formal request to do a cross-test between SCP-6419, SCP-6952, and SCP-5938. The purpose of this would be to test the authenticity of SCP-5938 as a genuine member of the Set of Nine.”
Richter stared at the two of them for a few moments before letting out a long sigh, “Chudley put you up to this didn’t he?”
“Oh come on, why do you always assume it was me?”
“Because this idea is CRAZY, not to mention you both know the rules. No cross-testing, especially with the Set of Nine!”
“I wasn’t put up to anything. Both of us agreed that this was a necessary step for the re-containment of the rest of the set. Not only do we not have any clues but we're not even sure if SCP-5938 is a part of the Set of Nine. It could just be a cheap imitation made by PeppaPigs’s- err… PoI-6940.”
“I’m more than aware of PoI-6940’s anomalous trickery. We’re still trying to figure out whether or not the Finnish branch needs to be renamed or not.” Richter rolled her eyes, remembering the tense manhunt from last year involving SCP-4230.
“Which is why if he can trick the world into thinking an entire country exists then surely he’s capable of making a counterfeit Set of Nine.”
“I just don’t know. Are there really no other leads?”
Johnston shook her head, “The Sepulchrum don’t seem to have any idea where the ninth book in the Set is. We'd gotten some intel about a book-related anomaly in Poland but we don't have a definitive location.”
“And while the Sepulchrum claim the books will do something upon putting them together, we don’t have all of them. So whatever portal it’s supposed to open shouldn’t… we hope.” Chudley said.
“If you can even trust their word…” Richter tapped her finger on the desk, deep in thought.
“We can’t, but…it’s worth a shot, right? For the Betterment of Humanity?” Chudley tried to appeal to Richter’s good side.
“For the Betterment of Humanity,” Richter chuckled slightly. “I guess I do owe you one for getting us out of the Jorts mess.”
“Y-you do?” Chudley said in disbelief.
“Contrary to popular belief Gregory, you do good work for this Foundation. Otherwise, you’d be in doing Acromatic Abatement in Site-43’s worst jobs rather than here.”
“I've heard it's at least more scenic than Chugwater, Wyoming.” Johnston added.
“I can’t argue with that. Chugwater sucks.” Greg shrugged.
“Getting the topic back on hand, I trust that you will follow proper protocol but I'm still a bit hesitant about this whole thing. Over the past few months, I've been manipulated by two anomalies thus far. I just don't want anything else to go wrong.
“You won’t regret it, we know how dangerous this all sounds. But we're confident that we can do this.” Johnston replied.
Richter sighed, "Then proposal accepted. Hopefully, you can glean some new information on just what these things are meant to be used for.”
/-/
A day later…
Chudley and Johnston walked into the testing area with members of MTF Sigma-27 coming in behind them. Chudley is carrying SCP-6419 in its protective case, Johnston had SCP-6952 in one hand and drone case in the other. They sat them down on the round table in the middle of the empty room as the Sigma-27’s took their place along the wall, standing guard in case of an emergency.
Chudley shared a slightly nervous glance with Johnston, “I shouldn’t have to remind you but… whatever happens, do not look at the Grimoire’s pages.
Johnston looked at him reassuringly, “I know, Chudley. That is why we have the drone. Go start the camera.”
Chudley nodded, removing the flash drive containing SCP-5938 from his pocket and setting it down on the table before he went over to start the camera.
“Ready?” He asked.
“As I’ll ever be.”
He started up the camera and walked back to the table looking into the lens with Johnston.
“Stating my name for the record. Greg Chudley, head of Site-78’s Department of Mundane Artifacts and Uneventful Data Evaluation. I am joined today by the head of Parabiological Sciences as well as our Arms and Equipment department, Maria Johnston.”
“Thank you Chudley. For the purposes of today’s test, we will be attempting to verify the status of SCP-5938 as a genuine article of the Set of Nine.” Johnston and Chudley circled around the table, each of them pulling out their ID Cards to unlock the cases to their respective books of the Set of Nine.
After removing SCP-6952, Researcher Johnston then picks up the drone’s controller and uses the drone to set 6419 onto the table. As soon as the three books were out, they began to glow with varying colors, 6419 was black, 6952 was blue and 5938 was purple. The books then rose into the air, pages flipping open as a holographic projection appears over SCP-5938. Johnston and Chudley had accounted for SCP-6419’s movement and the book was facing away from them, sparing them from being exposed to its effect. A shape begins to form above them out of glowing light, ten circles with a book each; lines connecting each of them.
Both of them felt a gust of air enter the room that shook their loose lab coats all about. The strange wind was clearly anomalous in nature, perhaps a side effect of the magic on display.
“I think that settles it. Can you use the drone to see what pages they opened to?”
“Just one second.” Johnston directed the drone over to SCP-6419 and began to read from the visual feed being displayed on top of the controller. “So, SCP-6419 reads, ‘Researcher Greg Chudley and Researcher Johnston are in awe of the incomplete nonet. Three out of nine books have been assembled but without the other nine, the ending to this story cannot be reached.’"
Johnston cleared her throat before moving the drone over to SCP-6952. "Insufficient quantity of books gathered. Please provide all nine books of the set to forge the ultimate weapon."
Finally, she read from SCP-5938. “My creator has requested that I show the image of paradise, but this is impossible without the remaining books in the set."
“They each have an entry that can only be unlocked once all of them are brought together but for, what purpose? To create paradise perhaps…? No, that can’t be right. The Sepulchrum’s texts said that it would be a doorway.”
“Maybe when all of the circles are filled, that’s the doorway. What if what the pages are describing is just.. Extra? For the user to take into their new paradise?” Chudley suggested.
As the two of them are discussing the potential implications of this discovery, a snake proceeds to manifest from the pages of SCP-6419 and fall to the ground. It slithers towards them and then transfigures into the shape of a human woman. The woman is wearing a dress fashioned from old leather, incredibly tattered like a relic from long ago. Her hair is long and unkempt, reaching nearly to the floor. Her body movements are unnatural and jerky. One of her eyes is covered with a black eyepatch. She reaches upwards and SCP-6419 comes to her hand and she begins reading from it.
“It's been so long, Izanami. I hope they've treated you well. Or not. You haven't had any good stories in quite a while. Once you took 1,000 souls from the living world every day. They've given you a fraction of that.” Her voice is detached and ethereal. The gaze in her remaining eye felt empty and critical all the same.
Neither scientist flinches at the appearance of the woman, both of them not wanting to project any sign of fear. Chudley spoke first, “If you were expecting us to feed that thing bodies, you came 10 years late-.”
The woman ignored Chudley’s sarcastic comment, her head jerking to the right to look at Johnston and then shambling forward towards her.
“Researcher Maria Megan Johnston. Masters in Parabiology and Engineering. Touched by Hephaestus, you give off a serious exterior but secretly you are still trying to make up for her death.
Johnston’s demeanor appears to break, her tone is pointed and curt. “Don’t bring her up, she has nothing to do with this.”
Her? Who is she talking about? Chudley didn’t remember Johnston mentioning a death close to home… although, there is still a lot he didn’t know about her.
The woman then moved over to Researcher Chudley.
“Researcher Greg J. Chudley. Bachelor's degree in Pataphysics. Highly skilled, highly talented.
He uses humor to cope with the horrible things he has to deal with and the fact that he is… alone. You've been touched by Izanami and now… Seshat.”
A pit as deep as the Marianas had been growing in Chudley's stomach. He knew exactly who this was. He clears his throat. ”Are you the author of the Set of Nine?”
“I've gone by many names. The one assigned at birth. The one given by the snakes, the Naja.
Corra is what I'm called now. I am the one you seek.
“How do you know our names?” Johnston asked.
“The Naja sees everything. From the Ravens feasting on the Wolves to the creatures that stalk the night. Many things were lost in the quest for knowledge. To seek out the gods and take everything they had to offer. Nine tomes were made… Or was it ten? Their power may be infinite but even they hunger for more stories.”
“Ten books? What do you mean te-” Chudley stopped as he felt Corra’s finger press against his head. He felt a force worming its way through his brain. He was afraid that if he pushed against her, she would scramble his psyche so he remained still. He saw the MTF on the sides of the room raising their weapons and motioned to them to stand down.
He got the feeling there was nothing they could do anyways. This woman claimed to have the power of the gods themselves, what were they to her?
“Don't speak. Your questions are laid bare. Everyone is an open book to me. A question for you two. Who are the ones who walk down the path led by the storyteller to their inevitable conclusion?
Is she serious? “Easy.” Chudley scoffed. “Protagonists.”
Corra nods their head. “There are many stories interwoven into the tale of my Set. You two are at the center of the crosslinks. The outcomes are not set in stone. Merely I am the instigator, not the writer. Those stories began with the hands of the serpent. They did not see things as I do."
“And what do you see? What is the end of your tale? Where are the other six?”
“Six. Seven. Six. Seven. There are nine in nine. But the math works in strange ways. Ten and still nine. My books glisten like stars in the moonlight. Across vast distances in time, past, present and future. They can be everywhere, even as far as the Terzan 2 cluster.”
“Ten and still nine? Did you hit your head on the way down?”
“Researcher Chudley is resourceful as he is witty. If he does not locate the others it could spell doom for all.” Corra takes her hand off Chudley's head moves over to Johnston and does the same to her. Johnston’s face tenses up as she attempts to fight against Corra burrowing into her brain which only causes her pain.
“Chudley's queries have been answered. It's your turn… apprentice samurai. What are you curious about I wonder? You always seem to have the answers with Hephaestus's toys. As you make new toys, you fix broken ones. The Amazon left behind by the crows…the child eater…”
“Enough… you think you can scare me by bringing up Avalerra, Thalaestris… and Mary? Well, screw you.”
“Your companion knew better than to resist, you on the other hand refuse to accept your true nature. You’re just like me, others would have shunned the power I give, but you? You took my power and used it for the greater good when your Foundation would have no doubt used it for less than moral purposes.”
Johnston let out a pained scream, “We are nothing alike! Do you think you're doing the world a favor? These books have done nothing but cause chaos and death.”
“My child, I’ve merely ushered the world into a more… anomalous age.” A smile crept over her still expression. “I pose another question. In the shadows of the author, the thief seeks to copy their success. He cannot get there by himself and thus…?”
Still, under extreme duress, Johnston replied, “…He plagiarizes.
“This is why you are the smarter of the pair. Maybe you do have the answers. The one who cannot capitalize was just the start. I see a media company at the end of a better tomorrow. A restauranteur trying to please everyone. A toymaker who is more deadly than fun. The thieves in the night multiply as quickly as bacteria. My books would never be compatible with them. They are but facsimiles of the real thing. No true knowledge, only greed.”
“Haha, you harnessed the power of a god and plagiarism still gets to you? Researcher Doodles was right. You're like every other artist trying to push your work onto the world. Why don’t you make yourself useful and tell me what happens when all of the books are collected? I've been told by the Sepulchrum that the answer is purgatory but that isn't it… is it?
“You are correct again, Johnston. The path cannot be revealed by those who walk it until all
Nine. Ten. Nine. Ten. Nine books are assembled, and the end of the path is made clear. I know you feel nothing but anger now, but when you reach the conclusion, you will see as I do.
“How many bodies do we have to go through to get there? You claim to be enlightened but you can’t even enact your own plan. You have to rely on us to do it for you. The books need usage… don’t they? Otherwise, you would have brought your paradise long ago.
“The road to Paradiso is not a peaceful one. You’ve proven that you are every bit a hero as Mary imagined you to be. This a perfect moment to close out the first act. The major players have cast their dice. The results are revealed. Now all the players will move with their newfound gains for what comes next."
She removed her hand and takes a few steps back. Corra suddenly bursts into a hail of snakes as the remaining books clatter to the floor. A shaken Johnston looks at a zoned-out Chudley. “Wh-why didn’t you tell the MTF to fire? Why did you order them to stand down!”
Chudley snapped out of his stupor, still processing everything that had just happened. “Wh- why didn’t I tell them to fire on the woman with her finger in your brain? I don’t know, maybe because I don’t want you to die Johnston!”
“We had her, we could of-”
“There is nothing that we could have done. With her power, I didn’t want to risk a bloodbath trying to get security.”
Johnston turned to one of the members of Sigma-27 who had come over to put the anomalies back into containment. “Corporal, why didn’t the alarm trigger? Omega-45 is to be deployed whenever there is an anomalous manifestation on site.”
“Ma’am.” One of the troopers with the drone controller in his hands, “We just got word that camera feeds in this room went blank for the entire time we were in here. Nobody knew what was going on.”
“Tch… damn you Corra.” Johnston looked over at the ground.
“Speaking of which… who is Mary?”
Johnston perked up at the sound of the name, “…It’s none of your business.”
“Well, they seem important. I mean, you literally named a grenade the “Bouncing Mary”. I assumed it was named after you, but it looks like that’s not the case.”
“Chudley. For once, drop it.” Johnston began to walk away from Chudley and the MTF towards the exit of the testing chamber. Chudley wanted to call out to Johnston but decided it was for the best to leave her alone.
“Get these back to their respective departments. I need to speak to Director Richter… she’ll want to know about what happened here.
-Epilogue-
Chudley hurried from the parking lot of Site-78 with two Mountain Dew Kickstarts in his hand. The energy drinks happened to be his favorite, and with his rushed morning, he’d need them. He had scrambled to get to the facility after the bulletin had gone out along with a summons to see Director Richter. Every employee at the foundation received the following in their email:
FROM THE OFFICE OF THE OVERSEERS
The following notice has been disseminated to every known network within the SCiP.Net database.
Attention to all staff,
As of May 2022, the Overseer Council has been made aware of the identity of the Author of the anomalous set of books termed "The Set of Nine". This individual known by the moniker of "Corra" has been designated as POI-9009.
POI-9009 is believed to be a powerful thaumaturge and an ex-member of the Serpent's Hand. POI-9009 has been designated a High Priority Target and is to be apprehended alive if possible. All Foundation sites are to cooperate with Site-78 if asked to assist in the capture and containment of the "Set of Nine."
In addition, Foundation personnel are to be aware that anartists are flooding the anomalous market with copycat anomalies that resemble the "Set of Nine". Agents are to monitor GoIs for communications regarding the "Set of Nine" and its copycats. Any important intelligence is to be forwarded to the Set of Nine Taskforce at Site-78.
We thank you for your cooperation and understanding.
Chudley couldn't believe his eyes. The O5 Council was real? He had thought they were a myth to scare the junior researchers. He saw Johnston approaching the doors and picked up his pace to get up to her.
"It's true?" He asked. "The O5 Council exists?"
Johnston nodded, looking better than she did a few days ago. "I found out when I made level 4." She pointed to the drinks in his hands. "Kickstart me."
"Sure thing, I figured you'd need one. Pineapple Mango or Orange?"
"Orange."
Chudley tossed Johnston her Orange Kickstart and the two cracked them open with a loud pop and took a swig before heading inside. A little crumb of normalcy before they dived headfirst into the craziness of their jobs.
The pair entered the sliding glass doors to Site-78 and got checked in at Security before heading straight to the Administration department.
"In the bulletin, they mentioned a Set of Nine Taskforce… is that supposed to be headed by me?"
"I assume so? Who else would she pick… me? You've got me beat 3-1 in the book department." Johnston put stopped and put her fist against her head, clenching her teeth.
"You alright?"
"I'm… fine. Just a migraine. I need more kickstart." She took a sip as the pair continued into the waiting room. The secretary immediately buzzed them and before they knew it they were back in Richter's office.
"Ah, you're here. Thank you both for being punctual. " Richter slid Chudley a new ID. "For your efforts in uncovering the identity of the Author of the Set of Nine, I now feel comfortable awarding you with level 4 clearance.
Chudley picked up his new ID, eyes locked on the red "4" in the bottom right corner. "You can count on me. I won't let you down."
"Let's hope so. As a level 4 Researcher, you'll have access to the basement sublevel where our Arms and Equipment department lies along with Intelligence and the Omega-45 barracks. With Johnston's permission, you will even be able to send them on missions."
"I've heard the rumors of their exploits. I'll be looking forward to meeting them." Chudley nodded.
"In addition, if you check the SCP database in SCIP.net you will have access to more SCP files than you did before. As well, you'll be able to enter a few up-and-coming departments, such as Astrophysics and Aeronautics."
"New departments? We're expanding?" Johnston asked.
"Indeed. The O5 Council has sent us a tremendous amount of money for expansion and R&D." Richter adjusted her glasses. "Departments for Folkloristics, Cryptozoology, and Thaumatology are just the iceberg of what else will be adding."
I knew she was ambitious, but that's a tall order. Maybe she's taking inspiration from her old stomping ground of Site-43. Chudley mused. "I'll be looking forward to the new hires, but mainly I wanted to ask about the Set of Nine Taskforce and who is leading it."
"What do you mean?" Richter cocked an eyebrow. "You are."
Chudley's expression turned to shock. "I… Me? What?"
"You have the foremost knowledge on the books, you are good under pressure and you successfully revealed the identity of PoI-9009. Now that being said and this is my unprofessional opinion, you are a pain in my ass."
"Noted."
"But as much as we might clash, you are our best shot. And I'll be needing you to compile a Site Dossier and Orientation video. Staffing is going to increase 150% in the next few weeks and we need to get people up to speed."
"We'll both be on it." Johnston nodded. "But afterward, Director; I'd like a few days off, and if you could send someone to do a Thaumaturgical sweep of my home that would be great."
Richter seemed a little taken aback by her request. "Of course Johnston, but the other thing… is something happening at home?"
"I just want to be sure of a few things is all. Is that everything you needed me for?"
"Yes, I just wanted to make sure we are all on the same page moving forwards."
"Right. I'll be seeing you soon, Chudley." Chudley could tell Johnston's thoughts were elsewhere as she got up and left the room. The thought of the mysterious Mary still weighed heavy on his mind.
