[POV: MARC – FLASHBACK, 2 DAYS BEFORE ARRIVAL AT SKY ISLAND]
The Mysterious Death
I was walking quickly through the Foundation's corridors, escorted by six guards.
[ALERT: DEATH OF A CONTAINED ENTITY][SCP-1499-1 (ALPHA INSTANCE): DECEASED][CAUSE: UNKNOWN][CONTAINMENT DURATION: 36 HOURS]
"How is that even possible?" I muttered, quickening my pace.
We arrived in front of the reinforced cell where the Alpha instance had been contained.The door opened with a pneumatic hiss.
PSHHHHH.
The smell hit me immediately.
No decomposition. No blood.Just… something chemical. Abnormal.
The creature lay at the center of the cell.Motionless.
Its humanoid body was curled into a fetal position. Its gray, smooth skin was intact. No visible wounds. No signs of struggle.
But it was dead.
I cautiously approached and knelt beside it.
Its eyes—those terrifying pupil-less eyes—were open. Empty. Fixed.
"System, analyze."
[BIOLOGICAL SCAN IN PROGRESS…][BODY TEMPERATURE: 12°C (POST-MORTEM COOLING)][TIME SINCE DEATH: 2–3 HOURS][NO EXTERNAL TRAUMA][NO SIGNS OF POISONING][CAUSE OF DEATH: UNDETERMINED]
"It can't have just… died like this…"
I touched its skin. Cold. Strangely rigid. Like hardened rubber.
[RECOMMENDATION: FULL AUTOPSY][DR. KUREHA AVAILABLE FOR DISSECTION]
I nodded. "Call her. Immediately."
Ten minutes later, Dr. Kureha arrived, wearing her lab coat. She observed the creature with her usual serious expression.
"So this is your parallel-dimension monster?"
"Yes."
She knelt and quickly examined the body. Her expert fingers palpated the limbs, torso, and skull.
"Interesting. No normal rigor mortis. Muscle structure is strange. Too dense."
"Can you find the cause of death?"
"If you give me access to my lab and leave me alone, yes."
"Done."
She stood up and snapped her fingers at the guards."You two. Carry this thing to my lab. Carefully. If you damage it, I'll dissect you instead."
The guards obeyed immediately.
[POV: SMOKER – CLASS-D CELL]The Hunt Order
My cell door opened abruptly.
CLANG.
Marc entered, hands in his pockets. Four armed guards stood behind him.
I didn't move. Sitting on my hard bed, cuffed with seastone, I stared at him with hatred.
"What now?"
"I've got work for you."
"Go to hell."
He smiled faintly. "The first instance you captured is dead."
I frowned. "So?"
"I want more. A lot more."
"Why would I help you?"
"Because if you do, I'll give you a cigarette."
I stared at him, incredulous. "…A cigarette?"
"Ten. And a lighter."
My gaze hardened. He knew exactly what he was doing. I'd been deprived of tobacco since my arrival. The craving was eating me alive.
"Bastard…"
"So? Deal?"
I clenched my teeth. "…How many instances?"
"Five."
"FIVE?!"
"You survived the first. The others will be easier."
"EASIER?! I ALMOST DIED!"
"But you didn't. Proof that you're capable."
I wanted to refuse. I wanted to spit at his feet.
But nicotine won.
"…Fine."
The Five Hunts
The following days were hell.
Five times, I was equipped with SCP-010.Five times, I was forced to wear SCP-1499.Five times, I was teleported into that nightmarish dimension.
[HUNT 1]
The second creature was smaller than the first. But faster.
It ran on all fours like a beast, its abnormally long limbs dragging through the mist.
I chased it for what felt like hours.
Eventually, I cornered it against a structure—a pillar of black stone that seemed to melt into the fog.
"White Blow!"
My smoke fist slammed into it.
It screamed—an inhuman sound that froze my blood.
But it fell.
I wrapped it in smoke and removed the mask.
[INSTANCE 2: CAPTURED]
[HUNT 2]
The third creature was massive. Nearly three meters tall.
Its arms dragged on the ground. Its face was split in two—as if someone had cleaved it vertically and the halves had been poorly reattached.
It didn't attack immediately.
It just stared at me.
Then it made a sound.
A laugh.
Deep. Guttural. Insane.
"Fuck…"
I turned fully into smoke and engulfed it before it could react.
[INSTANCE 3: CAPTURED]
[HUNT 3]
The fourth creature was… different.
It had wings.
Not functional wings. Just shreds of flesh hanging from its shoulders like torn flags.
It tried to fly.Failed.Fell.Got back up.Tried again.
Over and over.
As if it couldn't understand why it could no longer fly.
It was… pathetic.
I knocked it out quickly. Almost out of pity.
[INSTANCE 4: CAPTURED]
[HUNT 4]
The fifth creature was the most aggressive.
It attacked me the moment it saw me.
Claws. Teeth. Bites.
I had to fight seriously.
My smoke body was a huge advantage—but it seemed to understand. It learned.
It stopped striking blindly and began targeting the mask on my face.
Intelligent. Too intelligent.
I eventually subdued it, but not without effort.
[INSTANCE 5: CAPTURED]
[HUNT 5]
The sixth creature…
It didn't hunt me.
It spoke to me.
"P… ple… ase…"
Its voice was broken. Hoarse. Barely human.
"Kill… me…"
I froze.
"What?"
"Kill… me… I… don't… want… to exist… anymore…"
Its pupil-less eyes stared at me with heartbreaking intensity.
"Please…"
I didn't answer.
I wrapped it in smoke, removed the mask, and brought it back.
But its words stayed with me.
[INSTANCE 6: CAPTURED]
[POV: DAZ BONEZ (MR. 1)]Training
The training room was massive.
Steel targets. Stone blocks. Reinforced dummies.
I'd spent weeks here. Cutting. Slicing. Perfecting.
And now… I'd done it.
SLASH!
My blade-hand sliced through a steel block like butter.
Clean. Precise. Perfect.
"Finally," I muttered with satisfaction.
I'd also developed my own style—a mix of close combat and spinning blades.
"Atomic Spurt."
I spun my arms at insane speed, creating a whirlwind of blades.
The surrounding dummies were shredded.
"Not bad," a voice said.
I turned.
Marc stood at the entrance, arms crossed.
"You've improved."
"I had time," I replied coldly. "What do you want?"
"To test you. You, Zala, and Galdino."
"Galdino?" I frowned. "Against what?"
"Three of my anomalies."
My blood ran cold.
"…You're serious?"
"Completely. If you win, I reduce your sentence by one year."
"And if we lose?"
"You'll probably die."
He smiled.
"So? Do you accept?"
I stared at him for a long moment.
Then I nodded.
"I accept."
[POV: ZALA (MISS DOUBLEFINGER)]Upgrades
My fingers turned into spikes.
But this time… they were different.
Flexible. Supple. Like whips.
"Finally…"
I'd trained relentlessly.
And now I could create flexible spikes.
Not fully controllable yet. But it was a start.
"Toge Toge no Mi: Sphere."
Hundreds of spikes burst from my body, forming a complete sphere around me.
A guard threw a rock.
The spikes absorbed the impact, bending and rebounding.
"Perfect."
"Stinger Shot."
FWOOSH!
The spike launched like a bullet.
THUNK!
Dead center.
Marc entered.
"Zala. I have a test for you."
"…Against monsters, right?"
"Yes."
"…Fine."
[POV: MR. 3 (GALDINO)]Mass Production
Wax poured endlessly from my hands.
Twice as much as before…
A giant wax construct formed in seconds.
"Candle Armor."
The wax hardened just long enough to block a strike.
Enough to survive.
Then Marc arrived.
"Galdino. We have a fight."
"…I want to stay in my cell…"
"No choice."
"…Okay…"
[POV: DAZ BONEZ – SPECIAL TRAINING ARENA]The Arena
Three massive metal cages stood in the center.
Scratching.Thudding.Growling.
"What's in there…?" Galdino whispered.
"Your opponents," Marc said.
The cages opened.
And the creatures emerged.
Abominations.
The Fight
They charged.
Steel. Spikes. Wax.
Pain. Blood. Panic.
But we adapted.
Together.
And in the end…
The creatures fell.
Marc watched.
"Not bad."
"NOT BAD?!" Zala yelled. "WE ALMOST DIED!"
"But you didn't."
He left.
I stared at the corpses.
If this is what he keeps…
…what else is there?
[POV: DR. KUREHA – MEDICAL LAB]Dissection
Nothing made sense.
Organs misplaced.Bones filled with black sludge.Brain divided into seven disconnected sections.
"How could this thing live…?"
I stepped back.
For the first time in a long while…
I was afraid.
[END OF CHAPTER – FLASHBACK]
[SCP-1499 INSTANCES CONTAINED: 6][ALPHA INSTANCE: DEAD – CAUSE UNKNOWN][TRIO TEST: SUCCESSFUL][BIOLOGY: DEFIES ALL LOGIC][NEXT STEP: RETURN TO PRESENT – SKY ISLAND]