343, Rocky, and Clef make their way through the facility and to Dr. Therman's office. They enter to find Dr. Therman hopelessly stuck to her desk in a precarious position.
"HEELLPP MEEE!" Dr. Therman cries.
Clef almost immediately doubles over in laughter.
"STOP LAUGHING AT ME!! DR. GEARS DID SOMETHING TO MY DESK!!!" Dr. Therman exclaims unhappily.
343 carefully examines the desk and then smiles. "Ah Gears! You never change, no matter what dimension you are in! He used the clockwork machine and glue to try and fix your desk, but...."
"I GET THE POINT!! FREE ME!!" Dr. Therman demands.
343 snaps his fingers and the desk releases Dr. Therman from its sticky grasp and returns to normal. "Is that satisfactory?"
Dr. Therman sighs happily. "Yes, thank you, 343!"
343 sits down at the desk and crosses his arms. "There is no time for rest. A new threat looms at our doorstep."
"The seven sins?" Dr. Therman asks, as she sits down.
"I wish that was merely half of our problem. This dimension is running out of time. As you put it.. an XK class scenario is unavoidable."
Rocky and Clef glance at each other.
"So.. we are not able to do anything to save this dimension?" Rocky asks.
343 shakes his head. "Sadly no. The agreed time limit was looming closer, but we came to a secondary agreement extending it fifteen years..."
"Agreed with WHO?!" Dr. Therman asks angrily.
343 looks her in the eyes. "It is a touchy subject.. I know.. but the agreement is between Lucifer and me."
Dr. Therman quickly stands, leaning over her desk. "HOW DARE YOU!! How could you make such an important determination without first consulting the 05 council?!!"
"I don't remember your organization being the center of the universe!!" 343 snaps back and glares angrily at Dr. Therman, causing her to slowly sit back down. "I did not do this half-heartedly, and everyone.. and I do mean EVERYONE.. crossed my mind in the process. My own student lays unconscious in my room, infected by the sin of pride. Had I left her to her own devices this dimension might have ended in a week.. at most. So do not lecture ME about your foundation's procedures when I am already doing all that I can!!"
Dr. Therman crosses her arms in a huff. "Fine! Proceed with your explanation.. and be aware that it is on the record."
343 glances at a nearby camera. "I will allow it.. this time. When a dimension is locked in 'limbo', whether by the resident's actions or Lucifer's inability to best them.. It was agreed long ago that the seven sins would be unleashed to infect residents at random."
"And how do these sins infect and or spread?!" Clef asks concerned.
343 holds up his hand. "Fear not. They pick their host based on their best chances of ending the dimension, but none of them can infect the same host, one can not infect multiple hosts, and they can only move to a new host if the currently infected individual is killed. I set those rules in place, myself, to govern them."
"Very smart." Rocky comments. "That means we must identify the infected, contain, and protect them. At least it is a task we are good at!"
"I assume you have placed similar guidelines on any other agreement you have made?!" Dr. Therman asks.
343 nods. "Back to the challenge at hand, we have fifteen years and fifteen trails we must face. For every trial you fail Lucifer will take something for his use in the next dimension. For every trial you accomplish you may choose something to move forward to the next dimension." 343 turns to look at Rocky. "I am leaving the final choices up to you."
"How.. generous of you.." Rocky groans in a sarcastic tone.
343 turns back to Dr. Therman. "Neither you nor Lucifer may take anything, from the other, that is already chosen to move forward. That allows for no unfair advantage. Likewise, I will choose the dimension that conducts the next chain of events. However, I will do so only after all trials are complete."
"That sounds pretty straightforward." Dr. Therman says with a sigh.
Rocky looks at the door to the office. "Any idea which you will choose?"
"Nope! But I have fifteen years to figure it out. YOU, on the other hand, have three days to prepare for your first trial." 343 replies.
Dr. Therman leans against her arm. "Great.. more short notice bullshit.."
Rocky looks at the camera. "Is that the only recording device in the room?"
"Yes.. why?" Dr. Therman asks.
Rocky quickly breaks it with his aura, his eyes grey for only a second. He then turns to 343. "Now tell me the off-the-record stuff."
343 groans. "You can choose anything to move to the next dimension: weapons or objects in general, people, places such as a house or whole city, and.. anomalies."
"What do you mean by 'anomalies'?" Clef asks.
343 turns to look at him. "An SCP's abilities removed from their host."
Clef points to Rocky. "So if I wanted his aura, but not him, what would happen?"
"His anomaly would become a tool, something you could hold easily, once you crossed over. However.. the host would die." 343 replies.
Rocky glares skeptically at Clef. "Trying to get rid of me, Clef?.."
Clef waves his hand up and down. "Nah! That would mean Sasha wouldn't be around, and I certainly don't want that!"
Rocky glances back at Dr. Therman.
"Speaking of which.. you should get a list of priorities made!" Dr. Therman orders, understanding Rocky's thought.
"Me?!" Clef exclaims.
"Yes, you! Meanwhile, I am going to grab Cain and begin a full evaluation of every SCP. We must locate the other three sin hosts!" Dr. Therman says as she stands and pushes Clef out the door, closing it behind her.
"Please don't ask me that.." 343 mutters.
Rocky sits down in the director's chair. "Why not? Does it hold some undying value to you?"
343 shrugs. "It is part of the reason all these dimensions must either be destroyed or saved.."
"Then leave out something, but my family is at risk here, so you WILL answer! What is your relationship with Lucifer?" Rocky asks harshly.
343 looks away. "So.. you remember how I told you that I used the clockwork machine to gain my reality bending anomaly?"
Rocky nods. "Same as me with my anomaly.."
"It.. wasn't the same. I wasn't alone. My.. fellow researcher actually was the one that figured out how to use SCP-914 properly. He was planning to overthrow the foundation and the 05s. This would have undoubtedly caused an XK event, had he persisted thereafter. I argued and struggled with him, as we had done so many times before. The machine was already powering up, and the door was closing quickly. In our struggle.. we fell in and the door closed. When we emerged.. I was as you see me now, and he was Satan, himself."
Rocky cocks his head slightly. "Wait.. so that means you were both researchers!"
"Please don't think too hard about that. In most dimensions, our original forms no longer exist." 343 says blankly.
Rocky crosses his arms. "That means it is possible they exist in this dimension.." He thinks out loud.
343 leans forward. "Look.. I know how you are, always trying to figure things out." He then smiles. "Drop it completely.. right now.. and I will tell you the whole story when all this is over. Okay?"
Rocky shrugs. "Whatever.. I will probably be disappointed with the answer anyways.."
343 chuckles, slightly annoyed by his response. "GREEAAT! Now, put that brilliant mind to work on a solution to these trials!"
"How long before I find out what the trail is?" Rocky asks.
"When we get pulled into the bi-dimensional plane." 343 replies.
Rocky rolls his eyes. "I am beginning to guess who you are.."
"DROP IT!!" 343 booms.
Rocky stares back at him blankly. "Or what..?"
343 stares back a moment before narrowing his eyes. "I will send you back in time and make sure you NEVER become employed with the SCP Foundation." He warns gruffly.
Rocky shrugs with a smile. "Believe it or not, I was actually better off as a civilian."
343 stands slowly. "Yes.. you were the spoiled rich kid with a bright future.." He then smiles. "Before you decided you wanted to join the military and your father disapproved!"
"If I can't follow my own dreams then the hell with their fortune!" Rocky chuckles.
343 raises a finger. "However, eighteen billion was a nice large number!"
Rocky groans. "Don't remind me.." He follows 343 out of the office. "By the way, how many more dimensions need resolutions?"
343 looks away, ignoring the question.
"343. How.. many..."
"There is only one left." 343 interrupts quickly.
Rocky stops in his tracks. "I THOUGHT YOU WERE COMMUNING WITH YOURSELF ACROSS DIMENSIONS!!"
343 continues to look away. "That was outside of time and space.. besides.. I handle the transition between dimensions so Lucifer does not know. I can only bluff him until we make the transition." 343 then glances at Rocky. "Dimension Echo-11 is the end of the line, the final battleground, and.. the end for Lucifer and me."
"So.. what happens for you and him at the end?" Rocky asks.
"It is either happy ever after, our deaths, or the collapse of reality into a merciless black hole of nothing with no hope of return." 343 says sadly.
"Damn, dude.. That is dark as hell." Rocky says in surprise.
343 stares blankly forward. "Hell.. is actually.. very bright." He then slowly walks away.
Rocky watches his sad slow walk away for a moment. "Hey.. 343. Jennifer would enjoy a visit.. if you are up to it?"
343 stops and slowly raises his head. "Yeah.. that sounds good." He then continues down the hall.
Once 343 is out of sight, Rocky thinks to himself. 'The clues of who he is added up pretty quick there.'
'You have to remember SCP-914 does not recognize genders. He could have been a she.. Lucifer could have been a teddy bear and 914 would have still turned him human.' The calm male voice replies.
'Are you freaking serious?! A researcher and a teddy bear had a fight and ended up in 914?!' Rocky rebuts skeptically.
'Let's look at it this way.. Dr. Bright could get into a fight with a mop and still end up losing.' The voice says blankly.
'Was that a joke? Did you just tell a joke?!' Rocky chuckles.
'It is not a joke if we literally read about the incident..' The voice rebuts.
'Oh.. right.. I keep forgetting I left all that information for you to remember.'
'Be glad that I save you from the headache that comes with it.' The voice replies.
'Now THAT was a joke!' Rocky grins.
'No.. it really wasn't.' The voice groans.