h*ndholding

------

━━━━━━━━━▲━━━━━━━━━

|| "Doctor, are you projecting?" ||

━━━━━━━━━▼━━━━━━━━━

You were sitting in a dark truck, handcuffs around your wrists and surrounded by labelled boxes.

How did you end up here? Well, the answer was quite simple. Two hours earlier, Smith had knocked on your window and told you to pack your things because you were getting transferred to a different Site. You had asked if they would bring along your books and they agreed. And so, your limited number of clothes and books were packed into separate boxes.

Only a few boxes on the truck contained things that belonged to you. The rest were safe anomalies packaged away for the transfer as well. They didn't put any other humanoid SCPs with you. You weren't particularly upset at it but the ride to the Site was rather boring. Your social life was at an all-time low.

You had gotten handcuffs, presumably because they didn't want chances of you escaping. Jokes on them, you knew how to get out of handcuffs but you'd play nice for now.

You sighed and leaned against a box. You didn't know which Site they were transferring you to. If you were to guess, it would probably be Site-17 on the basis of it being the next most popular Site and because of your bad luck. Maybe the Site's layout would be better. You yawned as the truck went over a bump.

How many of the senior staff were alive? If you were going to Site-17, then Kondraki would be there if he was alive and probably a bunch of other people would be there too. You absentmindedly tugged on your handcuffs. The lack of official canon within the SCP universe made things so much more complicated than they needed to be.

'Though', you mentally added, 'the lack of canon is part of the wiki's popularity.'

Things only had to be true if you wanted it to be after all. Ah. When you put it that way, it just made it seem like you were in denial. Maybe you were relapsing back into grief, maybe you weren't. Speculating about possibly canon events was useless anyways. Your eyes fluttered closed as the uneven terrain caused the truck to jostle.

It was going to be a long ride.

X.x.X

You had long since awakened when the back of the truck opened up, allowing light to enter.

"'Sup," you greeted as your eyes adjusted to the light.

"[----]," a doctor replied, "Welcome to Site-17."

Ah, you called it. Unlucky, unlucky. As some other researchers began to pick up the boxes that contained SCPs, the doctor beckoned you to exit the truck. You got up from your seat, manoeuvring around the boxes so you could hop down from the truck. You let out a quiet "huh" as you looked at your surroundings.

Site-17 was giant. The room you had arrived in had high ceilings with various stairs and doors all around. People were bustling around with boxes in their arms. There were several other trucks around as well. Site-17 was much different from Site-19 it seemed. You had no clue why the layout of Site-19 was so f*cked though.

(You did actually, you were just exaggerating how bad Site-19 was.)

The doctors seemed content to let you glance around a little as one of them motioned for guards to come over. Armed escorts? For you? You were almost flattered. You fiddled with the chain of the handcuffs as one of the doctors gestured for you to follow. You wondered if they would let you take off your handcuffs.

"My boxes?" you asked. They paused. Then, they motioned for the guards to also bring the boxes. Inwardly, you sighed. They forgot, didn't they? The two guards picked up two boxes each. They looked at each other, then at the doctor.

"There's one more box," one of them said.

You smiled prettily. "If you take off my handcuffs, I can carry it."

The two doctors whispered between themselves. Kindly, you didn't comment on what they were saying. They warily glanced at you.

"Fine," one of them promptly answered. "But the moment you do anything fishy, your privileges are getting revoked."

'I have privileges?' you nearly said out loud as you held your wrists out. The doctor with the key busied themselves with undoing the handcuffs.

"Pleasure doing business with you," you drawled as the restraints came off with a click.

Quickly, a box was passed off into your arms and the five of you (two doctors, two guards and you) were set to leave. If you were honest, there wasn't much to say about Site-17 other than it looked like SCP: Unity. A perfectly ordinary remark, is it not? Given the natural progression of your life at the moment, it seemed like a logical choice for the universe to make.

'It was unfortunate the SCP: Unity was unfinished,' you thought as you followed after the doctors. It seemed what would happen from here on out would be solely reliant on your intuition and a mixture of various pieces of SCP canons. This was fine. More than fine. You had worked with less before.

As you were guided through the halls, you spotted a few humanoid SCPs wandering around without guards. It seemed they had been allowed to walk around the facility. The most notable people you had spotted were SCP 105 (Iris), SCP 507 (who didn't divulge his name though did respond to a variety of names) and SCP 073 (Cain).

Speaking of 073, he was heading over to you, and by proxy, the guards and the doctors as well. 073 was tall, not quite as tall as 049 but still quite tall by human standards. If you remembered correctly, Able was taller by a few centimetres. You could see his mechanical arms though much of them were covered by a blue jacket.

"Hello," Cain politely greeted, more to you than the others. "Do you require help?"

"Cain," a doctor interjected, tone laced with mild discomfort. "We're just passing by."

"This is... [----], correct?"

You nodded. "That's me. [----] or (Y/n) is fine."

"(Y/n), then," Cain settled on. "My name is Cain as I am sure you are aware."

"Mhm. Pleasure to meet you." Cryptically, you added, "I'll be waiting for the story that unfolds for you, Cain."

He blinked, faint confusion appeared on his face. "I hope I will live up to your expectations then."

You smiled.

"Okay, that's enough of you [----]," a doctor interrupted.

"Cain," the other doctor addressed, "we don't need help at the moment, you're free to go."

"I see." Clearly seeing that he had been dismissed, he turned to you and said, "I will see you around."

"Sure, if they let me out of the cell."

"[----], come on."

"Yes, yes."

Leaving Cain in the dust, you went back to trailing behind the doctors. It didn't take long for you to reach your new cell which was located in the Light Containment Zone. If you had been placed anywhere else, you may have been a little flattered. Upon arrival, you were guided into the cell and told to unpack.

Your new cell was almost exactly the same as your old one. It was almost uncanny, in your opinion. Your nose twitched. Lemon-scented cleaning agents again, huh? The five boxes were dropped off on the table, leaving you to sort through them yourselves. Not that you would have wanted anyone else to riffle through your things.

Really, it didn't take long for you to put all your books into the bookshelf or put your clothes away. Soon, you were left with empty boxes and a meaningless room. Meaningless to you, maybe useful to the foundation. You sighed. As you sat on the cold hard floor and gazed up at the ceiling, for a moment, you think you missed home.

Perhaps a life like this was far too exhausting for someone like you.

X.x.X

As it were, Site-17 was exactly the same as Site-19 which was to say, boring.

Of course, it was to be expected since you were stuck in your cell all day with no one to talk to. You would have said that you would die of boredom before anything killed you in the foundation but that would have been a blatant lie. It was definitely better for things to be this way, no one bothering you for information and no having to interact with SCPs.

In the week, based on your observations of mealtimes, you had spent at Site-17, you had figured out 3 things. The first was that Dr. Smith was busy with paperwork for... something. You had your suspicions on what the paperwork was for but since you hadn't seen them in a while, there was really no way for you to be absolutely certain. The second thing you figured out was that Site-19 was getting renovated. Hurray. The third and last thing was a series of scattered information.

The researchers were rather mouthy, you absently thought, especially the younger or lower levelled ones. They didn't take into account who was nearby, let alone who was listening. Regardless, it was fine for someone like you who eavesdropped all too often to fit together pieces.

In reality, the third thing you figured out was more like a bunch of things you overheard that could be put under one subheading. Quite a few people were alive, maybe more than you were expecting. That wasn't much of a problem. What was the problem were the rumours of what SCPs were transferred to the site with you. You did not want to know that 682 got transferred here. You did not want to meet him. You did not want to die because of him.

That aside, perhaps the foundation did not learn its lesson about keeping multiple dangerous SCPs in one site. Alas, it was none of your business how the foundation decided to organize sites and you didn't care enough to really scold them.

In another universe, maybe, but not this one.

X.x.X

"You've been granted permission to wander around Site-17 like many of the other humanoid SCPs," Smith informed you.

You raised an eyebrow. "What's the catch?"

"You must wear a tracker at all times. Additionally, for the first week, there will be a personal guard following you."

You hummed, leaning back on your chair. "What will you do if I decide to leave?"

"[----], I am not doubting your ability to escape but what will you do then? The foundation will undoubtedly hunt you down, maybe even terminate you, not that it would do much when it's you." They began tracing shapes on the surface of your table. "After what you have experienced here, do you think you will ever truly be free?"

You chuckled. "Doctor, are you projecting? Really, you shouldn't worry so much. There are better things for me to do than leave yet."

"... You play far too many games for my liking, [----]."

"Sounds like a you problem."

They only sighed in response.

X.x.X

You knocked on the window.

"Let me out on a walk," you said to the guard.

They sighed and nodded. You had yet to actually get out of your cell since Smith told you about your new "privilege" yesterday. You had gotten a more detailed set of rules, however. Since your new cell was located in the Light Containment Zone, you weren't permitted to exit said zone unless given express permission along with a doctor accompanying you.

You were sure you would break those rules at some point.

Aside from getting more rules, a tracker in the form of a bracelet had been delivered to you as well. The tracker was plain and fit snugly on your wrist. Apparently, someone had a key to unlock the bracelet. If they lost it, you were fairly certain that nothing short of cutting your hand off would remove the tracker.

The door to your cell opened up and you stepped outside. In SCP: Unity, the Light Containment Zone was split into three sublevels. The top level consisted of offices, the second was containment chambers, and the bottom level was for maintenance. You probably wouldn't be allowed in the maintenance level but you weren't sure about the top level.

Maybe you could ask later.

You left the room to your containment chamber with the guard following a few steps behind. The hallway your cell was in had a few doors and posters next to said doors indicating which SCPs were in them. Your own poster looked like much of the others you had seen during the breach. The lighting of your picture looked suitably dramatic because of the shadow that was cast over your face but the overall image was alright.

You walked to the end of the hall. It seemed none of the rooms in your hall had any sentient SCPs. A shame but understandable. Now, let's see. You needed to find the Core Room first and foremost. It'd give you a good indication of the center of the Light Containment Zone. It would also be easier to navigate from it rather than wherever your cell currently was.

As you wandered the hallways, you mentally checked off the rooms you had gone through that were in SCP: Unity. Hallways, corner hallways, and threeways, all checked. You passed by the hallway that led to a few offices as well.

Site-17 felt busier than Site-19. To be fair, the last time you were freely wandering Site-19, it was during a containment breach and a good amount of people were dead. There wasn't much to be said about the people you saw here though. No one notable, just D-Class and doctors. They tended to give you a wide berth wherever you went through. Understandable, given your newly given roaming status.

Soon enough, you found the Core Room, no thanks to your guard.

The Core Room, as one would expect, was giant. A large open space with plants, doors and benches lining the walls, high ceilings and an elevated platform that held the elevator in the center. There were people entering in and out of the room, D-Class, doctors, and a few SCPs. It was pretty cool.

Across the room, you spotted 073 or rather, he spotted you and was heading over already.

"(Y/n)," he said as he slowed to a stop, "Hello. It is nice to see you around."

"Cain," you answered.

"Were you given permission to wander the facility?"

You lifted your wrist, showing the tracker. "Yup. But I'm still exploring and Site-17's bigger than Site-19 plus I don't have a S-Nav here so..." you trailed off.

"Would you like a tour?"

"Oh. You're offering?"

"If you'd like, of course," he murmured, holding out his hand.

Well, it'd certainly be easier than just wandering until you found everything. Gently, you laid your hand in his as a silent acceptance.

"Thank you," you spoke as his metallic hand closed around yours.

Cain smiled. "It's no problem."

Something that was almost a genuine smile tugged at your lips. It seemed Site-17 may be better after all.

------

New SCPs in this chapter:

SCP 105

SCP 507

SCP 073

------

Published: January 30, 2022

Word count: 2,515

Death Counter: 12

------

MC and Cain: *having a normal conversation*

The doctors: stop flirting in front of us

Hi yes, I'm one day early. This chapter is more of a transition into arc 3. Drop by my Tumblr (occasionalsnippets) if you'd like. We talk a lot and maybe you'll feel less deprived of content between the once-a-month updates. Thanks for reading!