"Ugh, my head!" I jolted upright, the pain pulsing through my temples like a relentless drumbeat.
"Well, this is new," remarked a deep, resonant voice that sent shivers down my spine. I had heard that voice before, but I could scarcely believe it belonged to the being I thought it did.
There he was, in all his terrifying glory, looming before me.
"Khounsu."
"You remember me," he said, a flicker of surprise lacing his tone, though it was so subtle that only he could truly sense it.
"You seem to have talents unlike the worm," he added, an edge of venom sharpening his words. Knowing Khounsu, it could always be worse.
Suddenly, a voice echoed—not from the outside, but echoing inside his head.
'Where am I?!' it demanded, urgency wrapping around its tone.
'Marc?!? MARC, where are you? Where is this?' the voice said, and in that moment of realization, I understood what was happening.
I felt it click together within my mind—my abilities, my newfound connection to this chaotic situation. The system had come to be.
I muttered the password, barely audible yet still heard by those listening in.
'Marc, are you in control? And why are you saying that?' came a voice, discernibly British in its accent.
'I don't know, Steven, but whoever he is, he is different from us,' said another voice, unmistakably American.
Ignoring their banter for the moment, I pulled up my previous reward from the chaotic events that led me to this moment, still dizzy from the sudden transition.
"What the hell," I gasped in disbelief, piecing together what had just transpired.
"Guys, calm down," I blurted out loud, even though I hadn't realized I was speaking.
Then, darkness enveloped me again, pulling me down into an abyss before spitting me back into consciousness.
This time, I found myself in a stark cafeteria, an overwhelming smell of antiseptic filling my nostrils—my hands instinctively flew to the gun that suddenly lay heavy in my grasp, which I dropped to the floor in shock.
I didn't have a moment to gather my thoughts before the door exploded open, and a squad of MTF agents burst into the room, shouting commands to surrender.
"Where am I?" I stammered, panic clenching my throat as the reality of my situation crashed over me like a wave.
"This wasn't me!" I yelled desperately, the familiar dread settling into my bones. The scene flashed through my mind, recalling how similar events had unfolded in Steven's journey.
"This wasn't me!" My voice echoed defiantly, but it only drew the attention of one enraged officer closer to me.
"You think we're that dumb?! After you killed fifteen men by turning the ground to mud and then back into stone while they were trapped in it?" he accused vehemently, his face flushed with rage.
Or how you grabbed my best friend by his skull," he continued, tears pooling in his goggles, "and shrunk him so small he was practically a speck of blood!"
"He did all of that," I whispered, the reality of my powers crashing over me, and I began to wonder who was truly in control, and why such destruction had been wrought.
"No, you did," he yelled, his voice breaking as one of his teammates pulled him away, still screaming threats that he would hunt me down.
"Come with us," I heard a familiar voice call—and though I was still dazed, I recognized Symtry, the doctor I had crossed paths with before.
"What happened?" I managed to choke out, still trying to digest my surroundings, my nerves fraying. I noticed blood crusted on my hands, which only added to my confusion.
I heard the voice again, like thunder rumbling inside my head.
'I tried to escape,' a voice, which I knew must be Marc Spector, explained.
"Why would you do that?" I asked aloud, unguarded, though I was still speaking to someone who wasn't visible to those standing around me.
"He's talking to himself," Symtry murmured, her brow furrowed as she took in my condition, her gaze lingering over the blood that coated my clothes.
"Can his ability really give him forms of psychosis along with powers and items?" she whispered to herself, as the MTF unit stood ready, oblivious to the classified nature of my affliction.
"Steven, take over; you're the most reasonable one," I urged, feeling the pressure building as the stares from those around sharpened.
In an instant, my form morphed, and I gasped as a white suit with a mask enveloped me. The agents around me recoiled in surprise, uncertainty rippling across their faces.
"The bloody hell, Marc! We're in this situation for five minutes, and as soon as a doctor walks in, you cave in his skull and run for it," I heard Steven's voice shift into a more mummy-like form, cowl wrapped tightly around him.
"Well, Steven," he replied, finally turning introspective, "I thought we were kidnapped, but looking at us now," he gestured at the stark sterile environment, "we're in a different body."
"Khounsu, what's going on?" he turned to the air around him, demanding an explanation.
"You promised to set me free. Then I wake up in a new body, still your avatar, thinking I was captured by those who wish to eradicate anyone who sins—only to find out there's a new voice," Marc screamed, but before he could continue, Symtry approached cautiously.
"Who are you?" she asked, fear threading through her voice despite her professional demeanor.
"Marc Spector, and who are you?" he replied, calming slightly upon recognition that she posed no threat, only confusion.
"You're not Brian," she said, a realization dawning upon her.
"Is that the guy whose body this belongs to?" he asked, his tone surprisingly unfazed, though contrasting starkly with the chaos unfolding around him.
"Yes, you're in a Foundation, and your borrowed body is one of its many wards," she explained, her words racing as she sought to get everything documented and relayed to her superiors.
Just then, his eyes rolled back in his head, and a sharp gasp escaped his lips.
"God, that hurts," he exclaimed, his British accent stark against the sterile backdrop.
"And who are you?" Symtry pressed on, her curiosity piqued despite the circumstances.
"Steven Grant. So, can you give me a rundown of what's happening since I don't know how long this will last?" he said, a polite request cutting through the tension.
"Well, seeing as this is most likely permanent, I may as well tell you," Symtry replied, then began to explain the intricacies of this strange new reality.
"This is the SCP Foundation, and we secure, contain, and protect the world from things beyond the ordinary," she said, knowing that his knowledge wouldn't change much; this was far from an average encounter.
"Okay, well, I was just wondering—" he began, but before he could finish, the lights in the cafeteria flickered ominously, casting shadows that danced unnaturally around the room.
I felt the tension mounting, and a sense of dread crept in as Khounsu's presence loomed overhead.
"Get ready," he whispered, a chilling command that settled deep in my gut.
This was only the beginning, and I could sense that the world I'd entered was far more dangerous than I had ever anticipated.
****
Tell me how you liked it, and please, power stones if you have some to spare.
Have an amazing day, just like you.