Recuperation And Judgement

I stepped into the cell where Aaron was waiting, his face showing no emotion until he locked eyes with me.

"Iris!" He walked over, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I managed to hide from the 939 attacks," I looked around, "we need to talk."

"Ok, sure," Aaron let me lead him to the small desk in the cell, "What's up?"

I leaned in, "Aaron. This is the THIRD attack in three weeks! There has to be a pattern here."

Aaron rubbed his chin, "Fair. Well, if they were after something in Site-17, then they wouldn't have attacked this place. But you were here and at Site-17 during the previous attacks, so it would stand to reason that they were going after you."

"But why? There are tons of SCPs more useful than me," I paused as a thought entered my mind, "Bones said something about a person. Lilly Veselka. Do you have any idea who that is?"

Aaron shook his head, "Not anything useful. I've heard some of the higher-ups mention the name, but they seem to be referring to a disease of sorts."

I frowned, "It has to be a person. Remember, Bones said they needed me to make a portal to her, but I don't know what they mean by that. If they're talking about my ability to reach through photos, then they must not understand I actually need a picture of the location to do it in the first place."

"I don't think they went in blindly," Aaron began to pace, "They had to have done research about you and other SCPs before busting in, so they had to have known that."

"What's so special about this lady their trying to get to?"

"I don't know," Aaron stopped pacing for a moment, "But it can't be good."

Silence took the room for a moment.

"Well," I spoke, "what's the next step?"

Aaron looked up at me, "I don't know, but we'll figure this out."

I smiled gratefully at him, "Thank you, Aaron."

We stared at each other for one second more before Aaron stood. "Rest up. We're not done yet," He said with a slight grin.

I sat on the bed in the room and leaned against the wall, "Alright."

He turned to leave, hesitating for a second before closing the doors. I felt my face get stuck in a smile, to which I shook my head to get rid of it.

It's not a good idea to have friends in the SCP foundation.

Someone always gets hurt.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I sat down in the meeting room as the rest of the Directors and high leveled personnel from the site walked in. Aaron stood next to my chair, his gaze directed at the podium. On the walls were 13 giant tv screens, each labeled with a number 1-13.

I spotted Director Graham walk in, but I didn't try to get his attention. I needed to keep my head low. Tensions were high right now, and a Skip like me poking her nose where it doesn't belong might spook them to do something drastic.

This meeting was most certainly about the three CI attacks this month, all with CI entering the facility, and two of those had SCP breaches along with them.

They were definitely planning something...

and we all know it involves me.

3-10 of the 13 giant screens turned on, each having the silhouette of a man or a woman with a dark blue background behind each. No one could see their faces, but everyone in the room knew who they were.

They're the ones in charge. The ones who allowed me into the MTF. The ones keeping me contained here.

They're the 05 councils.

Graham stood tall and looked directly at the screens, contrary to Jaci, who kept wringing her fingers nervously looking at the ground.

"05 council members," Graham spoke calmly, "Thank you for meeting with us on such short notice."

"We know the situation," #7 spoke, their voice distorted to hide their identity, "Care to explain how these happened exactly?"

"They rushed the entrance on the first breach," Graham spoke cooly, "Then drilled into my facility on the second, using wave disruptors to hide their presence."

"There was a third one," #4 spoke up, "At Site-300. Is that correct, Director Jaci?"

Jaci flinched as her name was spoken, "That- that is correct."

"What happened?"

"We d-don't know."

Silence took the room before #7 spoke, "We've never had 3 consecutive breaches by the same entity or group before. When breaches happen in the past, protocol says to find the source of the breach and prevent it from repeating. Did the protocol get overlooked?"

Jaci tried to speak, but nothing came out. Graham spoke up, "05, if I may point out, all three breaches happened when SCP-105 was supposedly present at both Sites." My blood froze as he continued, "According to reports, Site-17 had an attempted breach about a week ago again but was dispersed before they could enter the facility. According to the evidence we found, they were looking for SCP-105 but found she wasn't present."

I was freaking out inside my brain. I didn't wanna get between Graham and the 05! Why did he get me involved?!

The 05 muttered something to each other before #7 spoke once more, "SCP-105 is in the room with us right now, correct?"

Graham nodded, "Correct."

"We'd like it to come up."

I felt Aaron turn to look at me, but I didn't meet his gaze. I felt my heart quicken.

These 05 were the most powerful people in the Foundation. Should it become necessary, they could erase me from every record that ever existed. They could kill me with a wave of their hand, with a nod, even with a single word.

Aaron helped me stand. He noticed my hands shaking and leaned close, "Breath." He whispered, "You're not in trouble. I'm here for you."

I nodded a silent thanks, taking a deep breath. My muscles and bones felt hollow as I walked up. Aaron walked with me, putting his hand on my shoulder to comfort me. I stepped onto the podium and turned to face the dark silhouettes.

"SCP-105, Iris Thompson," #4 spoke, acting as the group's informant, "25 years of age, member of Mobile Task Force Alpha-9," I froze when they continued, "and formally the Force Captain of MTF Omega-7, and previous second in command for SCP-076."

I swallowed hard. Of course, they had to bring that up. The image of a familiar man flashed in my memory; a tall Semitic man covered in tattoos.

My former companion.

My friend.

I felt Aaron's hand on my shoulder, and I felt a little better.

"Correct," Graham spoke, "That is her."

#7 turned his attention to me, "105, were you aware of the CI's plans to enter the facility?"

"No, I wasn't."

"We can't trust her to tell the truth," #8 spoke.

"I agree," Said #5.

I frowned. "I'm not lying. It's the truth."

"But there is no proof," #3 spoke.

"There isn't any proof of me lying either," I growled.

"Iris, calm down," Aaron said in a hushed voice.

#7's head flicked to Aaron, "You. You're her supervisor, correct?"

Aaron stood straight, "Correct. You sent MTF 986 from Alpha 1 a few weeks ago to get us to Site-300."

"Aaron Martinez, MTF Epsilon 11 #072," #4 spoke again.

"Where were you when the breaches happened?" #7 questioned.

"The first time, I wasn't assigned to SCP-105 yet. The second time, I was tricked by a CI in disguise, until I found a flaw in the story he gave me. The last time, I was ordered to go to the barracks and wait for further instructions. When the breach happened, I immediately began searching for 105, to which she was brought to the cell I was in by another MTF agent."

"All three breaches, you weren't present or in the direct vicinity of 105," #10 spoke, "Correct."

"That is correct," Aaron spoke again.

"Well then, it's clear to me what needs to be done," #6 said defiantly, "105 cannot be left alone. Aaron, you will remain as her guard. You will be allowed to pick two Task Force to be your assistants."

"Agreed," #7 turned to Graham, "SCP-105 will be transported back to Site-17, where you will find candidates for Aaron to nominate."

"Yes 05," Graham nodded.

"You and your's may go," #5 spoke, "Jaci, you stay here."

Grahan nodded and turned to Aaron and me, "Let's head out."

I looked over my shoulder at Jaci, who was still shaking on the podium as we left. The door closed behind us, to which Aaron patted my back, "Good job in there."

I smiled, taking deep breaths to recenter myself, "Thanks for being there for me."

Aaron smiled, "Well I don't really have a choice in that matter now, do I? Im practically attached to you."

That made me laugh. Really hard laughter, for the first time in what felt like an eternity.

A real, genuine, laugh.