4 He Just Needs Love

"Hey babe, could you get me some tea?" I ask, while watching the television. "Babe?" I ask, after a long moment of silence. "He isn't here." A voice says, from my left. I look over and see, what seems to be, SCP-990, from what I've heard about his appearance, at least. "No matter how much you want him to be, he isn't." 990 continues. "No... He's somewhere else entirely... Not dead, but not necessarily what I would consider: "alive," either." 990 says. "What do you mean by that?" I ask. 990 smirks slightly. "Perhaps the best way to neutralize SCP-096, isn't with violence, or termination attempts... but with love." 990 says, completely ignoring my question. "That sounds like a cliché plot for a Disney movie." I say. 990 laughs. "I suppose it does sound a bit cliché. But hey, might as well try, right? After all, a terrible future could come to pass if you don't." 990 says, as I watch a chaotic and violent scene play out in front of me. I wake up in my house from that dream. I then immediately notify the higher-ups about my dream.

I contemplate what SCP-990 said. It was so weird how he completely changed the subject to SCP-096, when he was just talking about Carter the moment before... Could 096 be...-? No... Right? Well, there's only one way to find out! I start to walk to 096's containment chamber. Eventually, I get to it, and I start to walk in, but a guard stops me. "Woah there. Nobody is allowed pass this point. Not even you, General Chambers. Honestly, I don't even understand why you want to go in there." Honestly, I saw this coming. Well, it was worth a shot. "Oh, just a dream I had." I say. The guard laughs, and the newbie next to him says: "What? Was that a joke? If so, I don't get it..." "Your security clearance isn't high enough to get it, rookie." The other guard says. "Well, I guess I'll be going now." I say, as I walk off. I was thinking about going back home, when suddenly, a containment breach starts. Good thing I'm always in uniform when I'm at any site.

Eventually, I see SCP-096's face, by accident. Having no other choice, I hug the creature. It's screaming stops, as it starts to cry. "What... have... I... done...?" It says, in a voice that sounds like Carter's. "Carter?" I ask. "Alexandria, is that you?" He asks. "Yes, Carter. It's me." I say. "I... I... I missed you so much... I had no idea what to do... Nothing makes sense anymore..." Carter's voice says, in a sob. I then let go of him and he covers his face. "I was about to kill you! I've killed so many people, Alex!" Carter says. "Carter, that wasn't you!" I say. "But it was, Alex! This feeling of rage takes over, and I just...-" Carter says, before he trails off into a sob. "Carter... I can't express how sorry I am about what happened to you... and how sorry I am that I didn't do anything to stop it...-" I say. "Wait... You knew? YOU KNEW SOMETHING LIKE THIS WOULD HAPPEN TO ME, AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME?!" He exclaims. "CARTER, I COULDN'T! THEY WOULD HAVE KILLED ME, AND AMNESTICIZED YOU IF I DID!" I yell. "THAT'S WAY FUCKING BETTER THAN WHAT I'VE BEEN THROUGH THESE PAST THIRTY YEARS, YOU BITCH!" Carter yells, as he uncovers his face, and looks me directly in the eyes. "Carter, I understand that your angry, and that what I neglected to tell you was horrible, but I didn't want to die back then!" I say. "AND WHAT CHANGED?!" Carter exclaims. "The fact that I thought you were dead!" I say. Carter stays silent. "It only kicked in when I realized that you weren't coming back. Life had kind of... lost its meaning... I had lost everyone. Yet somehow, I couldn't bring myself to end it all..." I say. "Alexandria.... I'm sorry for yelling... and for calling you a bitch... I've just killed so many people... and... it's taken a toll on me..." Carter says, as he looks away, and folds his arms. Suddenly, a male voice rings out. "General Alexandria, are you okay?" The voice asks. "Yes, I'm okay!" I respond. My fellow squad member, Jacob, runs towards me, and stops once he sees 096. Well, I guess I should say: "Carter" now. "The hell? Why does it have a human posture? And why hasn't it killed you yet?" He asks. "As cliché as it sounds; he just needed love." I say.