"Not containment?"
"And more dead weight?"
Dr. Bright raised his hand, signaling for them to quiet down.
"In fact, two teams have already been sent through the front doorway to investigate the anomaly. Unfortunately, none of them returned."
As soon as these words were spoken,
the atmosphere grew subtly tense.
None returned...
This meant the fatality rate for entering SCP-1983 was 100%.
Jinx propped her chin on her hand, curious. "So then, what do you need us to do?"
"You'll join a reconnaissance team as special agents. The squad consists of four agents and three D-Class personnel."
"Your mission is to assist the D-Class in capturing as much footage as possible of SCP-1983's interior."
Snap.
Dr. Bright snapped his fingers, and an agent immediately brought over a case.
Jinx opened the one in front of her and grinned with delight:
"Cool! My Pow-Pow? Fishbones, and even a minigun!"
Inside the case were several bizarrely designed weapons.
Dante, meanwhile, retrieved his Ebony & Ivory pistols and scoffed:
"Kids' toys."
Click!
The response to his remark was the dark muzzle of Pow-Pow pointed at him.
Jinx flashed a dangerous smile. "Hey, old man, wanna taste a bullet? Hmm, a special Foundation-enhanced one, at that."
"It seems you two are ready." Dr. Bright's tone was light, as if completely unfazed by the tension.
"Then, you may proceed with the mission."
The brief exchange left the audience both amused and exasperated.
It also gave them a clear impression of the two agents:
One, a volatile, unhinged beauty who exploded at the slightest provocation;
the other, a sarcastic, confrontational brute who mocked everyone in sight.
Soon,
the scene shifted to the interior of the mission's transport aircraft.
The team appeared to be seated in the cargo hold of a transport plane.
The other two agents were fully armed, their faces concealed behind sealed helmets—designated as Captain K and Operative H.
The three D-Class personnel consisted of:
D-12436, a middle-aged man with a thick beard;
D-15268, a punk-styled young woman;
and a shrewd-looking young man, D-14134.
Dante sat with his eyes closed, meditating,
while Jinx was restless, poking around and examining everything.
From time to time, she'd ask the agents questions about the Foundation.
Even when they ignored her, she didn't care.
Turning to the punk-styled D-Class woman beside her:
"Wow, nice tattoos."
"Thanks." The woman smiled.
Seeing she was open to conversation, Jinx grew more interested:
"So, how'd you end up as D-Class?"
The moment the question left her mouth, the woman's smile froze.
Her face darkened as she turned away, no longer interested in talking.
Tch—
The short-haired man nearby let out a mocking laugh:
"D-Class usually come from violent criminals in prisons worldwide, especially those on death row."
"That bearded guy? Former drug lord. This woman? International human trafficker. And me..."
The young man flashed what he thought was a menacing grin. "I killed four people."
"Oh?" Jinx widened her eyes, asking politely, "And today?"
The young man: "..."
Realizing the blue-haired girl in front of him might be a genuine, terrifying killer, he wisely ended the conversation.
Besides,
as a D-Class, he had no goodwill toward these agents—or the Foundation itself.
Just a bunch of the Foundation's lapdogs.
That's what he thought.
Watching this, the chatroom audience wore complicated expressions.
Both the two additional agents and the D-Class personnel
likely knew this was a mission with no return.
Soon,
the transport plane landed on a farm.
And the audience finally saw SCP-1983-1—a derelict farmhouse.
The farmhouse was dilapidated,
its wooden floors coated in thick dust, the mottled walls etched with strange black-red patterns.
Yet, it was hard to associate the place with the term "anomaly."
In the chatroom, some voiced skepticism:
"Honestly, it doesn't look special at all?"
"Yeah, weren't there supposed to be demon-like things? Where are they?"
"Compared to the Witch Child or even SCP-682, this one seems kinda weak for a Keter."
"Easiest mission yet."
The chat buzzed with discussion, many believing the Doorway to the Dead was unworthy of its Keter classification.
But the team on-site didn't share that sentiment.
Even just standing at the entrance,
they felt as though they were staring into an abyss.
Captain K, the leader, did a final check, confirming the three D-Class had their recording devices properly equipped, then waved his hand:
"Move out!"
With that, he was the first to step into the farmhouse.
Next were the three trembling D-Class personnel, with Dante and Jinx bringing up the rear.
Jinx, having been injected with perfected Shimmer, now had her physical abilities enhanced in every way.
As for Dante, the demon hunter? Entering the Underworld was like going home for him.
However,
the moment they crossed the threshold—
Thud. Thud.
The sound of their heartbeats seemed to magnify into deafening booms,
and an indescribable unease settled over the group.
Outside the farmhouse,
Dr. Bright watched the monitor in front of him, which was linked to the D-Class personnel's body cameras.
Before the team entered, the feed was perfectly normal.
But the instant they stepped inside—
Bzzzt—!
The monitor emitted a piercing static noise, the screen dissolving into white noise.
A technician exclaimed, "Signal lost?!"
No sooner had he spoken than the tether cables attached to the cameras suddenly pulled taut!
Everyone present paled.
Given the farmhouse's normal dimensions, the cables should have had more than enough slack.
Yet now...
Before anyone could react—
SNAP!
The cables snapped clean off.
For a moment,
the air seemed to freeze.
"K, what's happening in there?"
Dr. Bright shouted into the comms.
The only response was the relentless hiss of static.