Game Day Part 1: Smilers - SCP Foundation

During Incident 234-900-Tempest Night, many junior staff and personnel took part in the attempts to repel attackers by seizing control of already uncontained SCPs or, in some cases, breaching containment of SCPs with the intent of seizing control of them for defensive purposes. A notable example of a failed attempt is the efforts of Junior Researcher David Eskobar, who remains in medical care and has begun psychiatric treatment recently. Relevant information is included below.

Excerpts from Surveillance Logs, Security Cameras 00290001, 00290011, 00290993

0920: SCP-275 confirmed secure, armed guards holding position.

0922: Junior Researcher David Eskobar attempts to instigate security breach at SCP-275 containment cell. Armed guards fire warning shot down hallway. Researcher Eskobar flees.

0944: SCP-███ confirmed secure, guards having left position but making periodic patrols.

0945: Researcher Eskobar arrives at SCP-███ containment area. Eskobar attempts to instigate security breach. Armed guards walking past fire warning shots. Researcher Eskobar flees. Guards seen chasing after Eskobar momentarily, then shouting; microphone unable to pick up dialogue.

1010: SCP-███ confirmed secure. Guards holding position out of sight but nearby.

1011: Researcher Eskobar arrives at SCP-███ containment area. Eskobar attempts to instigate security breach. Multiple armed guards rush from concealed locations and capture Eskobar. Eskobar is dragged out of sight.

1030: Researcher Eskobar successfully enters Site 17 video archive.

After-Action Debriefing, Agent ██████/Guard B-3273

Agent ██████: Tell me about Researcher Eskobar's behavior during the beginning of Tempest Night.

B-3273: Christ, he was the same as the rest of them. We heard junior staff running around like hamsters, screaming about “I always wanted to try SCP-this” and “we have no choice, we have to have SCP-that.” It's insulting that almost every one of them forgot that there were still a few guards in the building, still staying on post no matter what was happening. You know, actually securing a few SCPs, not letting them out and hoping everything just turned out okay.

Agent ██████: And you say Eskobar was the same?

B-3273: No, Eskobar was the worst. He hadn't worked here more than a month at that point, and he apparently hadn't read half of the files on the Scips he was trying to break out. He was going to jump on to the table in front of SCP-212, figuring it would just turn him into Robocop. You should have seen the look on his face when we told him about the “no anesthetic” part, or the survival rate.

Agent ██████: But Eskobar kept trying.

B-3273: I guess he forgot we still had radios. We were tracking his movements, and by the time he got to ███, we had decided enough was enough.

Agent ██████: So you moved in to arrest him.

B-3273: As far as I'm concerned, he had enough chances. We waited until he actually tried breaching containment for the third before we took him.

Agent ██████: And none of the guards were feeling…especially antagonistic towards the researcher?

B-3273: Of course not, sir. We maintained professional conduct throughout the incident. Where possible.

Agent ██████: I'm interested in how Eskobar escaped from containment and broke into Site-17's video archive.

B-3273: I'm sorry, sir. I guess he just got past us.

Agent ██████: I'm especially concerned with how he managed to break in while still handcuffed and gagged.

B-3273: Sorry, sir. I guess he just got past us.

Agent ██████: Were any of you aware of his coulrophobia?

B-3273: Sir?

Agent ██████: His fear of clowns.

B-3273: Not particularly, sir. We would never—well, we would have advised him not to…contain himself in that particular room had we known that, no matter what had happened.

Agent ██████: (sighs) Yes, that's what the others said.

Due to lack of evidence and extenuating circumstances, guards involved in the incident have been cleared of all charges.

Excerpt of Security Log, Video Transcript, Security Camera 00290933

1030: Researcher Eskobar enters Site 17 video archive. Researcher begins demonstrating intense fear and huddling against corner, still handcuffed.

1045: A television turns on. Researcher Eskobar registers acute panic.

1046: Researcher Eskobar appears to lose consciousness.

Suggested modification to SCP-993 containment protocols, Addendum 993-1:

Given the events surrounding the death of Dr. █████ (see Incident Report 993-Gamma) and its behavior during Incident Tempest Night, it appears that SCP-993's previous manifestation towards children and exclusion of adults was the result of a conscious choice. SCP-993 is capable of manifesting itself to adults as well as children. However, in order to interact with adults, SCP-993 appears to be able to render adults unconscious. Once unconscious, [REDACTED] (see Security Log Transcript, Camera 00290993)

Excerpt of Security Log, Video Transcript, Security Camera 00290933

1048: Researcher Eskobar appears to regain consciousness. Begins smiling.

1050: Researcher Eskobar rises to his feet, maintaining eye contact with television.

1055: Gag applied to Eskobar's mouth falls out. Hands cease to be restrained. [Note: Handcuff chain was later found to have been severed by unknown means.]

1059: Researcher Eskobar raises his arms outward to the sides, forming a T-shape. Video cuts out briefly. When image returns, Eskobar's hands are pinned to the wall with large spikes; blood is flowing freely down his arms and down the wall. Researcher Eskobar's face is smiling widely, and continues to do so for the duration of the taping (seventy-two hours).

After-Action Summary, ██/██/11:

After the conclusion of Incident Tempest Night, during cleanup operations, Researcher Eskobar was found in Site 17's video archive, badly dehydrated, suffering serious blood loss, and nearing a comatose state, still smiling. Researcher Eskobar was taken to a Foundation medical facility and assigned to psychiatric therapy. The television across from Researcher Eskobar remained on, broadcasting test pattern SMPTE RP 219-2002 (commonly known as “color bars”). Several DVDs were found on top of the television; when arranged in a rainbow shape, markings on the DVDs spelled out “SEASON II!” These discs were revealed to contain videos in the animated style of SCP-993, depicting the deaths of various Foundation researchers during Tempest Night. Some of these deaths were not actually witnessed by any surviving researchers, casting doubt on whether the particular brutality shown to accompany many of these deaths actually happened.

SCP-993's primary role in the videos is narrative in nature, providing commentary for the deaths and making comedic comments about both the means by which individuals died and the appearance of the remains of dead personnel. However, three researchers who were never located and considered MIA, along with two D-class personnel who were believed to have escaped, are shown on the videos. Each researcher is individually shown being knocked unconscious by an unseen attacker and dragged into empty containment rooms. Though the experiences of all three are different, all are assaulted in various ways using different weapons, which appear to be held by the camera's operator. One is shown dying from blood loss during a surgical operation to connect the victim's colon to his esophagus, another dies of cerebral failure during an unanesthetized hemispherectomy, and the final researcher dies of shock after being skinned alive with an industrial-grade belt sander. The two D-class personnel are shown being sewn to one another at several points and led into an area where SCP-███ was roaming after breaching containment, leading to dismemberment. All five victims continue smiling broadly throughout their experiences. None of these events can be corroborated or disproved by available evidence.