Moving On - SCP Foundation

"Dear… Director… Richter…" Gregory spoke aloud as he typed his e-mail, "You… stupid… fucking… moron…"

"I don't think they'll listen to you if you call them that," Researcher Maria Johnston said, reading over his shoulder.

Gregory rolled his eyes.

"Look, I'm not actually going to send this draft," Gregory said, erasing what he just typed, "But I still need to say something to her, right? I mean, can you believe that she actually let that guy go free? I mean, we've contained entire civilizations before. We've contained minor gods! Why does he get the easy treatment?"

The "He" in this situation referred to Gregory Chudley's most recent thorn in his side, POI-6940, or as they prefer to be called, "PeppaPigsStrongestSoldier1337". Though technically, they also like to be referred to as "The King of Finland". Whatever their name was, the Foundation had them in containment, and for a reason that Gregory couldn't fathom, he was let free.

"Greg, I get it," Maria said, trying to be empathetic. "This guy… he's gotten under your skin. But he's a troll, and feeding into it like this is only going to make it worse."

Gregory turned back to his computer and began typing again. Maria only sighed and sat in the chair across from him, knowing that it'd be a long time before Gregory would let this go.

"Yeah, it'll be worse for him," Gregory said, typing loudly. "I'm going to get surveillance drones, an entire Mobile Task Force… no, TWO Task Forces on his ass!"

"I'm sure that'll be what happens," Maria chuckles, rolling her eyes. "I'm not going to vouch for you if this gets you a suspension, though. I'm actively telling you not to do this, because calling your superior a moron in writing is going to get you a demotion to janitor."

"Then you should do it too, so we can be demoted together!" Gregory laughed. "I hear that the Sanitation Department gets pizza parties on the first Saturday of every month."

"Greg, fuck, no," Maria said.

Gregory groaned and stood up from his chair, pacing around.

"But really, don't you get it, Maria?" Gregory asked. "There's a reality bender that powerful just out there, and they're doing nothing about keeping him in check! You can't think he'd just be better on his own, right?"

"I don't," Maria said, "but like I said, just… let it go. Okay? They wouldn't do this without good reason, right?"

Gregory pulled his chair back to sulk in it.

"There isn't anything that you can do right now that won't result in you overreaching your position or, worse, making that kid you hate so much feel cocky because he knows he's gotten under your skin," Maria said, trying to soothe him. "Maybe just… I don't know, take a break? Play some games or something, that'll get the rage out, I'm sure."

"You sound like my mother trying to be cool," Gregory snarked. "But fine, you're probably right. I'll clock out for an extended lunch break and just… I don't know. Play League or something."

"That's the spirit!" Maria smiled.

"And you'll be my Support, right?" Gregory said, looking up expectantly at Maria.

"I…" Maria started to speak but then paused for an uncomfortably long time.

"Come on, you're the only one that'll do it! I'm not about to queue up with some rando and have them ruin my game. You're the only Janna player with more than half a brain."

"Greg… I can't play right now." Maria said, looking away. "It's not that I don't like playing with you, I-"

Gregory said, rubbing his eyes with his hands, "No, it's fine. I get it. I'll just have to carry on my own, then."

Maria took a moment to choose her words very carefully. Gregory was still her friend, but she was at an impasse. Obviously, she wanted to help Gregory with his stress, but… god, there was no way that she was going to do that by playing League with him. She knows her limits.

"I know you will. You always do," Maria said encouragingly.

Gregory just turned back to his computer.

"I… I should go," Maria said awkwardly.

"There's nothing I can do to get you to support me?" Gregory asked.

"For Peppa, you know I have your back in spirit," Maria said. "But in League? I'll have to pass."

Maria turned and walked out the door, closing it behind her. Gregory checked briefly to make sure he was really alone.

"Fuck, man…" Gregory said to himself, "It's like nobody has my back around here anymore."

Being alone was a familiar feeling, and one that, to an extent, he reveled in… but he kind of missed having a duo. He missed being able to have someone he knew he could rely on no matter what—someone he could shoot the shit with, fight with, and joke with. Maria was his friend and all, but there were just some things the two of them couldn't do together. He wanted something more, something… deeper…

Gregory shook away these thoughts. He stared at his screen for a while, thinking about what to do. Writing that email was certainly cathartic, but playing League would probably be a healthier and less job-risking way to relieve stress. But… that goddamn Peppa Pig…

"How does nobody else see what I see? A reality bender on that scale is just… just!… ugh!" Gregory threw up his hands in frustration.

Gregory sat and thought for a long time about what to do next, pondering every pro and con in a reasonable, measured fashion. Naturally, he resolved to follow a rational and appropriate course of action:

He was going to circumvent needing his Director's approval, and search for a way to monitor Peppa Pig himself.

"Surely there's something I could use… some kind of robot on loan… o-or a former Agent that needs a job and would keep quiet about it… something like that…" Gregory muttered to himself while searching through files in the site database. "Come on… come-"

Gregory paused. Something about the file he just stumbled upon struck him.

"SCP-3774… Object Class… Neutralized," Gregory whispered aloud. "Cybernetically modified mosquitoes… covertly survey PoIs… wait…"

Gregory underlined the line on the document with his finger to make sure that he was reading it right.

"'In most cases, instances of SCP-3774 have tried to'… court subjects?" Gregory said. "What the fuck?"

The entire document screamed bizarre to Gregory, and he was used to bizarre. Not only did the Foundation somehow breed cybernetics into a species of mosquito, but these mosquitoes apparently fell hopelessly in love with whoever they drank the blood of? That was stupid. It was ridiculous. It was…

"No, no." Gregory shook his head. "Get that shit out of your head, Gregory. It's a fucking mosquito. You're not going to get anything out of… out of…"

Gregory re-read the words on the screen again.

And again.

Suddenly, his mind started to drift…

"I wonder if those cybernetics allow them to play League…"

"God, please don't go like this…"

"Please stay with me, please!…"

"I love you, Leslie…"

Leslie could only barely make out Merle's final words to her as she finally passed. She didn't want to go… God, she didn't want to go… but she knew that she was out of time. She only hoped that Merle would have something to remember her by, and that he would keep being happy long after her death. That was all she wanted…

And then darkness.

It wasn't a surprise, she thought. After all, what kind of afterlife would there be for someone like her? There wasn't a bug heaven; at least she assumed there wasn't. She sighed in her mind, knowing that this was… it. This was her end. She felt nothing but emotions washing over her. No longer could she hear the gentle sounds of Merle's breath as he slept. No longer could they laugh over old movies together. No longer could she feel his gentle touch as he held her in a single cupped hand. She seemingly couldn't even look forward to being rejoined with Merle when he, too, died. Everything was… it was gone.

Everything was… gone?

In the distance, there was… something. Small, but bright. A light? A trick of the eye? Honestly, Leslie didn't care. Before she could even try to move towards it, the light grew in size, getting larger and larger, until-

"…lo? Hellooooooo?"

Leslie was… somewhere. She could hear something… someone. Someone she didn't recognize. She… she could feel her body. Was she alive again?

"I… M… Mer…" Leslie tried to speak, but it seemed like something was different about her voice module.

"Fuck yeah, it worked!" the voice said.

Leslie could see a vague shape moving around her. The room she was in was a sterile white, and she was lying on a cold, metallic surface.

"Wh… whe-re?" Leslie managed to get out.

"What? You don't recognize this place?" The voice spoke again. "Okay, shit… Maybe I screwed some shit up trying to reboot your robotics…"

Leslie could see the shape move quickly around the room, but her eyes couldn't follow. She was trapped in her own body. She couldn't even move her wings.

"Oh… God…" Leslie panicked, "Help… help…"

"Shit, hold on," the voice said. "I got this, just don't… don't scream the whole time, okay?"

"He-elp…" Leslie squeaked out again. "HE-ELP!"

Leslie could hear a sound of crackling behind her—electricity buzzing. Was this hell? Was there a special hell reserved for insects that do bad things? Was her brief romantic escapade really going to give her an eternity of punishment?

"Why?" Leslie spat out. "Why? Why? Why?"

Leslie could feel the heat of something behind her, and for a moment, everything returned to black. For a moment, she wished she had stayed there.

But… certain enough, everything was… fine. Her vision wasn't blurring, her nerve endings were functional… but she felt empty, for some reason. Physically empty, as if something from inside her abdomen had been removed.

"Shit, I hate working with organic cybernetics…" the voice said. "But it'll be all worth it, right?"

Leslie stretched her limbs, finally gathering the strength to turn around to face the voice. She was met with a thin man, his eyes a pale blue, and his hair a short, curly mop plopped unceremoniously on his head. Leslie couldn't tell if he was 20 and tired or 45 and healthy.

"Worth… what?" Leslie asked. "What is going on?"

Leslie's eyes glanced around in panic, surveying her surroundings. It didn't take long before she realized where she was. While it wasn't hell, it was certainly the next closest place. This was the Foundation.

"Look, maybe things started on the wrong foot, but I can explain everything," the man said. "You can call me Gregory, by the way."

Reasonably, Leslie didn't want to be afraid, but… no. She knew what she did was wrong. Well, wrong to the Foundation. There's simply no way that she wouldn't be punished for her indiscretion, for her violation of her directive. The only way she could even have a chance at living—at seeing Merle again—was to act calmly and cooperate.

Leslie simulated a short huff, and flattened her wings, "Gregory. It's nice to meet you. You can call me Leslie."

"Wait, what?" Gregory said, scratching his head. "That… hm."

"I know that I'm not supposed to have a name, but… well, I was given one by someone I care very deeply about," Leslie explained. "I know I'm supposed to just be 2432, but… please at least let me have this."

"No, I know about the name," Gregory brushed off. "What I'm confused about is how you still remember it. I mean…"

Gregory scratched his chin and scrunched his face.

"Look, I just want you to do something for me, okay?" Gregory tried to explain. "At first, I wanted to get something to monitor some asshole in Finland, but after reading up on-"

"That's a rude thing to say," Leslie pointed out.

"You know, you're right. Let me correct myself," Gregory said. "He's an enormous asshole."

"That's not any better!" Leslie shouted.

"You don't know the guy like I do," Gregory snapped back, "but again, he's not relevant right now. I wanted to do… an experiment."

"Experiment?" Leslie asked.

"I read your file. I watched the footage you recorded from your time with Merle," Gregory said.

Leslie froze. Oh god, what was going to happen? Vivisection? Torture? She knew that she would be punished, but now there's-

"I want to see what happens if you drink my blood," Gregory finally said.

Leslie… Well, she was already frozen in fear, but this made her just stop altogether.

"Drink your blood?" Leslie asked.

"Look, it's weird, but I just… I want to see what happens," Gregory said. "I mean, considering what happened when you drank that other guy's blood, I'm mostly curious at this point."

"He's not just some other guy," Leslie corrected.

"I know, I know. I… look, I don't get moved by this stuff often, but it was cute," Gregory admitted. "And… well, I've been going through a lot with work, and that guy I told you about…"

Gregory swallowed hard, unsure if he could really say the words he wanted to say. He inhaled, and then continued his thought.

"I just wanted to know if it was possible to… have someone close to me like you and Merle were close," Gregory said. "I know I won't be him, b-but I think we could get along!"

"You… but…" the words were practically tumbling out from Leslie, "I don't know who you are! You're just coming here and telling me that I need to give up on Merle and be with you instead?"

Gregory paused, thinking momentarily. This was a road bump he didn't expect, but now he just kind of felt like an asshole for basically asking someone in a committed relationship to cheat on their partner.

"You… you don't have to give up on Merle," Gregory said. "And if your issue with this is that you don't know me, then… we could go on a date first!"

Leslie huffed, "Seriously? Do you not hear yourself?"

"I mean…" Gregory sighed, "Yeah, no, I hear myself. That's… fuck me…"

Gregory put his hands to his mouth and closed his eyes tightly, internally cursing himself for thinking with his dick this much. He wanted to blame Peppa Pig for this, but he knew that this was just his own oversight.

"Honestly, this has been going… way different than how I expected," Gregory admitted. "I just kind of thought that you would be… you know, just a regular drone again? After dying and all…"

Gregory's face scrunched up even tighter.

"Eugh, that sounds a lot creepier out loud. 'Sorry for all of this; I thought you'd be an amnesiac who I could date and play League of Legends with'," Gregory mocked himself. "Christ, I need a fucking break…"

Leslie sighed, "I just… you said you saw… what happened? With Merle?"

"The video footage, anyway," Gregory said.

"Do you know what happened to him after I died?" Leslie asked.

"Oh, right. Um… well…" Gregory scratched his head. "In a literal sense, he's fine. He's just… he's not gonna remember you in the same way."

Leslie tilted her head, "What do you mean he's not going to remember me?"

"Well, he remembers a relationship with someone named Leslie, but he remembers it as a… normal relationship. You know…" Gregory gestured vaguely with his hands, "a human relationship? Amnestics and shit."

"Is there… any way that I can see him? I just want to…" Leslie paused.

In reality, she didn't know what she wanted to do if she found him. If Merle really doesn't remember her as she was, but instead remembers having an entirely different relationship, is he still the same person?

And if he had changed, would he still love her?

"I'm sorry, Leslie," Gregory said, interrupting her internal thought. "I'll see what I can do, but no promises. I honestly shouldn't even be here."

"Shouldn't… be here?" Leslie asked.

"I mean… in a technical sense, I'm allowed. I got clearance to take your corpse and try to revive it for useful information, but… I didn't exactly say that I wanted to take you on a date instead," Gregory admitted. "So… honestly, I can't really see any of the higher ups allowing you to leave without some convincing."

Gregory paused, hoping Leslie would say something, but she was silent.

"But maybe I can be convincing? I dunno, I have kinda been in hot water with my site's director, but… She can come around to a lot of stuff. Maybe she'll pull some strings herself?" Gregory offered.

Leslie remained silent for a lot longer than Gregory had wanted. Gregory was worried at this point that he had just come here to make himself look like a degenerate in front of a mosquito.

"I can tell that you're trying to make things better, Gregory," Leslie said, "I appreciate that, but… I just…"

Leslie struggled to find the right words.

"It's a lot to process," Leslie finally said.

Gregory wanted to say something to empathize, but his foot had spent enough time in his mouth today already. He didn't really want to say anything more, anyway. He was stewing in his own cringe. Leslie had her own thoughts to manage, so they were met with yet another break in the conversation.

"Have you ever loved anyone, Gregory?" Leslie said, breaking the silence.

The words surprised Gregory. It's not that he didn't have an answer for it; he just didn't expect to be confronted with it.

"Me? No. No chance," he shook his head. "I've been too busy for a lot of that stuff these days. It's why I kinda wanted to expedite the process. Move things along."

"Well… then I suppose this will be… hard to explain," Leslie said. "I lived for a month. You know this, right?"

"Yeah, I do."

"And for the majority of that month, my entire life revolved around one person, and that was Merle," Leslie explained. "It may be normal for people to move on if… if someone they love has already moved on, but it's… hard for me. I had nobody else until I had him, and then we had each other, and then…"

Leslie simulated sniffling, as if she were about to cry.

"And then we were done. I was dead," Leslie stated. "I want to see him, tell him I'm fine, but… if he's moved on, one way or another… who am I to suddenly force myself back into his life?"

"Jesus…" Gregory said in reply.

For the first time since their meeting, Gregory finally pulled up a chair to sit down, bringing the two of them to eye level.

"That sounds… really fucking heavy," Gregory continued. "I… I brought you back for the wrong reasons. I'm genuinely sorry for that. I don't know if I can get you a chance to meet Merle again, but… at the very least, what I can do is make sure you're not put back in the cooler. I have your body on rental, after all."

Leslie simulated a laugh at the absurdity of the statement.

"Thank you. L-like I said, you… don't have to do that. I was just rash and… temperamental," Leslie said. "I'd like the closure, but… I don't even know if it'll be something I can actually handle."

Gregory gave a curt laugh, "The one good thing about not dating is never getting dumped. So at least I have that going for me."

Leslie simulated another laugh.

"You're funny," Leslie said. "Thank you. Really, thank you."

"Yeah, yeah…" Gregory looked away. "I'll see what I can do to at the very least get you reinstated as a Foundation Agent. I'm sure we can get something worked out with the whole… I dunno, exchange of information deal? You giving a firsthand report of your time with Merle is probably worth something."

"Thank you…" Leslie said again, interrupting herself with another simulated laugh, "S-Sorry, I'm saying 'thank you' a lot. You've just… really been helpful."

"It's fine," Gregory shrugged. "It's… it's what I do. I solve problems."

Gregory felt a sense of pride at saying that out loud. Even if he didn't get what he wanted coming here, he was going to leave with a sense of confidence that he very much needed.

Leslie, on the other hand… she wasn't sure how she felt. Even in spite of her talk, she still wanted to see Merle… but she did truly believe in what she said. Who was she to want to do that to Merle? Who could she be without him in her life?

She figured that there was a way to find out.

"You know," Leslie said, once again taking the initiative to break the silence, "I don't think I've properly been on a date."

Gregory quirked an eyebrow. "What? Yes you have; I saw you do a bunch of stay-in movie dates with Merle in your file."

"Well… yes, I suppose," Leslie said, "but they were all… I don't want to sound like I was ungrateful for them, but it felt like a routine after a while. A well-loved and thoughtful routine, but one that felt less like a date and more like a nightly ritual."

"What would you consider a date, then?" Gregory asked.

"Going out somewhere? Getting food, going to a park, going dancing, something like that," Leslie said. "Something romantic."

"Well, it's a good thing you said no to my date offer, because I was just gonna do a stay-in date and teach you to play League," Gregory laughed. "We would not have gotten along."

"League?" Leslie asked.

"League of Legends. It's a game I like," Gregory admitted. "I figured that because you're part cybernetic you could just, I don't know, play better? Or at least learn fast."

"I mean…" Leslie looked away, "I'm not opposed to learning new things."

Gregory's eyes widened, and he quickly stood up from the table, scooping Leslie up in his hand.

"Wh-whoa!" Leslie exclaimed. "What's the rush?"

"My guy, you just gave me the best news I could hear today," Gregory said. "I'm gonna teach you to be the best Support player in the world."

Leslie didn't know what was going on, but… Gregory seemed happy. It would be a long time before she could get over Merle, if she ever did, but at least she knew that she wouldn't have to be alone in order to do it.

This piece was written for RomCon, hosted by UraniumEmpire! Make sure to check out my opponent, SYTYCFanon's entry here!