The image shimmered, refocused itself. Still the same field, but from 
a different angle she saw Rupinder, looking just as worn as the 
sister. A chunk of his hair had been ripped out, and his shirt was 
little more than shreds. The lights hung around them, and from this 
vantage point she saw what they were really are. The first thing she 
thought of was angels- seven feet tall, humanoid, made of pure light 
with massive, birdlike wings extending from their backs and taloned 
feet. But as they hang in the air their shapes changed, human forms 
shifting into snakes, bears, hounds, images she couldn't identify at 
all. One dove at Rupinder. It flowed through his chest, passing 
through his body as if it were smoke. Rupinder collapsed back. 


Though the mirror gave no sound, she could tell that he was 
screaming. 


What the hell are those things? 


Guardians. Placed there to stop those who would try to free the 
Queen. 


Did... did you know those things would come? 


It didn’t respond. She felt a knot forming in her chest.. We have to 
do something. 


You wish to act now? 
They're killing him! 


No. The nature of their design is to prolong death. It may be 
years before they end his life. 


Amy jerked back from the mirror, letting it clatter against the table. 
The image of Rupinder vanished. She stared at the mirror, breathing 
heavily, then scooped it and the stone up and stormed into the 
hallway. 


It took almost half an hour of navigating to find the Queen’s room- 
the Hand’s hideout was a gnarl of intersecting routes and false starts 
that Amy couldn't even begin to imagine memorizing. Fortunately, 
the Witness seemed to have it mostly figured out. It spotted a 
familiar corridor and guided her to a room blocked by a white door. A 
good sign. Very few of the rooms here actually had doors installed. 
Amy knocked. 


A moment later the door swung open and the Queen appeared in 
the entrance, dressed in a blue nightgown and look of thorough 
annoyance. She glared at Amy, opened her mouth to speak. Then 
her gaze fell on the mirror in Amy’s hand, and a completely new 
expression formed, one that made Amy flinch back. “What are you 
doing with that?” The words were completely calm, but hearing 
them, Amy understood why Gregor had been so frightened. 


“l-| have to show you something.” 


The Queen took a step forward. Amy shrunk away. “I hope you can 
explain herself.” Amy shuddered. Her words snapped like a falling 
guillotine. 


Amy held the mirror and stone out. She struggled to organize her 
thoughts, but any hope of summoning Rupinder’s image was being 
pushed aside by the fear that now ran through her. Closing her 
eyes, she breathed deep. Tried to ignore the fear. Tried to forget her 
trembling knees. A jolt of electricity ran up her arms. She chanced a 
peek at the mirror, and breathed a sigh of relief as she saw 
Rupinder’s image. The angels still assailed him. The Queen 
watched it expressionlessly. 


“You used the sending stone?” she finally said. 
Amy nodded. 
“Is my Sister with him?” 


Again, Amy nodded. She wanted to speak, but words seemed to 
have bottlenecked in her throat. 


The Queen ran a finger down the mirror. “Can you take us to him? 
Amy looked away, finally able to speak. “I don’t know. Maybe.” 


“Good. Then prepare yourself. We leave as soon as everyone is 
ready.” The Queen turned back into the room. The door slammed 
behind her, leaving Amy alone in the hallway. 


Will we be able to get to him? 
Yes. 


What the fuck are we supposed to do against something that 
stopped Rupinder AND the Sister? 


You may have a chance, if you are able to use the stone 
properly. But you should not be so eager to rescue them. These 
people do not hold good intentions. 


Are you not going to help us? 


!am merely cautioning against this course of action. 


Amy glanced back down the hallway. A chill ran down her spine. 
She still couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. He’s a dick, but 
he’s a dick who helped me and saved my life. | won't just leave him 
like this. 


Your conception of karma is very strange. 


Not really. She started moving back towards her room. / just don’t 
like owing people favors. 


It was easier to return to her room than it had been to find the 
Queen’s- the Witness already had the route memorized. When she 
arrived she looked around the sparse space, thinking. There didn’t 
seem to be much preparation she could do. The only possession 
she had besides her clothes, a few books, and a handful of 
souvenirs purchased in the Library market was the sending stone. 
And from they way people had talked, it was all the preparation she 
required. She pulled it from her pocket, turning it over in her hand. 


What am I going to have to do? Sometimes Amy wondered why she 
bothered speaking to it in her head anymore. A nervous habit, 
picked up from years of abuse perhaps. 


The stone can be used to manifest a Way to their location. This 
will be the less challenging part. 


| assume the more challenging part is getting rid of those fucking 
angel things. 


She got the sense that, had the Witness a corporeal form, it would 
have nodded. And attempting to open another Way while being 
assailed by them. 


And how am ! supposed to do that? 
With great care. And the right tools. 


Thirty minutes later the Queen entered Amy’s room, prepared for 
war. She wore thin, black body, some cross between leather and a 


shiny material Amy had no clue as to the identity of. A bandolier was 
slung over one shoulder. A mixture of modern tech and library 
weaponry hung from it- modern looking grenades beside vials of 
multi-colored powder, rag dolls, wood carvings. On one hip was a 
silver pistol. A silver sword was strapped to the other. Li and 
Thalmos stood behind her. 


“You think a sword is going to help against those things?” said Amy, 
eyeing the weapon. 


“| wouldn’t underestimate it,” said the Queen. 


Amy shrugged. If the Queen thought it would be valuable, she was 
probably right. She had more experience than Amy in the matter, 
certainly. Amy glanced at the other two. Li carried no weapons that 
she could see. Another mage, perhaps? Thalmos carried an arsenal 
even more impressive than the Queen’s. It seemed almost 
preposterous that he was able to balance so many blades, 
magazines, scrolls, flasks, and amulets. The sheer mass of it all 
would have looked ridiculous on almost any other person. But it only 
served to make him look even more intimidating, like a knight 
preparing his armor to ride into battle. 


“You have everything you need?” 
Amy slung a backpack over her shoulder and nodded. 
“Then what's our next step?” 


“First we need to get back to the Library.” Amy gestured toward the 
door. The Queen turned and began to lead them through the maze 
of hallways that made up the exit. Amy was struck by how different it 
seemed than it had coming in. The light was brighter, the walls less 
oppressively close together. She felt a weight lifting from her as she 
walked, as if a stone she hadn’t even noticed had been strapped to 
her back and was finally being removed. 


She looked at the others. Their faces were grim. Thalmos drummed 
his fingers against his thigh nervously as a walk. Li walked with his 
arms folded in front of him, muttering softly to himself. Not happy 
about the mission, perhaps? Only the Queen seemed free of 


SCP-687: NOIR 


Item #: SCP-687 
Object Class: Safe 


Special Containment Procedures: SCP-687 is to be kept ina 
secured room at Site-15. The room is to contain a desk with locking 
drawers, a standard office chair, and a 12” analog color television as 
well as equipment to record and remotely monitor testing of 
SCP-687. 


When not being actively tested, SCP-687-1 is to be powered down 
and disconnected from its power source, and SCP-687-3 is to be 
kept in an anti-static envelope and locked in the top drawer of the 
desk supporting SCP-687-1 & SCP-687-2. SCP-687-2 should 
remain attached to SCP-687-1 to prevent wear on the connecting 
hardware. 


When being tested, SCP-687-1 and SCP-687-2 are to be plugged 
into one standard UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) that is 
connected to the facility power grid. UPS is to be replaced after each 
100 hours of use. 


Under no circumstances are Class D personnel to be used for 
testing SCP-687 (ref: Incident I-687-1). Testing is permitted 
by personnel with clearance 3 or above with written approval by the 
site director. 


Description: SCP-687-1 is a Commodore 64 home computer built 
in 198 , serialnumber SOOO —_. Non-invasive examination of the 
hardware confirms that it has not been obviously modified and all 
parts appear to be from the original manufacturer. 


SCP-687-2 is a Commodore 1541 5.25” Disk Drive built the same 
year as SCP-687-1, serial number S000 __. As with SCP-687-1, all 
parts appear original and not obviously modified. If an attempt is 


anxiety. Her expression was no more hard than it normally was. 
Once again Amy found herself wondering about the woman’s 
history. She seemed young- she couldn’t be past her early 30s. But 
her ability, her determination, the way she commanded authority, 
seemed to be that of someone who had lived multiple lifetimes. It 
troubled Amy. There was little these days that wasn’t a mystery, but 
to see a woman like this- someone who was, for all Amy could tell, 
completely normal and human in origin- who blended so easily into 
this environment was troubling. Had the Queen been like her, 
perhaps? Was this what Amy might become? Amy had difficulty 
imagining herself ever so acclimated to things such as these, let 
alone thriving as the Queen did. 


They came to a staircase Amy didn’t remember descending and 
began to climb. Amy glanced at the others. They didn’t seemed 
troubled by the different route. No matter then. Soon the staircase 
leveled off into an ornately decorated hallway. Red carpet led down 
walls fine with gold filigree. As they walked down it, Amy saw 
movement in the corner of her eyes. Amy looked, and the shadows 
darted away to escape her gaze. The others seemed unconcerned, 
however, and she let her guard relax. There was already more than 
enough to worry about. They reached a door- remarkably plain 
looking- at the end of the hallway. The Queen threw it open. The 
group stepped back into the Library. 


The Queen looked at Amy. “Now?” 


“Follow me.” She began to lead them through the shelves, following 
the Witness’ instructions exactly. It took slightly longer than 
expected- apparently a few shelves and routes had been moved 
since the Witness last surveyed this area, and they got stuck trying 
to push through a crowd at some kind of political rally. But within 
time they stood before a grey stone rising from the Library carpet. 


The Queen looked at Amy and raised an eyebrow. “You want to use 
a Way to reach them? There are none to lead that universe. It was 
one of the reasons it was chosen to be her prison.” 


“No,” said Amy, kneeling and touching the rock. She clutched the 
sending stone in her free hand. “But this Way should be the easiest 
to redirect into the area want. In theory, at least.” She began to pace 


around the Way, murmuring to herself the words the Witness had 
told her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the others tensing up, 
anticipating what was coming. It was all she could do to control the 
shaking of her knees herself. Her voice trembled around the words 
of power. The Witness had explained what could be done to hold 
back the angels (hold them back, Amy thought to herself, not 
actually stop them. There was no way to truly stop them). But there 
was a vast gulf between knowing what to do and actually doing it. 
Even Rupinder hadn't been able to protect himself from them. How 
much would she really be able to help? 


The etchings along the Way’s stone began to shine. Normally the 
light of the portals was a pearly white. This time, the cracks glowed 
a deep blue. Amy tried not to think of what that could mean, and 
continued her path around the rock. The light brightened as she 
continued speaking the necessary words, rippling as if it were trying 
to escape its prison of stone. Staring into it, Amy stumbled her 
words, almost losing track of her place. The light responded, 
instantly dimming, but perked back up as she resumed her chant. 
She felt the stone growing hot in her hand, and looked down. Its 
glow was visible through her flesh. 


She reached the final line of the rite, and the Way responded 
instantly. Its center erupted with tendrils of light, spinning and 
twisting around each other like dolphins dancing through the ocean. 
They condensed and fell back, coating the Way. It no longer looked 
like stone but a single, massive light. Amy stepped back, looking at 
the Queen. “Through there.” 


The Queen didn’t hesitate. She advanced into the light and let it 
consume her. Li and Thalmos exchanged a glance. For a moment 
they hesitated, and Amy got the feeling they were wondering what 
the consequences of turning back would be. Any doubts they had 
didn’t last long. They pushed forward into the gate, leaving Amy 
alone with the Way. 


It’s not too late to turn back is it? 
It rarely is. But would you allow yourself to? 


In response, she entered the light. She was prepared for the feeling 


of travel now, the nauseous sensations and the forces that seemed 
to slam her around the featureless landscape. When she spewed 
from the portal into her destination, she only retched for a moment, 
balancing herself against a tree. She wiped her mouth and looked 
up. The other three stared at her. 


A great forest surrounded them. Through the canopy, a massive 
moon barely illuminated the foliage. Amy made the motion that had 
become instinctive at this point, summoning a small ball of light 
which she held up. “So what now?” She asked. 


The Queen pointed. Amy followed the motion, and saw far off 
through the trees flashes of light. A moment later a roar made Amy 
jump back, a noise like a sheath of earth cracking off and falling into 
the sea. Near the light, a tree splintered and felt. A figure darted 
through the shadows of the forest, weaving and ducking between 
branches and trunks, pursued by light. The runner stumbled as they 
ran, sprawled onto the forest bed. A screeching noise echoed as the 
light descended towards them. 


Before Amy could react, the Queen rushed forward. Amy cried out at 
her to stop, but the Queen kept running. A moment later, Li and 
Thalmos followed, weapons drawn. Amy cursed as she watched 
them approach the figure. The Queen threw an object forward. It 
was too far for Amy to see the effects of it, but it seemed to get the 
angel's attention. It whipped around and rushed towards the trio. 
The Queen ducked out of the way, but the light slammed into Li, 
throwing them through the air. They crashed into the shadows of the 
forest bed, out of sight. 


This wasn’t how things were supposed to go. Amy dashed towards 
the fight. As she arrived, the Queen was standing over Rupinder, 
helping him to his feet. Thalmos stood between them and the angel, 
holding up a silver medallion. The creature tried to push forward but 
was held back but an unseen force that sparked as it pushed 
against it. Sweat dripped from Thalmos’ face, and the arm holding 
the medallion trembled. The showers of sparks grew stronger as the 
creature dashed forward again and again. It gave one final forward 
thrust and there was a cracking noise as Thalmos’ arm snapped, the 
elbow flopping backwards in a direction never meant to be bent. 
Thalmos collapsed to the ground, streaming.