With practiced ease, the MTF slid to their knees, and Ruslav heard 
Agent DuMourne’s voice in his earpiece, “Your call Director. What 
do we do?” His voice was a barely-perceptible growl picked up from 
his throat mic. 


Ruslav took two steps forward, and gestured with his right hand, 
holding his crozier. The aequeous and aeronous aethers swirled 
around the two guards, lulling them to an easy, and deep sleep. “We 
let them get a good night’s rest. My knees are not what they were. 
Elevators?” 


Suppressed chuckles emanated from the gathered agents, as Agent 
DuMourne took the lead, fanning the men and women of the task 
force out over the lobby. Ruslav jabbed the up button with the end of 
his crozier, humming quietly to himself. 


“So, what exactly are we expecting up there?“ Agent DuMourne 
said, rechecking the various bits of havoc strapped to his frame. 


“| do not know. Probably something completely and needlessly 
dramatic. That’s how these things always seem to go,” Ruslav said, 
smiling slightly as the dull chime of the elevator car announced its 
arrival. 


The agents shuffled into the car, two members staying on the 
ground level to cover their exit. Ruslav jabbed the button marked 13, 
and the soft Muzak of the elevator encompassed them. 


A tense few seconds passed, before the door chimed again at the 
13th floor, opening to reveal a solid steel security door, directly in 
front of the elevator shaft. The doors to the elevator made a quiet 
grinding noise, and stuck open. 


Ruslav raised an eyebrow, as Agent DuMourne reached out to 
probe at the door in front of them. 


“I’m not sure why this is here, but it doesn’t seem anomalous. Is this 
your area, director?” Agent DuMourne asked politely, stepping back. 


Ruslav stepped up to the door, and extended his senses, sensing 
nothing beyond the usual Ferrous aether escaping the metal 
surface. “No, but | can help either way. Stand back please?” 


The agents quickly pressed themselves against the back of the 
elevator, as Ruslav took a breath. His hands circled up and down, 
until he ended with a quick rushing motion, dragging both the 
Aeronous and Igneous aethers with him, combining sharply on the 
other side of the door, causing a heavy backdraft, sucking the door 
out with his shoulder charge. 


The heavy metal door careened into the far wall, neatly cleaving the 
waiting Terronous Aetherial construct in half. The heavy stone body 
of the entity fell in half with a heavy thud on the carpeted floor. 
Ruslav blinked a few times, and laughed quietly to himself, “Well, 
that’s convenient | suppose. Agent DuMourne, you and one with me. 
The rest sweep.” The team stepped forward into the green and grey 
marble elevator portico. 


Agent DuMourne nodded, and split the team up, flanking the 
Director along with two other agents, as they approached the heavy 
glass doors to the office. Stenciled into the glass was the logo of the 
company, and the words ‘Caveat Alchemitos’ hastily scrawled in 
sharpie. Agent DuMourne pointed at the writing, “Is that latin?” 


“Beware Alchemists. Like | said, needlessly dramatic,” Ruslav said, 
placing his hands on the door, which practically reverberated with 
the aethers contained within them. “Illusion....misdirection...” He 
turned his head, and grimaced. “I believe | know who is here. On the 
other side of this door will be several jiangshi, | would imagine. Have 
you been briefed on them?” 


Agent DuMourne shook his head, “Jianshi? Cliffs notes.” 


Ruslav rolled his hand, “Chinese vampire. Well....zombie might be 
more accurate. They hop to move around. Do not let them touch 
you, bullets do not work very well, unless you completely destroy 
them, or shoot their brain. If you have them, | would suggest 
shotguns, or grenades. | believe at least one will be an alchemist.” 


“Not the strangest thing I’ve ever had to deal with | suppose. How do 
we do this? Can we just walk in?” Agent DuMourne activated his 
microphone, and radioed to the other members of the team. Two of 
them trotted back over, and exchanged weapons with Agent 
DuMourne and the other, swapping the large caliber rifles with semi 
automatic shotguns. 


Ruslav shook his head, and laid his hands on the door, “A moment. | 
will deactivate his wards. As soon as | do, he will Know we are here. 
Be ready.” Ruslav concentrated, and pressed his senses deep into 
the glass, feeling the swirling and somehow sickly aethers trapped 
inside. 


If the flows could make noise, these would be screaming, as he 
gently tugged on the loose flows, undoing the ward. After several 
moments, he’d loosened it enough for them to be nothing more than 
a warning, and he stepped back. “Ready?” 


Agent DuMourne nodded, “Ready.” 


Ruslav pushed both hands out with a swift draw of the aethers of air, 
water, and fire. A microscopic layer of ice formed inside the glass, 
immediately followed by a flash of fire, causing the glass to shatter 
spectacularly, directed downwards and back by a gust of wind, 
blowing the shards of glass into the office. 


Ruslav gestured forward, and the four Foundation members crossed 
the threshold. 


The moment they crossed the doorway, everything changed. The air 
grew thicker in an instant, and the sky visible behind the windows 
changed from a black cityscape to a red and silver mass of stars 
and torchlight. In the distance buildings teemed with beings from all 
over the universe, as Ruslav’s senses immediately told him where 
they were. 


The office building itself hadn’t changed, the desks in front of him 
still festooned with post-its, monitors, computer equipment. Except 
for the alien skies and change of dimension, it was the same as it 
was before. 


“Alagadda. This...is worse than | expected.” Ruslav slipped the 
handle of his crozier back into his belt, and took a step forward, his 
handgun in both hands, as the task force members tenatively 
followed him. 


“What are you talking about, Director?” Agent DuMourne said, his 
eyes widened slightly by the change of scenery, and his body 
language tense. 


“We are no longer on Earth, and I’m not sure that—” Ruslav was cut 
off by a shrieking form hopping from behind a desk, hands 
outstretched yellowed fingernails extended towards his face. 


In the blink of an eye, Ruslav’s hands blurred up, sending two 
rounds through the creature’s chest, putting a third through its head, 
as he stepped forward, panting slightly. “Bozhe Moi. That certainly 
woke me up alittle. Everyone alright?” 


Agent DuMourne stood slack jawed at the reaction speed of the 


Director, checking the body for movement before gesturing one of 
the agents to cover their exit. “I have to admit, | didn't expect you to 
use the gun, over alchemy.” 


Ruslav grinned, and snapped his fingers, setting the body of the 
jiangshi at their feet aflame. “Six of one, half a dozen of another. 
Whatever works.” Ruslav strode into the office, gun raised. “Cover 
my back, please.” 


The agents and Ruslav cautiously walked forward, turning the 
corner to the main floor of the office. The lead agent dropped to one 
knee, and let out a roar of a blast from her shotgun, as another of 
the jiangshi leaped towards her face. She dropped prone as the 
creature continued its vector, now dead, and landed behind her. 


They repeated much of the same, encountering two more jiangshi 
as they approached the wood paneled door leading to an office, at 
the back of the cubicles. “I believe, this is my department, ladies and 
gentlemen. Behind that door is our target. Please cover my back 
while | inquire.” Ruslav said, placing the handgun back in his holster, 
drawing the crozier once more. 


Agent DuMourne nodded, and took up position near the door, as 
Ruslav walked up, placing both hands on the door, and pushing 
them open with just his own strength. 


The doors opened smoothly, to reveal an elderly chinese man sitting 
behind a desk, his hands twitching slightly, mostly extended in front 
of him. Behind his eyes were the weight of eons, as his face curved 
into a snarl of recognition. “Diaghilev. | should have known you 
would never be satisfied with simply ruining my existence forever.” 


Ruslav sighed heavily, and fixed his heavy lidded gaze upon the 
withered half-jiangshi in front of him, “Zhang Guolao. | did not expect 
to find you here, but your misdirection was unmistakable. What 
brings you here, ghost?” 


The ancient creature in front of him rose, the joints of his eloows and 
knees cracking as he got to his feet, “Freedom. The first greedy 
peasant who dug up my tomb put the ring on.” On Guolao’s left 
hand, a deep green jade ring glimmered under the lights. “From 


control those areas. The affected individual has no way of 
influencing the movement of the affected body parts beyond 
manipulating the body parts the affected areas are attached to. The 
victim is still capable of sensation through affected areas; 
essentially, the affected areas can send signals to the brain, but not 
receive them. The second stage is typically brief, generally lasting 
One (1) to three (3) days. In the third and final stage of SCP-782's 
effect, the affected areas begin to engage in autonomous 
movement. 


The movement of the affected areas may be completely at odds with 
the desires of the victim, and affected body parts frequently engage 
in activity uncharacteristic of the victim's personality. The body parts 
will attempt to achieve goals and perform tasks independent of the 
desires of the victim. If hands, mouth and throat all become affected 
communication becomes difficult, if not impossible. Once 
communicative organs become affected, they will almost invariably 
begin to attempt communication on behalf of another mind. At this 
point, it becomes clear that the various affected body parts are not 
independent from each other, but controlled by another will. 
Eventually the total body is controlled by the secondary will, which 
becomes the dominant consciousness of the body. 


The new personality shares no memories with the old, although they 
will share all of its “subconscious” memories, i.e. skills and 
language. The new personality is no more likely to be malicious than 
a member of the general population. 


Document 782-1: The following document is a collection of case 
reports of SCP-782 incidents, from the notes of Dr. 


Case 782-AAA: Victim is 47 years old, male, Caucasian. 
No history of mental illness. Local priest; campaigned 
against same-sex marriage bill in state of | . Checked 
into local hospital for mysterious numbness. Shift 
progression began in hands. Victim demonstrated an 
apparent sudden increase in artistic talent. Occasionally, 
the hands draw imagery described by the victim as 
homoerotic. Shift progressed next to genital area. Victim 
reported unwanted sexual arousal described as 
homosexual. Shift progressed, victim eventually took 


there, it was only a few weeks before | wrested control enough from 
He Qinshi to pull enough energy together to create a portal to 
Alagadda.” 


Ruslav nodded slightly, “So far, all of this makes sense. You get 
free, and immediately do the most obvious and cowardly thing, run 
to Alagadda. Did you immediately request the Scarlet King’s aid? 
Offer him power, an agent, perhaps an introduction to the 
Leviathan?” Ruslav’s voice grew progressively harsher as memories 
of the past surfaced in his mind. 


Zhang Guolao’s dry throat rasped with some horrid approximation of 
laughter. “My master will no doubt be overjoyed when | return to 
earth, and present myself at its service once more, but no. An old... 
mutual acquaintance of ours contacted me once | was here.” 


Ruslav spun his crozier in a slow vertical circle, the baffled cold iron 
making quiet whistling noises as it moved. “Well. That confirms what 
| was suspecting at least. By the way, | sealed your master on the 
bottom of the ocean almost one hundred years ago. The Leviathan 
is effectively dead. I’m sure you noticed the lack of aethers flowing 
through the cosmos.” 


Guolao froze, his eyes narrowing, as the baleful jade fire within the 
pupils guttered to a spark. “You are lying.” 


Ruslav shrugged, and spun his crozier in a circle again. “Come find 
out. You cannot exactly feel the flows from here, | would imagine. 
Even sealed, the Scarlet King is putting off enough aether to blind 
anyone other than an Elder. In fact, I'd be surprised if you could 
even form a portal at this point. Not that you were ever a particularly 
gifted alchemist, Zhang. Relying more on your reputation and skills 
with herbs than anything else.” 


Guolao growled, and his fingers moved with involuntary spasms. “1 
will kill you for this, return to earth, and destroy whatever remains of 


the so-called ‘college’,” Guolao said, gathering the aethers around 
him. 


Ruslav’s eyes hardened, his mouth contorting into a tight line, 
“There is no college, Guolao. Your schemes saw to that. | am here 


to help you, regardless of that.” Ruslav raised his crozier, and 
pointed the heavy head at the wizened jiangshi in front of him. “I 
made a mistake in the past. What we did to you was...wrong. But 
now you need to come with me, for containment.” 


Guolao’s face contorted, as the spirit of He Qinshi took over his 
body, flying through the air towards Ruslav. The director contorted 
his body, letting the ancient half vampire fly past him, swinging the 
heavy metal of his crozier down on the creature’s back, eliciting a 
shriek of pain. As he struck, the stored fulminous aether inside the 
heavy mace tore its way free, streaking through Guolao’s body, and 
leaving it smoldering on the floor in a shivering heap. 


“Well, | suppose we could do that instead.” Ruslav said, as the two 
task force members trained their guns on the prone form of the 
maleficent alchemist. Agent DuMourne gestured, and the other 
agent closed in, prodding the body with the toe of her boot. 


Guolao twisted like a serpent, drawing the agent in, and pinning her 
against a desk, eliciting a shriek of protest from the trapped agent. 
He screamed aloud in middle chinese, as He Qinshi forced him to 
draw out the life force of the MTF member in his grasp. 


Ruslav strode forward, and drew together the aeronous aether, 
delivering a hard kick into the ribs of the agent, sending her 
careening down the hall in a gust of wind. Qinshi hopped after her 
for one preternaturally quick hop, before turning, and streaking 
towards Agent DuMourne. 


A roar of chemical fire streaked out of Agent DuMourne's shotgun, 
as the buckshot tore into the flying form of Zhang Guolao. Alchemy 
and supernaturally strong muscles meant little in the face of physics, 
and the lightweight alchemist hit the ground hard, pouring blood 
from a ruined knee. He tried to rise to his feet, putting his weight on 
his good knee, as he rounded on Agent DuMourne who was 
chambering the next round. 


Ruslav took two bounding steps, and gathered together every flow 
he could. The aethers of fire, air, water, earth, metal and electricity 
came willing to his call. He reached inward to the luminous spirit that 
dwelled inside him, and called for aid, Master Al-Hayyan. Help me. A 


quiet voice spoke back, in an amused lilt, A/ways. 


The aethers of space, and time, gravity and magnetism came to 
their call, drawing the energies of the fabric of the universe together. 
A miniature sun formed in the hands of the furious director of the 
Foundation’s Alchemy Department, as he slammed his hands 
together in a calamitous detonation. Guolao’s head, shoulders, and 
upper body simply drifted away, the very forces holding him together 
drawn into the microtear in reality that Ruslav had formed. Even 
sound itself couldn’t escape the tear, and everything in the office 
went silent for several moments.