"SCP Pone - Salamander" By brandnewwritefag (https://pastebin.com/u/brandnewwritefag) URL: https://pastebin.com/UWqBNF4c Created on: Saturday 17th of February 2018 07:22:21 PM CDT Retrieved on: Sunday 1 of November 2020 04:41:21 AM UTC >The communications crystal in your ear pulsed and heated up, and for a brief moment you pondered the sheer amount of engineering that went into it >by heating up it increased bloodflow to your ear canal, relaxing the muscles slightly >vibrations from the crystal actually hit your skull - and ossicles, allowing you to still hear ambient noise as well as the message being whispered to you >Not that there was much noise in a small town at night >"Seven this is Nine. No movement. Three bodies - one colt, two fillies. Father protecting his foals." >You exhale slowly, softly, your breath coming out in a cool cloud of moisture >Ears rotating for any ambient noise >Your hoof lifts the golden plate - and find a cavity underneath >"Based on positioning...and body temperature...G8 most likely." "Roger. Keep sweeping. Five, Six, Three?" >"Copy." >"En Route." >"Yep." >You step over the corpse of the royal guardsmare, making your way to the town center >bolter ready, mind running - - - >"ATTENTION!" >You and the 8 other mares in your unit stand from your desks at attention as Director Red walks into the briefing room >"At Ease!" Number One barks, and you take your seats, opening your briefing book >The laminate projector heats up, and the lights dim as Director Red begins to talk >"At 2100 hours yesterday, what local astronomers assumed was a meteor hit a peach farm outside of Sunny Hills. Magic-" >A slide hits the laminate screen, projecting an arcanum emissions graph, and you begin taking notes >"- residue was concurrent with other micrometeor strikes, especially of star metal. The assumption was this was a lone meteorite from the Arion meteor shower; however, the local astronomy team that went to collect the metal never returned. Unfortunate, but nothing out of the ordinary for a NEO-class anomoly. The problem -" >A second slide hits the screen, And on reflex the first thing you notice is the watermark insignia of the royal guard stamped on the bottom right >First lowlands division, Scouts. Good mares, but home guard - probably search and rescue. >Appropriate. >What isn't is the fact that the peach farm and surrounding area are absolutely decimated >Scorched earth in some places, poisoned earth in others - gnarled, black obsidian - but this >"-is that this makes no Sun-damned sense. Damage patterns on fauna are complete and shear to what seems to be the molecular level. The military has been unable to determine if it's biological, arcane or mechanical damage. It gets more interesting when we look at the victims:" >The slide is replaced by another one of a local....equine, and you stifle a gasp >"By the moon-" >"Holy fuck." >"That's one tartarus of a bad day-" >"Mare - by autopsy." Director Red continues, unphased by your team's outbursts. "Unicorn. Magica absolutely depleted. Scorch marks on the face, most notably the skull as you can see here and here-" >A red dot crystal starts circling parts of the corpse >"-flesh has been, for lack of a better word, *stripped* off, as well as 4mm of bone tissue as well. Cutie mark and entire lower half has been removed in like manner. The other two corpses-" >At this the slides change to a side-by-side comparison of two more bodies. Mares, you can tell - one of them is probably the head of the family that owns the orchard. Well. Was. >"-Have the same type of damage." "Question. Do we know what the time to kill was?" >Red purses her lips. "Assume instantaneous." "Damn. That's no good." >"It gets worse, Seven." >The director overlays two slides at once - what seem to be a pegasus survey of the land before and after >"From what we can determine, the threat is mobile. What we can also determine is that it can damage the surrounding area in two separate ways. This rut here in the earth is it's movement - into town - and then the stripping damage is independent of the movement direction." >"So, multiple anomalies?" Two asks >"No. According to guard reports, one entity... and that's all we know. Apparently looking at it too long causes retinal, and in some cases, mental damage." >"Colt so ugly he drive you insane." Nine quips, earning her a few lighthearted chuckles >"Regardless. Scout, General Army and Royal Forces have all been dispatched, and have all failed. 100% casualty rate." >At this, Red sighs. "I don't have to tell you this is now classified as an XK-level scenario. Operational objectives are to gather intelligence from RF Arcanum attache, determine if it's possible to subdue or eliminate the threat. Civillians are a tertiary concern. Property damage is inconsequential. Targets' code is 'Salamander'." >Red seems to hesitate for a moment >"If you fail, we will be using the Hammer of Dawn." >Two whistles. "Just one team, Red? No second wave?" >Red nods. "In the span of 24 hours Salamander has wiped out a town of 700, 55 Guardsmares and 2 RF Squads. Sunny Hills is already gone, and the crown will not lose any more." - - - >You step softly, the polymer horseshoes killing any sound you'd naturally make >That said, better safe than sorry >The trail of bodies, from what your team can discern, means that Salamander should be in the center of town >Agonizingly slow you move your way up the boulevard >At first, when you deployed, you checked corners, windows - doors >At first, for the living >Then the dead >Then you stopped checking >Whatever Salamander was, it was reactionary - which is good. >Just don't make it react and you'll be *fine* >Your crystal warms up again >"Eight. RF Arcanum attache Flowerbell discovered; Deceased." >You wait for her to continue, taking cover behind an overturned cart. >"...ok this is seriously fucked." >"Eight." One warns >"No, seriously. Uploading stream now - I'm just going to cut to the good part." >You slip your hoof into your ALICE saddlebag, pulling out a reenforced crystal slate >This was the part of the job you loved - getting your hooves on shit nopony else would for another hundred years >The screen crackles to life, and you connect it with your comms crystal - - - >It's afternoon. >The mare, breathing labored, is running >"Celestia DAMN IT! AAAAAGH what the fuck-" >"ShutupClearShutupShutup" your operator hisses, skidding into what looks like a freshly-abandoned post office >Her hooves clatter against the tile, making far too much noise >She launches herself behind a counter, and now you can see why she was breathing so hard >With an unceremonious thud she slides her squaddie off her back >"NNNGGGHHH-" >Her squaddie bites her hoof, drawing blood - anything to muffle the sound of her scream >What you can determine is a healing spell glows on her Squadmate, Clear's hind leg >Or what's left of it >The fur is gone, and the skin has been sheared off, exposing the raw muscle beneath >Sun-Damn. That's gotta be painful. >"Shutupshutup- I'm working on it ok, you're gonna b-" Flowerbell lowers her volume to a bare whisper. "You're gonna be fine, ok? Colts dig scars and all that, so when he's hitting it from behin-" >Clear's hoof twitches on reflex, the naked frog accidentally kicking the counter - earning another muffled scream >"Ssshshshshhh, shh-" >The Bodycrystal feedback begins to tear a bit at the edge >"It's going to be okay, okay?" Flowerbell's voice comes in, as if she was underwater >Distorted >"whe're goni toh ma- 't." Hooves, now fuzzy, begin to pat down Clear for something >She doesn't notice the paint vaporizing from the wall >She doesn't notice the color draining from the world [spoiler]>She doesn't notice the hand reaching over the counter[/spoiler] - - - >Comms remains silent after the bodycamera plays out "...." >She was probably screaming as she died- >"Eight here. Check for audio distortions in your environment - the crystal... apparently reacts when Salamander is closeby." "Copy. Ears up, Eyes open gals." >You slide the tablet back into your pack, slowly standing up >'At least it's quick' the dark part of your mind pipes up, before you tamp it back down >Focus >Sunny Hills was laid out as a Hub-and-Spoke settlement. Four main Boulevards, four working alleys >So, with Salamander being in the center of town, every mare just took a road >Honestly, though, with it being a straight shot Two or Three should've seen it by now >Thankfully there's so much shit in the road that you can stay behind cover... >Though, with Three's fat ass, climbing the school belltower would take half the night- >"This is Three. Be advised, I have visual on Salamander. Luna Damn-" >You hear the click of her scope as she adjusts >"It's...ok. Wow that hurts. North by Northwest, at fountain remains. G8. Stationary. Looking down Applesauce way - Six, that's you. I'm going to try to give a physical description - Salamander is one entity, currently scorching the ground due North about 3 meters ahead. Two overlapping ovals of anti-material... still stationary, non-reactive. Salamander itself is no more than 3...4 meters tall? No, that can't be right, it's not right. 8 meters wide- damnit, no. Damn!" >There's a burst of silence, and then a shaky voice >"...This is Three. Be advised, 30 seconds of continuous visual leads to sudden total retinal failure. I've got one eye left, let me know when to use it." >Damn. Going in blind- >ha ha. >"Two, can you thow a panopticon?" Six questions. "I'd rather not get got on accident." >"Yep. Let me get into poshistn." >That's not good >"Thn is thoo. Adio Dsntortn fror anyno e-sh?" "Negative" >"Negative." >So, Two was down Peachtree street - West of your position. Salamander must have heard something- >But this means you can move forward realtively safely >Moving forward, quickly, silently from cart to cart - body to body - you finally come into the town center proper >"Rlll cll." >"N." >"Tre." >"Foh." >"Ive." >"ix." "Seven." You whisper, softer than you've ever spoken >"Nt." >"Ain." >Looks like you're just going to have to go with instinct on this one - that and hoof signals, if you can ever get anypony else's attention >As you slowly scan the town center, you notice the colors begin to... fade >As if they were bleached. The colors are... >wrong >Alright. Most likely we're within it's operational range - so at this point, if you fuck up you're dead >no pressure >You swallow, dryly, practicing your breathing >Listen. Listen. Salamander doesn't punish you for list- >It's soft >Like the sound of tissue paper ripping, or skin splitting >A gentle tearing sound, but persistant >Right. >You press yourself flat against the shop wall, and lean forward for just a moment. [spoiler]IT does not notice you IT just exists IT sucks the colors from the world IT shouldn't be here[/spoiler] >You pull back, a sharp headache causing you to grimace >Sun-damn, Three is stronger than you gave her credit for "North by Northwest. No reaction. Two, Panopticon." >No response "Panopticon." >Nothing >Damnit. Of course it cuts comms - why wouldn't it? >As you ponder your luck, you notice a glowing white orb arcing from due East, making an almost unnoticeable *tink* as it lands against a wall and holds fast >almost unnoticeable >Before you can whip out your data slate, two cones of ...you don't know. You can't describe it. They just sweep across the center >stipping paint right off the buildings as it does so >focusing exactly where the Panopticon fell >In a few moments, the Panopticon - and really, the wall it was fastened against - just... dissolve >No residue >They just start ceasing to be >Salamander burns a hole through the world, keeping it's gaze fixed on the panopticon as it drops, the wall gone >Cutting the town square in half >Well this poses a problem >You try to look across the center courtyard, but the beam seems to be sripping the very air of it's "airness", for lack of a better word, as the panopticon slowly dissolves >Whelp. At least you know it's a cockatrice-type of ability, just so much worse. >...You need to back off. - - - "One? One." >You're about 30 meters back, trying to get your comms back up >Tapping the crystal, it glows - feebly >So the antimagic field is permanent >Damn "Two? You good? Salamande-" >"Yeah I'm good." A voice relatively close to you responds, causing you to tense up hard "Moon-damn you, Two. My asshole could produce diamonds right now-" you snarl, your heartbeat going wild >"Sorry, just. No comms. I had to burn another Panopicon to get Salamander to focus on the ground again - he was staring off into the distance, and we don't know his range." >You nod, beating back a spike of mental pain >Damnit, there must've been some damage done afterall "Alright. You still have your signals?" >Wordlessly, Two opens a slot on her pack, pulling out what looks like a deck of cards. Pressing a button on the side, the pack face switches from deep black to a glowing pure white. "What's the plan?" "Signal to Three - her coms are still good and can reach SOCOM. We need a sarcophagus - whatever your panopticon was made out of, but better. It's joints need to have room for variable slots-" >As you talk you pull out your notebook, sketching your idea out roughly "We need to be able to replace the walls that it burns out, so something with slots would eventually be the best thing. Right now, though, your panopticon crystal, as thick as they can Celestia-damned make it. Best option is to air-drop it..." >Two sighs. "Yeah. And we'll be the distraction while it gets into place. I know the drill." "Good. I'll spread the word." >Silently, you turn, making your way clockwise around the town center - - - >Four hours >Total operational time has been four hours, but it feels like four months >After circling around and pulling out of the town, your group refits at the FOB, checking coms, equipment, etc. >Medical had you and Three as their victims for a few minutes >Everyone remained silent, save to answer their questions >It just seemed appropriate >Salamander was... something you've never come across before >Although that's part of the job description in The Foundation, this was different >There was no maliciousness, no evil, no virtue or victim. It wasn't magic gone awry or something 'natural'. >Such death. Such destruction. Did it even know? >Could it? > . . . >It was the wizarding hour when the pegasus detachment arrived, when your team went out for the second time. - - - >0147 >13 more minutes until the Pegasai were in position to drop >"Got any Twos?" your partner whispers "That's a terrible joke." >Two grins. "You love it though." >You give her a half-hearted smile, then go back to you watch >Salamander hasn't moved, from what Eight said before her comms cut out >Gaze on the ground, so that's still good >But being so close to him... "Mmm. You ready to go wh-" >"Ooh! H-help? Help!" >Both of you turn to the outburst, slack-jawed >Either due to your sloppiness, or just random luck, a small colt peeks out from the wreckage of a cart >One that you neglected to check >"H-Hello? Hello?! W-Where is everypo-" "Shitshitshit-" >Two scrambles towards the upturned cart as you ready your bolter, aiming down the boulevard >"Baby, Baby I'm gonna need you to be silent now ok-" >"Bu-But it hurts. IT Hu-Uuurts~" >Too much noise too much noise >"Baby you need to be quiet now ok? My name's Sunrise, ok? You can trust me, and we'll get you out of here, bu-" >Your throat dries up, heart racing >SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP >The colt begins to cry >It's a soft sob, but it's still too much >Static, again. The soft tearing >You check your watch - 0150 >Sun Damn it >You spare a glance back at the cart, and you realize why you didn't check it >It's smashed to all tartarus and back >Flipped on it's side >And what you thought was a corpse underneath is actually that poor boy >Damnit. There's no way to move him >You swallow, again, the air dry >Why is the air so dry >"Plee-heeasse~" >You breathe >In >Out >You steady yourself >Two looks at you with hard eyes, then steps away from the cart, moving to a better position to cover you as you take aim >The shot was loud. Too loud. >The silence after was louder. - - - >There was a crack - an echo, and then nothing >Bolterfire? "It's 5 minutes too early-" you mumble to yourself >"FUCK OFF THEN, WE'RE GOING LOUD" Six crows, and you hear a loud click as she detonates her first satchel charge >Immediately the beam swings from Seven's position to City hall, smoke and orange fire licking up the rear of the building >Salamander stares at it's front, slowly boring a hole through the complex - causing it to fall in onto itself >You can't see, but you hear the Anti-Material rounds slam in and around it, it's gaze quickly finding the culprit of each new noise, each new distraction >Looks like Three is doing her best. "Damn you Six!" >You peek over the upturned table, positioned well within an abandoned bookstore >Alright, goal is to get him out in the exact middle of the square - so you need Salamander to come to you >You inhale, and lean up >Quickly you see your target, and bite back a small cry of pain long enough to take a few shots in it's general direction before dropping back on the ground >Crawling, you begin moving to the back of the store as the colors fade around you, his vision fixed on where you were >The storefront buckles as it's support beam vanishes, and you scramble behind the back counter, rolling in through the employee-only door to sprawl infront of Six. >"Well hello there, Nine! Fancy meeting yoURRAAGH-" >She drops onto the ground, hissing "Let me look at you let me *fucking* look at you-" You whisperscream, forcing the mare to spread eagle on the ground, the colors washing from the room >Another few rounds of bolterfire turn Salamander's gaze from your store, and the building itself seems to sigh in relief >Or... structural damage. Either or. "Forgot there was a service window, didn't we?" >"Fuck RIGHT off, Nine." Six growls as you tilt her head down "Incredible. Your skin's seared right off - the only reason you're alive is because it ate through the helmet and your mane fir-" >"DOCTOR. PLEASE." >"Right, right. Morphine paste, then we move..." - - - >"Five?" "Yeah, Four?" >"This is fucked up." "Yeah it is." You agree, peeking up to lob a smoke grenade into the square before ducking back down >It doesn't provide you any cover - IT burns through the smoke with ease - but it is at least a distraction >"Would the Hammer of Dawn even work on this thing?" Four muses, loading her bolter "Don't think so." >"Mmm. Again, then." >She stands up and fires, and the two of you move as, moments later, it's gaze lands on where you were. "Where we at?" you grunt, sliding out the side-door to the rapidly-dissolving building >"0159. It should be any moment now." "I damn well hope s-" >You don't get to finish that thought, or any other, as the building lurches the wrong way, exposing you both for just a few moments >Those few moments were all that IT needed - - - >You and Two trade positions, shooting then moving to cover, shooting then moving to cover >You don't talk anymore - be that due to your training where you can read her movements without communication, or... >You just don't talk >Any moment now - any moment >An innocent cloud looms larger on the horizon, rapidly making it's way towards the center of town >ETA... 30 seconds? >Antimaterial rounds slam at the base of Salamander, and for a brief moment it stops, staring down directly at it's feet >Boring a hole into the ground >Perfect >You scrabble to a better position and look at it one last time >Visual confirmation is required, yes, but... [spoiler]IT doesn't move IT should not be IT can't end IT knows you're there IT waits[/spoiler] >You deserve this >You will yourself to keep looking, past the pain, past the red haze >Right up until the sarcophagus slams into the ground - and, moments later begins to glow with light "Mission Success. Prepare Salamander for Transport." You state to Two, as the world grows black.