Chapter Text
Tomatoes and bananas were raining down like confetti onto Artful’s face, everything went by in a daze. His vision was slightly blurred as he angrily stepped off stage. His arm raised with the wand still in his hand at an unsuspecting fan. Smack. Smack. Screaming was heard, and he saw his bloodstained hand and clothes. The rest was a blur, and all he could remember afterwards was the audience now consisting of mostly bloody corpses. The whole scenery was painted crimson and police sirens rang out from behind him. He had to run. Escape. Escape his demise.
“Stop right now! Drop your weapon, hands behind your back! You have the right to remain silent!”
He was a coward. He couldn’t run. All his life he spent mostly following the rules, doing what his peers told him would be the best. And now, his face is pressed up against the grass as he was being handcuffed. Death. He will meet his fate like the people he murdered. He’ll probably get executed. Death row maybe? Lethal injection? Electric chair? Hopefully it was the fastest one. He didn’t want to die, but he deserved it.
Nothing was worse than death.
——————
Artful woke up in a prison cell bunked with a few cellmates. They weren’t very interesting, and mostly scared of their environment. The person who detained Artful was apparently too lazy to remove his accessories and make up. His face was still stained red as he attempted to make small talk with his new roommates. None of them said anything back to him. Most of them were praying to any higher being they believed in. Artful tilted his head and wondered if he was put into a mental asylum instead of a prison.
“Que diable? Am I grouped up with a bunch of lunatics?” (What the hell?)
He whispered to himself as he checked his uniform. It was a simple orange jumpsuit, nothing special. He noticed writing on the chest area. ‘Class D’. Artful’s heart sank all the way to hell. No way. This wasn’t happening was it? Now suddenly he understood why his cellmates were praying. He wished he believed in a god so he could pray with them. This was bad.. he had hoped for a fast and easy death at least to escape the shame of his crimes but instead he was thrown into the SCP foundation as a test subject. This was anything BUT fast and easy! There was no way he would know which scp he would face anyway!
He sat down nervously on the bed he had woken up from occasionally biting his nails and the skin around them as his eyes constantly fell on the prison door. He was hoping to be called in as soon as possible. At least he wouldn’t have to stress about his death and just experience it as fast as possible. Escaping was a no-go, especially since he knows how secure the facilities are knowing the foundation. Did the government really run out of funds for death row inmates and throw them all into here?
His gaze moved to the clock in the room and it displayed 7:20 pm. He wondered if the D class got served meals or food here. If he was being honest he knew close to nothing about the SCP Foundation, he was too busy most the time to research and never really went through any internet rabbit holes when he did occasionally read about it. He was going in blind, probably going to die in the first 2 minutes and be remembered as a failure to everybody in his life. Maybe he should’ve started therapy for his own issues instead of lashing out after the show. Well, no time to dwell on the past. Maybe life will be kind enough to spare him or reincarnate him into a better person.
The sound of footsteps in the distance stopped his train of thought as everybody in the cell was focused on the door now. A few agonizing seconds passed as the door opened with a researcher holding out a clipboard and adjusting their glasses. They looked around the room and their eyes lingered on Artful on just a few seconds too long. He knew he would get chosen for this. At least he’d meet his demise fast. Quick and easy. Right?
“You. The one with the mask and the hat. Come with me, now.”
They spoke sternly as Artful hopped off of the bed he was sat on. He walked outside the cell with the researcher and they closed the door behind them. They put temporarily put handcuffs to bound his arms and started leading Artful down a maze of corridors to get to their destination.
“So, we’re going to be using you essentially as food and a test dummy for this scp. Understood?”
Artful grimaced. Food? Really?
“Understood.”
The researcher nodded, holding the clipboard towards their face and reading it.
“Keter class anomaly, SCP-1000, a carnivorous beast found in the woods and thought to have the strength of a bear but times 100 or more. Height, 8’1 ft. Weight, 220 pounds. Appearance, has almost pitch black skin textured like sandpaper mixed with tough rock. Neck and shoulder area has collar fur that sticks out. Head is white. Eyes and mouth colored a turquoise shade of blue-green. Appearance can be described as unsettling. Can turn invisible. Behavior is said to be aggressive. Not much is known. Will eat all and any researchers/personnel/subjects it encounters. Incredibly dangerous.”
They cleared their throat after reading. Artful stared in shock and horror at how they managed to read such a block of text in such a short time. Especially while walking and not bumping into anything. Wait did they just say this thing was EIGHT feet tall? Putain de merde (holy shit) it will tower over him! He probably isn’t even enough to satiate this thing! He’s only, what? 5’9ft if he remembers correctly? They stop in-front of a door and the researcher pulls out a keycard and opens it. He steps inside and sees a containment cell with a big window acting as one of the walls.
Inside is sat the so called SCP-1000. It’s crouched up in a corner and staring daggers at both Artful and the researcher. He feels a bit freaked out, no incredibly freaked out. Admittedly he’s scared out of his mind and would probably piss himself if he had no control.
“You will be instructed to attempt to communicate to this anomaly. Failure to do so will most likely mean death. Success will most likely also lead to death, but if you survive unscathed you will be assigned as the number one test subject for this anomaly. Understood?”
He locked eyes with the so called anomaly. It stared right back at him. He swore he could see a grin on its face.
“Understood.”
The researcher smiled and gestured for Artful to go over to the heavy metal door that led inside the containment room. He glanced at the panels and monitors around the area before he walked over to the door and opened it. He was immediately pushed inside as the door was locked shut behind him. He was so unbelievably screwed. The researcher stepped into the middle of the room and held their clipboard and pen out. Intently watching and waiting to take notes.
Artful bolted over and nestled himself into that corner. He glanced at the door and noticed it was littered in scratch marks. He looked back over at the anomaly and they were opposite each other. He was beyond frightened. What should he do? Strike up conversation like they’ve known each other for years? Communicate? But how? What was he supposed to do? The anomaly looked at him for a moment, seemingly taking in his unnatural appearance to that of a regular inmate. It didn’t seem to care much as food was food. And Artful was its next meal today.
One second the beast was in the other corner and the next it was towering over him, pushing him further into that cramped space he had made for himself. It slowly lowered its head to an exposed part of Artful’s neck and stayed there sniffing at something. Artful was confused. Did it usually take this long for it to eat its food? Was he getting toyed with before his death?
The SCP had a cautious look on its face as it slowly brought its turquoise tongue out of its mouth. It carefully licked Artful’s neck and he noticed his white foundation slightly transfer onto its tongue. The SCP immediately backed away from Artful, its face was plastered with a disgusted look as it desperately wiped its tongue. He stared with an almost bewildered expression as his hand rested on the spot that was licked. What happened? Did it not like the taste of make-up? Was he safe?
The SCP retreated back to its corner, now staring at Artful with a hint of curiosity mixed with distain. The researcher was frantically scribbling things onto his clipboard when he glanced over at them. He was still incredibly nervous and frightened. Maybe he should try to calm himself down before he attempted to interact with the anomaly more. He didn’t have his wand anymore, but he could still use magic regardless. It was just slightly harder.
He got into a better seating position and put his hands up like they were casting a spell. He could feel both of them staring at him, but he had to ignore it. Artful had to think of peace, serenity, calm.. everything nice. His fingertips had little waves of magic flow through them before a music box was formed in front of everyone’s eyes. It rested in his palms before he let go and let it float in the air in his vicinity. It played a slightly eerie and slow melody, which he found incredibly soothing.
The SCP was very interested in Artful now as it stared almost wide-eyed wondering how a regular civilian could do that. It instinctively crawled over and listened to the melody more closely, and its body language slightly smoothened. The turquoise spines on its back lowered and it stared at Artful and the music box simultaneously. Did it not see him as a threat? Or were his tricks really that amazing that he could wow an SCP? Merci le ciel! (Thank the heavens!) Maybe Jean “Degaré” Fromage wasn’t a failed magican after all.
They sat at the music box, quietly listening to the melody together. Before Artful could break the silence the beast did it itself.
“How..?”
Its voice sounded hoarse and wrong. It was slightly raspy and reminded Artful of strong radio static minus the actual static like noises. He was a bit taken aback by the sudden initiation of conversation, but remembering the instructions he was given he replied back.
“Oh, I was just born with the ability to use magic, though I’m not very good at it right now.”
The SCP looked at him for a moment before nodding and reaching a hand out to touch the music box. It felt it slightly with its claw before pulling away.
“Pursuer.”
It suddenly said. Artful realized that it was its name. Pursuer, huh? It makes sense. It does seem like the type to pursue its victims. He noticed he should probably say his name back to it.
“My name is.. Artful. Yes, Artful.”
He noticed Pursuer mouthing his name out with its mouth before simply staring at him again. They sat in silence for a bit before it came closer to Artful. A bit too close for comfort. It attempted to sit in the same corner as he was, and slightly nudged him away from it to make space. It radiated warmth, and he was sure its neck fur was soft. Slowly it brought the music box to its embrace and laid down in the corner, essentially forcefully pushing Artful away in the process.
Artful stared at Pursuer who was seemingly entering a resting state and looked back at the researcher who was still frantically writing notes into their clipboard, but they looked more excited than focused this time. They looked up at Artful who was still sat next to the now relaxed Pursuer and gave him a thumbs up. They walked over to the door and he swore he had never stood up so fast in his life before. He dashed out of the containment room as the door closed behind him.
“Wow! I am incredibly impressed with your work and will be assigning the role of primary test subject for SCP-1000, “Pursuer.” Who knows maybe if you get lucky you could be transformed into a researcher.”
They chuckled as they gestured for Artful to follow them out of the room back into more corridors. He noticed they were taking him to a different area, probably one for more special test subjects or something. This was his life now. Well Pursuer seemed nice so it should be okay. He thought as they entered a slightly nicer looking prison area. The researcher gestured to a small room with the number “77” plastered onto it. They opened the door and he saw a small room with a bed on one side of the room and a table with a chair on the other.
“I will give you copies of documents relating to SCP-1000 in the future so you are better suited to help us research. Thank you for your cooperation, food is served thrice a day at the canteen. Times aren’t so strict so you don’t have to wake up exactly at a certain time for certain meals. A guard will come escort you when it’s time for one. See you tomorrow, Jean.”
They smiled, and Artful nodded back as the door closed between them. He looked at the clock on the wall and realized it was pretty late. Maybe he’ll practice his magic a little before bed. A few new spells perhaps? He could only make wall and music boxes right about now. The ability to summon something more useful outside of shows would help him more in the long run. He clasped his hands together and focused on the air, closing his eyes and manifesting his magic. With a puff of smoke a pair of glasses appeared. They clattered to the floor and he sighed while picking them up. At least it was useful? In a way?
He tried them on just to test the waters and realized they fit his non existent prescription perfectly. Finally everything far away wasn’t blurry! He set the glasses on the nearby table in his room. This jumpsuit was also getting uncomfortable, he unzipped it and to his surprise he actually had his regular clothes underneath. He took his suit off and laid on the bed with his green shirt and in his underwear. He could sleep comfortably now. He wondered what they would serve for breakfast in the morning. A foundation like this was known for its high funds, but those were used for the SCP’s and not the discardable inmates.
He glanced back over at the desk with the glasses and realized there was a pen and a few sheets of paper on it. Maybe he could pursue an art career or something while in jail waiting for his demise. He wasn’t ever that good at drawing, but he wouldn’t say he was bad at it either. Many fans praised the small cute doodles he would put of himself alongside signatures. He could also write notes about his days and stuff. Actually would he even live that long to write notes about multiple days? He was glad the researcher was treating him decently despite him being a mass murderer now. Maybe life here wasn’t so bad.
——————-
# Log 1 23.6.2026 # Day 1/?
SCP-1000, real name “Pursuer” as stated by the anomaly itself.
Class: Keter
Species: unknown
Sex: unknown
Weight: 220 pounds
Height: 8’1ft
A carnivorous beast that was found in the forest. Has claimed the lives of many in the wilderness and also in the facility.
Incredibly hard to detain. New information shown today that it doesn’t like the taste of make-up, it is safe to assume this applies to everything with high amounts of chemicals.
Seemed to be acting strange compared to previous reports with D class who it was with. It was calmed down by D class’ spell which casted a music box that played a melody.
D class knows how to use magic. D class has been assigned lead test subject for SCP-1000. D class will be allowed and even required to have his foundation with during testing.
SCP-1000 looks to tolerate D class more than others. Anomaly posses the capability to understand human speech and even use it itself. Assumed to only apply to the English language.
More information to be added at a later date.
Class D inmate, known as Artful. Real name Jean “Degaré” Fromage.
Weight: 168 pounds.
Height: 5’9ft.
Ethnicity: White (European)
Birthplace: France
Occupation: Used to be a construction worker, is a full time magician now.
Sex: Male
Birthdate: 16.1.1998
Age: 27 years old
Appearance: Has a slightly top heavy build and average height. Black eyes and black hair, though it is dyed white. Black roots are showing. Hair is slightly wavy and smooth. Has tanned skin. Has a french mustache. According to files has worse eyesight than normal, may need glasses.
Special trait: Can manipulate magic.
Reason for arrest: Mass murder at show hosted at 5:48 pm Thursday, 23.6.2026.
Currently on death row, serving as a test subject for the SCP foundation.
Recently promoted even though he was detained today, to only test subject for SCP-1000. Some personnel are discussing if he should be made into a researcher for SCP-1000 to gain more accessibility and further help with gathering information. He will be closely monitored if this does pass. It is very early into testing so unlikely for now.