Bang! Bang!

The reinforced steel door resounded under the impact of continuous pounding. Guards stationed throughout Zima-12 rushed toward the disturbance at once. Julius moved with them, keeping close to Abramov.

"What's happening, Professor?" Julius asked.

"SCP-113 is hyperpanicking," Abramov replied without slowing his pace. "His vitals were already pushing the extreme threshold. Now he's fully hallucinating."

Each Glassheart that had survived experimentation was assigned a numerical designation. Names were discarded early in the process and replaced by codes that were easier to catalog.

SCP-113 was one such subject. A rare case of partial success.

"Professor, look at the monitor."

"Huh?"

Julius raised the tablet and turned it toward Abramov. The live feed showed the interior of SCP-113's containment chamber.

The Glassheart was no longer simply thrashing. His body had begun to change.

Veins pulsed under its translucent skin with liquid light. The restraints held it back, yet its muscles continued to expand. The shape of its skull elongated, then recoiled back as if reality itself could not decide what form he should take.

Abramov stopped walking.

On the screen, SCP-113's mouth opened far wider than anatomy should have allowed. The electromagnetic readings spiked off the charts. New parameters flooded in with data that had never been recorded before.

Abramov stared at the monitor, brows raised in surprise.

"…This is perfect."

Julius looked at him. "Perfect?"

"Yes," Abramov said, eyes fixed on the screen. "Do you see it? He's responding to something."

On the tablet, SCP-113's body twisted. The chamber walls began to crack.

"This is… ultimately what Glasshearts are truly capable of," Abramov continued. "Push them far beyond the edge, and dormant cells begin to activate."

Julius's grip tightened around the tablet.

SCP-113 slammed his head back against the wall. The impact sent a visible tremor, and for a brief moment, the feed glitched.

When it stabilized, the Glassheart was smiling.

"...."

Julius felt a chill run down his spine.

* * *

"Dimitri."

Julius turned, a cup of coffee in hand. Yuliya was approaching him with her arms crossed.

"Ah, Miss Yuliya. Is it your break?"

"Yup," she said, hopping lightly toward him, her hands clasped behind her back. "Thought I needed to energize myself."

"Then should I prepare you a cup—"

"No." She stopped him before he could reach for another cup and leaned forward, resting her head against his chest. "This is enough."

Julius glanced around. "People might see us."

"So?" Yuliya tilted her head. "Are you embarrassed to be seen with me?"

"Obviously not. But you know how rumors—"

She placed a finger over his lips, cutting him off. "Dimitri, at this point, no one is going to think you entered Zima-12 because of me. Mister o' so respected scientist that even German researchers have started taking interest in him."

"....?"

Julius frowned. German scientists? The only German researcher who had approached him so far was Isolde.

"Who was that woman, Dimitri?"

"...."

Julius froze. Women were terrifying. Yuliya hadn't even been at the expo, yet word had reached her anyway.

"Woman?"

"Don't play dumb," Yuliya said. "Sergei told me he saw you talking privately with a German scientist during that expo. Who is she, Dimitri?"

That damned Sergei.

Julius clenched his fist, then waved the matter off as if it were insignificant.

"Just someone interesting. I took note of her project when I saw it online. When I heard she'd be presenting at the expo, I thought it'd be a good opportunity to meet her in person."

Yuliya watched him closely with narrowed eyes.

"So," she began, "you crossed half the venue just because you were curious about her research?"

"Yes."

"And nothing else?"

"Nothing else."

"…You're terrible at lying."

Julius sighed. "I didn't say I was lying."

Yuliya huffed, still leaning against him. "Next time you decide to chase after some brilliant foreign scientist, bring me with you."

There was a brief pause before Julius nodded.

"I will."

"Really?"

"As long as it doesn't interfere with work."

Yuliya smiled, clearly satisfied with that answer, and started fixing his collar.

"Good," she said. "Because the vultures are already circling. I need to make my position very clear."

"…Vultures?"

"That Dimitri Ilya Mikhailov belongs to Yuliya Tatiana Artyomov," she said plainly. "Seriously, have you not noticed Professor Angelina trying to get close to you lately?"

Julius paused. "She is?"

"Yes, she is. She's asking way too many questions. Standing a little too close. Laughing at jokes that weren't even funny."

"...My jokes weren't funny?"

She stared at him for a second, then sighed. "That's what you took from all of that?"

"I was under the impression they were adequate."

"They were tolerable at best," Yuliya said. "She laughed anyway."

"At least she was laughing… You're just hurting my feelings…"

"But you know I love you, right?"

Yuliya leaned in for a kiss, only for Julius to stop her with his hand on her lips.

She grumbled immediately. "Ugh, seriously! This is why people think you're available!"

"Not here, Miss Yuliya."

"Not here?" Yuliya scoffed. "Not here, not there, not anywhere! You never let me kiss you. We've been dating for two months, Dimitri. Even I'm starting to feel insulted."

"That's not my intention."

"Then what is? Am I not pretty enough for you? Do you not want to touch me, is that it?!"

"Tsk."

Julius clicked his tongue, turning his gaze away for a moment.

Truthfully, the thought had crossed his mind more than once. Before his regression, he had seduced and bedded countless women during operations without a second thought. It had been easy back then with his heart belonging entirely to the Directorate.

But now, it was different.

For reasons he could not fully explain, even thinking about crossing that line with Yuliya filled him with a sense of guilt. Unlike the past, where the Directorate had been everything, it was now merely a means to an end.

And unlike before, he still had the identity of Julius Sebastian Schneider. Everything he held dear was still intact, and he had no intentions of losing it all again.

"I do want you," he said at last.

"...."

"But wanting something and acting on it aren't always the same."

"...Why are you holding yourself back?

"It might sound like an excuse, Miss Yuliya," Julius said, "but I'm afraid of hurting you."

A pitiable expression crossed his face, an expression that Yuliya noticed at once. Dimitri was not an expressive man. He spoke rarely, and when he did, it was never careless.

That was why she believed him.

For someone like him to admit fear at all meant it was real.

Silence fell between them once more. Yuliya stayed close, then glanced up at him. The difference in their height made her stretch as she cupped his cheek with one hand.

"I'm sorry for rushing you," she said. "But don't shut me out either. You say you're afraid of hurting me, but doing this hurts me all the same."

Her thumb brushed lightly against his skin.

"I don't know what kind of past you have, but I hope you tell me one day."

"...."

"I'll try to wait, Dimitri," she continued. "Until you open up to me. I'll try to wait for as long as I can.

"...."

"So until then, please look my way too."

Julius slowly placed his hand over hers against his cheek. He inwardly sighed. This should stop her advances for now.

Rumble——

All of a sudden, the facility shook.

The tremor rolled through the corridor like wave. Lights flickered above as loose equipment rattled against the walls. A second later, alarm began to blare.

"What was that?" Yuliya asked.

Before Julius could answer, a distorted announcement echoed through the halls.

——Containment breach. SCP-177 has escaped containment. All personnel evacuate immediately.

Panic followed instantly.

Scientists stumbled as another impact reverberated through the structure. Someone tripped and fell as papers scattered all over. Shouts overlapped one another as guards rushed past with their weapons drawn.

Far down the corridor, something slammed into reinforced plating, followed by the shriek of tearing metal.

Julius narrowed his gaze. He quickly pulled Yuliya close and moved her out of the main corridor, pressing her against the wall just as a group of fleeing researchers rushed like a stampede.

"D-Dimitri—"

Julius's cold gaze was enough to silence her as he scanned the hallway, calculating appropriate routes and exits. Another crash echoed, followed by the sound of glass shattering.

Guards shouted orders as they gave chase. The moment he heard that, Julius tightened his grip around Yuliya's shoulder and guided her away from the scene, positioning himself between her and the source of the destruction.

"Professor, watch out!"

The warning came a second too late.

"Dimitri!"

Julius shoved Yuliya aside and dropped low, slipping past the incoming strike like a snake. Massive claws ripped through reinforced plating as if it were paper.

The claws grazed Julius's side.

Warm blood seeped through his coat as he landed and rolled to his feet.

Nearly a year out of action, and he had grown sloppy.

Down the hall, the SCP-177 rampaged forward, smashing through equipment and walls alike. Guards fired as they advanced, but it barely stopped the creature.

Julius stepped back in front of Yuliya without looking at her, shielding her with his body as debris crashed around them.

He clicked his tongue.

"Tsk."

Gabriel would have laughed at him for nearly dying from that one attack.

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