Link to article: Project Tartarus.
[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/new-tricks | Dr. Kain Pathos Crow was back in business.]]] He arched his back, wagged his tail, scratched his ear, and was off. Gone were the days of working in that shoddy garage, on pointless projects, projects that weren’t even half as anomalous as himself. He yearned for the days when he was seen as a pillar of the Foundation’s achievement, single-handedly containing dozens of anomalies with unique and useful inventions. Now, he was happy to simply leave a garage. [[[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/olympia-project | The Olympia Project]]] was his greatest love and his legacy. And yet, it was gone, the Council had determined it too dangerous, and now who knew what they had done with it, with his progress, his darling Olympia. Burned it most likely. Crow could practically smell the ashes, the burnt remains of his glorious creations. Crow grinned widely, tongue out, at a glorious sight, the computer keyed to his paws. And with his credentials entered, he saw the light once more. No more was Dr. Kain Pathos Crow a Level-1 employee. Once again, the Foundation’s tech god was back, once more did Crow see the Level-4 insignia. And Crow began learning what the Foundation was up to in recent years. And he barked with joy. He had found something big, maybe even bigger than Olympia. [[[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/the-siege-of-site-19 | All he needed was to swing by Site-19.]]] After the incident, he set up shop at Site-17, recruited a staff, and started work. [[[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/calm | Director Sophia Light visited]]] and inquired about his help on Alpha-9. Crow liked her, she had always been kind and rational, a good combination, a combination that could save the world. He also happened to view Alpha-9 in a good light, after they saved his life, that tends to do it. But truthfully, Crow couldn’t have wanted anything less than to help Alpha-9. That had been what he was recruited to do, but really, it was a waste of his talents. The staff he recruited was more than capable. [[[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/system:page-tags/tag/doctor-cimmerian | Some ethics committee chump]]] stopped by and asked questions. Crow couldn’t prove it, but he was confident the committee had something to do with shutting down Olympia. And at the end, the man offered a hand. The audacity! Crow gave up a paw, a cowardly sign of subservience to the great beast of the Foundation. The man probably thought it was kind. And finally, the sweet scent of freedom. He informed his staff of his intentions to gather supplies from other labs, and he was off. He only took one item with him, [[[SCP-158 | the one that began it all.]]] Why they kept it in Site-17 safe-class storage was beyond him, in fact it was rather insulting. Crow messaged Ten about his plans, about his Project Tartarus. Ten gave the go ahead. The plane was a perfect place for a power nap. Upon opening bleary eyes, Crow found himself at his destination, licking his lips in anticipation. He showed his Level-4 ID and was let inside, where he was greeted by a doctor. “Hey buddy, where’s your owner?” “Don’t have one.” “What the… uh is the dog speaking?” “Yup, you new around here kid?” “Uh…” “First time seeing an anomaly?” “No, been here 20 years sir. [[[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-2708 | Dr. Adam Leeward’s]]] the name.” “God, I wish I was that young.” The two walked into the belly of the site, which Crow noticed was in complete disrepair. “We don’t get many visitors here. Not many people are interested in dead humanoid anomalies.” Crow grunted in response, which came across as more of a sigh. “You here as a punishment kid?” “You could say that.” Crow sniffed Lee. There was something odd, a stench, lust maybe? [[[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/too-old-to-lie-too-cold-to-love | “There’s something off about you Lee.”]]] “I’ve been told that. Now, which one do you want to see?” [[[SCP-2970 | “2970.”]]] “What do you need it for?” “That’s top secret.” “Ah, of course sir.” Crow grinned upon seeing the beautiful corpse, a perfect mix of technology and biology. “Next, how many corpses of [[[SCP-3480 | 3480]]] do you have?” They had almost a hundred, all studied and dissected, but mostly whole. Crow couldn’t help but wag his tail. “Prepare these corpses and a plane, we’re going to complete this project.” “Sir?” Crow happened to be a good judge of character (mostly by smell) and knew that Leeward was like him, delegated to menial tasks due to a misuse of anomalies. “What? You want to stay here?” “Uh no sir. Crow examined his spoils from Site-19, in the chaos he had made off with quite a bit. No [[[SCP-784-ARC | 784,]]] which was a blow, but a small amount of [[[SCP-143| 143]]] and [[[SCP-148 | 148]]] was welcome. And a copy of [[[SCP-061 | 061]]] was exactly what he needed. He arrived at [[[SCP-291 | 291,]]] and upon setting up 158, the nostalgia hit him. And then he wagged his tail. 2970 proved surprisingly simplistic, upon being completely broken down. Even gods had to follow basic principles to get things working properly. The reality benders proved to be a much greater challenge, as Clef had so ardently claimed, “it’s impossible to fully understand reality benders.” But with the sheer number of specimens, anything was possible. Crow revived several of them, made docile by 061. And he tested how they dealt with pain, how they reacted, how they warped the fabric of reality. They would only warp reality when alive, only when 158 was used. And he took a regular corpse, and adjusted it, twisting its brain. Crow prayed, not to god, but that god would be kicked in the balls. The corpse jerked awake, and reality disintegrated around it. Crow, shut down the subject’s brain, and howled. Integrating the complex technology of 2970 into the reality benders would take more time. The technology was having difficulty with the constant collapse of reality. Crow had to return multiple times to Site-17, and work on mind-numbingly dull projects, leaving the clueless Lee to watch over his legacy. Crow was no Mann, he couldn’t closely examine the human body. No, all he had was a machine that tore them apart, and threw them back together. The human body isn’t intricate, its just a machine, and when broken, you can just tear it apart and try again. New cogs, new bolts, new brains, new hearts. Crow knew what a soul was, he had it in a glass jar. The weeks turned into a year, and finally, Crow was greeted with success: a body with extreme cybernetic modifications, the ability to come back from the dead, telekill alloy in the brain, skin harder than diamond, the ability to warp reality, and a soul completely at the whim of Dr. Kain Pathos Crow. He named it Thanatos, the god of death, and that, mused Crow, made him the King of the Dead. One last stop. Although this one would take a while. Years in fact, plus, this one would have to be done under the Council’s nose, not an easy task. At the moment of his triumph, Crow was greeted by a call. “Are you Ten?” “I am one of her close aides, you can call me Salt.” “Project Tartarus is complete, We have a reality-bending Tau-5.” “Well done, Dr. Crow.” “When do you want him in the field?” “The Council wants this weapon to be a last resort.” Crow wagged his tail. Lucky! Ten had indeed gone behind the backs of the other O5’s. “Ah, makes sense.” “I trust you will keep it safe.” “Indeed.” Crow had a perfect replica, for the Council’s video viewing pleasure. “We hope to see more of your projects, Dr. Crow.” The call ended. Of course they want more. More weapons to have against the other council members. Ten was a complete fool! With no experience, they expect to completely control the Council. The idea was frankly laughable, Ten’s foolishness was almost too good to believe. Crow mused that if the rest of the Council knew of his plans, he’d be dead anyways, so either they were letting it go, for unknown reasons, or he had really pulled one over on the Foundation. Either way, Crow gets what he wants. And at [[[SCP-222 | SCP-222,]]] Thanatos arrives. Years are needed, perhaps decades, but on a bare branch, the Crow is perched. It’s a dog-eat-dog world after all.