Sitting around a small room, a group of men in lab coats could be seen examining a screen.

On the screen was a recording of what looked to be your regular IKEA until one was to start paying attention to the details.

For one, the IKEA seemed never to end, and even the camera on the small drone and an attached rangefinder could not detect any walls, but that's nothing unexpected after the IKEA was first explored.

This drone marked the fourth to be sent into the IKEA, and on its fateful journey, the footage sent back was flagged for anomalous activity within the IKEA. After a few hours into the drone's journey, the scientists found what had raised the flag.

In a large empty area of the IKEA, something clearly unusual as the only open areas the Drones ever found were areas that were scavenged of furniture for the construction of nearby settlements.

Not only were there no nearby settlements that the Drone could find but there appeared to be an unusually high number of Staff present in the area, all seemingly converging towards the center of the large open area.

At the center? Mounds upon mounds of Staff carcasses with two unknown entities attacking all Staff on sight.

Not only was that unusual, but the Staff also seemed to be attacking the unknown entities on sight.

Floating high in the air, they examined the unknown entities as best as they could with the resources they had available, that being the drone and its camera.

However, they were on a small timetable, as the Drone's battery was set to empty within a few more hours.

So, the scientist in the room was actively examining the creatures from a safe distance and observing them as they efficiently culled the Staff with their weapons and bodies.

From their studies, the Scientists only grew more confused.

The two entities, while seemingly organic, were clearly not, as metal and unknown electronics were smoothly integrated within the flesh of the two entity's skins. Then there were their seemingly inexhaustible energy levels, with them observed fighting the Staff for hours upon hours, and after some calculations and estimations, they estimated that the creatures must have been fighting the Staff for over a week!

So, as you could guess, the Scientists were beyond confused. How did these unknown entities enter the Infinite IKEA? Where do they come from? Were they cyborgs or artificial creatures? What powered them?

There were so many questions, and the Scientists had no answers for them as the Drone's battery eventually depleted and the Drone was deactivated.

Starving for answers, the Scientists came together and made a formal request to assign an expedition into the IKEA. Knowing full well that whoever was sent inside would never escape.

One week later, their request was approved by an 05.

So, twelve D-Class personnel of sufficient skills and experience were gathered.

Two doctors, four craftsmen with training in various trades, and six veterans who have combat training and skills in survival, marksmanship, and other useful skills.

These D-Class were evaluated and recommended due to their loyalty to the Foundation. Once they were chosen, they were transferred to the Infinite IKEA entrance, where they were given as many supplies as needed to survive for a long period of time within the IKEA, including, much to the dismay of the nearby Foundation Security and Task Force members, firearms to use to protect themselves in the IKEA.

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They were given Radio equipment, multiple drones, charging packs that were capable of charging from the many charging ports available across the IKEA, various cooking utensils, MREs, and a decent amount of ammunition to last them a week or two within the IKEA.

Then, one notable Dr. Bright suggested they each take a melee weapon to use in case of loss of the firearms or as a last resort, as the Staff were noted to be as 'fragile' as humans.

Once everything was gathered and prepared, the D-Class was sent inside along with a Task Force Agent who volunteered to lead the group.

The scientists could now only wait until they received a transmission from the Infinite IKEA.

...

Meanwhile, not far from the expedition, a settlement aptly named 'Bedrooms' due to the sign that hung over the settlement, a golden portal suddenly ripped through reality straight into the middle of the small settlement, startling everyone that lived within it.

...

Gathered around the newly-opened portal, Jake and his Guardsmen stood at the ready, with all of the scavengers behind them.

"Alright, you know how this goes; we go through first and scout out the surroundings, take care of any Staff that's waiting for us, and if we are gone for longer than half an hour, warn the town. Got it?" Jake asked the scavengers that would come in after they cleared the other side as safe.

Gettings nods; Jake placed his focus on his fellow Guards, "You guys ready? On zero...Three! Two! One! Zero!" Jake shouted as he grabbed the portal, finding himself suddenly surrounded by the gawking and stunned faces of over two dozen souls.

...

While the humans began crossing over to the IKEA when the portal reopened, I sent a thread of mana through the portal, giving me a way to see the surroundings on the other side.

To my surprise, I found the portal completely surrounded by two dozen humans. It appears that my portal this time around had opened in the middle of an IKEA settlement.

Within a moment, I had an accurate count of all of the Humans living in the settlement and detected a strange energy fluctuation a mile away from the Settlement.

What was strange was that the fluctuation felt much like how my portal feels whenever I open it within my Dungeon and the IKEA.

Pushing the thread of mana toward the source of the strange energy fluctuation, I felt my senses expand and shift with the thread of mana, extending through most of the settlement, then through the walls, and toward the source, passing through many of the cubicles that featured.

When I reached the source, I found...a group of armed men seemingly overprepared for the dimension, with all of them featuring firearms and sidearms, as well as various melee weaponry such as swords, axes, and knives.

Creeping up closer with the thread of mana, I examined the humans closer before noticing one in tactical armor boasting a symbol I did not expect to see. An outlined circle with three arrows crossing its contour and pointing to the center. The sigil of the SCP Foundation. A top-secret organization known for its motto, 'Secure. Contain. Protect,' and the myriad of creatures, anomalous objects, and entities they had captured, imprisoned, or slain.

The same organization that Dr. Bright was affiliated with, and yet here's a member seemingly leading a group of individuals who were armed to the teeth and prepared for the apocalypse.

Curious as to their intentions and story, I left my threat nearby and listened in on their conversation.

One of the bulkier of the men carrying some sort of radio equipment on his back placed the bag on the ground and began to mess with the machine before turning it on its own, causing a buzz to come to life.

Turning a few dials, the man began speaking.

"Come in, Come in, Callsign: Bravo-Theta-Zulu reporting, over," The man called out on the radio on some unknown frequency.

Feeling the frequency, I was suddenly surprised to feel spatial distortions around the radio before a voice came over.

"Copy that, Bravo, report," An aged voice answered.

"We have reached the other side, gathering our equipment and setting up the drones to scout out our surroundings. Once a viable place is found where we can hunker down, we will begin setting up the rest of our equipment and increase our Drone Scouting range. Please advise, over," The man holding the radio told the aged voice, as the others around him were on guard and keeping their eyes open as they scanned their directions.

"Sounds good. Hunker down, scout out your area, report every 24 hours, and radio in case of emergency or need of resupply. Future directives will be assigned within the coming weeks. Stay safe in there. Headquarters is out, over," the aged voice answered before the radio shut down.

...Interesting...