Glen floated silently through an immense dark void, devoid of even the slightest bit of light or warmth. The darkness was so complete that she couldn't even tell if her eyes were open. It wasn't merely physical either; her mind felt as though it were filled with dense fog; even trying to think took considerable effort that she found herself increasingly unable to muster.
How long had she been there? How did she get there in the first place? Was there even a way out, or was she doomed to floating there forever? In truth, it wasn't exactly a horrible experience. Floating in the void was a rather restful experience, something Glen didn't have too much of these days.
She should've known it wouldn't last. The darkness fell away as something landed across her stomach, jarring her from her dreams and back into her bedroom in the Cherry House of Ebott.
"Wha …?" She said, grabbing the thing that fell on her. The thing giggled and tried to get away, but Glen's grip around the little girl's waist soon tightened.
"Oh, you think you're real funny, don't you, Frisk?" Glen said before mercilessly tickling the little girl's sides. Frisk's giggling turned into shriek's of laughter as she struggled to escape, to no avail.
Her laughter abruptly changed to coughing. Glen ceased her assault and helped Frisk to sit up, patting her back softly as the little girl continued to cough.
"Wow." Glen said as Frisk's coughing fit drew to an end. "You sound like crap. You really gotta cut out all that smoking, Frisk."
Frisk blew a raspberry at Glen before slipping from the table and running out of Glen's room. Glen wasn't surprised she was still coughing a week after recovering from her cold; she herself was pretty miserable for a month last time she caught the bug. It was a shame that the monster's healing magic did nothing for illnesses.
Shaking her head, Glen rose from her bed and prepared for the day. Once she was done in the bathroom and was properly dressed, Glen walked to the kitchen, where Frisk was currently poking through the ceramic pots.
"Cold." Glen said tauntingly as she walked to the fridge. She watched as Frisk climbed onto the counter and looked in her cupboards. Chuckling, Glen said, "Freezing cold. Sans or Toriel with you?"
Frisk shook her head. After reaching the last cabinet, her tiny shoulders sagged.
"Tell you what." Glen said, picking up the little girl. "Let's go chat with your parents, and if they're okay with it, I might see fit to giving you a few cookies. Deal?"
Frisk beamed and nodded. Glen lifted the little girl from the ground and lifted her over her head so that she could sit on Glen's shoulders.
It was a lovely day outside, made even lovelier by the first of Asgore's flowers beginning to bloom. Glen was glad to see someone use the space, and even assisted the former King on occasion with moving bags of fertilizer or pulling weeds.
The beauty of the day was marred by the sounds of angry shouting the closer Glen and Frisk approached the house currently rented by Toriel and Sans, a nice little place, if a bit small for such a large family. As they neared the front door, Glen could make out portions of the conversation.
"…don't pay, you can sleep on the streets."
"But Mister Towers!" Said the flustered voice of Toriel. "We've paid our rent punctually since we arrived here."
"Oh, so you think that means you can be late this month?" Said the voice of Bergin Travers, a human of Glen's acquaintance who handled the business aspects of land-lording so that Glen could focus on her work. "That's not how it works. Our rates are perfectly reasonable, and if you can't pay, then you can take it up with Mister Adams."
Glen frowned, her eyes narrowing. She opened the door and stepped into Toriel and Sans's small living room, where Toriel and Bergin stood less than a foot apart, an uncertain look on the former's face. Bergin, a thin mouse-haired man, didn't bother looking Glen's way.
"Didn't think you'd care for that." Bergin said, nodding. "That's smart. I'm only following his rules, after all, and if he wants to charge you monsters more for rent, you'll have to either deal with it and pay, or get evicted like your ex-husband."
"What?!" Glen said, instantly outraged.
Bergin spun about, eyes wide. "Glen? I didn't realize-"
"Oh, no. You want to bring Mister Adams into this, then let's do just that.'
"It's fine, Glen." Toriel said, bowing her head. "I can't afford to be evicted."
"You won't be." Glen said, her eyes on a very nervous Bergin. "So what's this about monster tenants being charged more than humans?"
Bergin looked as though he wanted to melt into the wallpaper, but said nothing. Unfortunately for him, Toriel and Sans were less reluctant to speak.
"Everyone knows that Mister Adams charges a premium rate to monsters." Sans said, giving Glen a curious look. "Two, three, even four-times if he thinks they can afford it. It's not like we have a lot of options; the guy owns half the town."
"Half of Ebott?" Glen said, a little surprised. "I didn't realize."
Sans snorted. "You need to spend less time in your workshop; the whole town knows, especially after ol' Asgore got kicked out."
"Sorry," Glen said, shaking her head, "I meant I didn't realize I'd built so many houses. I'm Mister Adams."
Toriel gasped, bringing a hand to her mouth.
"My full name's Glenda Adams Soleil. I registered the homes under my maiden name specifically so I wouldn't have people coming to me for every complaint. Like you said, I've got enough to deal with in my workshop. Instead, I trusted Bergin to handle the administrative stuff, a move I'm seeing now was a mistake."
Turning her attention fully on Bergin, Glen said, "So, care to explain yourself?"
Bergin shook his head slowly before meeting Glen's gaze. "They're monsters."
Glen frowned at the man she formerly thought of as a decent fellow. "That's all? That's all you have to say for yourself?"
"They're monsters!" Bergin said in the same tone a parent would use to explain something obvious to a particularly stubborn child. "Besides, I ain't doing anything that others aren't already. You think the other landlords aren't charging monsters double, even triple the rent?"
"I don't particularly care what the other landlords are doing." Glen told him. "You're fired."
Shock registered on Bergin's face. "What?! But you can't-"
"As per our written agreement, I'll give you a month to clear out of the Madison house and I'll even throw in your last paycheck … but after that, I don't want to see you again. Ever. We clear?"
"But-"
"I'm being nice." Glen said, frowning at him. "You want me to get mad about this?"
Bergin hesitated only a moment before leaving the house in a huff, slamming the door behind him. A near-deafening silence followed his departure, broken only by Glen's sigh.
"I'm sorry about that." Glen said, rubbing her forehead. "He seemed a decent enough guy when I first met him. I dunno, I guess sometimes, there are things you just never know about a person until it's forced to the surface."
After another pause, Glen turned to Sans and said, "Well, anyway, I need a new superintendent. Whaddya say, Sans?"
"Me?" Sans said, a hand on his chest. "I ain't sayin' no, but why me?"
"Well, Pap is busy with his restaurant, and your Missus has her work with the school. Besides, I know you hate having to jump between so many jobs. I'll offer you twice what I paid Bergin, and give you full reign to lower the rents to whatever you think is acceptable … after all the monsters affected by Bergin's price-gouging have six months rent free."
"That's very kind, but can you afford that?" Toriel asked.
Glen waved her off. "Of course. I was rich before I even came to Ebott. I didn't even need to rent out the houses in the first place; that's why I let Bergin take care of everything. Speaking of, I'd say you're welcome to the Madison House once he's gone, but he's probably gonna trash the place, y'know, in retaliation. Even if he doesn't, if he hates monsters so much, he might leave other … surprises. A thorough check could take months, so I'd like you to consider moving into the Cherry House in the meantime, rent-free of course."
Toriel clasped her hands together, an overjoyed expression on her face. "You'd allow us to live in your lovely home?"
"Of course. Place is too big for just me anyway, and you need a bigger place. Besides, Frisk already claimed a room for herself anyway; might as well make it official. I mean, if you're all interested."
Sans held out his hand. "Sounds good to me … landlady."
The world dissolved the moment Sans touched Glen's hand, Toriel, Frisk, and even Glen herself eventually vanishing from sight and leaving Sans sitting on the concrete floor in a white, brightly lit hallway.
The dream, if indeed it was a dream, had seemed so real … and yet, Sans felt a strange disconnection with his actions. It was more like he was playing a part in a play, expressing emotions without truly understanding their source. Now that it was over, he found himself wondering if it was just a random dream, or if he'd somehow seen a part of Glen's life, with himself playing the part of the Sans of universe J-27.
It took a few moments for the disorientation to pass, but when it did, the reality of the situation came crashing down on Sans. Whether intentionally or by accident, Error activated the imprint of the Inverse Harmonius, which meant they were now in yet another reality. Even worse, he was alone; no Error, no Artie, and no Fuku.
"Fuku!" Sans called out, rising quickly to his feet and looking around the hallway for signs of his girlfriend. "Fuku, can you hear me?"
There was no reply. Forcing down the panic quickly rising beneath his ribs, Sans ran down the hall, around the corner, and immediately crashed into a woman wearing a lab coat, sending the folder formerly in the researcher's hands to fly into the air.
"Whoa!" Sans said, first catching the woman to keep her from falling and then holding his hand out at the papers. The individual pages fluttered madly through the air under the control of his telekinesis, eventually falling into a near stack.
Handing the folder to the researcher, Sans said, "Sorry about that. Say, have you seen a young lady? Fire elemental, light blue?"
The researcher's eyes bugged out, the effect magnified by her thick glasses. "P-please …" She whispered. "Don't hurt me."
"Hurt you? Nah, lady, I don't go around hurting people. Don't have the stomach for it. Eh?"
Sans lifted his shirt, revealing his lower ribs and spine. He expected the woman to laugh; humans always laughed at that one. This is why he was caught off-guard when she ran away, screaming, "Containment breach! Containment breach! An SCP has escaped containment!"
"Uh-oh." Sans said. "That can't be good."789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqhsvbSK2CE
Glen awoke with a start. She peered around the dark room blearily for a few moments, the confusion brought from of her dreams of the past eventually replaced with the confusion as to her location coupled with annoyance: another dimensional shift, this one out of nowhere. Just what was going on?789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnj4pOPWJHR
She was lying on a double bed in her usual clothes, though barefoot. There was no sign of her gear: no Headache, no tek-boots, no impulse harness … not even her control visor. Panic rushed through her. She felt her neck and soon found the thin metal braid of her necklace. She pulled it from beneath her shirt and stared at the pendant for a few moments before letting out a sigh of relief.
"Least I still got you, babe." She said, giving the pendant a small squeeze.
The images of her dream still lingered in her mind. It had been quite a fateful day for her, solidifying her friendship with Sans and Toriel, and setting the stage for them to take over as landlords so she could resume her own exploration of the universe. Glen was no stranger to vivid dreams; as a Dreamer, she had an innate connection to the Dream Realm. Still, there was something in the memories that seemed out of place … while the events played out as they had, Glen couldn't shake the strange sensation that there was something there that did not belong, something that seemed to be watching.
Glen shook her head. "Focus, Glen; let's get our bearings and make sure the others are okay."
She swung her legs over the side of her bed and let her bare feet touch the wooden floor of the room. The light switch didn't work, but Glen was able to induce her Anti-ka Maru into glowing brightly enough to make out the rest of the bedroom. There was no sign of her equipment, but it was the window that caught Glen's attention, as nothing could be seen through it. The darkness beyond the window was so complete, it might as well have been painted black.
Glen thumped the glass, not sure what to make of it. It was about that time her ears picked up the sound of irregular tapping, like that of a computer keyboard.
"Or a typewriter." Glen said, turning her attention back to the door.
She slowly opened it to find herself on the second floor landing of a cabin, another door directly across the landing from the bedroom. A glance down the stairwell showed that it led to a kitchen on the first floor.
Glen approached the door across from the bedroom, as the source of the tapping came from beyond it. Tentatively, she knocked on the door.
The tapping stopped for a moment, but only a moment. Frowning, Glen raised her hand again only for a wrinkled hand grabbed hers. She turned to see an old woman wearing a mourning veil staring at her, her hand still holding Glen's.
"No need to bother Mister Wake, dear." The old woman said, giving Glen a thin-lipped smile that made the Dreamer's blood run cold. "We have much to talk about."789Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNtCPRsXxqx
