Glen awoke with a start to find herself in her lab, a partially-eaten slice of pizza stuck to her cheek. Peeling the greasy slice from her face, she sat back in her chair and let out a massive yawn. Memories of lying in the snow and the talking skeleton faded as her mind was filled with information about her experiments.
Her eyes fell on the small picture of Teria that sat on her desk. It was old and faded, there was a visible crease in the paper from the time she kept it folded in her wallet, but it was the only picture she had of her wife.
"Morning, gorgeous." Glen said, rubbing the side of the picture frame. "Sleep well?"
The picture, unsurprisingly, did not respond. Glen looked at her wife's smiling face for a few more moments before rising from her chair. Stretching again, she made her way to the large machine in the back of her workshop. A series of clamps and mechanical arms held a large wooden door in place, the sign 'Please Use Other Door' still bolted on the side. Glen couldn't help but smile at the sight of it; Consago was going to be pissed when he found out she'd stolen the door from his ratty little nightclub ... and freed all those poor kids working in his sweatshop. There was something poetic about it; a door once used to imprison would become a door that would lead her everywhere ... when she got it working.
After setting a pot of coffee to brew, she resumed her work. She was used to intricate work, both with standard tech and magi-tech. Magi-tech was particularly touchy; too much energy here, a badly placed leyline there, and she'd be lucky if all that happened was the gear not working.
The door was something else altogether. Glen only told her wife and a few of her closest friends about her strange connection with the dream realm and the abilities that came with it. Initially afraid of that power, the Epitimus event and her subsequent adventure with her alternate self showed her the value of her innate abilities, and eased her fears enough to convince her to experiment. It was slow work; dream energy was extremely difficult to manipulate at the best of times. Even then, the results tended to carry an air of unpredictability. Over a thousand years, and she'd barely scratched the surface of what she could do.
The basic idea was simple; one side of the door would remain in her lab while the other would manifest somewhere else. For the sake of her tests, she chose an old abandoned mansion in Wenapaj, a small country on the planet Vinta. It was well away from any major settlement, eliminating any chance of collateral damage. The problem was separating the two sides of the door without tearing a hole in the universe or the barrier between reality and dreams.
Her current methodology was to create an open possibility based on the possibility that she could have taken the door somewhere else. It worked well for short range jumps; she'd scared dozens of the residents of Ebott by appearing out of closets and other unlikely areas. Unfortunately, the door failed to maintain the connection to the lab; it would vanish, leaving her stranded.
"I need a way to keep the door rooted in both places." She muttered, peering through the intricate weave within the door. "Maybe there's something wrong with the lab, or maybe I'm focusing on the wrong possibility.
Sighing, Glen rubbed her eyes. "Or maybe the whole idea's stupid. Why in the name of the Creator didn't I ask One how he did it?"
The acrid stench of burning coffee hit her nostrils. Glen looked to her coffee machine only to find coffee leaking out of a large crack in the side of the pitcher. She rushed over to turn the machine off, leaving the door construct active. She lifted the pitcher only to immediately drop it to the floor, her hand now quite pink.
The glass pitcher, already weakened by the existing crack, shattered against the hard floor of the basement. Piping hot coffee spread across the floor as Glen wrung her burned hand. She was too busy wishing she'd thought to wear gloves to notice the coffee reach the edge of the elaborate mechanism holding the door.
Hearing a spark behind her, Glen turned just as the door twisted around, smacking her full in the face and knocking her back into her tool box, in turn knocking it over and sending tools clatter all across the basement floor. The machine continued twisting and spinning the door; the construct kept it from breaking, but as a very sore Glen managed to regain her footing, she saw the construct start to unravel.
"Oh, hell." She said, hurrying forward only for the door to suddenly twist and smack her in the shoulder. Augmented by the unraveling dream energy, the blow was enough to send Glen flying again, this time launching her clear across the basement and through the closed and locked wooden cellar door.
She landed amidst the remains of the cellar door on a small path that surrounded the Cherry House. It took her a few moments to recover from the shock of it all, but when she did, she looked back to see the fraying strands of dream energy spreading through her basement at an alarming rate as the door spun faster and faster.
"Oh no." She said, rising to her feet despite her dislocated shoulder and legs that felt about as steady as wet noodles. She took a step forward only for her leg to give out and send her tumbling back to the ground.
She felt a hand touch her shoulder moments later. "Wow. That's one heck of a knock-knock joke."
"Not now!" Glen said, struggling to rise. "I gotta shut that thing off before the construct goes critical!"
She started to hobble toward the cellar, only for a short figure to appear in front of her seemingly out of nowhere. Normally even that wouldn't have been enough to stop her, but the figure's appearance gave even her panicked mind pause. It was another living skeleton, though this one was much shorter than the one she bumped into at Oaka's. This one was wearing a blue coat with a gray hood, black track shorts, and a pair of pink sandals.
"You look like you could use a hand." The skeleton regarded Glen with a wide smile. "And maybe a new leg."
Glen forced the obvious questions from her mind in light of the brewing emergency. "I gotta get back down there!"
"Whoa there, buddy!" The skeleton said, holding her back. "You aren't gonna make it down the steps in that shape."
"The construct's going critical!" Glen said, "If I don't get down there and shut that thing off, it's gonna-"
"That door spinny thing?" Sans asked, glancing at the wildly malfunctioning machine. "Would pulling the plug work?"
"I think so. Maybe. I mean, there's a small chance that ..."
Glen stopped; the skeleton vanished right in front of her. She was still staring at the space he previously occupied when she heard the engine of the machine holding the door die. She hobbled down the steps into her basement to find the door's spin already slowing down to a crawl.
Glen hurried over to the door and put her hand on the construct. The strands immediately retracted, sliding over the walls, the floor, and any unfortunate object that lay in their path. Several of her tools were transformed into different materials in the process; unfocused Dream energy is by its very nature a bit random.
She picked up her ball-ping hammer, the wood and metal tool now made entirely out of cheese.
"That was Thomas Desygan's hammer." She said sadly.
"That's no gouda." Sans said, walking around the machine while twirling one end of the cord.
Frowning, she tossed the hammer at him. He sidestepped the hammer easily, watching with a wide grin as it hit the wall and crumbled into pieces.
"Swissed me." He said, somehow grinning even wider.
Glen stared at him for a moment before letting out a chuckle. "Brie quiet, you."
"What can I say?" He said with a shrug. "I'm a Munster."
"You're a Punster." Glen said, chuckling again before extending her hand. "And I owe you big time, Mister ...?"
He gave me a curious look for a few moments before shaking her hand. "Sans."
"Sans." Glen repeated, straightening slightly as her body's healing shifted bones back into place. "Glenda ... but don't call me that. Glen's fine."
"I can deal with that." He said.
"You'd chedder."
Glen awoke to find herself lying on a couch. She let out a sigh and rubbed her eyes. While remembering her first meeting Sans was a mostly pleasant memory, the dream before that was so surreal: Mechaton and Asgore fighting in front of an Ebott that was part of the Systems Alliance was just bizarre, and the idea that Sans was the only monster to survive still made her feel like tearing up a little.
Strangely, she didn't recognize the house. Not sure how she came to be there, she started to sit up, only to realize that the blanket was in fact the only thing covering her.
"What the ..." She said, glancing around the house for her clothes. In truth, she didn't even know where she was. Wrapping the blanket around her person, she stood and took a look around.
The main room had little more than the couch, a table with a rock that looked to be covered with chocolate sprinkles, a flat screen television on a small desk, and a nightstand with a book.
"Humerus Aside; 1001 skeleton puns to tickle your funny bone." She read aloud with a small chuckle, thinking instantly of Sans.
The sound of a door closing made her drop the book. She approached the front door slowly and peered out the window. For a moment, she thought the woman outside was a fional. She certainly had the look of a bunny to her; white fur, long ears poking out of the top of her summer hat, and an adorable little bunny nose above slightly lips.
"Um, hello?" Glen said, cracking the door open.
"Oh! You're awake!" The bunny-woman said, her dark purple lips spreading in a kind smile. She held out a smile pile of folded clothes that Glen recognized as hers.
"Thank you." Glen said, taking the clothes with one hand. "Um, did you undress me?"
"Well, yes, dear. Your clothes were soaking wet when you arrived, and I figured you'd probably be more comfortable with another woman undressing you than one of the boys."
"Oh." Glen said, stepping aside. "Right. I'm sorry; I just ... I just woke up."
"I see that." She said, looking pointedly at the blanket as she stepped inside and held out her hand. "I'm Rahnna."
"Glen." Glen said, shaking her hand with some difficulty. "Um ... I'm just gonna step into the, uh, kitchen for a sec. Do you mind ..."
"Oh, not at all." Rahnna said, sitting down on the couch.
Glen hurried into the kitchen and quickly dressed herself, pausing only to stare at the strangely tall sink. Once dressed, she returned to the main area of the house with the blanket over her arm.
Handing the blanket to Rahnna, Glen said, "Thanks, Rahnna."
Rahnna accepted this with a nod, but said nothing.
Feeling awkward, Glen rubbed the back of her neck and said, "Um, nice place you have here."
"Hmm? Oh, this isn't my house." She said. "I'm just a friend."
Frowning, Glen opened her mouth to ask who the owner was when the front door opened again, revealing a face that was all too familiar.
"Papyrus!" Glen said, a wide grin on her face as she met the skeleton with a hug. She was met by a strange odor she realized moments later was the smell of cigarettes.
"Um, hi." He replied, sounding surprised. "I see you're feeling better."
"Yeah, well, you know me." Glen glanced down at Papyrus's orange hoodie and black track pants. "Hey, that's a nice look for you."
"You think so?"
"Yeah. It's nice to see you out of the armor once in awhile."
Rahnna gave Glen a strange look before asking Papyrus, "Armor? Pap, dear, what's she talking about?"
Papyrus raised an eye ridge at Glen before turning his attention to Rahnna. Taking her arm gently, he helped her stand and said, "Thank you very much for your help, sweetie."
"Oh, it was no problem." She said, a little startled as he guided her to the front door. "But shouldn't a stay in case-"
"As much as I enjoy your company, I really should have a word with our new friend alone. Royal Guard business, you know."
"Oh." Rahnna said, looking a little put out. "Well, if you need me later ..."
"I'll call." Papyrus said, ushering her out the door. He gave her a small peck on the cheek before closing the door on her.
"Wow." Glen said, putting a hand on her hip. "That was tactless."
"What? Oh, Rahnna. It's fine."
Glen crossed her arms and glared at him until he rolled his eye sockets. He stepped outside, only to return a minute or so later with several kiss lavender kiss marks on his skull.
"Better?" He said, the annoyance in his voice offset by the telling grin plastered on his skull.
"Better." Glen said approvingly. "It's nice to see you finally found someone, Pap. You been goin' together long?"
"A few months now." Pap sighed and fished in the pockets of his orange hoodie for a moment before pulling out a box of cigarettes. He fished one out and lit it with a flame that shot from the tip of one bony finger.
After taking a drag, he looked at Glen. No doubt noticing her gaze on his cigarette, he offered the box to her.
"I really shouldn't." Glen said. "I promised Teria."
He raised an eye ridge at her again, prompting her to sigh and take a cigarette.
"I'm sure the smell will wear off in the next two-thousand years." She said as he lit it for her. The sensation of warmth spreading through her chest was heavenly, though there was something about the cigarette that tasted slightly off ... not bad, just different.
She realized Pap was watching her. "Been awhile, huh?"
"About fifty years." Glen admitted. "I mean, I'm a Dreamer; it's not like it's going to hurt me. Can't imagine it causes any lasting damage for you either."
"Heh. Nah. I ain't got the lungs for it."
Glen let out a snort. "Careful; Sans hears you saying that, and you'll never hear the end of it. Speaking of, does he know?"
"That I smoke? Yeah, but he doesn't like it. I've been trying to quit myself, to be honest."
"For Rahnna?"
He chuckled. "Who do you think got me started?"
They laughed at this as they continued smoking. Glen felt more at ease than she had in a while.
"Mind if I tell you something?" She asked. When he nodded, she said, "It's nice to see you let your hair down like this, so to speak. Normally, you're as wound as a spring."
He seemed intrigued by this. "Well, since we're being honest, mind if I tell you something?"
Chuckling, Glen said, "I know stripes is a kid thing; I just really like this shirt."
"No, not that." he said, "I have no idea who you are."
Glen chuckled and shook her head. "See? I never knew you could be this funny."
Her laughter died as she realized his expression was serious.
"Look, we found you in the forest half-frozen." Papyrus said. "And it's not like humans just fall into the Underground everyday. To be honest, you're the first I've seen in decades, yet the way you're talkin', we've been bosom chums for ages."
Glen held a hand to her head, murmuring, "Then ... it wasn't a dream."
"What?" Papyrus asked curiously.
She opened her mouth when it came to her in a sudden flash. "Sans!"
Startled, Papyrus asked, "What about Sans?"
"Sans was taking me somewhere, but we were attacked by some black glitchy thing!" She said, "I tried to help, but I got thrown out of the-"
Papyrus was already out of the front door. Glen hurried after him, only to come to a halt when she saw the snow-filled town outside. The idea of a snowy mountain village being inside said mountain was just strange, though she reckoned it wasn't any stranger than anything else she'd encountered lately. Shaking her head, she ran after Papyrus. They raced through Snowdin, attracting no small amount of attention in the process.
The snow crunched beneath Glen's sock-covered feet as she followed Papyrus into the snow-covered forest. Papyrus was faster than her ... much faster, in fact. It was all Glen could do to keep him in sight. By the time he stopped at a sentry station that looked to have been fashioned from a large cardboard box, she was quite out of breath.
"Sans!" He said, peeking through the sentry station's window. "Sans, are you there?"
Glen came to a halt behind him a few seconds later, quite out of breath. "Wait." She said, struggling to breath. "Just give me a sec ... I'm sure ..."
"He must be in Waterfall." Papyrus said before running back the way they'd come.
'Pap, no, wait ..." Glen sighed; Papyrus was already out of hearing range. Rolling her eyes, Glen pushed her aching body to follow him. It was going to be another long day.
