"Nah." She bit into the burger and stuck her other hand out. "What's 
your plans for the rest of the day? | want to organize a group dinner 
for the end of the month with our colleagues to start forming tighter 
relationships. Also to suck up a bit." Talloran gave her a cigarette 
and lighter. She put down the burger and nimbly twirled around her 
fingers and over her hands, her art form coming to life. It amused 
both of them, and for a simple parlor trick, she pulled it off with 
enough flair, even when doing it real casually. 


"Well, | uh, am interviewing some new anomaly they just brought to 
our site. They haven't even given me the details yet. | just know it's 
Keter, they wouldn't have told me otherwise." 


"Above your level, or they just didn't tell you?" 
"Maybe both, who knows." 


"So that's going to be your whole night? At least tell me you have 
tomorrow!" Yamada stops twirling the lighter around, opens the cap 
and lights it, letting the cigarette come to a halt as it dangles over 
the flame. "I really want to get this to happen, you know." The 
cigarette is lit, and Talloran takes it. 


"Thanks." 
"Of course." She goes back to eating her burger. 


"I'll see if | can get tomorrow to work, but | can't promise that. If this 
project is as secret as it is, then | probably might be busy for a bit. 
Maybe tomorrow over lunch, as opposed to after work. Who do you 
wanna get dinner with anyhow?" They started to take a drag. 


"There's Professor Hannah, as well as Researchers Gomez, Walker, 
and Kirby." Yamada sounded excited, but Talloran felt a bit more 
apprehensive. Senior staff always came off as intimidating, and they 
heard stories about Walker. 


"I'll. Yeah. I'll see what | can do." 
"Thank you! Can you do me a favor as well, when we finish?" 


"Huh?" 


"Can you head over to the Shark Punching Center and buy me more 
pillow cases? | won't have the time to go get some, since | work right 
after this until night." She did work some of the longest shifts of 
anyone at Site-118; to have the energy to plan group dinners was 
unreal. 


"Sure, sure. I'll have time to do so after my interviews with the uh, 
whatever anomaly they want me to talk to. I'll get it done!" 


"What a relief! Any extra you buy you can keep, girl." They both 
smiled. The wind flew softly above. 


Year 3,002,111 


All Talloran had to do now was simply will their body into their own 
control, and it'd come back. Simple as that. They finally were able to 
wrest control, be the master of their own limited domain. Still it was 
dark, and there was nothing but themself, so they did the only thing 
that could be done. 


Lie and wait. 


The first step to self-control was to reclaim their surroundings for 
their own. Most of the time in the nothing was spent in fear, a rotting 
mind slowly doubting itself. Now, with the limiter off, they could use 
the space to their advantage. 


Their body healed. 
They broke the floor below, glass embedded into their skin. 
Perfect. 


Talloran closed their eyes and waited, dreaming again. This is how 


their years would be spent; practicing and drifting into the dreams 
within the dreams. 


January 5, 2017 


9:30 A.M. 


"DRAVEN, SLOW DOWN!" The car was doing donuts in the parking 
lot at a ridiculous speed, and though Talloran found an intense thrill 
in it, Draven's antics involving thrills could get worrying, especially 
when they involved cars. "IT'S BEEN ALMOST TEN MINUTES AND 
I'M FEELING SICK!" Draven immediately slammed his foot on the 
brakes and almost sent the both of them flying. 


"Shit. Sorry bun. | got uh, lost in the moment there." 


"It's fine. You really do have to be more careful about that, but your 
face when you get excited is just —" head kiss "the —" cheek kiss 
"best!" /ip kiss Draven returned the favor. 


It was nice to get some time like this before Talloran had to move. 
Touch conveyed so much more to the both of them than words or 
even looks ever could. 


"We have to go to the airport to drop you off in a few minutes don't 
we." 


"Yeah." 


"| just want you to stay. Maybe we can both move, even." Draven 
said it, Knowing full well that it'd never be the case. Rarely does the 
Foundation relocate couples to the same site unless they work in the 
same fields. And Talloran always understood that they'd never be 
able to keep up with Draven's task force work. 


Silence passed between them. They sat in the car for 20 minutes, a 
whole ten minutes longer than they should have stayed in the lot. 


"Hey, bun." 
"Yeah?" 


"My father... he wrote this before he died. And he, he wanted me to 
give this to you in case we ever moved sites. | don't know what 
possessed him but. Yeah." Draven took out a manila envelope and 
placed it in Talloran's lap. "So, whenever you get on the plane, read 
it. | don't even know what's in it." 


"An oddly specific thing for your dad to do. Alright hun, | will." 
"| just don't want you to like, think he was weird for —" 

"It's okay, | get it." 

"| don't want you to think /'m weird for him being —" 


"No, | understand. Tell me more on the way to the airport, we're 
almost 25 minutes past when we should have gone." 


"Oh fuck!" Draven immediately yelled as he took his head off of 
Talloran's shoulders, turned on the car, and immediately rushed to 
the airport, going as fast as he (legally) could. 


2:30 P.M. 


Talloran allows themself to cry for the first time that day. 


December 4, 2017 


Sunset: quick question 

Friend: ? 

Sunset: unrelated to hearthstone 

Sunset: if i write characters thats trans and gay is it bad 
form to kill one off 

Friend: mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm 

Sunset: i understand the social context and issues 
behind it but 

Friend: i dont think it counts as a bury your gays trope if 
like literally all of the other gays stay alive 

Sunset: i mean i am writin a series about someone who 
will inevitably die, or at least seem to 

Sunset: and theyre trans 

Sunset: but i write a lot of other trans characters 
Sunset: i feel guilty, i guess, but also it should be fine 
right 

Sunset: did i fuck up though by even goin down this path 
Friend: "Additionally, the problem isn't merely that gay 
characters are killed off: the problem is the tendency that 
gay characters are killed off in a story full of mostly 
straight characters, or when the characters are killed off 
because they are gay." 

Friend: from tvtropes, the bible of trope 

Sunset: i dont wanna be part of the problem 

Friend: i don't think you're being part of the problem 
Sunset: is it weirder if the character is an allegory for 
myself 

Sunset: (i mean im a little fine now im just asking) 
Friend: no, in fact its even more acceptable then imo 
Friend: exploring thoughts n shit 

Friend: im not sure if ican even explain it that well toh. 


Year 3,003,998 


Talloran opens their eyes. The perfect sight has revealed itself to 
them. 


It didn't even have time to speak before Talloran rose and brought a 
cord around the both of their necks. Intense pain shot up through 
Talloran; enough for twelve people. And it was worth every bit. 


"Y-You, do you know what you are trying to —" The cord got pulled 
tighter, and they both gagged. 


"S... F-Fuck you. |... shit. I'm, gah, I'm gonna end m-my life and 
erase you with me, you — ugh, you Fucker. T-The first time | tried, | 
only thought to end myself. But now | have you." 


"Talloran, do you understand what you are doing?" It screamed in 
agony, attempting to wrest itself free from the grip. 


"Yes, | absolutely do." Talloran pulled harder, and It stepped through 
the cord, its form sliced almost wholly and cleanly open. "You're just 
some... shitty part of me. I'm fueling your shit. Might as well kill two 
shits with one cord." 


The scene shifted drastically, and The Being shambled over to 
them, pus and brain matter draining by the gallons. They were in 
Draven's Site-17 apartment, rotting and growing unidentifiable 
organisms. All the photographs on the wall were replaced with 
pictures of Talloran's parents, seagulls, and guns. 


"| have had no intent to let myself die along with you... let alone you 
kill me. Your attempt didn't work. Do you understand yet, the 
position —" 


"Do you understand this, that, fuck." Talloran leaned back against 
the moss and worked their way to the refrigerator, arriving after a 
minute of adrenaline keeping them up. When their legs gave way, 
they collapsed inside of the fridge which had long since stopped 
working. Food and drinks spilled everywhere, and their blood got on 
everything. 


"| don't understand shit, my guy. If | did, | wouldn't have been in this 
position. Fuck. Dumbass." They rummaged through the fridge, or 
what was remaining of it, before finding years-old milk. "I'm not an 
action hero. I'm not that impressive. What am I, however many 
kilograms overweight? Who remembers anymore. | can barely think 
or see right now. The only thing | understand right now is how bad of 
a spot we both are right now." 


Talloran chugged the carton, trying not to give into its taste. Rancid. 
Vile. Another thing they hoped not to have to worry about in the real 
world. The milk crawled its way down their throat, as a variety of 
sensations overtook every sense they had. It was wretched; it was a 
state they truly had never felt before in any point in time. Gradually, 
they could feel their body shutting down to protect itself. It was a 
new era. 


“| — gggh,” they couldn’t even finish the sentence before turning 
over, clutching their body and crying. Oh, how they wish they could 
puke right now. They had nothing left to puke up. All they could do 
now was speak at a Snail’s pace. “Il — I, | can’t hear you. You self- 
absorbed Fucker. N-N-Nothing you have done or could do matches 
the... the shit | put myself through. Don’t you.. don’t you 
understand?” Talloran could only laugh and dry-heave as they 
reached for a disintegrated apple, taking the least tangible bite of it 
that one possibly still could by that point. They swallowed. Filthy. 


"| can't, can't physically see it, but | know. | know what look you have 
on your face now. Yeah. That's right. The rules of this place shifted. 
|... | don't have to kill you. | just have to make my will stronger than 
yours.” Talloran cackled, hacking up phlegm and blood. The body 
was continuing to shut down, and they never felt more powerful or 
more in control. 


"W-What was the plan? To poison my mind of my boyfriend? O-Of 
my family? My dad was abusive b-but not as much as other parents 
my friends had. Of seagulls?" They coughed up a laugh. "Death was 
never something | was scared of. Not as long as it was by my own 
hands." The grin on their face expressed far beyond what a normal 
person's grin does, as they took the cord in their hands. 


"See you in Hell." And they pulled and pulled and pulled. There was 


mild resistance, but it didn't take long before the world shattered 
around them. 


December 9, 2017 


One of every 100 or more nights have dreams that aren't 
nightmares. Tonight was one of those nights. 


Sunset awoke in a place of nothingness. Only stairs leading up or 
down. She headed down. Down is traditionally more scary, but up 
was always a more frightening prospect to her. You leave the 
Earth's safety, and unlike down, there's not even a theoretical limit to 
up. You have to trust that whatever is up won't hurt you. So she 
walked. She descended flight after flight, with no end in sight; only 
down to go. 


Eventually, down started to become up, and she froze on a platform 
in the cardinal middle of it all when a dream guardian called to her. 


"Jump." 


You don't defy the dream guardians. So she jumped straight up, and 
fell down. 


She landed on an escalator moving right and the same guardian 
spoke behind her again. 


"| won't show you my face. You have problems looking at the 
guardians. Why do you feel lost?" 


She didn't know how to respond. 


"Is it your writing? Here, let's look." In a flash, she reached out and 
touched a screen parallel to where the escalator moved. She saw 
her characters, lined up on a conveyor belt to be tossed into their 
own special incinerator. "Is this what you expect to be? Don't worry. 
Things will work out if you simply let them. When you daydream 
again and forget about time around you, help will arrive if you're in 
need of it. | can assure you when you wake up, this nightmare of 
yours will cease to be one." 


The guardian spoke more about... something. She didn't remember 
what it was. About her writing, it had to be. Guardians existed in and 
out of the dreamspace's internal logic; they simply kept it in order. 


"Are you actually a guardian?" 

"Do you doubt me?" 

She looked back. Her eyes went blurry and she threw up. 
Now she woke up. No puke on the bed (as usual). 


It was the best sleep she had gotten in a long time. 


March 5, 2017 


9:43 P.M. 


Talloran arrived at Cell-902 in the Keter wing. Four armed guards 
stood outside of it. Talloran swallowed. There weren't normally this 
many guards surrounding a cell, especially for Site-118, one of the 
more relaxed sites for containing Euclid and Keter objects. 


"U-Uh, anything | can do for you? | was told that Researcher Walker 
would be informing me of —" 


"Change of plans. We're here to provide you with backup." What a 
loaded statement. At least this guard was willing to speak. The 


others remained stone-faced. 
"Me?" 


"These are the questions you'll be asking SCP-3999. You are only to 
introduce yourself on-record with your last name. Any deviations 
from these questions must be both minor and related to the other 
questions on said list. If at any point the anomaly acts, you will most 
likely not know. We will be on hand to provide extraction and 
question you about its abilities." The same guard handed Talloran 
the list of questions. "Mr. Walker and his crew will be watching from 
a close distance, but the anomaly will not answer questions unless 
directly interviewed." One of the other guards pressed a button, and 
the cell door unlocked. "You may step inside and begin the 
interview." 


"W-Wait, what does it even look like?" No one responded. "I. Okay, 
fine. I'll do it. At least tell me how prompt you'll be able to respond if 
shit goes south." 


"19 seconds in the most optimal circumstances, 47 in the worst." 


That didn't help soothe their mind. 


Interviewed: SCP-3999 
Interviewer: Researcher James Ari Talloran 
<Begin Log, 21.46.32> 


Researcher Talloran: This is Researcher Talloran. | am 
here to do an introductory interview with SCP-3999. 
Hello, 3999. 


SCP-3999: [SYSTEM ERROR: DATA CORRUPTED. 
PLEASE SEE A NETWORK ADMINISTRATOR FOR 
MORE DETAILS] 


Talloran: When you were captured by Mobile Task 
Force Omega-8, you had just finished depositing the 
bodies of [SYSTEM ERROR: DATA CORRUPTED. 


reason, Foundation personnel were able to keep him contained 
within an enclosed area (the mall) and formulate a plan of action. 
Should the Subject have made the decision to leave the mall and 
continue its killing spree elsewhere, immediate Tier 3 response by a 
double-blind operator would have been the only possible method of 
containing the incident. 


PLEASE SEE A NETWORK ADMINISTRATOR FOR 
MORE DETAILS] 


SCP-3999: [SYSTEM ERROR: DATA CORRUPTED. 
PLEASE SEE A NETWORK ADMINISTRATOR FOR 
MORE DETAILS] 


Talloran: Right. Is it also correct to state that you took 
the form of his mother as well? 


SCP-3999: [SYSTEM ERROR: DATA CORRUPTED. 
PLEASE SEE A NETWORK ADMINISTRATOR FOR 
MORE DETAILS] 


Talloran: ...where did you come from again? 


SCP-3999: [SYSTEM ERROR: DATA CORRUPTED. 
PLEASE SEE A NETWORK ADMINISTRATOR FOR 
MORE DETAILS] 


SCP-3999: [SYSTEM ERROR: DATA CORRUPTED. 
PLEASE SEE A NETWORK ADMINISTRATOR FOR 
MORE DETAILS]