Credits
Author:
Translator:
Note: I wrote this story to draw more attention to SCP-031-DE "Isabelle".
This is part of the Japanese Foundation Collective Canon and so the SCP Foundation has a "Dream World Branch" in this tale.
Isabelle feels a bit sorry for the man. He had been particularly kind to her and otherwise seems to be an emphatic person with a lot of charity.
Isabelle therefore makes a special effort to put his loyalty to the test.
The Emotionvore begins to spin a life story slowly and with a strange tenderness.
·•●•· ·•●•· ·•●•· ·•●•· ·•●•· ·•●•· ·•●•· ·•●•··•●•·
Isabelle notices a pale child looking at her in extreme confusion.
Isabelle draws her brows together, which should be illogical according to dream logic.
This child takes the role of her daughter in the dream, but the girl does not look anything like Isabelle or her victim.
In this dream they do not adopt children.
Isabelle thinks hard.
According to the process of elimination and the circumstantial evidence, the girl they seem to have named Elizabeth must be an intruder in their dream world.
Isabelle doesn't like food envy, regardless of whether it's the first time.
Elizabeth has apparently come to the same conclusions and glares at her disapprovingly.
Isabelle has long since forgotten her victim. With her left hand she made a shooing gesture, accompanied by Ksh Ksh.
The child is flabbergasted at the humiliating treatment and in response shoves the adult, which is not so effective when someone was only half her size.
It is Isabelle's turn to be surprised. Then she lifts Elizabeth up.
"You obviously don't disappear so easily. Then I'll take you somewhere where you won't be in my way."
·•●•· ·•●•· ·•●•· ·•●•· ·•●•· ·•●•· ·•●•· ·•●•· ·•●•·
Elizabeth has discovered that Isabelle's idea of 'being out of the way' is a children's room. She looks around to see if she can find anything useful. In the cupboard. Under the bed.
Resignedly, she sits down on the carpet and plucks at fringes.
That's the downside of sneaking into dreams. She can't make any big changes.
·•●•· ·•●•· ·•●•· ·•●•· ·•●•· ·•●•· ·•●•· ·•●•··•●•·
Isabelle is proud of herself. She solved a problem at the first attempt.
Now she occupies herself with something mundane like cooking. This distracts her a little before she spins on.
Isabelle doesn't even notice what she is preparing, so meaningless is it in the dream world.
The pattering of small feet can be heard faintly.
Isabelle turns around disapprovingly.
The child is sitting at the kitchen table, her head resting on it, facing away from Isabelle.
As long as Elizabeth doesn't disturb her, she can play along with Isabelle's performance.
After five minutes, when Isabelle had turned back again, she heard feet on the tiles again.
She looks down.
Elizabeth clings to Isabelle's skirt, as is typical for a child.
·•●•· ·•●•· ·•●•· ·•●•· ·•●•· ·•●•· ·•●•· ·•●•· ·•●•·
The rest of the day (which is still Isabelle's Dreamscape) the child followed the woman. For the victim of the two, this did not have to be so extraordinary. Surprisingly, the two emotional eaters coped well with the situation. Elizabeth generated the negative aura that Isabelle used to give her host a dramatic life.
In fact, until the host's oneirois returned home, all went well and the two even played a round of a card game with other dream beings who had strayed in to join them and willingly took on the roles of supporting characters.
"Gosh, what weather it is today."
Isabelle and Elizabeth look to the Oneiroi, puzzled by his statement. Neither of the two had noticed a minute or two ago the storm that now envelops the dream structure.
The ground begins to shake. The wind whistles around the unreal corners of the non-existent building. The light flickers. A buzzing hum is audible, apparently coming from the entity that seems to be the only source of light outside. Something large and massive glides by the windows, like an aquatic predator.
The predatory Dream Entity creates ripples in surreality through its sheer presence. Isabelle feels herself losing control of her dream world. She has heard of such Nightmare Constructs and knew that she was almost literally a small fish in comparison. She flings herself out of the dream, inadvertently dragging Elizabeth along as a passenger.
The host's shadow can only witness, with a silent scream, the oversized newt opening its plump lips and sucking him in like a worm.
"I have a negative announcement and I have a positive announcement."
Elias stares at his opposite for a long time, trying to figure out what is going on.
It is understandable that Elias is a little confused when a thought bubble comes out of the shoulders of a suit instead of a neck with a head.
The Dream Entity waits with angelic patience for a response. "Which one would you like to hear first?" he asked in his sonorous voice.
"Please… please the negative one first. Then hopefully the good one can cheer me up."
"Interesting choice. The message is: you're dead."
Elias swallows hard. "Dead?" he repeats.
"Yes. Two parasitic entities - we call them anomalies - have unfortunately both chosen to select you as their host."
"Two …?"
"Yes. This is not directly your cause of death, but I doubt you would be interested in the details."
"So this is-"
"No." for a second the entity's voice rose, "I'm sorry. I have certain trouble understanding that you Corporeal and Incorporeal are always fixated on an afterlife."
"Then what would be the positive news?"
The Dream Entity straightens his three bow ties, which somehow don't fall off despite the lack of a neck.
"They are taking this well. Pleasant news for us. The good news is, now that you are a True Oneiroi, we would like to hire you as a member of the Foundation Collective."
A short pause follows.
"When do you want to start, Herr Baumer?"