Alex poked the floating gloves, leaping backwards to avoid anything that might happen, although aside from a slight bobbing form the glove-thing she had touched, nothing changed. Slinking closer, Alex climbed onto the desk, getting a good look at the objects from all sides, and really, they seemed to be nothing more than gloves with a strange red metal attached. Grabbing one she peered inside, looking for…… she wasn’t sure what, but probably anything that looked like it shouldn’t be inside a glove. Placing the glove back on the desk, or five centimeters above it, she picked the other one up and examined that one thoroughly too. Finally deciding they looked safe enough she tucked each one in a pocket, one of the benefits of having her cargo pants, even if they were no longer quite the same khaki colour, now being more of a purple-black, like obsidian in minecraft, a game her brother played excessively, not that she didn’t, just that he played it more than her. 

Turning and surveying the room, Alex frowned, grimacing at the empty surfaces, the couch was actually still there, but a mud puddle looked more inviting to sit on than its solid, black with neon edges, slab. 

Sliding down the ladder out of the attic, she clomped softly to her room, scared to look, choosing instead to peer cautiously round the door to Rick’s bedroom, right opposite her own. It to was empty, spartan, just like the attic. His bed was there, as soft looking as the walls, with no blankets, and no pillows. There was just the bed, side-table shelves and desk; it was like someone had ransacked the house taking everything that was not furniture. 

Finally having worked up the courage to search her own room, Alex paused at her door, yanking it open in a sudden rush, she found her room, just like Rick’s; empty void of all but the basic furniture, and all of it the same shiny-but-not-shiny solid slabs with pale-morning-blue neon streaks outlining everything. 

Pinching herself as the reality of where she was, or more accurately where she was [i]not[/i], set in, Alex wondered if this was a nightmare, certainly it wasn’t her worst, that position would always be held by a set of double dreams back to back, but this was [i]awfully real[/i]. Too real for a dream, she decided. 

Backing out of the not-her room, she started to wonder if she was dead. It hadn’t felt like she had died, but how was she supposed to know what that felt like? But if she was dead, then this would probably be the equivalent of purgatory. Although neither Alex nor her family was religious, she had a fair idea of some of those sorts of beliefs, not a good one, just an idea.

Really hoping she wasn’t dead, Alex explored the rest of the house, finding every room consisted of the same freaky stuff. Reaching the front door, she paused, not really ready to go outside, but deciding to anyway. Overriding the little voice of caution, she snatched the door open, revealing a mechanized, blue-black, neon outlined, empty world. 

Well, almost empty, the door to the mirror workshop stood open, just a bit. And a slight rummaging came from inside. Creeping closer, scared terribly, Alex peeked round the door, finding a mechanical looking dog-like creature, probably knee high, a metallic silver colour. It’s large face was squat and boxy, and its legs slightly stubby, but the fangs lining its open maw were certainly worrying, more like knives than fangs, and with the way the jaw attached if it bit something, it would chomp out a massive hole. 

Slinking away Alex thoughtlessly shoved her hands in her pockets, straight into the odd gloves. She yanked her hands out of the pockets, as the gloves weren’t coming off that easily, just in time it seemed as a blade materialized from the front of the gloves, although materialized wasn’t really the right word, it was more like the red metal had started……opening. Small bright red flaps folding out and merging, forming a guard for her hand itself, a piece growing from the bottom forcing her hands into fists, and a knife-like piece extending in a roughly six inch blade, the sharp side facing up.

Distracted by the manifestation of the blades, Alex didn’t see the dog-like creature come out of the workshop, but she did hear the grating that came from it opening it’s jaw as wide as it might go. The noise was horrible, and certainly enough to drag her out of her mesmerization. 

Jerking her head up, Alex freaked, and who wouldn’t with a knee-high, mechanical looking dog-like-thing, that is cranking open its maw-full of deadly sharp shards-that-pass-for-teeth, in all probability to try and swallow you whole?

Alex tripped backwards in an effort to get away from the thing, which in turn leapt at her, jaw gnashing wildly. Slamming her fist at it, Alex kept pummeling the creature, leaving large gashes in its side. She might not normally fight, but she had been taught to throw a punch, as every girl should be, and so even full to the brim with terror, she didn’t stop hitting the thing, not till it dissolved in blue and black pixel dust, and even then she took a few more swings at it, making sure it was gone.

When not even the dust remained, she turned and dashed back inside, slamming the door and collapsing in a shaking heap as the adrenalin caught up to her. She didn’t know how long she sat there, it could have been an eternity for all she cared, but somewhere along the way she ran out of time.

Sliding off the seat, Alex hit the floor of the Den with a thud. Blinking she looked round. [i]What?[/i] Everything was back to normal, the books on the shelves, the computers blinking away on the desks, the couch in all it’s multi-coloured, moth-eaten, glory. It was all there and all …… different, just as it was supposed to be. 

Rick wasn’t there but that didn’t register, as a headache set in, a dull throb, ringing muffledly throughout her head.

She didn’t see it, but the Desktop had a message on the screen,

[color=red]===NOTICE===
>Overtime 
>Log-out procedure activated[/color]