First time shopping at AKEA

"I don't  want to be here," Keegan muttered to himself. "I really, really don't  want to be here..." He walked down the isles of his local AKEA, wary of everything, as if it would jump off the shelf and attack him. But he needed to get some supplies for his house, and the IKEA had already been sold and replaced by AKEA. He had no other choice.

Tobias looked around.

"Remind me why I'm here again?" he asked himself, more out of boreddom than actually expecting to answer himself. Sighing, he leant on the handlebar of his trolley and continued to walk down the isle. Without warning, another trolley came out of one of the cross isles and slamed into the side of his. He was about to snap at the driver when he saw who it was.

"Oh. Hello Ice, what brings you here?"

He sighed. "I apparently need to re-decorate," Keegan explained. "There was a bit of a mishap, and, well... I need to refurnish half the house. AKEA's the closes, and least inexpensive place, but... I know what they do here, and I don't like it." After a moment, he asked, "Why are you here?"

"Just moved into a new flat for this term," replied Tobias, "Need to pick up a few basics like cutlery and the like, and considering the prices here thought I'd browse to see if anything nice caught my fancy." He shrugged, "From what you've told me, I'm not keen on this place, but....there's literally nowhere else here."

"I know what you mean," Keegan said. "Usually there's a few other stores, but everyone closed down because AKEA was just too convenient. Plus..." Looks around. "Do you know what they do here? What their stuff can do?"

Tobias nodded, leaning closer, "From what you've said - alter reality. And from wha I've heard on the news and read on the internet, people have been disapeering and the only conecion is that they shopped at AKEA."

Keegan nodded. "And it's not just one or two things here. Everything here can do that." He looked around. "Probably even that shopping cart could alter reality if they let you take it home." He stepped back a bit and sighed. "Because of this, I'm really paranoid."

Tobias shrugged, "Not like we've got any choice."

Sighing he asked "What to see if we can find a decent TV for flat? If half the rumors about this place are true, we're better off sticking together while we shop."

Keegan nodded. "Probably a good idea. Plus, a new T.V. is one of the things on my list." He pulled out a list, showing him at least four pages worth of items he had to get. "I think I saw an electronics section..." He looked around, finally pointing "over there." Keegan put his list away, starting down the increasingly confusing path towards the electronics section.

"Hmm," said Tobias thoughtfully, "How are we going to get there without getting lost?" Looking around he spotted something, "Maybe we should hop on one of those horizontal escalator things?" He pointed at a horisontal escalator thing like they have in airports, "If it doesn't take us there, hopefully it'll go to a central plaza or something where we can get directions or find an easier path."

"True, there's also a map option," Keegan agreed. "But knowing this store, we'd probably be better hopping on one of these." He walked up to it. "And hey, it fits the shopping carts." He noted with a tone of amusement. "Also..." He realized something, but shook his head. "Nah, I'm just being paranoid. Let's go, shopping buddy."

Tobias shrugged and hopped onto the convayer belt with his trolley. They spent the next few minutes riding it until, unexpectedly, it can to the electronics section. Shrugging, they got off and went toward the TV section.

"Hey, these are really good prices," said Tobias, "$100 for a 20" flatscreen."

"Yeah," Keegan agreed, tearing his gaze away from an aPod. "For a store that does some shady things, they have some pretty cheap prices..."

"Oh, we can assure you that all of our deals are legitimate," Said a voice from behind them. they turned, startled. An AKEA employee smiled at them.

"Finding everything you need today?" He asked politely.

Tobias shot an uneasy glance at Keegan before returning his attention to the sales clerk.

"Umm, yes thanks," he said, "We're...err...just browsing."

"Anything in particualr you'd like to look at?" asked the clerk grinning.

"Well, we were looking for a T.V.," Keegan said. "But-"

"Oh, our televisions are on sale today," The clerk said. "Buy one, and receive 200 store credits."

"How much are store credits worth?" Keegan asked suspiciously.

"200 credits would get you about $50 worth of stuff," The clerk answered, still grinning. Keegan looked over to Tobias.

"What do you think? Kinda sounds too good to be true..."

Tobias nodded. Turning to the clerk he asked "What's the catch?"

"Well..." replied the clerk, "The offer ends today, so you'd need to spend them by closing time, but..." at this point he pushed his glasses up with one finger, "If you also have one of our store loyalty cards, then you'll get double points and you'll have an extra week to spend them."

"Is there any limit on what can be bought with the points?" asked Tobias.

"Nope, everything is open. Although, there is a catch..."

"Oh, I knew it," Keegan muttered. The clerk continued, ignoring him.

"The catch is..." The clerk looked around, as if seeing anyone was listening. "I'm not supposed to tell anyone this, but the catch is-"

"Jasper!" A voice shouted. "We need some help over here, someone's spilled the you-know-what on the thing-we're-not-supposed-to-mention!" Jasper sighed.

"Be right there!" He called back. "I'll talk to you two later," He said, and walked away. Keegan turned to Tobias.

"Well, that was weird."

"Eh," shrugged Tobias, "There's nothing saying we have to use the credit...and even if there is and that's the catch, we can always use it to get the other stuff that we need for even cheeper or just buy something and throw it away after we've left the store."

Tobias looked over the TVs.

"So..." he asked "Which ones should we get?"

"I don't know, I'm still liking the flatscreen... what do you think?"

"There's one here with a built in DVD player."

"Oooh! That's always cool. Although, I'm not sure what it would do. Keep in mind buying something will have after effects." Keegan stared at the T.V. "Should we risk it?"

"Might aswell," replied Tobias, his gaze wandering, "But I'll be getting this one." He walked over to one that looked identical to the one Keegan was looking at. At Keegan's confused look he elaborated "It says it comes with a free aPod. I'm not sure what one of them is, but I'm guessing it's like an iPod." At Keegan's disaprooving look he added, "What's the worst that could happen? We listen to the aPod and it turns us into whatever the song's about? And then the Tv'll suck us into it an make us characters in one of the shows?" Laughing at how ridiculous it sounded he loaded one of the TVs into his trolley.

"Bloody hell," he muttered, "That's really light."

"Uh, yeah, that's ridiculous," Keegan laughed nervously. ("But is it?") He thought. Biting his lip, he pulled the same T.V. into the cart and looked at his list. "Where to next?" He asked, nervous and paranoid at the same time. He looked around wondering if the clerk noticed they were about to leave.

"Hmm," replied Tobias scratching his chin. "I could do with some sheets for my bed..." He glanced at a map that they were passing. "But that's on the other side of the store so I guess," he scratched his head, "I could do with a new coat and the clothing section is right by here." He pointed down the isle to the clothing section.

Keegan nodded. "All right. I'll join up with you, I don't really want to be in this store on my own, if you know what I mean." Plus, he had a feeling of being watched as well, and this time he wasn't sure it was paranoia. "Besides, I could always use a new t-shirt..."

They walked to the clothing section and began to browse, within minutes they had a couple of things each to try on, but they couldn't see any changing rooms. As if knowing they needed assistance, another clerk apeared as if from nowhere.

"Do you need any help?" she smiled.

"Um, yeah," replied Tobias, "We were wondering where the changing rooms are?"

"We don't have any," answered the clerk, "All our clothes are one size sits all - and I mean one size fits all. A special weave used in the manufacture means that they'll resize to fit the wearer."

"What?" asked Tobias deadpan.

"Don't ask questions," Keegan asked frantically.

"We mean what we say," The clerk told them. "Literally everything here will fit you. It eliminates the time and hassle waiting in line for a change room, finding the right size, etc. It's very efficient."

Tobias looked down at his trila items dubiously.

"So, you're telling me," he said, "That if put this coat on," he lifted a big black one up "It will fit me perfectly?"

"Yep," replied the clerk.

"Mind if I test to see if you're not lying?" asked Tobias.

"Sorry sir, but you must purchase an item before trying it on," she frowned.

Tobias arched an eybrow and looked over at Keegan. "What do you think?" he asked, "It's only going to cost me $20 for this coat, and your shirts will only come to $30 - you think it's worth the gamble?"

("No!") Keegan thought, but obviously Tobias wasn't taking this as seriously as he was. "Yeah, probably," Keegan said instead. he didn't want to seem crazy.

Returning to the racks, they put back the duplicates that they'd thought were different sizes and went to the till. The cashier smiled at them and they began to wonder if there was something in the staff water cooler to make them all so perky and helpful. After they paid, the cashier turned to them and asked "Will you be doing any more shopping today?"

"Er, yes," replied Tobias, "Why?"

"Well, we off a special service," the cashier told them, "For $5 we can look after your purchases while you continue to shop. Every checkout area has one of these," he pointed at a waist high box next to his till, "All you do is after paying for an item, put it onto of one of these, hit the button and then at the end of your shop, go to the collection point."

"But how do you know who's bought what?" asked Tobias confused.

"Simple," replied the cashier. He got up and placed their TVs and new clothes on top of the box. "There's a key pad here," he pointed to a keypad on the side of the box. "Hit enter and this menu appears," a menu flashed up on the screen. "Now as you're new users, we select the 'new shopper' option." He hit the relevant key, and a palm sized disk popped out of a slot below the key pad. "Now," continued the cashier, "You put it in here," he slotted it into another slot, this one above the keypad, "And then hit enter and it'll record what you've stored. Now, before we store these purchases, would you like to keep anything out?" He turned to Keegan, "Might aswell start wearing your new jacket now sir," and turning to Tobias added, "You too with that nice longcoat you've just bought."

Keegan looked over at Tobias with a worried glance. He didn't want to know what would happen if he did put it on, but he didn't want AKEA to be onto what he knew... he shuddered as he thought of the possibilities of being kidnapped by AKEA. Keegan nodded, putting the jacket on. "I-it is a tad chilly, yeah," He agreed half-heartedly.

Tobias shrugged, "Might aswell. One problem though - what do I do with my old coat?" he indicated the battered old coat that he was wearing.

"Oh don't worry sir," smiled the cashier, "It can be stored with what you've bought."

"Wow," said Tobias suprised, "That;s nice of you." He removed his old coat and picked up the new one. The cashier folded up the old coat and placed it on the storage device before hitting enter and then returned the disk to Tobias. "Happy shopping," the cashier grinned and returned to his till.

Tobias looked after him for a second before turning to Keegan as he slipped the new coat on.

"So what..." he paused looking at Keegan, "Did you just get smaller and your waist thin?" he asked looking his friend up and down.

Keegan paled.

"Not on purpose," He said, obviously worrying. "Do... do you happen to have restrooms somewhere?" Keegan asked the clerk.

"Just follow the signs," The clerk said, pointing to a large sign that said "Washrooms: This way".

"Thanks," Keegan said. "Tobias, I'll meet you... somewhere," He said, and rushed off. He could feel the jacket quickly changing him, and Keegan almost ran towards the bathroom.

Tobias watched as Keegan ran off. A cold shivver ran down his spine and he felt the coat growning thight around his torso. Unconsciously he rubbed his torso with his arms, slimming it down. His chest bulged slightly and the waist of the coat narrowed in confroming to new curves. The shiver spread to his head and he shook it, his shoulder length hair waving out, becoming long enough to just pass the shoulderblades, and the strands brushing his face into a new form. All this went unnoticed, as did the change between his legs.

The chill over, Tobi blinked, and shrugging decided that it'd be best to wait for her friend outside the toilets. Sighing, she followed path that Keegan set.

Keegan reached the bathroom and looked into the mirror, watching as his face began changing to match his female body, which had somehow completed changing without him noticing.

"No," He whispered, watching as his hair grew longer, just past the bottom of his neck. "Please," He said as his voice rose. Keegan watched as he, now she, became completely female.

"No!" Allison shouted, crying out. "Why did I even come here?" She asked herself, leaning against the wall. With a shock she realized she was now in the women's bathroom. Allison shook her head.

"Stupid magic," She muttered.

Tobi went into the room.

"Allison?" she asked, "Is everything alright? I heard a scream and thought that something might have happened to you."

Allison's stomach sank as she heard Tobi come in.

"I'm...I'm fine," She managed to say. "Just... there was a spider," She lied. It appeared that Tobi didn't remember anything from her past life, which was just as well, she supposed. "I guess we should continue," Allison said sadly.

Tobis eyes narrowed, "Since when are you aracnophobic?" she teased. Dismissing it, she asked, "Where to next? We've got the TVs for our bachlorette pad, so what's next on our list?"

Allison closed her eyes at this information. ("Stupid reality altering store...") She cursed.

"Well... what else do we need? Do we..." Allison swallowed. "Do we have a table to eat on yet?"

Tobi looked at Allison confused.

"How should I know?" she asked, you're the one whose parents bought it as a birthday present - I haven't moved in yet; that's why we came here today. Don't you remember?" She tapped Allison on the head, and suddenly new memories flooded the latter's mind.

Allison shivered, trying to keep her two lives separated from each other. It was hard work, but she managed to do it, with concentration. ("This will definitely help me out.") She decided.

"Right, sorry," Allison laughed out loud. "No, we don't have a table, but that's on the list," She said. "How's your new coat?" Allison asked, wanting to change the subject.

"Very nice," smiled Tobi, "The clerk wasn't lying - it really does fit perfectly. How's yours?"

"Pretty good," Allison said, telling the truth. "It... fits better than I expected it too," She said slowly. "Shall we continue with our shopping?"

"Sure," nodded Tobi. "Hmm, not sure where the tables are. Want to try the convayer belts again and see if they work aswell as the last time ?"

Allison nodded. "Sure," She agreed. Both sets of memories were setting off alarms in her head, it seemed that Allison was also as wary of AKEA as Keegan was. She sighed. It never got any easier, it seemed. "Let's go," Allison said to Tobi.

They hopped onto one of the convayer belts and withing minutes were in the furniture section, the convayer conveniently ending at the table part of the department.

Tobi turned to Allison and asked "You did remember to bring the measurements right?"

Allison nodded, pulling out the sheet of notes her memories told her she put in her jacket. "Right here," She said, handing them to Tobi.

"OK," said Tobi, looking at them. The two girls set off to browse the furnature. Once again a clerk appeared to help, and once again it was good help. Within fifteen minutes they were placing their new table into one of the storage units.

"Sofa next?" asked Tobi. Allison nodded, muttering something about hoping her car had enough room. Tobi didn't noticed her shake her head in confusion as if she'd lost control for a second. When they got to the sofas, they found another clerk who once more gave good help and even carried the flatpack sofa to the tills for them. Their furnature bought Tobi turned to Allison and asked "Next?"

Allison pulled out the list again, seeing that half the items had been bought already. "Uh, we've got to get... beds and bed sheets," Allison said, the alarms in her head starting to screech in warning. For Keegan, it was Phoenix who told him about the sheets, for Allison, it was Kim. It didn't matter; this was bad news either way.

"Uh, actually, I think we can skip that," Allison said quickly. "We can get sheets from our homes. Uh, next is... a computer," She sighed in relief.

"Really?" asked Tobi, "I thought your parents gave you one? Besides, I'm bringing one with me - I'm sure I told you." She shrugged "Besides why didn't you say so when we got the TVs?"

"Ah, right," Allison said. "I must've just written that down by accident, then." She crossed that one off. "Well, we've only got a couple of things left, we've got to get a washer/dryer and some toiletries."

"OK," smiled Tobi, "Which one first boss?"

"You grab the toiletries, I'll get the washer/dryer," Allison said. "It'll save us some time, and we can meet up at the front." Keegan's mind screamed that that was a bad idea, but it was quickly being quieted by Allison's mind, who simply pushed the thoughts away. "What do you think?"

"I don't know..." replied Tobi hesitantly, "I know we haven't seen anythng wierd like you think this place has, but the employees here are so nice that it kinda creeps me out to tell you the truth." She stared at Allison for a few seconds.

"You're going to laugh," she said shyly, "But I've got this niggling feeling in the back of my mind that splitting up is very bad. Plus I've got this feeling that...well...that something's happened, but I can't place my finger on it."

Keegan's mind shouted in joy, but was silenced by Allison again.

"Well, if you don't think splitting up is good, we can stick together," She said. "I definitely agree with you, these people are kinda creepy..." Allison looked around. "Okay, we'll hit the toiletries first." Keegan tried to fight Allison's mind, but was losing slowly as, memory by memory, he was replaced by Allison.

Linking arms the headed off to the toiletries section chatting about how they were going to decorate their new flat.

*********************

*One hour later*

"Told you nothing was wrong with that place," said Tobi getting into her friend's car, their shopping done; a rather uneventful experience both had to admit. "So, you going to take me to see our new pad?"

Allison nodded, Keegan either completely erased or buried enough by the memories that it didn't make a difference. "You're going to love it," She told Tobi. "It's really close to campus, too!"

"Cool," grinned Tobi. "I still can't believe your parents bought it for you - good thing they won the lottery huh?"

As the car started up, she thought of something, "Umm, Kelly won't be there will she?"

Allison laughed. "No, she'll be back home. Although, if she has a sudden moment of clarity, she might be smart enough to visit... but that's worst case." She started driving. "Nope, it'll be just you and me!" She giggled.

Tobi wiped her brow relieved. "You may be paranoid about AKEA," she laughed, "But I'm more paranoid about what your sister would get up to if she were moving in, especially once you get your lab set up."

"Don't worry about it," Allison said. "It'll be fine. Besides, I've got a foolproof plan on how to move my lab in without Kelly knowing." She gave Tobi a grin. "It involves teleportation." She said, clearly excited to try out her new "toy".

Tobi looked over with curiosity, "So when are you going to do it?" she asked enthusiastically.

"As soon as we get home," Allison said. "Shouldn't be too long, quite literally with a press of a button" She snapped her fingers "everything will be here. Then we can really have some fun," Allison smiled.

"Can't wait," grinned Tobi. They spent the rest of the drive home discussing what was going where and were so excited that they decided to swing by Tobi's old student accomidation and pick up her things so she could move in that very night instead of latter that week like originally planed. Pulling up outside the newly built apartment block they got out.

"So what floor are we on?" asked Tobi looking up, half hoping that they had the penthouse due to how amazing that was and half hoping they didn't due to not wanting to lug all their stuff upstairs.

"Hmm... if I remember correctly, it's the 8th floor," Allison said, looking up. "Apartment 815, yeah, that was it. I think it's the penthouse, but don't get my word on that." They walked in and stopped at the sign. "Oh, it is the penthouse," She said, seeing their names at the top of the list. "Huh. Didn't even realize it. Well, I'm sure there's a service elevator or something to get all our stuff up... somewhere..." Allison looked around.

A bellhop about their age aproached them and said "Welcome to AKEA flats. you must be our newest residents, how may I help you?"

Tobi and Allison glanced at each other before Allison replied.

"Uhh, we're looking for a way to get all our stuff up to our apartment as easily as possible," Allison said, for some reason uneasy.

"Which apartment, miss?"

"815," Allison replied.

"Ah, yes. In that case leave it to us, we'll have everything sorted out for you two in no time," The bellhop said. "We'll take care of your things, don't worry." As he walked past them to help, he paused and handed Tobi a slip of paper. "Call me," He whispered to her before disappearing amongst their supplies. Allison gave Tobi a "WTF just happened" look.

Tobi shrugged "Guess AKEA is way bigger than either of us thought. Anyway - if he's as creepily nice as the employees at the AKEA, he'll probably handel everything for us." Tobi looked at the note. "Umm," she said, "somehow I don't think I'll be needing this. Can you see a bin around here?"

"Keep it for now and throw it out when we get to our apartment," Allison suggested. "So you won't disappoint him." She fished around in her pockets for the key that was mailed to her earlier. "Want to take the elevator, or the stairs?" Allison joked, throwing her roommate a key. "Let's see just how big our apartment is."

"I'll take the lift - you can take the stairs if you really want to," winked Tobi hitting the call button. Within seconds the lift arrived and when they stepped in they gasped - it was bigger than Tobi's old aparment had been and furnished with expensive materials. Before they had time to react, they had already reached their floor.

Unnerved they stepped out to find their penthouse was right oposite the lift doors.

"Could be inconveniant," remarked Tobi as she looked at their front door. They looked over their shoulders to see the lift gone! There was just a blank wall there as if the lift only opened at that spot for them. Creeped out they headed to their front door and unlocked it. They stepped inside to find all their thing already there, and not only that, they were already unpacked.

"OK," said Tobi nervously, "Now I'm scared."

"Scared? Be outright terrified," Allison said. There was a large, unmarked area of the apartment. A warning sign hung from yellow construction tape that read: "Allison's Lab: Coming soon". It was empty, but it was clear this was where everything was supposed to go. "I haven't told anyone this was where I was planning on setting my lab up," Allison said, her face pale. "So, how did they know?"

Tobi shrugged, "Maybe you mentioned it to your folks and you just forgot you did? They probably told the caretaker and he put up the warning signs." She didn't sound like she believe that explanation any more than Allison did.

Allison just shook her head. "No one knew," She said. "No one." Allison turned, heading towards the kitchen, not at all surprised to see that it was all ready, as if they had been living there for a week instead of ten minutes. She shook her head, not sure what to think, when she paused.

"Tobi," Allison asked. "Do... do you plan on having a roommate, besides me?"

Tobi looked confused.

"No," she said, "If anything I'm your lodger, so I'd tell you about it first...Why do you ask?"

"...there's an extra room," She said softly. "And I'll give you a hint, it's not the guest bedroom. And it's not mine. And I don't think it's yours, either."

"Umm," answered Tobi completely confused, "For once, I'm begining to hope the Kelly's learnt about our plans..." Secretly, she wasn't convinced that that was how it would turn out.

"Then she would be here, wouldn't she? She wouldn't resist coming after us, if she had the chance..." Allison shook her head. "I need to take my mind off things. Want to see me teleport my lab in?"

"Err, yeah, okay," replied Tobi confused and unnerved.

"Besides, maybe it'll just disappear if we forget about it," Allison said. "The room was empty anyways, but it just seemed..." She shook her head. "Like it was meant for someone else." Walking to the sign, she said, "Stand back... I'm going to use my lab to see whose room it's going to be. Obviously I need the lab. And here" She pulled out something resembling a garage door remote "we go!" She pressed the button.

There was a brilliant flash of light and then a lot of smoke. Coghing the girls scrambled for the balcony attached to the lounge. Eventually overcomming their coughing fits they looked at each other. Then they gasped.

"Allison?" asked Tobi. Then she paused, "What..what's happened to my voice?" she gasped, Allison's own predicament momentarily forgotten.

"What are you talking about? What happened to you?" Allison asked, equally surprised. As the smoke cleared out, they heard something start to move around inside the apartment.

Tensing they looked through the doors. Smoke still filled the apartment, although it was starting to disapate. A shaddow moved in the gloom and suddenly it lunged at them!

"Kitty!" it squeeled, bowling Allison to the floor. Looking up it squeed "Puppy!" and lunged at Tobi.

"Err, hi Kelly," gasped Tobi. Tobi and Allison glanced down at themselves to see the explanation for Kelly's remarks and gasped. allison was now female cat-taur, and Tobi a male wolf-taur.

"Kelly, it's us," Allison said slowly. "Not a kitty. And that's Tobi," She said, pointing to Tobi. "Not a puppy. Okay?"

"Okay, big kitty!" She said, hugging Allison. "So, where am I?"

"Erm," said Tobi, "You're, umm, dreaming...umm, yes that's right, and...umm, if you go back to sleep you'll wake up in your bed back home."

"Okay!" Kelly said, skipping off. Allison sighed.

"That was close." She said.

"Hey! Why is my whole room in here? Cool! Does this mean I live here now?" Kelly asked from the hallway. Allison looked at Tobi with a panicked look.

"No way..." She said.

"It could be..." began Tobi. "Nope it's worse." She, or rather he now, pointed at a picture on the wall. It showed Tobi and Allison in 'taur form smiling and what looked like cuddling. Tobi turned to Allison and gulped, "What's the bet for us sharing a room in this reality?"

Allison walked as best she could towards their rooms. Opening a door, she said, "Yeah, this one... this one looks like ours."

Kelly jumped out of another room. "And this one's mine! It's got all of my stuffies and my bed and..." She began listing all the things in her room. Allison looked over at Tobi.

"I think we've discovered who the mystery roommate is," She said.

"Umm, wait," said Tobi, "Kelly's 'room' is the one I was going to have before...this happened...Me and you have the room you were having...so who has the third one?"

They looked at each other confused and crept towards the third room.

Allison slowly opened the door, cautious as to what they would find inside.

"HEY! What are you guys doin?" Kelly asked from behind them, causing them to jump.

"We're... uh, we're looking into this room," Allison said. "To... to check..." Kelly nodded.

"Right, right, you want to check on the baby," Kelly said. "Okay!" She skipped off to the kitchen. Allison looked at Tobi, pale underneath her fur.

Tobi looked back, equally pale beneath the fur.

"Did she just say what I think she said?" asked Tobi terrified.

Allison nodded and opened the door quietly, stopping in fear when the light shone upon a crib. Allison opened the door a little further, revealing a small, sleeping form inside of it.

"Oh god," She said quietly. "We're parents..."

Tobi stared in silence and then said, "Are we sure...maybe it's Kelly's?" They looked at each other, shuddered at the thought and dismissed it. "At least there's only one," sighed Tobi. Allison poked him in the arm and poited to the other side of the room. Tobi's jaw dropped open in shock.

There were five more cribs lining the side of the room. There was a desk close by to the door, and there was a picture of Tobi and Allison at what looked like the hospital. Allison was lying in a bed, with six small forms around her. Tobi was on her left, holding one of the babies and holding Allison's hand.

"I..." Allison saw the picture and stumbled back, a feeling a little faint.

"Allison!" gasped Tobi stooping to hold her. "Are you alright?" He looked arround, wondering where the teleport device had got to - if it had gotten them inot this mess, surely it could get them out!

"I'm okay, I'm okay, I'm okay," Allison said, getting back up. "Just... just a little dizzy for a moment." She shook her head, laughing a bit. "Tobias, where are we going?"

Tobi stopped, "Wait - what did you call me?"

"Tobias," Allison said, a little confused. "Honey, are you okay? Did you hit your head, or something, when I brought Kelly over?"

Tobi stared at Allison in shock and then himself swooned. Recovering he shook his head.

"I'm okay honey," Tobias smiled, hugging his wife "Just felt a bit disorientated for a sec." He looked over at their cubs and grinned, "You know what? There's no where else I'd rather be than here with you." The two 'taurs looked into eachother's eyes, all thoughts of AKEA, Kelly and realty changes forgotten...