The young dragon flinched as sparks flew from the connection port, cascading over him as he attached the last of the power couplings. Crawling out from beneath the machine, he stretched his cramped wings and took a moment to massage life back into his long tail, stiff from having to hold it still while working in such confined spaces. He took a final inventory of his tools, checking a display to his right to ensure that everything was working properly before returning to the adjoining room. 

A large metal plate occupied the majority of the expansive room, walls lined with monitors all showing various readouts on the system that had taken him nearly a year to complete. Sitting down in front of the main console he input the final command and started up the program, lights flashing across the panels before him as the massive system came to life. Stepping over to one side of the large plate, the dragon took a deep breath then picked up a silver band from its hook, lights dancing over its inner surface. Stepping onto the plate, he could feel through his paws the energy flowing through beneath causing a tingling sensation to run up his legs. Stepping lightly into the center of the platform Koby took the metal band and placed it upon his head, laying down on the tingly metal surface and closing his eyes, letting the program do its work. Lights danced in his mental vision, the program inserting images from the system directly into his brain through the halo, a blank plain of white forming in his vision. He looked down at himself, noting that the system still needed a bit of work on the color side, his scales looking dingy to his eyes. Shrugging he looked around the white area set before him until he noticed something off in the distance. 

Koby frowned, there shouldn't be anything in the simulation as the system hadn't yet imported the landscape. He approached the unknown object and to his surprise found a female dragon sleeping in the middle of the void. He looked her over, noting the white fur and aqua highlights to her paws and the furry band that stretched from the tip of her tail to the top of her head. Her small feathered wings and fuzzy ears contrasted with his own reptilian form, his own wings bat like in appearance. Reaching out, he tapped the tip of one claw against the tip of one of her soft white ears, standing just out of line of sight so as not to startle her; curious as to how she got here.

Waking up, her dreams fading from memory as she wiped sleep from her eyes, Patch sat up and looked around wondering what had woken her. She yawned and stretched her back, tail bumping into something behind her. Looking over her shoulder she was shocked to see someone standing there, watching her. For a moment, she stood there, frozen with the fur on her back standing on end as she took in every detail. No outward sign of aggression, nothing carried that could be used to harm either. Not a computer virus, she had dealt with those plenty of times but yet still something wasn't quite right. Why was he here? Where did he come from and what was he doing standing behind her while she was sleeping? 

She shook her head to clear her mind, turning and taking a careful step backwards away from the small dragon standing before her. When he did not react, she sat down again and took a moment to relax and try to think clearly. For that, she would need coffee. Holding out her paws, a mug appeared in front of her. Taking a slow drink, she watched as the other dragon seemed to jump at the sudden appearance of the beverage. She smirked inwardly, feeling more confident now that she knew she could surprise this newcomer. After another few sips of her drink she finally felt the silence had gone on long enough. Setting down the mug, she looked directly at the dragon and asked "Why are you here?"

Koby blinked a few times, the sudden appearance of the mug had unnerved him more than he wanted to admit. There had been no warning, no commands entered onto a console or any motion to suggest physical input into the system. Not to mention he had never programmed anything like that into the system to begin with! In response to her question he replied slowly, picking his words carefully. "I was running a diagnostic test on my system before starting the virtual space program." He gestured around himself to the vast empty space. "This is what I was expecting to find, more or less, but when I came in I found you here. How did you get here, anyway? Are you a program running on my system?"

Patch listened as he spoke, a sinking feeling starting to form in her belly. What did he mean by his system? This was her home, not someone's computer! Well, her home WAS in a computer, but definitely not his! And what did he mean by virtual space program, was he going to start taking over her white space? No way, not on her watch and not without a fight. Picking up her mug, she finished off the coffee to buy a moment to think. The drink gone, she dismissed the mug and stood up, walking on all four paws as she took a careful stroll around the newcomer, examining him again to try and figure out what the heck was setting off warnings in her head about him. After the second pass, Patch stops in front of the other dragon, a little smile creeping over her face. "Hey, is that any way to talk to someone inside their home? But where are my manners, my name is Patch, what's yours?" She suddenly moves forward, placing her front paws against his chest and bringing her face in close to his. Peering into his eyes, her breath warm against his snout as she seemed to examine him closely, her breath smelled lightly of raw fish, something he was not expecting in the least. She nodded and backs off again heading off into the white space calling back over her shoulder "By the way, there is an error code in your eyes. Just thought I'd let you know."

Watching her carefully as she moved about, Koby was startled by her sudden approach, stiffening as she climbed up his front to peer into his eyes. Just as he was about to say something she moved away again. He shook his head, not sure what was going on until her comment brought a sudden thought to his mind. He waved his paw in the air, attempting to summon his console but as he had guessed it didn't appear. Another system, he had stumbled from his own into someone else's system and apparently this Patch was the one who lived here. Small wonder his controls were frozen, but now the pressing question remained, how to get back. Realizing she was leaving somewhere and that she was his ticket out of this place, Koby placed his doubts and worries in the back of his mind, following her deeper into the white space, matching her pace and replying to her previous question. 

"My name is Koby; it is a pleasure to meet you Patch. Yes, I have a glitch in my ocular program but how did you know? Also, I can't seem to bring up any of my controls here, is that normal?" Patch stops mid stride, ears flattening to the top of her head. "You have controls?" She turns and looks over at Koby, her eyes relaying the fear that caused a knot to sit heavily in her belly. "What kind of controls?"

Koby stops and waves his paw in the air, nothing happens as he thought but he had to try it again anyway for her benefit. "Well, when I move my arm like this, I'm supposed to get a console that will allow me to change the parameters of the simulation, as well as log me out. Without that console, I'm stuck here." he explained, shrugging helplessly his ear flaps folding together in embarrassment. Patch sighed, having hoped he would just go away but it seemed as though she was stuck with him for now. She had tried to fix his eyes earlier, but had been unable to access his program, much in the same way that he was apparently unable to access anything within the white space she called home. The knot in her belly receding somewhat, she gave him a critical look for a moment before speaking. "And when were you going to ask permission to access anything within my home? Of course your controls don't work, though what I can't figure out is why I can't access them here either. Your controls I mean, I can access mine any time I want but you..." she presses a paw against his belly gently, glaring at him as she sharpens her voice to let her emotions through. "...you do not belong here and yet I cannot force you to leave."

Patch sighs, dipping her head down a little as she softens her tone a bit. "However, it appears I'm stuck with you for the time being, so let’s see what we can do to get you home." Koby listens to what she has to say, realizing his errors too late as she lays down the law to him. She had some good points too, it was her home. Who was he to mess it up without even asking not to mention he had yet to give her any reason to trust him so it was quite understandable. Lost in thought, the implications of her last words didn't immediately hit home until he looked up and saw her smiling at him, the last thing he was expecting to see. "Come on, I think I may have found something that might get you home. At least I hope so, since it hasn't been here in the white space before." Her smile drops as a worried look passes across her face, letting him know she was genuinely worried about something unknown invading her home and it appeared she wanted his help, what little he could give.

Moving off towards the anomaly she had detected, Patch thought over again what had happened today. It had been one thing after another, someone had invaded her home but they seemed nice enough. Wait, they had invaded! How is that at all nice?! She shook her head again, deciding to move on from that line of thought for a moment. There was something in her white space that was throwing off strange energy waves and was different than anything she had ever encountered before. None of the security programs had tripped, and she hadn't even noticed it until she had taken a breath to calm down from her sudden scares earlier. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, calming down a bit more as she realized that she was actually glad to have this newcomer's company, not something she would admit to him, of course but still... Perhaps, once they had found him his way home she might just allow him to return some time, on her terms and with full knowledge of her rules of course. 

Her musings stopped as they approached the anomaly, a tingling of power running through her as all her fur stood up on end. "Oh wow, it’s got quite a kick here" she exclaimed, Koby on the other hand seemed oblivious to the energy, looking at her and trying not to react to the hilarious look she had acquired suddenly, all fluffed out and looking like a cotton ball. Looking in the direction she was facing, it appeared to be as empty as any other spot in the white space. He stepped forward cautiously, tapping the ground, or at least what amounted to it, with a claw before each step until a familiar tingle started running up his legs. He stopped and looked down, nothing was different but it almost felt like he was back at home standing on the large metal plate in his workshop. He glanced back at Patch who was watching him, still standing in the same spot he had left her. "I know it is a bit late to ask this, but would you mind if I tried my console here? I promise not to do anything that would interfere with your home..." he paused, thinking for a moment before continuing absently."...I doubt I even could interfere with your world now that I think about it, everything on my system should be restricted to its own space."

Patch watched as he moved forward into the anomaly, strangely enough he seemed oblivious to the energy around him. Listening to his words she nearly laughed out loud as she realized what he was saying, barely managing to hide her emotions behind a quick frown as she reached out a paw only to feel an electric shock course through her as she touched an invisible barrier, one he had effortlessly passed through! Pulling back her paw, she looked up at Koby, deciding to trust him, if only a little. "Ok, you can try it, but don't go changing my home! I like it this way."

Waving his paw through the air again, Koby was actually surprised to see his console appear before him, screens and keyboards virtually displayed and arrayed about him. He glanced over at Patch who was watching him closely. She seemed to be rubbing at one of her paws, perhaps she was nervous? He decided not to throw any more surprises at her here as he accessed a few controls, testing out the system parameters and inscribing a line around the perimeter of the space his system occupied. Patch for her part was absently trying to rub the pins and needles feeling from her paw when a line suddenly appeared on the ground before her, forming a square that seemed to border out the anomaly. She had seen no console appear, and though he had been making some strange movements with his claws, nothing to indicate that he was going to change anything had been evident. From where she stood, her white space seemed unaffected by what was going on inside this anomaly; even the latent energy released didn't seem to be doing any harm. His voice startled her out of her thoughts once again. "Ok, my console seems to work inside this space here, but only in here. I can modify things within the boundary I set up, should look like a purple line on the ground. Can you see it? Anything outside that area is beyond my ability to manipulate." he went on as she looked over, listening to what he had to say.

"If you are able to access your console, then nothing should be stopping you from leaving my home then..." She heard herself saying to him, her voice sounding cross to her own ears. "...however, before you go is there any way you can take all of this with you? I do not like having anomalous reading popping up in my home." Idiot! She thought to herself, he was about to leave and now you just gave him a reason to stick around! Wait, is that what she wanted? Patch sat down, suddenly overcome with conflicting thoughts and emotions as she let her inner monologue play out. 

Koby glanced over and stopped what he was doing, noticing her strange pensive expression looked almost adorable with her fur fluffed out like it was, little wings pressed against the fluff and just the tips sticking out around the edges. He pulled up his capture program, focusing the lens in her direction before stopping suddenly. How would taking her picture affect her? It shouldn't do anything more than take a screen image capture but he had no idea how that would affect a being like her. Sighing, he decided it best to just remember the sight and put away the camera program, running a diagnostic on the system to see just how much of a footprint he could remove, per her request.

The energy field was shrinking, whatever Koby was doing seemed to be working to remove the anomaly from her world. Patch broke off her inner conflict after making a few decisions and watched events unfold before her outside of her control within her own home. Slowly, the energy seemed to retreat until with a barely audible pop it vanished completely from her senses leaving behind a visual distortion that made it a bit hard to focus on the line in front of her though she could still see it was there. Looking up, she could make out the form of Koby walking around inside the field, but despite her efforts she was unable to see through the field clearly, almost as though someone had applied a censoring filter. His sudden appearance in front of her caught her off guard as Koby once again stepped free of the anomaly. She looked up at him, a mixture of anger and surprise on her face as she forced herself to speak. "What... what did you do?" 

Stepping free of the field, his foot paws feeling raw from the electrical flow through the metal plate, Koby was again surprised to be face to face with Patch, having intended to give her more space but apparently he had stepped out too close. He pointed at the anomaly, now visible even to him as a distortion in the white space stretching high into the air above him. "Well, I fixed a power leak that was causing the energy you were seeing and then I applied a filter to the walls so that I could find the place again if I ever had a reason to go outside the zone created by my system. As I had first guessed, nothing outside this area can be modified and from what my system tells me if I was to shut down the power from the other side, this area would disappear..." He paused, looking over at her before continuing, lowering his voice a bit to emphasize what he was about to say. "...This area would disappear, possibly forever. I'm not sure I can reconnect to this place once I take the system offline." He admitted, deciding to let her make that decision with all the information he had given her. Truth be told he would have enjoyed exploring this new place, but his access was her choice and he wanted to let her know that.

Patch looked at the field, then back at Koby. She could send him away, forever, and not be bothered by him again but was that what she wanted? She had never before had someone visit, and to have someone able to come and go as they pleased, that was something she had never thought about before. Pulling out another mug of coffee to calm her nerves, she sipped on the beverage as she fought with herself over the choices before her. Finally, after half a mug and a good inner quarrel she stood up, the mug vanishing as she turned towards Koby. "Ok, I'm not sure how I like it, and I'm not saying it will be permanent either but..." she let out a heavy sigh, looking back over the anomaly again for a moment before returning her attention to him and speaking in a more relaxed tone. "...for now, you can stay. I mean, you can keep your little corner in my world but don't think that gives you free access any time you want!" She continued hastily. Looking out at the anomaly again, she brought up a mental image of a wall surrounding the anomaly, a door on one side. Moments later a wall appeared around the anomaly, door situated in the exact place of her choosing. "Only I can open this door, so if you want to see me then ring the doorbell on your side. If I feel like it, then I'll open the door. Bother me too much, and the door will go away and consider yourself uninvited at that point."

Listening to everything she had to say, Koby suddenly turned to see his way out blocked by a wall and a door he now knew to be locked. Turning back to her, he nodded his agreement, adding in his own words. "I agree to your terms, and I allow you to amend them at your choosing. It is your home, and I am but an uninvited guest. If you like, I will leave..." a thought suddenly occurred to him, a small smile passing over his muzzle. "...Or if you wish, you can come back with me. I think I have a way that it will be possible for you to be able to visit my home, outside the computer." Unable to hide her surprise, Patch just stared at him, mouth hanging open in shock. Her? Leave the white space? She had thought about it before, and on limited occasions had been tempted by the idea but to have the option thrust upon her, and so suddenly, it was a bit much to take in. Koby moved closer, waving a paw in front of her eyes "Um, Patch? You ok?" Patch blinked, her thoughts running faster than she was used to, a small spark of latent energy from his paw tickling her nose, causing her to sneeze onto his paw as she shook her head to stop the spinning. "Hey, quit that! Your paw still has that strange energy coating it." she blushes a bit, turning her head to look away slightly eyes focusing on the doorway. "I'm going to have to put something on that door to wash that stuff off of you before you come back here. I think I'm allergic to it or something."

Mind racing, her first instinct was to run back to the safety of her white space and get back to life as it had been before, but the idea of being able to explore outside was too tempting. Deep in thought she spoke aloud to herself, a worried tone to her voice. "If I were to say yes, how would it work?" Koby shook off his paw and replied "Well, it would be the same way I got here. You wouldn't technically be leaving so much as being in both places at once. Basically you would fall asleep here in the white space, but instead of dreaming in your mind you would wake up somewhere else. When you were ready to return it would be just like waking up, nothing dangerous at all." Patch blinked at him, again shocked. All she had to do was fall asleep and she would be outside her white space? It sounded too easy, there had to be a catch. "So all I have to do is fall asleep? I've done that many times but never have I gone outside the white space by doing it. You are going to have to prove to me that is possible before I can believe what you are saying."

Moving over to the door, Koby looked back at her. "Sure, open the door and I'll get things set up. It will take about an hour to construct another halo on my side, but once I have that you will see it is possible." Patch hesitated for a moment, then looked away as the door swung open. "Go then..." She spoke almost to herself, still refusing to look in his direction. "...but remember, one hour. After that I remove the door and you go away." A clock appeared in the air beside her, beginning a countdown from one hour. Koby frowned, not sure what to think of this new attitude of hers but decided it best not to argue and instead get straight to work. He ducked through the doorway, pulling up the console before fading out of sight. Patch sat perfectly still, her muscles flexed to keep herself from shaking involuntarily. Why had she set such a ridiculous condition all of a sudden? Did she really want him to fail or was she just afraid of what may be on the outside? Thoughts streamed through her head faster than she could work them into any functional order, the counter slowly ticking away before her.

Minutes passed, and still no sign that he was returning. Patch looked over her shoulder again, glancing at the still cracked door as a thought struck her. She could just close the door and remove it at any time, and he would be gone. It wouldn't even be hard for her to do, all she had to do was will it and he would be gone forever so what was her problem? She turned around, lying down to stare at the flickering field beyond the doorway, her cheeks damp from tears... wait, what?! Why was she crying? Did she... did she really want him to come back? This intruder?! Nothing he had done while he was in her home had any influence on her and yet, now that she thought about it she actually felt alone for the very first time. Perhaps that was it, a malfunctioning social subroutine, nothing more. She would have to run a diagnostic later, but for now... it appeared as though he was back. She glanced up at the display, the timer barely 20 minutes in. He couldn't be done, could he?

Koby returned to the white space, having set up the machines in his shop to fabricate the needed parts. He would have to work fast if he wanted to make the deadline and this part couldn't be rushed. He pulled up the plans for the plate in his workshop, inputting the data into the simulation. A large metal plate now filled the space beneath his foot claws, a stand next to the door held a virtual halo identical to the one back in his lab. Looking at the doorway, Koby removed the privacy field. No sense leaving it up now that he had the walls as a marker... He stood there a moment, eyes unblinking as he took in the sight of Patch staring back at him from outside the door. She looked almost sad to him, lost in thought and obviously not having registered the removal of the field. He wanted to see what was wrong but in the back of his mind he heard again her words and knew he had to get back and complete the other halo if he wanted any chance of returning here after today.

Placing the virtual halo on his head, Koby moved to the middle of the pad and lay down, letting himself fall asleep. Moments later he was in the room across from his lab, the walls black with yellow grid patterns painted onto them to signify the virtual space that usually occupied the room. He moved back into his lab, the holographic emitters he had installed earlier allowing him free range of motion through this part of the facility. He stopped for a moment, taking a good look at himself still sleeping on the pad, a sudden urge to get a third person perspective of himself bringing him to a halt. There would be time enough to try that later! He chastised himself, forcing his body to keep moving over to the fabricators, taking out the parts and assembling another halo for his return trip. As he worked, he wondered about the implications of bouncing the signal from body to body to body and decided that he would limit his exposure to 5 minutes just in case there were any unforeseen side effects. 

Finishing the halo, Koby connected it up to the machine at the base of the stand next to the first one then stepped up beside himself on the platform. Placing the halo onto his head, he lay down and curled up next to himself, again forcing all thoughts away as he induced sleep once more. 

Patch shook her head, clearing away the buzzing thoughts that plagued her. Wiping her face with her paws she looked up to see Koby wearing a strange device on his head, a large metallic plate underneath him. So, he decided to just go to sleep? Or was this the device he had been telling her about earlier? She took a careful step forward then froze mid step. She could see clearly into the doorway, when did THAT happen?! Was she really so distressed over all this that she had completely missed such a monumental change? Watching through the door she was again startled to see Koby appear behind himself, turning to look at his clone before looking up at her, giving her a friendly smile. "I got it working, see? Nothing to worry about."

Forcing her gaze away Patch looked back at the timer she had set, less than 5 minutes remained but he had done it. She sighed, the timer vanishing as she made up her mind. Forcing a serious look onto her face, Patch walked over to the doorway and examined the two dragons, one sleeping the other standing. "How do I know that one isn't a fake? I'm sure with your technology that isn't beyond your ability..." She started, but even to her it sounded hollow, like she was trying to make excuses. Lowering her head, her ears flattening as she let a bit of emotion show through, she continued in a softer tone. "...no, you did what you said you were going to do and I'm making excuses. Guess you win this one, but I'm still not sure about this thing you brought into my home. How do I know it is safe to use? May I at least take a look at the coding to make sure it is compatible with my system here?" 

Pulling up the requested data, Koby created a floating screen in the middle of the platform and brought up the data on the display for her. "Here you go, feel free to inspect any element you like. I made them all available for you on this virtual terminal." Patch looked at the screen from the doorway, the lettering just small enough to be difficult to make out from this distance. Letting out a breath she didn't know she had been holding, Patch placed one paw through the doorway and stepped cautiously onto the cool metal surface. A sudden jolt caused her to pull her paw back the moment it touched the plate, that same strange energy sending shivers up and down her leg. Hesitating but a moment, she reached back in and placed her paw gently against the plate once more, the energy causing a tingling sensation to crawl over her leg, the fur standing on end. After a moment of debate Patch placed her second fore paw into the room, the tingling sensation tickling her legs as she stifled a giggle, her attempt at keeping a serious face a complete failure. Luckily for her, Koby was busy waving his paws over his other form, apparently doing something with his 'console' or whatever it was but she couldn't see what he was doing. 

Composing herself, Patch stepped the rest of the way into the room, the fur on her legs and tail now puffing out as she sat down on the surprisingly warm metal to read through the data on the screen. Examining each element, she took her time to get used to the sensations around her. The programs were complex, but the code was sound and would have no adverse effects on her system that she could find. Glancing at the sleeping form, she looked back over the code once more before reaching out and plucking the halo from his head. The other form turned as she moved, seeming about to say something as it vanished from sight. The body on the floor moving a moment later to look up at her with a confused expression.

"What did you do that for?" He asked her with a note of hesitation in his voice. She smiled at him, standing over him and holding his halo in her paws. "Well, I read in the code that this 'halo' could be safely removed to force one to wake up so I thought I would test it, that's all..." She paused a moment then blushed softly as she asked in a shy voice "...You aren't mad, are you?" She gave him a coy grin, tongue poking out her maw slightly giving him one of the cutest looks he had ever seen. Koby shook his head and chuckled. "I can't get mad at you if you keep looking at me that way." He said, climbing to his feet once more. "So, have you made up your mind about coming with me for a visit?"

Patch looked down at the halo in her paws, her expression still worried as she asked. "So, how do you turn it on again?" Koby pointed to the inner ring of the halo. "This part has to be on your head resting just above your eyes with this piece here in front." He explained carefully to her, pointing out any details so she could understand easily. "It is quite painless and once you have it on you just think 'sleep' and before you can count to three you will be waking up on the other side. To get back here, just think about waking up here and you will. The halo as you saw earlier reads your thoughts and translates them into action on the other side so nothing that happens to you there will affect you here."

Placing the halo on her own head, Patch felt the cool metal pressing against her forehead, her ears poking out the top though folded down half way, reflecting her anxious attitude towards the strange technology. "So I just think sleep..." She began, but upon that thought she fell forward onto the plate, already out like a light before Koby could even move to attempt to catch her. Making sure she was unhurt, Koby quickly went through the logout sequence, returning to his lab where this whole thing started.

Patch felt an unbelievable darkness swallow her up, a bright light bursting forth beyond then... NOTHING! THERE WAS NOTHING IN HER MIND!!! Squeezing her eyes shut tightly, Patch whimpered as she fought to sense the white space, her tool box, her plug ins, anything that felt normal. Deep down, she recognized that she was somewhere else, her white space far, far away but why couldn't she feel it anymore?! Koby woke up to hear loud cries coming from across the hall, pulling off the halo and dropping it onto the floor he sprinted into the next room to find Patch curled up in a tight little ball, tears streaming from her clenched eyelids. "Patch, what's wrong? Are you ok?!" Koby called out, hoping to reach her through whatever was causing her distress. "Remember your log out function! Everything is fine, you are not in danger!"

Through the haze of emptiness, Patch was just able to hear Koby's voice calling out to her. Suddenly, deep down she felt a connection, shallow at first then growing closer to fill her consciousness. Slowly she managed to calm down, her whimpers fading away as her mind began to process what she was feeling. She was completely unplugged, nothing of her white space remained here in her consciousness but somewhere else, somewhere far away almost farther than she could imagine she could still feel it, deep inside her mind. Taking a deep breath, Patch choked out one last whine before relaxing her tired body, the floor beneath her felt cold and hard but strangely not metallic. Somewhere in her mind she knew that she was sitting down on a metal plate in her white space, safe from the terrors of being unplugged but then what was this place?

Koby watched at Patch finally relaxed, sighing as he let go, letting her head rest in his lap where he had held her until the fears had passed. He didn't think! She was used to being connected to her surroundings and to unplug her like that... It would take a miracle for her to want to stay here after such a traumatizing experience. He ran a paw gently through her head fur, claw tips grazing the backs of her ears delicately. "Are you ok Patch? You really gave me a scare there. I'm sorry, it was my fault for not realizing sooner what it would have felt like for you to..." He tried to explain but was cut off by her paw pressing against his muzzle. "It's fine, you blubbering idiot. I'm the one who chose to do this, remember?" She raised her head and opened her eyes to look at him but a startled expression washed over her face as she rubbed at her eyes with the backs of her paws. "Something's not right here; my eyes are all foggy and cloudy."

Letting out a slow sigh, Koby tapped her paws gently "Don't rub, I know what it is. Remember earlier when you said there was a problem, an error code in my eyes? You are using that same algorithm from the other side. Give me a moment here and I can fix it if that is what you want." He sat still, waiting for her permission to leave and fix the bug that was causing her issues. Patch stopped rubbing but kept her paws pressed against her face as she reasoned it out in her head. Error code? That's right; she had seen an error code in Koby's eyes earlier but had been unable to correct the issue. So this was what it looked like for him? She opened up her eyes and looked around the room at the dingy black and yellow walls and the white washed look of the hallway a dozen yards away, anything beyond there hidden behind the bright haze. "Yeah, you do that. I'm just going to lay here and let the room stop spinning."

Extracting himself carefully from beneath her, Koby felt her body tense a moment before relaxing again. He rested her head down on the floor then ran back to his main control panel and began to work on the visual interface. Back in the other room, Patch whimpered to herself quietly as she assessed the situation. Everything she took for granted was gone, was this how others felt all the time? She could barely feel her connection to the white space and the familiar sensations that lingered there but here there was nothing. She was tempted to run back to her home, back to where it was safe behind her firewalls but something else stopped her. A lingering desire to see what this place was, why it existed outside the white space and most importantly, why had this stranger come to her home only to invite her to come and see how he lived. 

Patch shivered, the room colder than she had imagined it... wait, it was cold! She couldn't adjust her temperature here the way she could back in the white space, so this was what the normal temperature was here! Lifting her head slightly, keeping her eyes closed she sniffed at the air. Smells filled her nose, rubber, metal, grease, her own smell completely alien to her but yet somehow familiar, the smell of Koby that she identified from when he had held her head close to him, trying to comfort her... Such helplessness, to have to rely on this stranger to let her know what was normal and what was not. She would have to work hard to prove she could do this, especially if he could! Suddenly strong in her convictions Patch opened her eyes to small slits and peeked out at the walls... then opened her eyes completely as her vision shot back to perfect clarity. Taking a moment to look herself over, Patch had to admit he did a good job of recreating her, every detail down to the slight variations in her fur were as she remembered it.

A sudden sensation swept over her like a tidal wave, causing her to double over as the giggles erupted from her in fitful waves. Her fur totally tickled! How did she not know about that! Each movement sent another wave of laughter boiling out from her maw until her eyes were once again filled with tears from laughing so hard. Koby returned to the room to find Patch doubled over in laughter, the sight made him feel a little better though he was still worried. Taking a hesitant step towards her, he forced calm into his voice as he asked gently." Everything ok now Patch? How are the eyes?" Patch fought against the fits of giggles, barely managing to get a word in between each fit of laughter. "MY... FUR... TICKLES!" She cried out, paws latched to her sides to attempt to stifle the laughter but only serving to cause more movement of her fur against her super sensitive skin.

Unable to hold a straight face, Koby giggled as well, shaking his head in amazement. "If not one thing, it’s another." He said to himself as he stepped out of the room, returning moments later with a small can in one paw and a large brush in the other. Spreading the powder onto the brush, Koby began to brush out the fur along Patch's back, starting just below the neck and working his way downward. Everywhere the brush went, the tickling sensation was replaced by a cool tingly feeling, a sharp scent filling the room. 

After a few minutes of this treatment Patch was finally able to get her giggles under control, looking up at Koby and sighing as her exertions left her feeling drained. "What... What happened to me just now?" She asked, looking up at him for answers. Koby set down the brush, helping her to roll onto her back as he lightly sprinkled more powder onto her chest and belly. "Rub that in, it will get rid of the tickling..." He waited until she did as asked before continuing. "...My guess is, this is your first time actually having real fur and so you haven't built up the natural immunity to the sensation. I'd hazard to guess that for the first few times at least you are going to be extremely sensitive to things like temperature, physical stimulation, and noise. The first and the third are easily handled, but the second you are going to have to just learn to deal with until your body can adapt."

Setting the can down on the floor, Koby waited for Patch to finish rubbing out the ticklish spots. This day had been one full of surprises and, he suspected, there would be plenty more before the day was out. Patch rubbed herself all over, the tickling sensation fading away finally. "So what was in that can? It feels all tingly and I can't smell a thing now either. Oh, and thanks for fixing my eyes, everything is really clear now." Koby reached out a paw and brushed a bit of the powder into her head fur as he replied. "Well, this can contains a mixture of aloe and menthol in a powder form that is hypoallergenic. The smell that killed your nose would be the menthol; it will clear up in about an hour or so. Glad to hear about your eyes too. I was worried there for a minute. This compound is generally used to deal with skin irritations, similar to the one you just experienced but the sensation will return just like your sense of smell. I have faith you will be able to control yourself this time though without the need for this stuff. Just in case, I'll leave it here for you if you think you need it again."

Standing up, Koby stretched to relieve aching muscles from sitting so long in one position. "As for me, I need to get back to work for a bit, feel free to explore but be careful around the machines, if they break, I may lose connection to your world and you can guess what would happen then." Patch watched him walk out of the room, curling up into a tight ball and resting her head on her soft tail as a pillow. Moments later she was asleep, her body and mind exhausted from the day’s events. Several hours passed before Patch awoke, the tickling sensation had returned as promised but far subdued and manageable. Even so, standing up Patch found the can and carefully powdered everything she could easily reach, deciding to ask Koby to get her back and wings again when she found him. Stepping through the door into the bright hallway, Patch suddenly felt a wave of pressure hit her, knocking her to the floor as a roaring sound impacted her ears, warmth spreading over her where she was being pinned down. 

Looking upwards, Patch was able to see a small grate in the ceiling but nothing to explain this sudden pressure. Her fur was plastered to her and the floor, being moved by something invisible. She used her hind legs to propel herself forward, the pressure moving down her back but suddenly she was free in front, the roaring gone although the pressure remained, keeping her pinned in the doorway. Forcing herself to her feet, Patch slid forward slowly until she was finally out in the hallway, the force gone. Thinking back, she had seen Koby walk through the door many times but he never seemed to have had a problem, so why did she? Carefully moving back, she reached a paw towards the door, feeling the pressure again as her fur was ruffled every which way by the invisible force. Pulling back her paw, she looked up again then sighed, her ears drooping as she realized it was a vent fan; the only force that of the air blowing down at the doorway. She would have to get used to that too, it seemed. 

Inside her white space, Patch thought to herself, she had full control of everything from temperature to how things reacted with her, and since she hadn't known about how things really worked she had always just assumed that any wind would only affect her fur and not be strong enough to affect her balance and so it never had. Now however, she knew differently. Patch stretched her wings, watching them grow as she did so until they were large enough to support her in flight. Stepping carefully back into the fan she held out her wings, letting the warm air wash over them. It took some time, but finally after a bit of trial and error she was able to catch the wind under her wings, the sensation of lift making her giggle as her weight seemed to lighten on her foot paws. Perhaps, she thought to herself, not everything here was going to be bad. In fact, this place may even prove to be fun!

Folding her wings back up, Patch crossed the hallway and glanced into the next room, a large familiar metal plate sat there, complete with stand and two halo units. The rest of the room was filled with monitors and keyboards, all the things she had seen before that allowed a programmer to work inside her white space but she had never actually seen them from this side before. She walked carefully around the metal pad, the tingling sensation still fresh in her mind and not something she wanted to deal with at the moment, especially if she was still sensitive to touch it could make for a bad experience and she wanted to avoid those if at all possible. 

Looking up at one of the screens, Patch saw Koby walk into view. She watched him pull tools from a box, taking the side off of a large archway and working on the complex electronics inside the cover panel. She had no idea where in the building he was, but at least seeing him made her feel a little better, strange as that may be. The next room off this one was filled with tall towers covered in flashing lights, wires bundled up at the ceiling connecting everything together. Patch decided this was a room best left for later, ducking back into the control room and again back into the hallway. Turning to her left, Patch walked down the hall until she reached a new doorway, the door sliding open silently as she approached. 

Inside the large room was row upon row of plants, a fountain in the center of the space was spraying water and the air was thick with moisture. Patch walked inside, taking a moment to sniff at each plant she passed, most smelling strange to her as she had never really smelled anything before in the white space, not having a great use for such a sense. Moving down one row, she suddenly caught a strong scent of menthol, wrinkling her nose she decided to avoid that one as it would undoubtedly kill her exploration for a while and she was having fun smelling things! Moving over to the fountain, Patch sat down on the edge and watched the water cascade over the shaped stone, listening to the soft sound of the water as it impacted each surface to finally gurgle and bubble into the basin below. 

Patch had seen water before, even in her white space she had experimented with it but early on she had decided she didn't like the sensation of wet fur and had done everything she could to avoid it. Here however she definitely knew she wanted to avoid getting wet, if only because of how different everything was. Still, it was nice to listen to the water, the sound soothing to her ears as her thoughts settled, listening to the fountain. Deciding that what she really needed right now was some relaxation, Patch sat up and held out her paws thinking about coffee, but nothing happened. It took her two tries before she remembered she couldn't bring things to her like she could in the white space, a fact that aggravated her to no end. Looking over at the fountain, Patch reached out a paw carefully until just the tip touched the flow of water... She yanked her paw back as if stung, the water was bloody COLD! How could something be that cold?! She thought to herself, the tip of her paw still stinging from the sensation, the fur hanging limp as the water soaked in quickly. She shook off her paw, water droplets splashing everywhere but she didn't care. 

Leaning her head down to the basin as far from the flowing water as she could, Patch stuck out her tongue and cautiously took a small taste from the fountain. The cold water felt soothing to her parched tongue, coating her throat as the swallowed first once then gulping down the water as she sated the feeling of dehydration that washed over her. Careful not to dip her entire muzzle into the water, Patch managed to get her fill while only her chin was drenched in the ice cold water. Sitting back up she sighed, wiping her muzzle with her paws to get the worst of the water off. She was going to have to talk with Koby about this for sure, if only to find out where he got his cups from.

A sudden booming sound made Patch nearly jump off the fountain, looking around as the sound echoed throughout the room then again boomed out from all directions. After the third eruption of sound, a loud hissing sound filled her ears as water erupted from above the plants, the sprinklers sending down a concentrated mist into the room. Patch bolted as fast as she could for the door, sliding into the far wall as her momentum carried her across the slick floor to rest with a thud, heart beating fast as the room behind her became blanketed in mist moments before the door closed between her and a very thorough soaking. 

Catching her breath, Patch continued down the hallway peeking into each room as she went, most of them seemed like personal spaces with desks, beds, and lots of drawers. The room at the end of the hall opened up as far as she could see, no light filled the empty space and she had no intention to venture into such a large empty room by herself! Walking back down the hall she saw Koby approach from the other direction, carrying a toolbox in one paw and a machine of some sort in the other. She waved to him and ran over, sniffing at the tool box curiously as she began telling him all about her adventures. 

Koby listened to her talk, smiling to himself as she explained her first encounters with things he took for granted. When she had finished, he set down the items he was carrying and then took a seat on the tool box. "Well, to answer the first of your questions I do have replicators that can make me just about anything I need so getting you a cup shouldn't be too hard. Also, if you were that thirsty then perhaps it is time we got you something to eat too. What sort of food do you want to try first here?"

Patch didn't even have to think about that question. "Meat, I want to eat meat." Koby stood up, picking up his tools once more. "Ok Patch, let’s go back to the workshop and I'll get you something to eat." He led the way back to the workshop, setting the tools down on a shelf before leading her over to a panel set into the wall. "These panels are in each of the guest rooms as well as this room and the kitchen. Using the display here you can get pretty much anything out of the replicator..." He begins pressing buttons while he talked, the panel letting off quiet little chirps. "...Some of the scientists swore that the food tasted off, but I haven't had any issues with it myself." He finished with the program and the panel made a ringing noise before it lifted up into the wall, revealing a hidden space behind it. 

Patch could smell something behind the panel, her stomach tying itself into painful knots as the smell grew stronger, her mouth watering and tasting almost metallic. Koby reached into the alcove and pulled out a simple plate covered in a large dark colored mass. He set the plate on a stool so it would be at a good level for her to eat directly from or she could sit next to the stool and pick up the food, whatever way she preferred. Patch for her part had wanted to sit down and take her time but the smell was too intoxicating. She moved over almost as soon as the plate was deposited onto the stool and without thinking took a large bite, her fangs appearing and sinking deep into the soft fleshy mass. Tearing off a mouthful she chewed at the mass, a metallic taste filling her senses as she tried not to drool. Swallowing, she lunged back at the plate and devoured what was left, licking her lips when she had finished, looking up at Koby with a light blush to her cheeks. "Guess I was hungrier than I thought. Is there anything else? I'm still a bit hungry here but that was really good! What was it?"

Koby was busy typing on the panel, looking over and grinning at her. "Well, I thought you would be really hungry but wasn't expecting you to eat it that fast. Yes, I am getting you some more here, various samples of what we have to offer but what you just ate was raw liver. Actually one of my favorites because of all the nutrients so I'm glad it worked for you." He pressed one more button and again the panel slid up with a ringing sound. Koby pulled out another plate, this one covered in strips of meat. He set the plate down and pointed to the strips one by one, letting her know what each one was.

"Ok, here we have your typical red meat, this one is raw, this one is cooked to medium and this one is cooked to well done. Next we have white meat, same three styles and finally we have fish, again raw and cooked varieties. Go ahead and take your time here, let me know what your favorites are and we can work from there." Patch sniffed at each of the meats, enjoying the way they smelled before starting off with the red meat first, picking up the raw meat in her paws and taking a bite. The taste was metallic at first, but with a rich flavor beneath that quickly moved up to the front. Finishing off the small strip, Patch then tried the cooked red meats, noting the flavor of the char on them but still liking the uncooked the best.

Moving on to the white meat, Patch selected to start with the well-cooked first and was rewarded with a drier flavor, much less pronounced from the red meat but with its own subtle flavors that seemed almost enhanced by the flavor of the char on the outside. She tried the uncooked white meat but didn't get more than a nibble before deciding to put it back and move on to the fish, the smells coming from that side of the plate having drawn her attention. 

Patch looked at the plate; strips of raw fish as well as small circular fleshy things covered the surface. Picking up one of the strips of fish, she gave it a curious lick before stuffing it into her mouth, swallowing almost immediately. The slightly metallic flavor, paired with the salty taste was just too good. She went back to the plate and finished off every last bit of the fish, following it up with what remained of the red meat before sitting down, finally content. "Wow, that was a lot of food and it was really good! I really liked the fish and the raw red meats. Can we do this again later?" She asked as Koby placed the plates back into the replicator and pressed the disposal button. "Sure..." He replied as he sat down on the stool. "...However, you need to take it easy for a bit, don't want you getting sick from over exertion so soon after eating." 

Curling up at the foot of the stool, Patch closed her eyes as she listened to Koby talk. "Since we have a bit of time, I'll answer some of your other questions from earlier. The room you found with the fountain is the hydroponics room where I have been growing herbs and vegetables that the replicator either has trouble with or cannot properly recreate to suit my uses. The large dark room is a storage room that was used primarily for storing ongoing projects that were on hold but right now the only project that is being worked on is the gate. There are 24 guest rooms, 8 on this floor and 16 more one floor down, the stairs are at the other end of the hallway from the storage room. The kitchen is also on the lower floor as well as the rest of the storage rooms. Above us are the recreational facility and the surface access tunnel as well as the observation deck that overlooks the ocean. Unfortunately, I only installed emitters down here on this floor so until I get the mobile emitter working you will not be able to leave this floor."

Koby stopped for a moment, thinking about something before he continued. "I'm a bit surprised you didn't see any of the repair or cleaning robots moving around. I'm always tripping over the things when I'm in the hallways. Keep an eye out for them; they tend to sneak up on you if you're not paying attention." He pointed across the room at a rectangular box moving towards them, roughly 2 feet wide and 2 feet deep but barely a foot tall. Patch had to step out of the way as it tried to run her over in its passing, moving slowly but purposefully out of the room and down the hallway.

Watching it go, Koby shook his head in defeat. "I have tried reprograming them, but they just can't learn to avoid obstacles not on the grid blueprints. Not to worry though, if they bump into you they will find a new path that takes them to where they are going and they move so slowly that they are easily avoided. If one is headed your way and you want it to go around, just give it a gentle kick and it will go away." He thought back to long ago, when the other scientists were working in the lab and without even looking up kick the little machines gently out of their way as if by instinct. The memory brought a smile to his face as the little robot vanished from sight down the hallway. 

Watching the thing move off, Patch decided she didn't like the little things and she would do all she could to avoid them running her over in the future. She took a moment to stretch, her belly full of food making her again feel sleepy. Looking at Koby, she picked her words carefully before starting to speak. "Thank you for showing me this place, there is quite a lot to explore here but I think I really need to get back. How do I get back home again? I hate to say but I forgot what you told me about how to get back."

Koby looked back at Patch, dismissing the little robot from his mind for the time being. "Oh, there are two ways for you to return back to the white space. First is through the console, just wave your right paw in the air while thinking about a keyboard with a monitor like you see against the wall there." He pointed to a work station over against the wall for emphasis. "When you do that, you should see a virtual keyboard and monitor appear in the air in front of you. I made a modification to the program so that an extra panel will come up with a big red button on it, use that button to log off and return home immediately. The other way is to imagine yourself waking up back in the white space and closing your eyes here. Doing that will also activate the program to return you home."

Patch waved her paw in the air, trying to picture the screen as he had told her to and was surprised when the console suddenly sprang to life in front of her. She sat down, looking at the keyboard and monitor that floated before her in the air, the red button easily visible off to one side. Looking through the screen at Koby, Patch gave him a wave before pressing the button, the world fading to black. Opening her eyes Patch was again back in her white space, the familiar sensations flooding back where none had been before. She moved off the metal pad, replacing the halo on the stand and headed back into the white space. She had fun on this trip, as scary as it was for her to admit she actually was interested in visiting again. Perhaps once she had time to go over everything, yes that would be enough time to make a decision. Until then, she would leave the door where it was so that her new friend could visit... on her terms at least.