Both you and Alex looked on in confusion as a strange man in a pinstripe suit stepped into your giant kitchen. You weren't sure if he was the real owner of this place, but you doubted it; he wasn't any taller than you, and far too small to live comfortably in this house!
Not even acknowledging the two of you, the strange man calmly looked around as if seeing the place for the first time, until his eyes landed on the key.
"There it is," he muttered, glaring up at it like it had personally offended him. Scowling, he turned toward you.
"Are you done with it yet?" He demanded crossly. "I don't know how you got here, and I don't care; just do whatever it is you have to do and get out."
"Excuse me?" You sputtered. Alex looked equally stunned. "Who the heck are you, and what do you mean 'are we done yet?' Where are we, anyway?"
Silent, the stranger turned and looked you and your brother up and down, shooting the occasional glance at the key. Finally, after a glance at the fridge of all places he turned and lifted his hand imperiously toward Alex and snapped his fingers.
Alex promptly dropped like a sack of potatoes. You promptly slammed the man into the wall by his neck.
"What. Did. You. DO?" You growled threateningly. Even if Alex was a major pain most of the time, and REALLY weird stuff was happening, he was still your brother, and this guy DID something to him and -
"He's asleep." The man said simply, not even looking like he was hurting or choking at all.
"...what?"
"Asleep." The man answered in a calm, even tone. "Actually, he's REALLY asleep. This is a dream."
It was like a punch in the gut. Staggering back from the wall, you looked at the pinstripe man with wide eyes.
"I'm dreaming?" You asked, your voice shaking. Quick as nothing, you gave stamped hard on your own foot.
"OW!"
"Not you," Pinstripe rolled his eyes and gestured grandly toward Alex. "Him. This is his dream. I'll admit, I had to guess, but given how odd he looks right now, and how little it seemed to bother him, I figured he was the one dreaming. I was right, too. I can't tell the dreamer he's dreaming."
"Okay, wait, time out." You sat down on the floor. Hard. "This can't be his dream. I mean, I'm me. I'm real. Right?"
"I don't do philosophical arguments." Pinstripe muttered, dusting himself off and walking toward the fridge. "But sure, you're real. So am I. So's that." He jerked his head toward the key.
"The key?" You asked, glancing up. It seemed to shine oddly in the light.
"That's my key." Pinstripe glared at your brother as he ambled back over and sat down beside you. "I spent most of my life trying to get it; it's what brought me here, it lets me have complete control of this place. At least until you two showed up. Up until an hour ago, I was god here."
Pinstripe passed you the photo from the fridge. On it, you could now clearly see you and Alex, but he was way closer to your height than he should have been.
"He's really dreaming." You breathed, staring down. "Is that real too? I mean, is he that big now, for real?"
"How should I know?" Pinstripe grumbled. "I don't even know how you got here! Maybe the key got bored belonging to me for too long, maybe your brother is some kind of dream invading psychic mutant, who cares! I just want you to leave!"
"If your brother dragged you in here by accident, it has to be him that gets you out." The man huffed. "He can do it with the key. Of course, he can do anything else he wants, consciously or subconsciously while he's holding it, as well." He grinned at you. "Looks like he wanted to be the big man at home, huh? Lucky you didn't shrink or something."
"But I think we did!" You insisted, looking around. "Before, Alex was barely tall enough to touch the key from my shoulders, I bet that's still true now, even with the grabbers."
"Oh hell." Pinstripe groaned. "Part of him knows what's really happening, and doesn't want it to stop yet. Just...humor him, I guess. When he's satisfied, he'll let you go."
With that, the odd man hopped up and started back the way he came.
"Wait!" You cried. "You're just going to leave me here alone?"
"Yep." He nodded. "I want no part in this. Stuck in a highly mutable dream-scape controlled by a prepubescent punk with height issues? Literally sounds like a hellish nightmare world from which there is no waking. I'm out of here. Just don't tell him it's a dream. It might cause...problems."
"What kind?" You called out desperately. No use. The man was gone.
"Justin?" Alex muttered groggily from the floor.
"You okay?" You asked, still a little freaked out.
"Sure!" Your brother chirped happily from the floor, slowly rising to his new height. He looked down at you and grinned.
"Ready to go for that key again...shorty?"
This would take some getting used to.
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