Claudia hated the purple gloves. They were a pain to get on, her fingers weren't as nimble in them, and she especially hated that her hands were so dry she could feel the skin on her knuckles crack if she wore them too long. "Old man will have even more of a coronary if I don't wear them, though," she mumbled to herself, sighing in resignation at the thought of Artie yelling at her for her carelessness as well as her impatience as she tugged on a pair of purple gloves before opening any of the many small boxes that had arrived at the B&B that morning from the Museum of Fine Arts. The boxes were now in a loose pile on a table in the Warehouse office.

She was alone, Artie having left to take a report to his courier and Pete and Myka on a mission to bring back breakfast for the four of them; since there were so many boxes, Artie had made the four of them come in early and start cataloging all the new artifacts. Artie hadn't wanted to leave the Warehouse unattended so he left Claudia there, and she chuckled to herself at the memory of what he had said when he left:

"Claudia," Artie said, pointing at her as he opened the office door, "No touch," pointing his finger at the pile of boxes.

"Aww, are you serious? I have to wait for you guys-"

"Claudia!" Artie snapped, lowering his head to look at her over his spectacles in a way that made her spine tingle in a non-unpleasant way, "I mean it. No. Touch."

"But-"

"No touch!" Artie said as he walked out of the office, the door latching behind him with a hydraulic hiss. Claudia listened until she thought he was gone and then tiptoed closer to the table to get a closer look at the boxes.

The door flew open causing Claudia to yelp in surprise. Artie's head poked into the office, a smug look on his face for having caught her. "I mean it!"

"Alright already, geez!" Claudia said, plopping down in a nearby chair, annoyed at both having to wait and Artie catching her in the act. "You win, I'll be good. Just hurry up already, will you?" she said, making shooing motions towards the door. Artie grinned at her, smug that he had gotten one on her. "I'll be back before you know it, o impatient one." He outright laughed when Claudia threw a pencil at him as he ducked back out of the door.

Claudia's brow was furrowed with annoyance as she tried opening the first box she chose. Her gloves kept getting in her way by sticking to the tape. She tried another box, but her gloved fingers weren't able to grasp the edges of the box top open it. Her luck wasn't any better with the third box, and she was running out of time. Claudia almost resigned herself to the image of Artie being insufferably pleased with himself when he came back and saw no open boxes when a fourth box caught her eye. It was smaller than the others and had a sad, defeated look to it. The box slipped out of Claudia's hands and back onto the table when she tried picking up. "Damn purple gloves," she hissed, and took them off.

Claudia knew better than to handle an artifact bare-handed, but her curiosity had gotten the better of her. She picked up the small box, smiling when her fingers were able to remove the tape sealing it shut. When she opened the lid, a small gasp escaped her lips. "Oh wow," she said reverently, dazzled by the item inside. "It's-it's beautiful." Reaching into the box with her naked hands, she picked up a small golden brooch covered in diamonds. The brooch was square, with a circle inside the square. A large diamond nested in the middle of the circle, surrounded by a group of smaller diamonds which filled the circle. Four points came off the circle and went out to the four corners of the square, each with its own large diamond, and between the four points were four semicircles overlapping the sides of the square, each with a large diamond as well. Dazzled by the artifact, she didn't notice the blackness spreading over her eyes, the Warehouse fading from her vision, the edges of the office going dark with spreading shadows. When the darkness completely overtook her and the whites and irises of her eyes turned completely black, there were no alarms in her mind, no warnings of impending doom, no inner voice whisperings that something just might be wrong; there was only Claudia on the floor screaming, alone in the office, hopelessly lost in an artifact.

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Artie raced down the road in his Jag on his way back from the courier drop. He was nervous; the encounter had taken longer than expected, and he wanted to get back to Claudia. What was I thinking, leaving her alone? In the Warehouse of all places? He took a deep breath, both hands gripping the wheel tighter. "Steady yourself, Arthur," he said, adjusting his hand placement and reducing his speed. "Claudia is fine, and the last thing she needs is you dead in a car wreck."

He thought of the way she nearly cried after HG shot him. Up until that point, he hadn't realized just how much his young apprentice cared for him. He had caught himself thinking about being with Claudia before, and how feeling her against him would feel so complete, but he had just ignored it as wishful thinking; a hormonal fantasy. He was old, but he was still male after all. Claudia had had such a strong reaction to his not being there anymore though, and Artie had felt such an overwhelming urge to comfort her that he began to doubt the hormonal fantasy explanation and wonder if he was actually in love with her. "Doesn't matter if you are, old man," he growled to himself, slowly shaking his head. "She needs way better than you."

Artie was so lost in his reverie that he jumped when his Farnsworth buzzed, nearly swerving off the road. He pulled over, his hands shaking as he dug into his bag to answer the call. "Talk to me."

Myka's face filled the screen, her eyes wide with fear. "Artie! Where the hell are you?"

Artie gave her a withering scowl; he didn't enjoy being sworn at. "I'm on my way back to the Warehouse. Where, pray tell, are you?"

Pete's scared face came into view as he peered into his Farnsworth's screen. "You need to get back here ASAP, Artie. Claudia got into one of the boxes from the Museum, and whatever was inside got her."

Artie felt his heart jump to his throat. In an even voice that was meant to calm himself more than Pete and Myka, he said, "Show me."

Myka turned the Farnsworth around and pointed the screen towards Claudia, and Artie's mouth dropped open when he saw the state she was in. Claudia was laying on the floor in front of the couch, curled up on her right side as small as she could make herself. She was whimpering and sobbing, her face buried in her knees. She jerked her head up and cocked it to one side, apparently listening to something. Claudia sat up, giving Artie his first clear glimpse at her face, and he could see that both of her eyes were black, shiny orbs. She continued to listen to a sound only she could hear, her mouth dropping in horror.

"What?" Claudia finally whispered, her voice hoarse from screaming. "What? No, no it's not true, it's not true! No no no no no no..."

Myka yelled, "Pete, grab her, it's starting again!" as Claudia began screaming. Artie's heart broke when he saw Claudia's face collapse as she screamed, "Artie's dead! Artie's dead! Artie's dead!"

Myka's face reappeared on Artie's Farnsworth. "Artie," she whispered, fear making her voice shake, "Hurry."

Artie closed his Farnsworth, dropped it onto the passenger's seat, put the Jag back into gear, and drove back to the Warehouse as fast as he ever had.