002 knew that there was little chance of survival for 009. Exhausted, angry at himself, worried, and depressed, he dragged his feet up to the bedroom. The staircase seemed longer than usual as he walked up slowly. But after a while, he made it up to the bedroom door. He lazily swung it open, and looked at the blue painted walls that surrounded him. It was a nice, quaint shade of blue that was quite relaxing. Feeling the tiredness overwhelm the other emotions, he collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep in less than a minute.

00

Dr. Gilmore was hard at work in the lab, trying to figure out what was going on with 009. He knew that the receiver was haywire, but why? What sort of chemical could have caused that? He leaned back in the chair he was sitting in, thinking back.

"Hm… first, 009 showed a sign of illness when he came out of the snowstorm… the vitamin b12 deficiency wasn't accurate at first… and then the odd dreams came… they're all connected to the receiver, but how did it start?" He mused.

For hours, he sat there, trying to put the pieces of information together. He hadn't worked this hard to solve something for a good, long time, so he was rusty. Then, suddenly, it hit him.

"That's it! 009 was in the snowstorm at a dangerously cold temperature, so that triggered the deadly chemical! It slowly coursed through his veins, causing different effects to randomly appear." Dr. Gilmore almost shouted. He got up from the chair, and searched feverishly for that one chemical he knew he had. It had been ignored for years, so it was somewhere in the back of the cabinets of medication. Then, at last, he found the turquoise liquid in a dust-collecting bottle.

"Now I just need an empty syringe…" He murmured to himself. After finding one in a drawer and emptying the liquid into the needle, he walked out to where 009 was still laying, being watched by 001.

.: You have quite a look about you. Did you find something? :. 001 asked.

"The cure, yes." Dr. Gilmore replied with joy.

.: What!? You found it!? :. Now, even shock was rare in 001, but this was enough to earn that atypical response.

"Yes. I just need to make an injection, and all should be well." The doctor responded. He kneeled next to 009, positing the needle to be injected into his forearm. He pressed down on the plunger as the liquid drained out and emptied into 009's veins.

.: How long will it take for the medicine to take effect?:. 001 asked.

"Hm… in about an hour, he should be feeling some relief. We'll be able to disconnect him from this mess of wires and chords in about 15 minutes. Even though the side effects will be rough, 009 should be able to make it with our help." Dr. Gilmore explained. So, they waited for the medicine to take effect.



15 minutes had passed, and the brainwaves had calmed down to a normal rate, as did the heart rate and breathing rate.

"Looks like it's time." Dr. Gilmore said as he got up. One by one, he unplugged the plugs that covered 009's body one by one, until there was nothing left. The natural tan color was returning to his skin, which was an excellent sign of recovery. Then, the doctor removed the masks on his face and the monitor. Then, 009 finally fluttered his ruby-red eyes open and looked around at his surroundings.

"W-wha… what happened? Was all that… just a d-dream…?" He slurred.

"Sadly, what you've experienced was real. But I've finally found the cure for your disease, and it's going through your body right now as we speak." Dr. Gilmore said. All 009 could do was stare at Dr. Gilmore for a while. His eyes that were once dulled but now fully colored, showed disbelief and amazement.

"You're… you're joking… th-that's mean, don't joke around like that." 009 said, a few tears stinging at his eyes as he stared in incredulity.

"Why would I fool you like that, my boy? It's true; you're officially cured!" Dr. Gilmore said, putting on a trustworthy and cheerful grin. He rested his hand on 009's shoulder.

"Th-thank you… for all your hard work, Dr. Gilmore…" 009 stammered, finally believing the doctor's word. "I'm… I'm so happy…"

"You should be happy! I should be thanking you for being so cooperative and strong throughout this whole ordeal!" The old doctor replied cheerfully.

"I… I think I feel good enough to go see my friends now." 009 said. "I wanna tell them the good news… can I?" Dr. Gilmore nodded.

009 began to walk out of the Dolphin, and made his way out to the apartment. As he took each step, he thought to himself, "I'm really gonna be okay. I'm fixed. I'm well."

When he made it to the apartment door to the main room where everyone was gathered, he opened the door. He put on a true smile, greeting 8 other shocked faces (002 was there).

"Guys, it's me. I-I'm… I'm cured."

THE END