Tech Square had always enjoyed the reputation of being significant, the cutting-edge skyscrapers often enjoyed the thrill of people who looked up at them in awe. However, day had long since passed and evening was in full swing, the metronome that night danced to came in the form of apartment lights turning off and everything shutting down to rest. Yet, in all the stillness, something moved quickly, leaping from building to building with animal-like grace and perched over a metallic street below his playground of agility. The figure crouched as if hunting, a predator, no doubt, and watched the area, eager to silence his raging hunger, and his baby-blue gaze fell upon two people that seemed like ants from his view. The predator caught a glimpse of what one had on her possession and held his gaze on her.

His hunger would be satisfied tonight.

The predator examined his chosen target closely, two girls, no older than fourteen, dressed in bright and gaudy clothing chatted amongst themselves audibly. "I can't believe Dexter chose a stupid loser like Gamma," One of them squawked, voice sharper than a dagger. "I mean, Gamma's an overweight dork, who'd want a girl like her, anyways?"

The other one nodded in agreement, clutching a rather pink and posh-looking teddy-bear to her chest. "You're so right," She hissed. "If anything, Dexter would have more of a chance with a girl like us, we've got the looks and the brains that he does anyway!" Both laughed cruelly, causing a growl in the predator's throat to rise up angrily and he decided to wipe the smile off of his target's face. He jumped down from the buildings on all fours, landing on the path with his over-stuffed feet, homing in on his first taste of plushie flesh. The predator stalked towards the unsuspecting victims…

… Closer…

….. Closer…..

….. Closer…..

The girls never stood a chance, they only just managed a glimmer from the corners of their eyes as the predator charged, ensuing the ripping of plushie fabric and a blood-curdling scream of terror.

It was the wolf-like howl to the moonlight that tore Gamma away from sleep, as she lay on her messy, cream-colored bed, and would not let her return to the land of dreams.

The following morning brought monstrous hoopla to the neighbouring areas surrounding Tech Square in the form of people passing the story that struck fear into hearts and worry to plushie-collectors nationwide:

A plushie corpse had been found in the centre of Tech Square.

The news hadn't come as a big surprise to Gamma as she read the sub-title that had been bested by the crumbling relationship of two spoilt celebrities she'd never heard of, the howl in the middle of the night had written its own article in her mind as she sat on the bed, her well-loved panther plushie hidden behind the pillow where no bullies could find it. By the time that Gamma had returned to her white-wash room she was exhausted, Dexter had been given the all clear and Numbah Five had forced her to throw the badly torn dress away. She had donned a purple shirt with pearl-coloured sleeves and cargo pants similar in shade to Marie's, and when the slow knock on her door made itself noticed Gamma's army boots hit the navy carpet quickly. "Coming," She called and yanked the door open, only to gasp in shock. If the fact that Dexter had come to see her so soon wasn't enough to make her jump, then perhaps the fact that he looked like as if he'd been hit by a truck as well would push Gamma's reaction to that level. "Dexter, what the heck happened? You look like a corpse!" She asked. Dexter stepped in woozily, the shadows under his eyes very apparent.

"Oh, I just didn't get any sleep last night, that's all…" He answered tiredly and yawned before sitting down on Gamma's bed. Gamma stared at him as his head began to droop drowsily and she closed the door as she watched the scientist's attempt to keep awake, Dexter had also taken off his Halloween costume, and returned to the trade-mark lab-coat, purple gloves, black trousers and loafers that he wore every day.

"Any particular reason why you wanted to see me?" Gamma asked after a few minutes of Dexter beginning to fall asleep. Dexter jumped, started when she spoke.

"Oh…" He pondered. "Now why did I want to see you? Um…" The silence began to lengthen. "… I forgot…" Dexter glanced at Gamma and got up to stand at her height. "But I came here for something," Gamma began to look at his eyes, slowing Dexter's words. "Something… important…" He turned shyly as Gamma sighed.

"I think you need a diary," She began, also turning away from Dexter. "Something to keep on top of your schedule, y'know?" She became unaware that Dexter had begun sniffing the air behind her and looked at the pillow. "What worked for me is a small pocket diary that I could fish out at any time."

"Uh-huh, that's handy…" Dexter replied, not really paying attention. He pulled away the pillow and, to his delight, found a well-loved panther plushie begging to be toyed with. He watched it for a moment before pouncing lightly onto it, grabbing it's tail with his teeth and started playing with it like as if he was a cat, batting a terrified mouse around. He tossed it about, catching it nimbly in his mouth while Gamma rambled on about diaries and the like, saying words like "Yes," and "I agree." after throwing the poor plushie. Gamma turned around, ready to motivate Dexter after being impressed by her own words, but produced a blank stare at Dexter, who froze when she saw him, the plushie dangling by the tail in-between his teeth. "Um…" He began, taking the plushie out of his mouth and placing it on the pillow. Then Dexter looked at his watch quickly and faked a gasp. "Oh my, look at the time!" Then he bolted. "I've got a wrench to turn so goodbye Gamma, I'll see you later!"

He closed the door on Gamma's bewildered look and let out a sigh of relief, propping his back up against the wall. Dexter groaned and went over the real reason why he'd come to the girl he'd met last night and savoured the look she had given him. Those eyes, those brilliant, needful eyes that longed for love and sympathy, Dexter craved them. He walked away from the door before feeling his stomach growl again.

Maybe he could take a bite from one of Dee Dee's plushies…

Gamma looked at the average houses of Genius Grove as she strolled through the empty avenues, luckily for her, the monsters which once roamed the streets had migrated to a different section of the place she needed to be. Yet she recalled seeing Dexter's teeth clamped down on her panther plushie, now very wary of what might've happened after she left him to in the medical ward. She hadn't been able to see him for another twenty-four hours until he knocked on her door that morning, by then it was the afternoon, a perfect time to try and see Numbah Five, who had returned to her post hours after Dexter was wheeled in for treatment. She soon saw the barriers that held back green matter on a rather gaunt-looking house in front of a rather tiny settlement from spreading. Mandark's house, no doubt, one of the places that had suffered very badly from the Fusion infection. A few other kids had flocked around somebody in the drive of the sweet-looking house, none of which had been at the party, thankfully, and then broke away in different directions, leaving a very flustered Numbah Five to her own devices. She suddenly realised that Gamma was approaching and waved. "Yo! Gamma!" She called. "Good to see ya' again!" Gamma came over eagerly.

"How's it going, Numbah Five?" She asked. Numbah Five wiped her covered forehead.

"Man oh man, I've been bombarded by people asking me where the monsters have gone all day…" She groaned and looked back at Gamma. "How's Dex, is he okay?" Gamma became tense at the sound of Numbah Five's question.

"Oh, hello Gamma!" A familiar voice spoke, Double-D had appeared from behind the house. He walked up to the girls, striding in purple shorts and red stockings, his feet hitting the ground in bluebell sneakers and his shirt more orange than the sun. "I didn't expect to see you here! Getting a mission from Numbah Five, I take it?"

Numbah Five looked perplexed. "We didn't exactly expect you to be here, either!" She grew suspicious. "Aren't you meant to be giving out Guide missions, or somethin'?" Double-D remained calm and relaxed.

"Not to worry," He reassured. "The rangers at the fort volunteered to take over for me while I came to see you," Double-D's eyes glittered worriedly. "I wanted to know if you had heard any news about Dexter's condition."

Gamma looked at the other two came close to them. "Listen," She began. "We need to speak in private about Dexter for a moment," She looked around nervously. "I'm quite tense at the moment as it is…" She led the others around to the side of the house and checked one more time before taking the article she'd carefully cut out and pocketed to show Numbah Five. "Look at this, although I'm fairly sure you're aware of it."

Numbah Five almost turned pale. "What the heck? Are you sure this story's real?" Gamma lowered her gaze, recalling what she'd heard last night.

"Well…" She began. "I heard something last night while trying to get some sleep," The others listened intensely. "First of all, I heard screaming in the distance, then somebody running quickly…" Beads of sweat dotted Gamma's face as she told her tale. "… And then… what I think… was wolf-like howling…"

"It might be possible that the creature that bit Dexter managed to make it to Tech Square," Double-D suggested. "Because we stopped finding the plushie remains the day after you left for the lab." Gamma shook her head.

"There's more," She insisted. "This morning I got a visit from Dexter, who looked like as if he'd been running all evening," By now, Numbah Five was picking up a worried face herself. "Then, while my back was turned, Dexter began playing with my plushie panther, I caught him holding it by the tail with his teeth." Gamma folded her arms suspiciously. "He got real frantic and left before I could ask him why he was destroying my doll," She looked at the others directly. "I think that bite Dexter received has done something to him."

Numbah Five began to ponder. "Was there a full moon in the sky, like on Halloween?" She asked, Gamma shook her head again. "It might not be what's going through my head after all, then," She concluded. "I thought that maybe Dexter had changed into whatever that monster was!"

"You mean something like a 'wereplushie'?" Double-D was a little bit sceptical. "I find it hard to believe that Dexter's been bitten by a were-beast, but then again, I couldn't quite believe that aliens had attacked Earth, either…"

"Either way," Numbah Five kept her sight on Gamma. "Keep your eye on Dexter and report anything else that seems… unusual," She advised. "If he really is… um… the one responsible for the attack in Tech Square then maybe we can find him a cure-"

"Hah, hah, hah…" A sweet voice sniffled from behind the corner of the house. "AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHCHOOOOOOO!" Numbah Five stormed over and whoever had sneezed yelped as she was dragged out into view, revealing herself to be Dee Dee.

"How much have you heard?" Numbah Five demanded. Dee Dee flinched timidly.

"Please don't kill me, I just wanted to know about my brother! I'm worried about him!" She begged. "I heard everything, and besides," She pointed at someone Gamma couldn't see. "Eddy promised me he'd give me a quarter if I found out what you guys were talking about!"

Double-D turned and scowled at Eddy. "Eddy!" he shouted. "I thought I told you to stay in the S.C.A.M.P.E.R.!" Numbah Five went over and pulled Eddy behind the house, who shouted as he was dragged out of sight.

"Hey, hey, hey," He complained and dusted off his yellow shirt crossly. "That shirt cost me five bucks, handle with care!" Eddy then backed up slightly as Double-D proceeded to give him a firm talk about invading other people's privacy. His blue trousers clashed with his red shoes and the three hairs on Eddy's head became withered with boredom. "Calm down, Sock-Head," He protested, raising his hands in defence. "I just wanted to know what you guys were talking about." Double-D rolled his eyes.

"But using Dee Dee as a lackey to get said information is wrong!" He scolded. Dee Dee looked panicky.

"And besides, Dexter must be in big trouble after he got bitten!" Eddy's eyes grew wide as Dee Dee spilt out information.

"Dexter got hurt?" He asked, receiving nods from everybody else. They told him everything that Gamma had said, the worry beginning to grasp Eddy's mouth as he got the information he'd wanted. "… That's… really bad," He finally said when the explaining was over. "Dexter's a goner if something isn't done soon."

"I'll keep watch over Dexter," Gamma promised. "You can count on me."

"Are you sure you can do it on your own?" Numbah Five looked at Gamma, trying to consider her ailment. Gamma smiled in confirmation. "Well," She began and pointed to something coming down the road. "Here's your chance."

A large, light-blue vehicle, similar to a bus, glided down the road and halted in front of the house. It was the large 'D' on the sides that made Gamma alert, Dee Dee almost sprang up and head over to the bus, only to be held back by the others. "Act normal," Double-D instructed as Dexter stepped out onto the grass and strolled towards them. "Ah, Dexter," Gamma was impressed by Double-D's acting skills already. "What brings you here at this hour?"

Dexter smiled at the others, even waving at his sister, who waved back. "I came looking for Gamma, actually," Gamma felt her nerves perking up again. "I was wondering if you'd like to come with me to see Eduardo, so that I can get the whole story from him about what happened on Halloween."

Gamma received a quiet nod from Numbah Five, then she fingered the Null Void gun and loaded it eagerly. "Sure, I'll go with you," She put on a cheerful face. "Ready when you are!"

Dexter grinned and turned to Numbah Five. "Sorry for intruding, I'm sure you were talking about a very important mission to Gamma," He apologised. "I hope it hasn't disrupted your plans."

"Not a problem!" Numbah Five grabbed Gamma by the arm as she headed towards the bus. "Make sure he doesn't do anything that puts either you or him in danger." She instructed between gritted teeth, then watched as her friend passed through the vehicle doors. Gamma waved as the bus whirred to life and breezed past the group freely, then, after a few moments of silence, Double-D sighed.

"Do you really think that Gamma's right?" He asked. "About Dexter being a… you know…"

Numbah Five shrugged, the word that Double-D had used to describe the other side already a taboo. "I don't know, Double-D," She replied. "I just don't know."

During that bus drive Gamma was more alert than she'd ever been before in her life, even if Dexter twitched she was all over it, trying to find any indication of 'wereplushie' behaviour. Yet, as they passed by Peach Creek Commons, Gamma, despite paying witness to Dexter's new habit just hours earlier, was beginning to feel the weight of doubt. "So," She began, changing the topic mentally as well as vocally. "Where are we meeting Eduardo, exactly?"

"I've arranged to meet Eduardo just a few yards away from Foster's," Dexter replied. "It seems that the monsters that aren't stuck in the actual home itself have fled as well, so it'll be much safer to talk on the streets."

The purple pelt of Eduardo appeared on the horizon and Dexter smiled at Gamma as he brought the bus to a halt, but upon gracing the hard tarmac Gamma froze as she saw the one thing in Eduardo's possession that she had prayed that he wouldn't hold in his hooves:

The largest, most over-stuffed, baby-blue bunny plushie Gamma had ever seen in her life.

She wasn't alone, for Dexter's eyes had locked onto the cuddly toy as well, strands of sweat clung to his hair as if they were orange icicles. "Hola, Señor Dexter," Eduardo greeted, completely unaware of the possible danger that his plushie was in. "I came, like you wanted me to," He showed Dexter the plushie, who, by then, was dripping with the sweaty urge to pounce. "And I brought Manuel to come and meet you, too, he's always wanted to meet a celebrity, you see."

"How… flattering," Dexter remarked, forcing the words out. Gamma couldn't help but feel sorry for her friend for being put under such pressure, however kept her lips sealed about the evidence piling up against Dexter as he stepped over to Eduardo, restraining himself with all of his might. "So… what exactly happened at the Halloween party when you brought your plushies?" He asked, making Eduardo ponder for a second.

"Well, I arrived at the party with Señor Ben, who promised me to take me to the party at the castle-thingy," He recalled slowly. "I took Pedro and Rita with me too, then I placed them down by the nachos…" Despite nodding and focussing with a serious gaze, Gamma could tell that Dexter's attention was fixed on the plushie, eyeing it hungrily and the scientist was about to get himself into a lot of trouble. The final nail in the coffin came when Eduardo got to the tragic bit in which he'd found his friends' 'corpses', unbeknownst to the fact that Dexter was about to take a large chunk from one of Manuel's legs.

Without thinking, Gamma grabbed the head of a hose nozzle connected to a water tap, she turned the knob and then aimed it at Dexter, who was eagerly anticipating plushie flesh in a matter of seconds.

He received a mouthful of pressured water instead.

Gamma didn't know what Dexter hated more, the fact that he'd been doused with ice-cold liquid or the fact that Gamma had been the one who'd soaked him. Eduardo had kindly fetched a towel for Dexter and he wiped his reddening face as he began to sit in the driver's seat. "What the heck brought that on, Gamma?" He roared, his reaction a lot less scarier than Gamma had imagined. "That's not like you, perhaps we need to have a little 'chat' when we get back to the laboratory-" The bus slowed down in front of a rather badly-made 'Road Closed' sign. An arrow below the words pointed to a rough-looking path leading into the forest and Gamma watched the purple sky worriedly as Dexter ranted. "People these days, just because the monsters leave for a moment doesn't mean that the world can continue normally!" She listened to his fumes. "Honestly…"

The fallen tree blocking the path in front of them only made Dexter more steamed. The hairs on Gamma's neck stood up and a nagging feeling told her that something wasn't quite right, but she felt that Dexter was in no mood to talk, considering that he'd given her a firm glare to say 'stay put', before venturing outside. Gamma watched Dexter for a moment, trying to pull the tree off the road with his bare hands, but was failing miserably and then took an interest at the pencil-shaped base of the log. Funny, shouldn't it be splintered, like most trees were when they break away from their stumps… ?

Then a cold thought pulsed through Gamma's mind.

The tree had been felled, it hadn't fallen by itself!

"Having a little trouble, are we?" A snake-like voice asked slyly, prompting a girl in a gaudy shirt and a bland mini-skirt to slither from the growing shadows. Her raven hair tied back and her bony figure made her look as snide as snide can be. Dexter was startled, but upon seeing the girl he relaxed.

"Ah, Swift Falconblaze, thank goodness you were passing by," He greeted and returned to making an attempt to dislodge the tree trunk. "Do you think you could help me move this so that I can get back to the laboratory?"

Swift grabbed Dexter and slammed him violently against the wood. "Why'd you choose her?" She spat viciously. "Why'd you choose a coward like Gamma Areothunder when you could've had me?" Gamma, now aware that the crazy teen didn't know she was watching, stepped out of the bus quietly and aimed the Null Void gun at Swift.

"Put him down," She ordered, causing Swift to turn and face her. "Now." Then Swift sneered, walking over to Gamma with a pride-filled swagger.

"Gamma Areothunder…" She recalled, looming over her enemy. "Last I saw of you was when we shoved you into the boys' bathroom!" The taller girl swiped at Gamma's collar, making her cough as she held her by the throat. Dexter remained frozen to his spot, shaking wildly as the last traces of sun-light disappeared behind the horizon. Gamma's gaze became fearful and she began fighting against Swift's powerful grip.

"Let me go! You don't realise what you're doing!" She protested but received a slap from Swift's remaining hand.

"Belt it, loser," She hissed. "This is what no-nothings like you get for taking my man away from me!" The girl raised her hand, causing Gamma to flinch, expecting to feel a sharp throb of pain strike her face, but a groan from Dexter saved her from being hit again by Swift.

Dexter doubled over for a moment, then he let out a pain-filled scream and grabbed the tree trunk, lifting it as if it was a feather over his head. He stood, staring that the girls for a moment, miniscule compared to the wood he was holding and thrust it over the shocked onlookers, causing tremors as it landed somewhere in the distance. Then Dexter looked at his hands, now bloated and out of shape, twitching madly as the fingers began to merge and make it seem that he was wearing mittens. Beads of sweat dotted his brow as his loafers creaked and groaned as the transformation took place beneath leather, then a tag burst out from behind his back, inscribed with the words 'Made in China' printed in black.

By then Dexter's height had increased, and he grabbed his right ear as another tag folded out from the lobe, inscribed with the letter 'D'. Then his loafers finally gave in, exploding into shreds and unmasking over-stuffed plushie feet that had merged with the trousers. Then Dexter's screams escalated as he looked at his now changed body, then he swerved his head and howled with a melodic voice at the waning moon.

Swift, by then, had probably lost her voice from screaming so much in horror. She keeled over, having fainted from the amount of fear she had experienced, Gamma stayed where she was, paler than she'd ever been before. She had watched Dexter's face as he morphed, kept calm by his unchanging, but pain-filled, face. Then she tore her gaze away, unable to look at him directly any more. Dexter growled and jumped over the two figures below, landing gracefully in front of Gamma, then he turned and looked down at her. Gamma kept her head down, frightened out of her wits by the fact she was about to be mauled by a giant plushie which, at one stage, had been a normal teen. "Now Dexter," She pleaded. "We can talk this through, just because I made you mad a few moments ago doesn't mean that you can kill me in revenge!" Her begging went down on deaf ears as Dexter prepared to pounce. "Please," She cried, one last time as he lunged at her. "REMEMBER!"