The following morning graced Gamma in the form of her alarm clock blaring rudely into her ear, making her dull eyes shoot open and it tore her away from her dreams. She moaned, knowing that she'd only gotten about four hours of sleep on both nights before the present day and pulled herself away from her bed. Gamma looked at the panda-like shadows around her eye-lids in a mirror she often hid under her pillow and rubbed her head, suddenly recalling the events in the alleyways. Then worry hit her like lightning, had Dexter been found as a plushie? Had he left the medical bay before changing back? Was he now at the mercy of the other recruits who could possibly be forming a blood-thirsty mob as Gamma asked herself all of these questions? She forgot all about the need to go back to sleep very quickly and made her way over to the medical ward, praying that Dexter hadn't gotten himself into trouble.
The prayer was soon answered, for Gamma almost instantly caught sight of the white lab-coat that was hunched over a messed up bed, probably one that the boy genius had taken slumber in the night before. Then he raised his head and turned, causing Gamma to step back, but it wasn't Dexter's furious gaze nor his clenched fists that planted fresh worry in the equally as tired girl's mind.
It was the very familiar looking throw-tag that hung from a pair of felt, plushie-like ears that caught Gamma by surprise. "Well?" Dexter asked, unaware of the new addition to his appearance. "Where were you last night?"
Gamma hesitated. "You don't remember, do you?" She watched the scientist's eyes narrow.
"… 'Don't remember'? What do you mean 'don't remember'?" He attempted to approach Gamma crossly. "We went back after you so rudely sprayed me with ice-cold hose water!" Gamma stepped back even further, unable to cope with her friend's fuming rage for much longer. She soon realised that she had to show Dexter what remained of his plushie form and caught sight of a little hand mirror, similar to her own, resting on one of the many cabinets beside the hospital beds and shielded herself with it.
"Dexter, look at yourself!" She ordered and heard Dexter scoff.
"Gamma, don't be silly, there's nothing wrong with my…" Upon hearing him trail off Gamma felt a lump of guilt build up in her throat, and it only got worse when Dexter's voice rose up in a cry of disbelief. "No…" She felt him take the mirror from her hands and stared at his reflection. "No… no! No! No! No! No!" Tear welled up in his eyes as he set the mirror down on the mattress nearest to him and slumped down on it too, covering his face with his hands.
After a few moments of watching Dexter sob Gamma began to return to his side. "Dexter… ?" She took the chance to place a hand on her friend's shoulders, making him look up to her sadly.
"Oh, Gamma," Dexter cried. "What am I going to do? I don't want to change into a plushie every night for the rest of my life!" Gamma put an arm around his back sympathetically and lowered her gaze. It was all her fault, had she not gotten herself separated from Dexter then maybe he wouldn't be going through so much agony as he was being forced through now. She should've just kept quiet and her mouth completely shut, then maybe Dexter wouldn't have been bitten in the first place.
"Um…" A voice that Gamma recalled very vaguely. "Is this a bad time for me to be here?" Both of them looked up to see Billy, who had entered the room with Runty perched on his shoulders. Dexter almost immediately covered the tag with his hand, attempting to hide it shamefully. "I've already seen that doohickey in your ear, if it helps…"
"Billy helped me stop your rampage last night, you see," Gamma explained, backing Billy up with her own evidence. "He helped out a lot, trust me."
Dexter, now reassured by the others, slowly took his palm away from the tag in the knowledge that nobody else would ever see him like this again-
"DEXTER!" A pink blur darted through the doors and embraced Dexter, revealing itself to be Dee Dee. "I'm so glad you're okay!" She wailed. "Billy told me what happened and I wanted to make sure you hadn't been hurt!"
Dexter's eyes widened and he looked over at Billy. "You told her?" Billy began twiddling his thumbs and he laughed nervously.
"Uh… Yeah, about that," Runty looked just as tense as his master was. "Well, you see, um… how can I explain this?"
"That's enough, Billy," A firm voice reassured as it opened slowly. Double-D emerged, followed by Eddy and Numbah Five from the corridor outside. "I'll explain things from here," Dexter began to reach for his ear, preparing to hide the tag again, but Double-D stopped him. "You don't have to hide it, Dexter, Billy told me everything," Then he shot a glare at Eddy. "But preventing Eddy from grabbing a camera to try and capture photographic proof that wereplushies actually exist was tough enough on it's own."
Eddy shrugged. "Well a guy's gotta make a living somehow!"
"Then they came over to me and told me everything, too," Numbah Five joined in. "Dee Dee was listenin' too, so she came along just to see if you were okay, Dex," She smiled at Dexter as his confidence returned. "We've all come together so that we can help find a cure for you!"
Dexter looked at his friends for a brief moment. "Are you all absolutely sure you want to help me that much?" Everybody nodded, eager to get started. "Very well then," He stood up and turned to Numbah Five and Double-D. "You two can help me with research, who knows, there could be something useful out there," Dexter then addressed Billy and Dee Dee. "I need you two to guard the entrance, the last thing we need is a psychotic mob of fan-girls watching us work!"
"And what about me?" Eddy asked, slightly annoyed that he hadn't been mentioned yet. Dexter pondered.
"Um… Eddy, you can distract anybody who manages to get past Billy and Dee Dee," He caught onto Eddy's annoyed face before the scammer could even show it. "If anybody we can't trust gets in, then you are our last line of defence, can you do this for me?"
Eddy nodded, then it was Gamma's turn to feel left out.. "Dexter," She whispered. "What about me?" Dexter looked at her for a moment.
"I need you," He began and touched Gamma's hand for a second. "To stay with me and give me the full details about what happened last night."
Gamma turned scarlet and felt Dexter's hand leave her grasp, then she followed him, unable to suss out the meaning of his words.
"Darn! There's nothing on wereplushies here!" Numbah Five groaned and slammed a fist down on the desk she was sitting at, scanning a computer monitor as she explored the internet. The operations had moved away from the medical clinic to the research sector of the lab at the back of the building, far away from public eye as possible. "Found anything, Double-D?"
Double-D sighed as he read another computer monitor showing information on monster sightings next to Numbah Five. "I've found nothing too, and the last site nearly gave me a Trojan!" Then he glanced over to where Dexter was asking Gamma questions at the back of the room. "I just hope that Gamma can provide us with something helpful, considering she's encountered Dexter in his plushie form first-hand…"
"… What exactly happened when I cornered you and Runty in the alleyway?" Dexter asked to a very drowsy Gamma, who was trying to stay awake frantically.
"Let me think…" She replied, closing her eyes slowly. "… I pleaded to you to stop… then I forced myself to look at you directly in the eyes… then you stopped…" She hadn't realised that she'd missed out most of the detail. "… And… and… and then Billy fell upon you from the top of the walls and knocked you unconscious."
Dexter pondered. "Did Billy use any sort of weapon against me?"
Gamma's mind brought out the wedge of cheese in her memory. "Billy used a wedge of very old cheese to knock you out by making you take in the putrid stench of the terrible thing," She didn't see Double-D's head turn, his eyes wide with shock. "He claimed that he'd come across it near Mount Blackhead, just a few miles away from the forest, in fact."
Double-D got up from his seat. "Dexter, may I please have a word with Billy for a moment?" He asked, voice jumpy with tension. Dexter gave Double-D a nod and Numbah Five threw her hands up in frustration as the other researcher left the room.
"The internet just died!" She moaned and turned to Dexter. "Don't you have any time to invent a better kind of internet connection, or somethin'?" Dexter glared at Numbah Five.
"I would…" He replied. "IF I WASN'T TRYING TO SAVE THE WORLD FROM BEING CONSUMED BY PLANET FUSION ALL OF THE TIME!" Both Gamma and Numbah Five flinched at Dexter's aggravated tone of voice.
"Whoa, Dex," Numbah Five pleaded, slightly shocked. "I was just tryin' to lighten the mood a little."
Dexter sighed. "I'm sorry," He apologised and lowered his head. "I'm just… worried, that's all…" The boy genius looked at the two girls sadly. "I'm scared that we're going to find out that there's no cure at all."
For once, Dexter looked absolutely defeated, and the fact that he'd never said that he was scared before caused the stab of guilt to pierce Gamma once more. "Maybe we can cure you with a more traditional method," She suggested, attempting to make herself useful. "When the internet boots up again try looking up cures that claim to work on werewolves and see where that takes us." Dexter lifted his head, beginning to feel hopeful again.
"That's not a bad idea," He turned to Numbah Five. "You think we could try that?" Numbah Five nodded and then, about five minutes later, the internet decided to play nice again.
"Did I miss anything important?" Double-D asked as he came back into the room, prompting Dexter and Gamma to come over to the two monitors.
"Gamma suggested trying out methods that could cure werewolves," Dexter replied as he scanned the text on the screen. "Maybe one that we find could work on wereplushies too-ah! What about that one?" He pointed at a small chunk of words. Numbah Five gasped.
"Silver?" She looked at Dexter. "Are you crazy? The only way that silver can cure werewolves is if they're stabbed or shot by it!"
"Read further," Dexter instructed. "It says that wearing silver in human form could be enough to prevent transformations at night."
All three looked at Gamma, who suddenly felt intimidated. "Well don't look at me!" She protested. "I never set a foot near jewellery!"
The looks turned on Numbah Five, who pointed at Gamma. "What she said," She folded her arms calmly. "Numbah Five don't wear jewellery anyways." All four of them pondered for a moment before Dexter rushed to the door.
"Uh… Dee Dee, can I speak with you for a moment, please?"
It took several tries, but Dexter eventually managed to convince his sister not only to give him some silver jewellery, but also managed to get Dee Dee to sacrifice some of her plushies for his 'experiments'. Gamma found herself gazing at Dexter in front of a glass screen, one of his experimentation rooms, and looked at his neck that had become adorned with a silver-and-pink, heart-shaped pendant. "You ready?" Numbah Five called, preparing to launch a purple dog-plushie into the exhibit. Dexter nodded and she hurled the poor toy through the entrance and slammed it shut.
Gamma didn't know how many seconds passed, but she managed to catch the blur that was Dexter as he lunged at the doomed plushie. Numbah Five sighed and slapped her forehead while Gamma shrugged, watching toy entrails hit the glass like blood. "Well," She joked. "At least the pendant looks good on him."
The next attempts followed the same generic pattern, the methods getting more and more absurd as Dexter tried out ointments, metals and even eating different kinds of cotton in the hopes that it would act like wolfbane remedies until Dee Dee refused to let her sibling set one foot near her toys any longer. "Perhaps we should all take a break," Double-D suggested, sensing frayed nerves in the air. "Maybe we just need time to think things through clearly, yes?"
Almost immediately Gamma headed to the roof-top, the one place she could always go to if she needed to cry or rest in peace, and welcomed the cool blasts of Autumn air on her face. She walked over to the middle of the floor and looked up wistfully at the pale-purple sky…
"Hey." Gamma whipped around to see Dexter approaching. She glanced at the heavens nervously.
"I'd be careful if I were you," She warned. "It's nearly dark…"
Dexter shrugged. "I'm sure we'll be okay out here," He smiled. "And besides, I'll make sure I'm in a place I can't break out of when I change, I promise." Gamma still felt unsure, she lowered her gaze quietly. "Why aren't you looking at me?" She turned to face her friend.
"I'm scared," She whispered. "I feel like as if this is all my fault, and I'm the one that should be punished for all the pain you're going through-"
"Don't say that!" Dexter protested, putting his hands on Gamma's shoulders. "You can't be blamed, I was the one who wanted to know what that beast was doing out at the cul-de-sac in the first place," Gamma sighed, but Dexter's hands became tighter. "Gamma," He insisted. "You have a story to tell, a story that people never wanted to listen to, so much so that you cried out to anybody for their ears," She began to look up at her friend, reaching his shoulders. "Well…" Dexter spread his arms out wide. "Now's your chance."
"… I…" Gamma faltered, unsure where to start. "The other girls have always been mean to me, partly because we all like you a lot and partly because of my appearance," She forced herself to relive the memories. "But the main reason why the girls make fun of me is because I'm…" Gamma raised her head with her eyes closed, planning to allow Dexter to see into the soul hidden underneath eye-lids and showing the scientist the truth as she opened her windows into the world.
But the scenario never happened.
"Come on," Dexter coaxed, unaware that his cheeks had turned unusually pink. "Don't be nervous, you can tell me!"
Gamma began to back away. "We need to get you locked up," She ordered. "Now." Her instructions came too late, for Dexter doubled over once more, now at the mercy of the navy sky. He raised his head and looked at Gamma one last time.
"Warn the others and get away from me as soon as you can!" Then he screamed, unable to keep the transformation at bay any longer. Gamma bolted, thundering down the corridors before encountering Eddy, who had probably been sent to fetch the duo.
"Don't go up there!" She warned, making Eddy turn very wary.
"Is he… ?" He asked, and within a second a haunting howl answered his question. Eddy then followed Gamma, running as fast as legs could carry and Gamma's eyes fell upon the others, waiting for the group to reform. Double-D was the first to spot Gamma and Eddy.
"What's the matter?" He asked. Gamma skidded to a halt in front of the group.
"Dexter's changing," She huffed out, bringing terrified looks to the others. "He told me to get you guys out of here as soon as-" Her words were silenced, for a familiar growl made Gamma turn to see a large, mitten-like hand as it grabbed the walls of the corner. Dee Dee's eyes brimmed with tears.
"No…" She gasped, weeping with fear. "Dexter… no, no, no!" Dexter emerged in front of the group, now completely a plushie, looming over them with startling authority and snarling as he approached.
"Holy cra-" Eddy shouted, but the rest of his words were drowned out as Dexter roared, then the wereplushie's eyes locked onto Gamma, prompting her to panic.
"Scatter!" She shouted and, in the same state as she was, the group broke up, leaving Gamma to face Dexter on her own. She headed towards the entrance lobby of the lab, hoping to trap him as the plushie charged after her on all fours. Gamma followed the signs until the corridors suddenly expanded into a hotel-like reception area and saw the glass doors, darting over to them and found herself in a frenzy of trying to tear them open so that she could escape. The lock wouldn't budge, making Gamma say a few words that couldn't be printed on paper. "Not now of all times!" She turned to see Dexter pull his way into the room. "Oh, darn it!" She groaned. "I'm really bad at this 'escaping' business…"
Gamma suddenly recalled the events of the previous night, and, to her relief, Dexter halted as soon as she made eye contact with him. She watched as he got to his feet, observing her as she began to walk, this time with more confidence, over to repeat her gestures that had been left unfulfilled. Stretching out her hand, Gamma began to feel unsure, she still half-expected Dexter to rip her arm off, but he remained in his place as his eyes followed her fingers, examining how they almost touched his cheek…
A second later, Gamma had been introduced to something she'd never encountered before.
Her palm cupped around Dexter's face, feeling the softness she'd failed to reach previously, and at last was relieved of her fears. Gamma's eyes welled up with tears, now in the knowledge that she wasn't in any danger and bit her lip to stop a sob from escaping her throat, Dexter began to whimper, sensing her emotions. He dabbed at Gamma's face with his clumsy hands, attempting to wipe her tears, and then Gamma caved in, wrapping her hands around his back in thanks. She buried her head into his warm chest, breathing heavily.
Dexter remained silent for a moment, unsure how to respond, but then he held his friend close as she wept, unable to stop tears falling from his face as well. "… Please," He suddenly begged, his voice slightly lower than before and almost child-like. "Gamma, please don't be scared," Gamma looked up at Dexter, wide-eyed, caught unaware by his ability to speak. "You don't have to be frightened any more, I'm here, I'll protect you."
To Gamma, seeing Dexter talk like a child seemed strange, but she became more relaxed. "We need to find the others and tell them you're okay," She began, recollecting herself. "At least you're not dangerous-" Dexter became distressed.
"Dangerous? I'm not dangerous! I just wasn't sure that you were a threat or not, that's all!" He placed his hands on Gamma's shoulders gently. "I'm sorry," He apologised. "I… I'm still scared."
Gamma began to blush as she took one of his hands fondly. "I do understand," She watched as Dexter turned scarlet as well. "Besides, you actually look kinda cute, in my opinion!"
"Really?" Dexter's eyes grew bright as he began to smile. Gamma nodded and the two looked at each other nervously.
"How cute," A snide voice laughed, cutting through the moment. A girl had entered the lobby, her emerald eyes sharper than daggers and she fondled her long, golden hair. "It seems that the beauty-" She looked at Dexter. "-Has fallen in love with the beast!" Gamma's eyes dulled as the girl fixed a cold gaze that could stop a clock onto her imperfect body. Dexter growled, but seemed bewildered.
"… Luce?"