Dale walked into the Rangers HQ's gym, ready to tackle his daily chores. Monday was his day to organize the home gym and put away any left-out equipment. As he walked in, he noticed that Monterey Jack had left out some of the weights he had been using. Dale, unamused, walked over to the weights and tried to lift them. However, he struggled to do so and was unable to lift the weight off the ground.
Just as Dale was struggling, Monterey Jack walked back into the room and noticed Dale's difficulty. "Oh, sorry lad. Let me get that for you," he said, picking up the weight with ease and placing it on the rack. After Monterey Jack left, Dale stared at himself in the mirror, feeling frustrated with his skinny and non-muscular physique.
Noticing Dale's frustration, Monterey Jack asked what was wrong, and Dale expressed his desire to be as strong as him. Monterey Jack suggested that his melon rind recipe might help him, cautioning him to take small doses. He poured Dale a small glass of his special workout shake, and Dale quickly drank it, finding it not too bad.
Monterey Jack warned Dale to be careful with the shake and went back to his own chores. Dale, eager to gain strength, poured himself a larger glass of the shake and drank it quickly. Feeling energized, he went back to the weights and found that he could lift them with ease. Dale continued exercising until Chip began to question where he had gone.
Chip approached Gadget and the others, asking if they had seen Dale, and Monterey Jack mentioned that he had been in the gym. Chip, suspecting that Dale was slacking off, marched towards the gym. He could hear rock music playing in the background and swung the door open to find Dale intensely absorbed in a workout. Dale had become slightly more muscular and toned, and he greeted Chip as he placed a weight away.
Chip being caught off guard by Dale's physical appearance forgot about what he was going to say. "What are you doing?" He asked.
"Working out. Monty gave me some of his special melon rind recipe and it seems to be doing wonders for me. Just look at me." Dale said, posing in front of the mirror.
Chip rolled his eyes. "Right…Well, when you're done doing whatever it is you are doing come and help us start dinner." He said.
Dale looked at the clock on the wall. "Wow, It's been four hours already?" He questioned.
Back outside at the plane, the others were wrapping up work and putting away tools as Chip emerged again. "Did you find him?" Gadget asked.
Chip interrupted. "What did you give, Dale?" He asked while looking at Monterey Jack.
"Um. Some of my pre-workout mix. Why?" Monterey Jack asked.
Chip scoffed. "You'll see why soon enough." He said, walking away.
Monterey Jack and Gadget glared at each other in confusion as the scene transitioned to them standing in the living room as Dale emerged from the gym down the hall in his usual gym clothes. "Hey, guys," Dale said, removing the towel from around his neck.
Dale was shockingly different in his physical appearance. He was stronger than Monterey Jack and was physically built like a bodybuilder.
Gadget's eyes widened as she blushed profusely, turning away. "I'll be in my workshop if anyone needs me." She said, walking away.
Monterey Jack's jaw dropped. "Pally, what happened?" He asked.
"That melon rind stuff did the trick." He said flexing.
Dale continued flexing as Chip began to become annoyed. "Alright hotshot, how much of that juice did you drink?" He asked.
Dale continued admiring his new body as he kissed his biceps. Chip, now furious, bonked Dale on the head. "Can you stop acting like a moron for just one minute!" He shouted.
"Why? You guys didn't like me before, now you don't like me now?" Dale asked.
"What are you talking about? I didn't care that you weren't muscular." Chip said.
"Oh, you all did. The looks I got as I struggled in the gym." Dale said, recounting a memory.
The scene transitions to Dale's memory in the gym.
Chip and Monterey lifted weights as Gadget did her usual yoga exercises to the VHS tape playing on the TV. Zipper was elsewhere that day. Dale lifted a 30 lbs weight and tried curling it with his right arm.
He grunted as he tried lifting it. Straining himself with all his might. "Come on!" He managed to stammer.
Chip glanced over. "Dale, just pick a lighter weight." He said.
"I got this. Don't worry about me." Dale said, continuing to strain himself, now becoming red in the face.
Chip set his weight down and walked over to Dale. "Dale, you're turning red. You should take a break." He suggested.
Dale then out of breath became weak and dropped the weight. It landed on Chip's toe. "OUCH!" He shouted, jumping up and down.
Chip bumped into Dale, and both lost their balance and fell into a shelf which collapsed causing Monterey's drink mix to spill all over them. "Sorry." Dale simply replied as the pink liquid ran down Chip's face.
The memory fades back to the present time.
"Dale, I was telling you to pick a lighter weight so you wouldn't hurt yourself," Chip said.
Dale flexed some more as he glanced in the mirror. "Well, now no one can say I'm not strong anymore." He said.
"Pally, you shouldn't drink so much of that stuff. It will stunt your growth." Monterey Jack said.
"I'm not a kid anymore, Monty!" Dale exclaimed.
"Just calm down, Dale," Chip said.
"I am calm. I'm going back to work out." Dale said, heading back into the gym." He replied.
Chip waved his arm in defeat and went to bed. "I'm not dealing with this anymore tonight." He said, walking away.
Hours passed as Dale finally entered the bedroom. He lay in bed but couldn't sleep. He was wide awake and full of energy. He tossed and turned but to no avail and couldn't drift asleep. He stood up concerned and went over to Chip's bed and tapped his shoulder. "Chip, I can't sleep," Dale whispered.
Chip groaned. "Why don't you go do a few more exercises, that will make you sleepy." He said.
Dale left the bedroom. As the hours ticked by and the sun came over the horizon, Chip awoke to see Dale's bed empty. He rolled his eyes and checked the gym. Dale was not there. Confused and slightly concerned he looked around, eventually going out to the front porch. There sat Dale up against the trunk of the tree. His eyes were bloodshot, and he looked worn out.
"Dale, are you okay?" Chip asked.
"I-I can't sleep, Chip. I tried and tried, but nothing works." Dale stammered.
"Maybe we should go see a doctor." Chip suggested.
Dale nodded without reply. Later that morning, Chip arrived with Dale at the local animal hospital hollowed out in a tree where all the other animals in the park go to. They sat inside the doctor's office. The doctor eventually entered.
"Hello, Dale. What seems to be the issue?" The doctor asked.
"I can't sleep. I keep trying but nothing is happening." Dale said.
"Okay, when did you sleep last?" The doctor asked.
"Two nights ago," Dale replied.
"Okay, any possible reason as to why you are not sleeping?" He asked.
"Not a clue, I've been on a new workout routine and that's about it," Dale said.
The doctor nodded. "I can see that. Well, let's perform a few tests and possibly a physical examination to determine the cause." He suggested.
"Okay, sure." Dale reluctantly agreed.
Chip stood up and headed for the door. "I'll be outside, Dale." He said.
"You can stay, Chip. It's just a couple of tests." Dale said.
"I'd rather not, Dale. We are brothers but it would be a bit awkward." Chip said, leaving the room and closing the door.
Dale still confused turned back as the doctor was putting examination gloves on. "Alright, Dale. This should only take a few minutes." He said as the glove snapped against his paw.
Dale gulped as his eyes widened. Some time passed as Chip reentered the room after the doctor briefly left to consult the test results with other staff members. However, the doctor eventually returned with some news that Dale was not too pleased to hear.
"The steroid effects should wear off. I recommend discontinuing them. At the quantity you are taking, your risk for heart disease is extremely high." The doctor stated.
"But, what if I just take a smaller dose?" Dale asked.
"I'm giving you a month to live if you keep going the way you are going. The doses you have been taking are so high, they are beyond comprehension. It's no wonder how you gained so much muscle mass in a short duration. You have taken a year's quantity of steroids in less than a week." The doctor explained.
"It's for the best, Dale," Chip reassured.
"Well, I guess I will just have to settle with the body I have now," Dale said while shrugging.
"That will wear off over the next little while." The doctor quickly remarked.
Dale began to stammer. "Y-You mean I'll be back to my old self?" He asked.
"Yep, and Dale, if you want to build your muscles you should try doing it naturally in stages. Or watch one of those fitness tapes from Blockbuster." He said.
Dale pouted as Chip guided him to the door. "Thanks, doc." Chip subtly replied as the two headed back to Ranger HQ.
As time passed on, the steroid effects eventually wore off and Dale was back to his self-conscious self. Dale watched from the window outside the gym as he gazed with disappointment. "I'll never be as strong as him," he thought to himself. In truth, Dale was slightly depressed by the doctor's orders. Chip eventually looked up and saw Dale outside on a branch as his feet dangled in the wind.
Chip walked out and sat down next to Dale. "Everything okay, Dale?" He asked even though he knew why Dale was sitting there.
Dale took a deep breath and then sighed. "I'm just a little disappointed. I wanted to become stronger and impress you but I couldn't even do that right." He said.
Chip caught off guard confused by what Dale said replied "Why are you trying to impress me? I don't care if you're physically strong or not." He said.
"Everyone has a purpose on this team, Chip. I just goof around. I wanted this to be my chance to be good at something." Dale said as he stood up. Chip stood as Dale began to walk away.
"Dale, we seem to have this conversation a lot but you never seem to remember, do you?" Chip asked.
Dale stopped and turned to Chip. "Remember what?" He asked.
Chip approached Dale. "You do not owe me or this team anything. We like you for who you are, and you should accept that. I don't want you to make your life all about trying to prove to me that you are worthy of being a member of this team. Truth is Dale, you will always have a place in this team because you are family and most importantly you are my best friend. My only friend when I come to think about it." He explained.
Dale cracked a little grin as he briefly hugged Chip. "Thank you, Chip." He replied.
"You will always be worth something to me. Come on, the others are probably wondering what happened to us." Chip said as he led Dale back inside.
The End.