Done playing around, Wolf brought up Scarlet's arm and dug his teeth into it. "NO!" Scarlet yelled in protest. She kicked him once to get away from him, and he let her go. She clutched the wound and held it to her chest, the blood barely noticeable against the red of her hoodie.

Goldi knew the split second of contact between Wolf's contaminated self and Scarlet's blood was enough. The connection was short and sweet – well, not sweet – and all the contagion needed.

Right in front of Goldi's eyes, Scarlet changed. Her teeth protruded from her mouth, her muscles became more visible under her clothes, her eyes dimmed and changed from brown to yellow. The girl took a deep breath, smiling and licking her lips as the air then left her.

"I feel ... alive," she said, exhilarated.

Wolf took her hand and gently rubbed the back with the pad of his thumb. "Now .. do you understand?"

Scarlet only smiled brighter. "Yes," she admitted. "I completely understand. And ... I agree with you. The world needs this."

Cad, with a new sense of pride, boomed, "I knew it! This is helping us! We all need this, the world needs this!" He turned to Goldi. "Don't you see? This gas can bring the people of Luna and Earth together into one species. The gas with eliminate glamours and their villainy. No one will ever harm another again, because we'll all understand one another. We'll all understand everything!"

Goldi backed away with her ax pointed at Cad. Scarlet and Wolf were too distracted by one another to notice Goldi.

"We can be together, Goldi," Cad assured. "I know ... I know you love me. I could tell by the way you were disappointed when I changed what I was saying. I wasn't going to say you should rest. I was going to tell you I loved you. But .. that felt wrong. Telling you I loved you when I thought I was going to die. And now .. I know I'm not going to die."

Goldi gulped. How he was so spot on when he was oblivious less than half an hour ago showed Goldi how dangerous the gas was. It was enhancing his perception of events previous to the gas entering his system.

But he was right. She loved him, and it was killing her to see him like this. She repeated to herself in her mind, over and over, This isn't Cad. This isn't him. He would never do this to anyone.

"Goldi," Cad said, his breath shaky. "I love you."

Her heart nearly leaped out of her chest.

He saw her delight and matched it. "I love you, Goldi. You're the only thing that kept me from going insane in LSOP. You were my best friend in the whole world, and you're everything to me. I would do anything to be with you. And that's why .. I have to turn you."

Up to that point, the confession of his love was beautiful. The middle was a tad cliche, but the end was straight up freaky. It woke Goldi from her trance, and got her feet moving.

She ran. What she told herself after bolting was that the gas was forcing Cad to mess with her. To play upon her affections for him and use them against her. To get her to volunteer for the change. It was sick, and the more she thought about it, the more she thought Cad was lying. That it was a trick.

Running with a cyborg leg you got recently is not an easy task. It was like trying to run with a cinder block tied to your foot.

Cad was on her shortly after. He grabbed the end of her hood and pulled her back to him. He caught her in his arms, ans she struggled to get away.

"You think this gas is messing with me, and that that's the only reason I'm saying this. But that's not true! I've loved you since we were kids and I never worked up the courage to tell you. I loved you too much to tell you I was leaving. I loved you too much to let your brothers fend for themselves in LSOP. And the moment the Revolution was over, I started looked for you! I knew you were probably dead, but I went to your house and looked for you. Goldi, I won't lose you, ever again!"

He sank his teeth into her neck and she cried out in pain. Her aches and twinges of discomfort all converging on where Cad bit her. She could hardly breathe.

Goldi's retinal scanner counted eight seconds. Then Cad released his bite on her. He gave her support to prevent her from falling, and eagerly awaited her change.

She felt something rising up her throat. A force she couldn't stop. She cocked her head to the side and hurled.

In the puke, there was some blood, making Goldi feel even queasier. Though that was the only thing she felt, physical pain wise.

Her heart was breaking, and her mind was muddled with wondering if Cadmar was telling the truth or if the gas was doing this.

It doesn't matter, she thought. He is trying to turn you into a monster.

Cadmar watched her, bewildered and angered. "Why isn't it working?" He traced his fingers over the mark on her neck. The motion almost tender, yet it made Goldi throw her head back. She cursed the only curses she knew.

"Let me go, you nimrod!" She twisted and squirmed in his vise like grip. "You're an airhead!"

Cad ignored her lame insults and continued to examine the bite he gave her. "Why aren't you changing?!" He leaned closer to her, to get a better look at the wound. He found nothing out of the ordinary.

"Let me go!" she screamed. Seeing no other way of escape, she punched him in the nose. She forgot her left arm was composed of metal, and she heard a crack as her fist met his nose. The snap coaxed him into dropping her, even if he didn't mean to.

She wanted to bolt, but seeing Cad's face, she felt drawn back to him. His muscles relaxed, and his eyes ... they faded from yellow back to green. He fell to his knees, and his breathing went ragged. Wolf and the now insane Scarlet peered around the corner to watch them.

Slowly, Cad rose to his feet. His expression contorted in fear and uncertainty. "Goldi?" He stared at his hands. They were covered in blood. "What have I done?"

Somehow, she knew he was cured. His eyes were back to normal and he was no longer trying to kill or turn her. Plus, the murderous glints in Scarlet and Wolf's eyes told her they no longer saw Cad as one of their own.

On instinct, Goldi grabbed Cad's wrist and ordered, "Run!"

..................

Down the halls, Scarlet and Wolf chased after Goldi and Cad. As they got further, Cad found himself tugging Goldi along more than more. She was slower, and not used to running with her artificial leg. It got to the point where Cad had to hold Goldi in one arm and do all of the running himself.

But Goldi didn't stop helping. She grabbed a handful of screws out of her pocket – from the vent grate she took down, he guessed – and set them in a device in her metal index finger on her left hand. As if turned out, that finger also functioned as a gun, and Goldi shot at Wolf and Scarlet. The incoming screws slowed them down somewhat. Allowing Cad to carry Goldi out of the battle zone.

Cad rounded a few corners before finding his path blocked by Queen Selene and several guards.

"Stop and put Goldinia down!" the queen commanded.

Goldi hopped down and yelled, "Don't shoot! Cad's cured, but Scarlet and Wolf aren't!"

The Alpha mates came barging in, and upon seeing the guards with guns, booked it back down the way they came. Selene motioned for half of her guards to follow them, though all looked hesitant to do so.

She eyed Cadmar, uncertain. "How do you know he's cured?"

Goldi calmly walked up to the queen. "When someone is affected by the gas, their eyes turn yellow. You saw Wolf and Scarlet's eyes, right?" Taking a moment, Selene recalled the color of their eyes and agreed with Goldi. "Well, Cad's eyes are green again. Which means, he's good. Plus, he's not trying to turn anyone or kill anyone, so that has to mean something."

"What do you think could have changed him back?" Selene questioned. Then added, "And what happened to your neck?"

She winced at the mention of it, and Cad was overwhelmed with guilt. "Those questions kind of have the same answer. Cad bit me, but it didn't change me. It changed him. I don't know how, but him biting me cured him."

Selene was more than suspicious. She had a pistol tucked under her belt that she was more than ready to use. Still, on a leap of faith, she trusted Goldi. Only Goldi.

"Fine, but we're going to keep your friend under observation until we completely figure all of this out. And we're going to check your system and your blood content levels to make sure you're not infected."

Goldi agreed. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Selene seemed to trust Goldi, but the feeling was not extended to Cad. She told the remainder of her guards, "Put restraints on him."

Cad offered no resistance. He was motionless as the guards cuffed him and held him at gunpoint. Goldi, on the other hand, was furious.

"Why in the name of Luna are you cuffing him?! He's cured! He's not a threat to anyone!"

Selene stayed calm and collected, despite Goldi's attitude. "We don't know if he's faking or if any of the gas is still inside of him. Maybe what you're thinking cured him is only temporary. We can't take any chances."

Goldi was far from happy about it. She trudged on, trying to sneak to the back of the group to stand with Cad. The guards wouldn't let her, and neither would Selene. Only inflaming Goldi's rage more.

In all honesty, Cad was slightly relieved that the guards restrained him. He remembered everything he'd done. From killing that dying scientist, to biting Goldinia. It was all there, and so were the emotions that connected to those few memories. He felt sick, he felt ashamed,

He felt like he deserved to be locked up and treated like the monster he'd become.

One part of the venture he remembered vividly was telling Goldi how he felt about her. How he truly felt. He made it sound like Goldi was weak and pathetic for loving and befriending him. The way he practically insulted her for caring about him, if it was even true.

She hadn't denied it, though Cad thought it may have been due to her being in fear for her life. He hoped she didn't feel that way for him now. That she wouldn't want to be with him in the future. He loved her, too much to let her be with someone who'd nearly killed her.

He sank his teeth into her. No one who truly loved someone would do something that torturous to them. (Cough. Twilight. Cough.) Cad despised himself for hurting Goldi. He loathed himself for being so selfish for her affections as to be in her life right now. He was no better than Goldi's mother.