Chapter Twelve
#12 of Ms Dale
Meanwhile, Foxglove, having been unable to sleep, found herself sitting on a ledge, gazing in the moonlight. Even after the hours that had passed, she was still sobbing to herself- though, by now her sobs had died down into soft, sniffles. She knew Dale had been hurt when she flew off like she did. She also knew that she herself was hurt. A part of her kept nagging at her ever since she took off, but had only just starting to listen to it as she started to calm down. How could she dump Dale of something like a body- after all they had been through? The date nights, the times she joined their missions, the ways he made her laugh, intentionally or not- did all of that mean anything to her? Yes, of course it did; that's why it hurt to break it off. Then why did she do it, her nagging voice demanded. It was still Dale! Maybe so, she started to reason, but it wasn't her Dale. She felt her own mind bristle in confusion, so she continued to try and piece everything together. Looking at the Dale she had met yesterday, there was no mistaking she was female- change in wardrobe, aside. She readily acknowledged that she couldn't even begin to understand the sheer pain of her transformation. She could see not wanting to go through that again, even if to reverse what had been done.
There was one thing, however, that she didn't understand. Why didn't Dale keep his former male identity? She knew humans did so in far less... extreme circumstances. From what they could gather, it was like they just threw Mr. Dale away, and replaced him with Ms. Dale. Maybe that was it. Dale, whether or not she retained her personality, was a both in body and mind. It wasn't that she had anything against same sex couples, it just wasn't for her. Sadly that meant that Dale wasn't for her, anymore. Did that mean she didn't love Dale as much as she thought she did? She had to have, or it wouldn't have hurt this much, would it? If so, then why would her gender be an issue? On the other hand, if not, then what was Dale to her?
She gave an exhausted groan as she tossed her head back. She couldn't think of an answer for the first question, and the second would have hurt too much to even think of an answer. It was so confusing! Why did all of this have to happen? Why have it happen to her? She sat there for a few minutes, waiting for an answer to come to her. First Ten minutes, then thirty. Finally, she gave up, closed her eyes and sighed. Maybe if the Universe couldn't give the answer, then maybe a distraction, instead?
As if on cue, she heard the distinctive sound of a bat's wing flapping from behind her. Her eyes opened, and looked back at the newcomer. Given her position, she was looking at him upside down. It was a male bat. She turned herself around proper to get a good look at him. Light brown fur, an even lighter shaded muzzle and underbelly, an impressive dark brown wing span, a pair of black, round rimmed glasses, and a dashing, purple bow tie around his neck. From behind his glasses, his emerald eyes gleamed in the moonlight. He smiled a bit, showing off his fangs. The glasses and bow tie should have killed it, but somehow, he made it work, and he was handsome!
"That'll do," she muttered to herself. "Um, hello, there," she said more audibly.
"Oh, hello," The bat smiled, with a curt bow, and twirl of his wing. "My pet-name is MC, but I much prefer the name Spex. Who might I have the honor of making acquaintance?"
"Um, okay, Spex," Foxglove replied. "My name is Foxglove."
"Nice to meet you, Foxglove," Spex smiled, warmly.
Without knowing what else to say, the two stood there for an awkward minute, until Foxglove managed to speak up.
"So, um," she asked. "Was there anything I help you with?"
"Oh, well," Spex answered, "I was flying about, when just so happened to notice a lovely lady all by herself at this time of night." He paused, and took a deep breath, and let it out before he continued. "And, if I may, year."
Foxglove blinked, and turned away to check herself; she heard idle whistling, and assumed Spex had turned away to allow her some modesty. After a quick self examination, she confirmed it. She was in heat. Maybe that was why she was so emotional? Even if it wasn't, it certainly didn't help. Come to think of it, that was why she had dropped by. She needed someone to see her through her mating season. Dale, who she'd thought was still a boy- not to mention her boyfriend, was the perfect candidate. It was going to be the first heat she'd share with him. It was going to be special, and best of all- no kids. Contrary to what most humans like to fantasize, bat and chipmunks are genetically incompatible. But, now look at her. Alone, in heat, and poking herself, in the presence of, for all intents and purposes, a stranger that she was compatible with.
"Everything's all wrong," Foxglove sighed, as she drew her legs in and wrapped her wings around them.
"Care to talk about it," Spex asked, venturing a look at look at her.
"You wouldn't believe me," Foxglove muttered.
"Oh you'd be surprised at what I'd believe," Spex smiled. "Much more at what I've seen."
Foxglove looked back at Spex, who a simple shrug and a smirk. Foxglove couldn't resist a smile herself. She scooched over, and patted a wing on the spot next to her. Spex accepted her offer, and plopped himself on the ledge, to her right. He looked at Foxglove, his face making no effort to hide his expectancy of the tale she had. Foxglove, chuckled a bit before explaining what happened. For his part, Spex didn't say anything, he just hummed and ah'd and shook his head. Even if he wasn't listening, Foxglove was happy for a chance to talk, and talk she did. By the time she had finished, she felt as if a knot in her chest had finally, and suddenly, untangled itself. She was glad that she had spilled everything, but did not know what to expect to happen next. Still, among the last thing she expected was what came out of Spex's mouth.
"Actually, I'd be very surprised if he managed to keep his male identity," Spex said casually.
For a moment, the gears of Foxglove's seemed to kink, stop, and start back up again. When she came to her senses, "Wait, what" was all that she could manage.
"Oh, yes," Spex nodded. "I know all about the machine, and formulas used in it. Mainly because, I am a central part of it."
Foxglove's eyes grew wide. "So, it's your fault all this happened?"
"I had my part in it, yes," Spex answered as he rubbed the back of his head.
Foxglove's eyes showed a quick flash of fury, before she closed them- a blink-and-you-miss-it flash, of unbridled, blood curdling, spine chilling fury. It was unfortunate that Spex didn't blink. She had half a mind to throttle him on the spot. Her other half, though, reminded her of what he had said. She took a deep breath, and let it out.
"Okay," she said, her wing pressed against her temples; she'll deal with that later. "What did you mean by 'you'd be surprised'?"
"If I explain," Spex responded, with a slight tremble in his voice. "Will you promise not to hurt me?"
Foxglove calmly shook her head. She'd make no such promises.
"Will you at least promise to leave the face alone?"
Foxglove thought for a moment and nodded.
Spex sighed, steeling himself for the onslaught of what was to come. "Well, It's a might complicated to fully explain right now, but Professor Nimnul is a genius- say what you will about him. He not only discovered a macroscopically mutagenic enzyme, but developed a way to control it. That pretty much means if the body has enough natural resources, i.e body fat, bone and muscle mass, et cetera et cetera, he can turn any living creature into another. Through trials and errors best left forgotten," he paused and shuttered. "He quickly confirmed that the most efficient changes to make were the smaller ones."
"Like their sex," Foxglove gasped.
"Exactly," Spex nodded. "Now what you need to realize is that this enzyme has two features in its method of action. First, it can use bodily resources to make to make copies of itself. Secondly, it works at a genetic level- which, in and of itself, presents a multitude of risks, most of them being cancerous."
Foxglove gasped, and Spex was quick to raise his wings.
"The risks are low, mind you," he quickly amended. "If your lover has yet to develop cancer of any sort, I'm quite certain that she is in the clear." A dramatic pause. "The same cannot be said if she were to try and reverse the process, as that would be nothing more than repeating the process, but in reverse. The statistically low risks of complications would exponentially increase. Currently such low chances are at around three percent. By simply going through the process again, her chance of risk skyrocket to nearly thirty! I am sorry to say, your boyfriend is stuck as a girl."
"Okay," Foxglove nodded, processing what she had been told. But that still doesn't answer my two main questions. "Why would Dale just dump her male identity, and how are you involved?"
"Well, the first question is surprisingly simple," Foxglove, Sketch answered. "The answer lies deep in the subconscious, which is far more intelligent than we give it credit for. The process, as I have been told, is excruciatingly painful- and traumatically so- without a local anesthetic, of course. Even then, it's still no walk in the park. In the face of such Trauma, the mind takes measures to protect itself. It pushes away the gender identity it had, as well as the majority of the 'change'. I'm quite certain that the rewiring of the brain, and new influx of different hormones play their part in it as well. Everything genetically and physically male about them is rewritten into female, and in order to stay in tact, the mind follows suit." Spex paused again, before continuing.
"As for the second one," he explained. "The enzyme is very, very versatile. Unfortunately, that also makes it unstable- unstable to the point that it is literally undone and redone through sonic oscillations. This is where I come in. Professor Nimnul uses my sonar to act as some sort of catalyst to mold the enzyme to the form he needs. He also uses it to keep his machine running so that doesn't jostle it out of its preferred active form."
"What would happen if it did," Foxglove asked.
"Two things," Spex answered, holding up two wing fingers. "First is that it rearranges itself to cause another change, any kind of change, many of which would either be fatal, or should be. The second, and more likely event would simply break it down into its several components, and be filtered out of the body... following massive and widespread organ damage. Really, your friend is far more lucky than she knows."
"So I guess," Foxglove smiled sadly, "she's stuck like this."
"Afraid so," Spex answered, as he got back to his feet. "But, let's turn our attention to more pleasant matters." He bowed, and offered her his wing
"Like what," Foxglove asked, taking his into her own.
"For starters," Spex answered, as he gently pulled Foxglove to her feet. "The beauty of the night sky. Such a night would be wasted sulking alone- especially, such a lovely lady like yourself."
Foxglove buried her face under her wing, to hide her blush.
"And, If I might say," Spex continued as he drew her in close, "It would not do to leave a lady alone in such a time of need. Now, I have intention of taking advantage of you. All I ask is a single dance."
"Just one?"
"Just one, and I shall be on my way, and leave you on yours."
Foxglove pondered this for a bit. She told Dale to wait on her; would doing this make her a hypocrite? A part of her screamed it would. Another screamed just as loudly that it wouldn't. It's just a dance. It wasn't like they were going to... "do it". She did need to figure things out, and this seemed like the perfect chance. "Okay."
Spex smiled as they positioned themselves face to face, one wing against the others', with Spex's other wing gently draped around Foxglove's waist, and Foxglove's other wing pressed against Spex's chest. Spex's feet started to move, and Foxglove's followed. Smooth, and graceful, he led her from one ledge to another adjacent one. Foxglove wasn't sure how long they were together, she only knew that she wouldn't mind it if this moment lasted the whole night. For a bat, with geeky tastes, he made a wonderful dancer.
This was a bad idea, She suddenly said to herself. Instead of clearing everything up for her, it only made it more cloudy. Maybe it was the heat talking, but the way she was moved and held- Dale never did that. Not that he never tried- oh, he did. He also failed, spectacularly. But, wasn't that what she loved about Dale, his awkwardness, his almost encyclopedic knowledge of everything sci-fi-no Science Fiction. She couldn't hide the giggles she gave herself from recalling how Dale always insisted on the full pronunciation.
"Hm?"
"Oh, it's nothing," Foxglove answered. Her eyes darted around a bit as she thought up a good cover. "It's just... I bowties went out of fashion. By twenty years."
"Oi, don't diss the tie," Spex chided, his smile never leaving his face. "It's cool!"
"Your bow tie?"
"Of course," Spex grinned. "They are cool. Bowties are cool."
"Bowties... Are cool," Foxglove parroted, failing stifle a slight giggle.
"Oh yes," Spex nodded. "Just slightly cooler than my glasses. Don't really need them. Just wear them, because they make me look smart. I call them-"
"Your brainy specks," Foxglove finished absentmindedly
Spex's eyes shot open, while Foxglove blushed.
"You mean, you-whoop!"
His focus shifted, he tripped over his own wing, and sent the both tumbling to the ground. The impact threw Spex' glasses across the roof. When the two looked at eachother, Foxglove didn't see the suave, debonaire she had been dancing with earlier. Instead, she saw an embarrassed looking, wide eyed bat staring at her, with the same expression Dale wore whenever he tripped.
"Ohmigosh," Spex gasped, completely different from the suave gentleman he was just an instant ago. "I'm so sorry! Here, let me help you up. WIth that, he sprang to his feet and helped pull Foxglove back onto hers. Are you okay?"
"Yes," Foxglove answered, perplexed. "Are you okay?"
"Um, yeah," Spex muttered. "Some first dance this is."
"First," repeated Foxglove, "this isn't my..." She trailed off as she realised what Spex had meant. "Oh."
"Yeah," Spex said. "I've never danced before. I've just seen a lot on TV."
"But, before, you were- you were," Foxglove stammered.
"Suave, Debonaire, Cool," Spex frowned, his eyes downcast.
"Yes," Foxglove answered. "What happened just now?"
"My glasses," Spex replied, as he looked around for them; his expression brightened when he spotted them. Foxglove just stood by and watched, as Spex walked over to where they landed. "The best way that I can explain it, is to liken them to a shield- a shield I can hide behind, and pretend I'm cool, and smart."
Foxglove was floored. "So all that stuff you were talking about was just stuff you made up!?"
"No, It's not like that," Spex answered as he picked up his spectacles and cradled them in his wings. "Everything I said was true. And, I guess I do sorta know a lot of stuff. It's just that, well, it doesn't always come out right. At least without these. But when I put these on, I'm not just MC, or Spex. I'm Spex the super cool Genius."
"And the tie?"
"Oh, the tie," Spex said as he put on his glasses, regaining his suave personality. "I'm practically naked without it. I'd absolutely crumble if I were to lose both. But, I do believe we were in the middle of something, were we not?"
He walked back over to Foxglove, who raised her wings towards the sides of his head.
"So, that was the real you," she asked. "The Spex I just saw?"
An unfortunately true way of looking at it, Spex frowned. To his surprise, he felt his glasses being lifted off of his face. He was exposed again!
"Then I'd like to dance with the real you," Foxglove requested. "Please?"
"But, but," Spex answered, his awkward personality on full display. "I'm not a good dancer. I'm just gonna trip all over you again, and someone like you deserves someone who doesn't have two left feet."
Foxglove tried to look into Spex's eyes, but they darted away, his discomfort showing on his face. To Spex's further astonishment, Foxglove leaned in onto Spex's chest and started giggling to herself.
"What's so funny now," Spex asked, defensively.
It's just that, Foxglove answered. You're just like Dale.
Spex stiffened. "Dale?"
"Yes, Dale. My boyfriend turned girl," said Foxglove. "I never mentioned her name?"
Spex didn't seem to hear the question, as his mind crashed at the most recent revelation. "Chipmunk, light brown brown fur and tan underbelly, green eyes, a poofy coiff of hair, red Hawaiian shirt with yellow flowers, and plain white skit?"
"You know her, Foxglove asked, surprised. Spex could only nod. "Wow. How'd you meet?"
Yeah, Spex answered, squirming out of Foxglove's wings. "About that."