Providence, Somewhere

Rascals

"Dexter, you're gonna have to figure this out for us non-organics," Lapis chided.

Shortly after Zelda left the emergency room, Sally and Lapis had arrived, followed by Dexter. Originally intending on just getting the blood samples, he found himself having to figure out how to draw blood from a stone with Lapis Lazuli.

All Dexter could do was roll his eyes. "Oh, please. You non-organics are practically immune to the Distortion."

"Are we? Or could we be carrying the darn thing without much care on who gets hurt?"

"Think about it: if you were carrying it, would you be under the Distortion Sickness?"

"The what?"

"Of course I have to explain to aliens what the Distortion Sickness is—"

Lapis crossed her arms. "Stop bragging and talk about it already."

"Fine." Dexter rolled his eyes. "It comes after I found out about Finn and his injuries. You'll be consumed from the inside out— your body will become slimelike and no one will know. You'll want to spread it as far as possible, trapping your prey so that they, too, will become consumed."

"Poetic," she said after a moment's hesitation.

"I need a subject to find out to what extent the Distortion will affect a person. Unfortunately, due to ethics, I cannot experiment on people. If I can get a lab animal—"

"Dexter, you're rambling. And I'm pretty sure you'll upset half the town if you do that."

Once again, he rolled his eyes. "Then what can I do? Go into the field and explore those things for myself?"

"Please don't."

Dexter sighed arrogantly. "Alright, I have an idea. Sit still and let me see your gem." He grabbed some devices off the wall, stepping behind Lapis.

"Do you even know what you're looking for in my gem?"

He placed a hand on her shoulder, keeping her as steady as possible for a few moments. "You're tense."

Lapis hesitated. "I've had... bad experiences with people on my back."

"Well, fortunately for you, there's nothing unusual in your gem." He let go of her. "You say Sally got on you? If she's fine, you're fine."

"Then go check on her yourself."

"That's Acht's job right now. But you're good to go."

Dexter walked out, carrying the now-sealed transport boxes. He glanced at the names— with Sally's blood, it made four, . He carefully packed them into his backpack...

...and then looked down the hallway. One of the doors ahead was barricaded with caution tape, sealed shut. He wandered over, slinging the backpack onto him. He'd probably have to send over Gus and whoever he could spare to take a look at the room.

Then he looked at the room next door, its occupancy signified by the lights inside. He wandered over to take a look through the window.

Sunset Shimmer was in bed, all while Zelda sat on the chair nearby. Sunset was talking, appearing rather agitated and upset. Zelda gave a reassuring shoulder pat, one which Sunset acknowledged with a hand over Zelda's.

He entered the room. "Good morning, ladies. Zelda, was it?"

"Oh, I don't think you two properly met," Sunset said. "Zelda, this is Dexter. He's the head researcher for us here."

Zelda stood up to meet Dexter. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Dexter."

He shook her hand. "The pleasure's mine, Frau Zelda. After all, we haven't had time to chat, especially with the current situation."