"Eye of the Beholder" - Chapter 3

A Dinosaucers™ fanfic by Sabrewing

Umm, the Dinosaucers, every character that appears in this, and so on and so forth are the property of Coca-Cola©, and this is an unofficial fanfic I wrote (meaning I took a lot of poetic license with it) that contains elements of an adult nature between humans and large reptilians, so reader discretion is advised. Oh, and enjoy. :)

It was barely real to Sarah. Here was Allo, standing before her in nothing but his swim trunks, and he was telling her that she could feel his chest muscles. She pinched her arm hard, wincing at the pain she was glad to feel, and advanced to the titan before her. He looked back down at her, following her every move, as she tenatively reached a hand up to him. She hesitated just inches from him, then finally placed it on his left pectoral.

It was very warm from being in the noonday sun for so long, and it ignited the butterflies in her stomach to ashes. Her inhibitions gone, she began exploring the curves of his torso with her hands, fascinated by the iron build of the saurian. Allo, poker-faced for the most part, was beginning to feel a bit light-headed himself. Sure, he and his wife Vera had been intimate, but it hadn't felt quite so cautious, like something dangerous was happening. Sarah was now running her fingers over his washboard stomach, trying with all her might to keep her impulses in check. However, she knuckled under to them and suddenly threw her arms around him in a tight hug, crying openly. Allo, caught off-guard at first, knelt down and returned it, comforting the distraught young woman. Thankfully, no one was watching, which relieved Sarah greatly as her arms moved to around his neck and she lay her cheek on his shoulder, her tears dampening her hair and running down her face onto his hide, only to fall to the ground.

It only lasted for a few minutes, but the soft embrace seemed like an eternity to both of them. Allo merely closed his eyes and continued to hold her, gently, wishing there were some feasible way to make her feel better. They only had a couple more days left of their vacation; maybe there was something he could do for her. He'd have to think.

Her sobbing slowed to a trickle, they released each other. She looked up into his smiling face, not knowing what to say, except . . .

"Thanks, Allo . . . I needed that."

"Glad I could help you feel better, Sarah."

She giggled softly, a bit bashful. Then, replacing her sunglasses, she visibly relaxed a lot as she lay down on her stomach, taking in the sun's rays.

Allo watched her for a while before he lay down on his back, his hands under his helmeted head. He never thought anyone, let alone a human, would feel quite this way about him. It made him feel special, and he beamed to himself. His smile soon shifted to a frown as he considered what could be done to remedy the situation. He knew that any sort of relationship past that of friends wouldn't work; the obvious species gap was there, and Sarah was a few years too young to do what he felt she had in mind. He didn't want to hurt her, like he'd said, but he couldn't just ignore this . . .

That's when he remembered an article he'd read about a famous Reptilonian scientist, one Dr. Albert O. Saurus, who had developed a new technology which permitted two or more beings to form a telepathic link of sorts; they could se and interact with each other in their minds while their bodies went into a form of cellular stasis. Perhaps she would feel at ease if they could spend an evening together without anyone else knowing. It was worth a shot, at any rate. He decided to wait until after the beach party to go see the doctor.

"Game!"

His attentions went to the ongoing volleyball match, which Paul's team had won a second time. They were cheering wildly again, but at least they weren't stomping. He watched as they finished their victory dance to go have a swimming race, and he felt he could use a dip himself. Looking over Sarah, he light whispered, "Don't worry, Sarah . . . I've got it all planned out." He then ran to greet the breaking waves.

The day had gone well, with the part cumulating with a barbecue. Steaks and burgers were provided for the four humans, while the Dinosaucers feasted on their much larger equivalents. It was all very good, and noe one stopped eating until they were completely stuffed. Of course, Bonehead ate a little too much, and he developed a case of hiccups, but they soon went away after he had downed a two-liter bottle of Dr. Pepper. The whole day had been a success, and everyone eagerly awaited what the next few days would bring before the Scouts were scheduled to go home.

Everyone was so busy dancing to some CD's Ryan had brought along that they didn't notice Allo sneaking off to his ship. He puts his armor back on and flew over to the office building the doctor frequented. He gave the polite plesiosaur receptionist his identification card and was admitted in to see him.

"Oh, hello Allo. How are you?" They had gone to school together for a while, so at least no introductions were needed.

"I'm okay, but I have a friend who could . . . benefit from your services."

The doctor, seeing business was being conducted, suddenly got serious and sat down at his desk, holding his hands together. "Oh, certainly. Whadda they need? Miracle cure? Special fertilizer for the garden?"

"Actually, I need to borrow a set of those telepathy devices of yours."

"Oh, those. Quite a popular item now, although it's mostly youngsters who use them. The lack of imagination as you get older, you see. What does your friend need them for?"

"Well, you see, this person's a female, and she's grown attracted to me, but she's struggling with her conscience, so--"

"Oh, THAT kind of use. I would've never suspected you of that, Allo," said Albert conspiratorially, winking over at Allo.

"I'm not doing it for me, I'm doing it for her." Granted, that was sort of a half-truth, but it was what was important.

"I know, I know, just pulling your tail. Still, what will your wife think?"

"I'll talk it over with her. She'll understand; she knows the Scouts and--"

"This is for that mammal girl, Allo? Whoa, how raunchy are you getting?" He broke out in laughter, so much so that his receptionist looked in from her desk, rather perplexed. Allo gave him a cynical look, and the doctor gave a few more chuckles before stopping to catch his breath. "Sorry, sorry, my mistake."

"Albert, if I could handle this any other way, I would, but it could be potentially damaging. This was the best alternative I could think of. Now, if you really think that--"

"Allo, settle down, I understand what's going through that head of yours, and for the record, I suppose this really is the best way for the young lady to .. ermm, express her feelings. You're quite the knight in shining armor. Let me go get a couple receivers."

The doctor rose from his chair and shuffled over to a cabinet on the east wall of the office. He reached into a pocket of his large pants and fetched out a keychain, clinking metallically. Cycling through the various lengths and colors of they keys, he picked out a small bronze-coated one and inserted it into the jagged lock in the large door of the cabinet, where it created a familiar *click*. Opening the door revealed rows upon rows of dark gray bands of varying sizes and shapes. He picked one out that was suited for saurians of Allo's type to use, then searched intently for something that would fit Sarah. He asked for an estimate of how wide her skull was, and Allo held both his index claws about a foot apart in the air. Nodding, Albert resumed his search, finally selecting one from the bottom shelves.

"This one might fit naturally," he explained as he gave it to Allo along with the first band, "but if it doesn't, it has a small strap to adjust its size."

Allo took the devices in his claw, dumbfounded by how obviously simple the plastic-like lengths were. "How do you make them work?"

"Just put them on; there's a microscopic chip inside that detects certain brain patterns, normally the kind that occur while you're in what humans have called REM sleep, and activates on its own. Which reminds me . . ."

He took back the bands and placed them end-to-end next to each other. A soft humming sound was heard, followed by a slightly louder beeping tone. He gave them back to Allo.

"Now they're tuned to each other, so you won't accidentally intrude in someone else's connection. As for the cost of the services, you have good intentions, so I'll cut a deal: 2,000 credits."

Thankfully, Allo had more than enough money to cover the costs, what with the rewards he and his crew had received from the Dinosorceror, so he handed over the money with no objection.

"Thank you, doctor, you're a real friend."

"Which explains why you never called much after our school days together, but then again, I expect you to be no less with your mammal friend," Albert quipped, and the two shook claws before Allo left with the two devices.

To make things simple, all the Secret Scouts were to stay in shared rooms of Allo's home with his family. They all had been introduced during an earlier exploit on the planet Reptilon, and it was good to see them again. His daughter, Alloette, had grown up quite a bit, matching the teens in height even being a couple of years younger. (Of course, she would tower over them like any other Reptilonian in a short while.) Ryan had made a point of bringing his Nintendo with him, and they were all engaged insome two-player games, even though the big-clawed Alloette had some trouble with the smaller controller. Allo and Vera were watching them play when he pulled her aside.

"Tonight, I plan to do something that you might not be too thrilled about."

"Like what? You know I'm open about most things, dear."

"Well, you see, Sarah over there . . . she's developed a sort of fixiation on me."

"Fixiation? What do you mean? Is it anything I can help with?"

"She says she's attracted to me in a physical sense, so I don't know what you could do. However, I was hoping to help her ease out of it by using these."

He presented the telepathy bandsto her to look over. "It would let me share a dream with her so she could satisfy her desires and get along with her life. Do you object to this?"

Vera looked over the small gray strips, turning them over in her hands and not saying a word. At long last, she whispered, "How do I know you're not doing this for yourself? Or to corrupt the girl?"

"Because you know me better than that," he replied, taking her arms and looking sincerely into her face. "Sarah confessed herself to me yesterday, and she began to cry that I couldn't stand to see her like that. This was the only way out I could think of to make her happy again. If you still have your doubts, you have only to say so."

She looked back up at her husband, smiling a little sadly, "I just wish it could be done in a less . . . personal way. I can see why you're doing it, but . . ." She looked down at her shuffling feet.

"You have no need to worry, my love. I'm doing this for her, not for myself, and I would never choose another over you. We are bound together, and I'll love you for as long as that binding lasts." He reached around and hugged her, and she returned it, their tails twining in an intimate way. "You have to do what you think is right," she said softly, her head resting on his shoulder. Allo looked over at Sarah, who was cheering on Paul playing Street Fighter against David. "I don't blame you for your doubts, but she can't go home feeling as she does."

Before too long, it was a moonlit night, and everyone had retired to their beds. Everyone, that is, except Allo. He waited until all the teens were soundly snoring, then he tiptoed as lightly as he could into their room. He looked down at Sarah, who was breathing lightly as the grip of sleep pulled her into its clutches. He held the small band delicately in his palm, which he noticed was trembling. However, he reminded himself that chances were she wouldn't want to go as far as he was imagining, and with a steadier arm, he circled it around her forehead, which it thankfully fit.

Seeing it comfortably in place, he hurried back to his own bedroom, lay down on his mattress, and brought up his own band from under his pillow. He brought it around his own brow and pulled it down until it made a snug fit that wouldn't come off too easily. Thus prepared, he lay back on his bed, looking up at the patterns of light the stars created on his ceiling, marveling at the texture of it, the raw beauty . . . and awaited sleep to come and claim him as well.