From: Jenn the Ice Raptoress Date: 5/28/96 3:31AM Subject: SB028: Sweet Sensations Address: To: herpetophile@lists1.best.com Righto. Here's the next episode of everyone's favorite reptilian soap opera. Again, I got a little lengthy, sorry about that. NOTE: Some situations depicted in this episode are based on actual recent events. *giggle* Dino: You would not beeelieeve the trouble I had uploading this from the demon Damien. Gah. Skant: Sure, maybe you had him first, but I have him always. ;) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- SB028: Sweet Sensations Cera was not pleased. Everything aboard her ship was sticky and gooey, as it had all been turned into some sort of shiny red confection that had begun to melt as soon as they engaged the engines. To make matters worse, the nega-Dinosorceror who had seemed to be a promising ally, had disappeared right out of her hand, further intensifying her foul mood. But this was truly the worst. She was so furious that she was shaking, causing all of her candy-coated bridge crew to press themselves as far away from her as they could get. She stared hatefully at the hologram before her, even as the figure depicted there laughed mockingly at her plight. "You have GOT to be kidding!" the Patriarch rumbled merrily. "NO!" Cera spit in fury, "I am NOT kidding! Are you going to help me or what?" "Since when do I help you, you annoying little bug?" the Patriarch replied, the amusement still plain in his tone, "If you recall, we have a far different agenda." "Not so different, I think," Cera snapped self-righteously, "I know what you're after, I know exactly why you have decided to help the fledgling Dinosorceror, and frankly," she paused, "I can't quite decide which of us is the more insidious." The Patriarch was silent for a moment. "You want help? I should just kill you now and put the universe out of your misery. Forget it, your concave-ness." He broke the transmission with an imperious flourish of his hand. Cera erupted with a flurry of anger, smashing the hologram controls with her fist. She whirled on her hapless bridge crew. "Find me the TURDIS! I dont care what it takes. I WILL be victorious, and I will crush that arrogant fool into dust!" Though she tried, she was simply too mad to summon up a good "Heeeeeee." Dinosorceror paused, peering around the large boulder he had just moved into place, gauging his situation. Across the room, a large stone head, which looked rather like an Easter Island reject, sat in a gloomy slightly dusty corner. Directly in front of it, a small box was waiting, glowing tantalizingly, engraved with a heart and humming softly. Dino frowned at it. Everything looked safe, but he was learning that appearances could be highly deceiving. Cautiously, he inched out from behind the protection of the boulder. The stone head was suddenly animated. It growled and, faster then Dino could move, spit out a barrage of laser darts, all of which hit Dino as he tried to dive back to safety. He felt jolts of energy sizzle through his nerves, making him yell out and twitch sporaticly. A door opened up on one of the walls, and Jerhevon stepped in, carrying a clip board on which he was making notes. Lights came up in the room and most of the sinister humming ceased its noise. "Not too bad, Dino, but that last trap got you. You got over-confident." Dino groaned lowly, as the last of the energy dissapated out of his body. "Geez Jer, do you have to make these simulations so realistic?" he whined hootingly. Jerhevon shrugged. "That's X's doing," he stepped back out and called "Alright StormFront! You're next!" Dino grumbled hotly as he drug himself out of the simulator, past the curious looks of the other adventurers waiting their turns, and out into the corridor. He found X where he figured he would, up in the control room. WolfWings was with her, and they were discussing what appeared to be a new situation that the TURDIS was in. "X!" Dino called. "Why the hell. . ." "Now isnt the time, Dino," she interrupted, raising a hand to silence him. She was intently watching the sensors. "Something isnt right, you better call a yellow alert." "Right," Dino flicked the switch the would do just that, and within moments everyone was assembled in the control room to find out what was going on. "Whassup, X?" Red asked, perching on the edge of the computer. "Somehow we have gotten diverted from our course. We've been sucked into the Circuts of Time." X informed them. "Excellent!" Red beamed, inlicting a roll of eyes from all heads in the room. "Well, how did this happen?" StormFront inquired, moving to the console to check the monitors hirself. "Unknown," WolfWings reported, "But the fact of the matter is that now we are going away from Aquamarine." "Are there any objects in our immediate vicinity?" asked the ever singular minded Dino. X shrugged and asked the computer, which answered in a rather whiny voice. "Yes. We are approuching the object designated 'Field'" "Well, while we're in the neighborhood anyway, we might as well stop and get it." Dino decided. "Where is it located?" Orelious the Goat asked. The computer was pleased to tell them that the object was to be found on the fourth planet of the system Peger. It even gave them a website address if they wanted more information. X thought that was a good idea, that way they would have some idea what to expect, rather then being caught off guard as they had on Pollux. Benjamin looked it up for them. Peger IV was a pleasent little planet, pre-industrial, with a peaceful race of lizard-folk. The only thing that seemed to be amiss about the planet was the presence of an group of Anemic Allergy-prone Pneumonia Dragons. "Pneumonia Dragons!" Red beamed, his swirling eyes gleaming with the anticipation of chaos. "Hmmm," X mused, "Computer, what's our ETA?" "Thirty minutes, and I do have a name, you know," the computer replied testily. They ignored it. X gestured to the group, "Alright, we need to arm ourselves. Dino, Red, Benjamin, go have the replicators make as many peanut M&Ms as they can possibly churn out." That caught most everyone off guard. "Eh, M&Ms?" Dino repeated blankly. StormFront grinned, "Right! Good thinking X. Pnuemonia Dragons are fierce, but notoriously diabetic. Everyone spread out. Gather as many projectile weapons and as much chocolate as you can!" Thirty minutes later, with a hissing release of pressurized air, the doors of the TURDIS slid open and a roll of warm air lazily swirled out, dissipating to reveal the entire crew, all ready and charged holding various guns and weapons at standby, all striking dramatic poses in the reddish light which shone from the interior of the TURDIS. They faced a pleasent village, surrounded by a darkened forest, quiet in the cooling night air. Cautiously, they made their way out of the TURDIS, falling neatly into the skirmish line assigned by X and Jerhovan, the newcomers, StormFront and WolfWings, taking positions behind Orelious and in front of Jerhevon respectively. X, in the lead position with her charge Dinosorceror right behind her, paused to sniff the air. Benjamin confirmed her conclusion. "No scent of Pneumonia Dragons." "That doesnt necessarily mean they are not around," StormFront commented. "Does anyone else smell eucalyptus?" Benjamin wrinkled his nose. A small delegation of pale-colored bipedal anoles emerged from the village and came forward to meet them. X gave everyone a quick signal which meant to keep eyes open and be ready. Weapons were brought to fore. All weapons, that is, except Dinosorceror's. In the armoury of the TURDIS, he had located an 80-pound crossbow pistol that he had taken a real shine to. It matched his new leather outfit and there was something about the weight of the weapon in his hands that made him feel macho. However, he had come up against an unexpected problem. Now that it was time to brandish his weapon menacingly, he couldnt get the bow strung. "Uh, wait. . . hold on a minute, X . . ." he grunted as he fought to bend the bow far enough to slip the loop of the string around the end, holding it against his body for leverage. X looked back at him, her expression at once one of irritation and extreme amusement. "Is there a problem, Dinosorceror?" Jerhevon called. "Uh no! *eerrrrrr*. . . no, no problem!" Dino hooted nervously as he struggled with the bow. The Anoles stopped in front of them, turning their heads curiously to observe the Dinosorceror. He grinned as they regarded him, pressing down on the bow with all of his strength, straining to fit the string. X said something that sounded vauguely insulting in her native language, grabbed the crossbow, strung it easily and shoved it back at Dino. Dino stammered for a moment, then greeted the native Anoles. He stepped forward and struck a pose he judged to be dramatic and heroic, "Greetings! We come in peace! I am the --" "Legandary Dinosorceror, yes we know," interrupted the Head Anole. "It is about time you arrived, we have been waiting for you and welcome you to our humble village, Great One." The group hesitated collectively. Orelious the Lioness leaned forward, "Great One? Are you little guys sure you have the right Dinosorceror?" "We ARE still in our reality, arent we?" Red wondered. "Can it, you guys," Dino retorted in irritation, then turned his attention back to the Anoles, "Perhaps you can help us. We are looking for an --" "Object," the Head Anole finished for him, "Yes, Great One. We are well aware of your quest. We have the object you seek. It is a crystal which projects an energy field around our most unworthy village. This field is the only thing that stands between us and emminant destruction at the feet of the Pneumonia Dragons. But you are more then welcome to take it for your glorious mission." Dino blinked rapidly. "Wait a minute. This crystal is the only thing that protects you, and you WANT me to take it?!" "Truly," gushed the Head Anole, "Your grasp of the obvious is phenominal." "I cant do that!!" Dino exclaimed in dismay. Benjamin stepped forward and tugged at X, "X, I'm telling you, I smell eucalyptus, and its getting stronger. Something isnt right here." X tensed, looking around at the dark forms of the trees all around them. She hefted her gun, it was already set in "Killer M&M" mode and humming softly. At her signal, the others also readied themselves. They all gazed around them as the noises of the forests became suddenly quiet. Dino edged back into his place behind X, clutching his crossbow and the extra bags of ammo he was carrying for X's gun. The Anoles all hunkered fearfully, their large glassy eyes scanning the trees nervously. The cool breezes stilled, and the dark was heavy and oppressive. "I've got a bad feeling about this. . ." Red whispered and hid himself beneath Livingston. "They come," the head Anole said quietly. Everyone in the party jumped as a sheering crack tore through the air, high above them, massive claws on milky pale hands parted the trees, snapping them like teeny twigs. Most of the Anoles scattered and ran for the village. The Head Anole rushed forward and grabbed Dino. "Come Great One! There is safety in the village!" A thin ghostly white head, sporting a long elegant muzzle filled with glittering teeth thrust through the trees towards them. The Pneumonia Dragon roared at them, its hot breath whooshing down upon them like a hurricane, smelling of cough drops and Vick's VapoRub. The entire group drew back, some following the Anoles. X, Jerhevon and StormFront fired at the emmense Dragon, all three guns flinging vast quantities of chocolate at the sickly reptile. Orelious and WolfWings saw to the safety of Benjamin, Livingston and Red, guided by the Anoles. Dino stayed behind X, which she had earlier warned him he would be smart to do. His eyes widened as a huge taloned foot crushed through the trees and undergrowth. He felt the impact tremor shiver through his body. The first Pneumonia Dragon was joined by a second, then a fourth, then a tenth. Within moments, the place was lousy with huge sneezing, coughing, fiercesome dragons. "Come! There is protection in the field!" the Head Anole implored. X gave Jerhevon and StormFront the retreat signal and within moments the entire group had passed through the shimmering field which extended around the village, protecting it from the dragons outside. "The chocolate doesnt seem to be working!" Jerhevon spit as he conferred with X. "We have to shoot it into their mouths, get them to swallow it. With enough of it, they'll drop into sugar comas." "I CANT take the object!" Dino was ranting. "Did you see those feet?! They'd make short work of this peaceful little village!! I cant have that on my conscience!" "But Great One," the Head Anole protested, "It is your destiny! Do not worry about us, your most unworthy of subjects, you must take the Crystal!" All the other Anoles, which had gathered from most of the village, agreed readily with their leader, all gazing upon Dino with reverant looks of love and respect. "By the Egg, you're all insane!" Dino decided. "Look Great One," X grabbed him by the front of his jacket, and the sarcasm was fairly evident in her tone, "If we can take out these dragons, then the village wont need its protection and you can take the Crystal. Nice and simple." She gestured at the TURDIS crew, "Let's go gang! Aim for the mouths!" Dinosorceror watched as X, Jerhevon, StormFront, Orelious and WolfWings took up positions at the edge of the force field and began to relentlessly hammer the circling pack of dragons with all manners of chocolate. He jumped in with Benjamin and Red who were running about, ready with more ammo and fresh guns when neccessary. Some of the Anoles got the idea and joined the fray, throwing handfulls of M&Ms or Hershey's Kisses. Four of the dragons began to sway dizzily. "Keep it up guys, its working!!" Red shrieked over the din. "I'm out!!" StormFront yelled, tossing aside an empty gun that had been firing Dove Promises. Dino slammed a new gun into hir hand, this one filled with chocolate covered raisins. As sie renewed hir attack, one of the dragons went into a sugar coma as they had hoped. X was relentlessly hammering several of the dragons who had gathered near her section of the field, feeling more in her element then she had in quite awhile. She raptor-shrreeeee'd as she fired, loving the pounding of her gun in her hands. She could feel the change in weight in the weapon as she got low on ammo and so yelled over her shoulder. "Ammo!!" Dino, who was hastily trying to refill StormFront's cast-off gun, heard her and grabbed up the bag of ammo. He sprinted over to her, and in his hurry did not see the exposed root poking up out of the ground. X heard a scattering crash behind her and looked down to see dozens of M&Ms roll wildly beneath her, exploding in tiny violent blasts as they hit the force field. She looked over her shoulder to see that Dino had tripped, the bag had broken open, and there were now M&Ms everywhere. Dino looked at the rolling candies in dismay, then up at X. A rather sheepish grin spread across his face. X decided that at the first opportunity, she was going to have to ask for a raise. Several more of the Pneumonia Dragons were going down, caught by extreme sugar comas. Then without warning, everyone was startled by a sudden brilliant light, which shot down from the night sky, briefly illuminated a small building in the center of the village and faded. Jerhevon pretty much summed up everyone's thoughts. "What the hell?!" The Head Anole ran to Dino and grabbed him fiercely, dragging him up from the ground. "Great One! You must take the Crystal, you must take it now!" "Now?!" Dino exclaimed, looking back at his friends furiously battling the Dragons. He hesitated for a moment, but the Head Anole pushed him roughly toward the center of the village. "It is housed in that building! Go!" Dino ran for the building, threw open the wooden door and slammed it quickly behind him. Immediately, the sounds of the battle outside were silenced. Dino gave his eyes a moment to adjust to the heavy and dusty darkness, then stepped forward. At the center of the little round building there sat an unremarkable stone pedestal, and on that rested a small red crystal which was glowing softly with a warm light. A beam rose from the tapered end, disappearing through the thatched roof of the building, and was obviously the origin of the field surrounding the village. Dino felt slightly paniced at the thought of removing the only protection the village had against the Pneumonia Dragons, but he also knew that he needed the crystal if he was ever going to complete what everyone seemed to be telling him was his destiny. He reached out to take the Crystal, and jumped back as a quiet femine voice ordered, "Wait," A young female parasaur stepped into the light cast by the beam of the Crystal, her solid black eyes aflame with a light of wonder and fear. Finally Cera was able to work up a truly evil "Heeeeeee!" as she survayed the ensuing battle on Peger IV with the aid of her shipboard sensors. She had to pause occasionally to wipe away the dripping goo that oozed down onto the screens, but was otherwise pleased to have found the TURDIS and its crew. She gestured to her second-in-command. "We have them! Send down the troops! I'll show that arrogant Patriarch what true evil is! Heeeeeeee!" Dino stared at the beautiful parasaur before him speechlessly, his mouth hanging open slightly. In some remote corner of his mind, it occured to him that this was the first time he had even seen another member of his newly aquired species, and damn if she wasnt one of the most phenominal creatures he had ever lain eyes on! She stood about a foot shorter then he, her crest tapering elegantly over her head and dark in color. Her eyes were very large and solidly glassy black, as opposed to his blue pupiled ones. Her muzzle was long and delicate and filled with, to Dino's surprise, predatory teeth. She stood as he did, with a humaniod bipedal orientation, her fluid and slender body a dark mottled green-brown in color, with black stripes which folowed her contours and curves very attractively. Dino's gaze naturally found her feet and he was shocked to find that she sported on each inner toe a beautiful shiny black sickle claw. Her sinuous tail swished behind her, softly brushing the floor. She was, meanwhile, studying him quite carefully as well, with an expression of astonishment. "Dinosorceror?" she whispered, "By the Egg, you look so different. . . " Dino found a familiar light shining in her eyes, and he wondered where he had seen that same expression before, and why he felt such a connection with the beautiful creature. "Who are you?" he asked. She looked down at the Crystal, running a thin tongue along the rows of her teeth. "You must take the Crystal," she reminded him anxiously. Dino felt slightly irritated, but remembered his mission, and how insistant the Head Anole had been that he take the Crystal now. He reached out and wrapped his hand around it, feeling the warmth of its energies, and slipped it into one of the pockets of his jacket. Immediately the field beam dissipated. The young female reached into a pouch on the black tunic she wore and withdrew another red Crystal, setting it in the vacant place on the stone. The beam sprang back into being, re-establishing the protective field around the village. "I have completed my mission," she said softly. Dino definately felt as though he were out of the loop, "Your mission?" "I accepted the duty of replacing the Field Crystal at the very moment you removed it, sixteen years ago, so that the village would never be unprotected," she told him with a touch of pride in her tone. He blinked rapidly, processing this information. He recalled that X had said they had entered the Circuts of Time, so this event shouldnt be a surprise. "Who gave you this duty?" She smiled, "You did, or rather, you will. In my time, you no longer have need of the Crystal." Dino took another look at her, she looked so familiar, and he was startled to realize that she appeared to be a harmonious blend of parasaur and . . . raptor. . . "You have GOT to be kidding!!" he exclaimed suddenly as it all came together in his mind, startling the female enough that she jumped back a step. "Are you saying that X and I . . ?" She blinked and frighteningly enough was able to follow his train of thought. She shook her head, "X? No, not X. Jenn." Dino froze as he tried to think through that one. Recent episodes had been so confusing that it took him a moment to work out exactly which raptor he had been bedded by. He realized that, yes, it had been Jenn and not X with whom he had shared a night of wild passion. And then she had returned to her own reality, neither of them suspecting that their boinking had resulted in this. . . a daughter. . . Dino whooped, and grinned with giddy pride. "Holy Cats! This is the most incredible. . . I mean, I didnt know. . . and you're so beautiful, its obvious you dont take after me very much." She smiled, chuckling softly, "Yes, that's what Mother says, but my twin does take after you," she said, delivering another blow just when Dino thought he had everything figured out. "He spends most of his time about this big," she indicated a very tiny size with her thumb and forefinger. "Twins?!" he laughed and grabbed her by the hand to tug her along, "Come on! I have to show you off to everyone!" She pulled back. "I'm sorry, Father, but I cant. This isnt my time period, I have other duties to attend to, and you'll be very huffy if I miss curfew." Dino was unexpectedly disappointed. "Oh," She smiled sweetly, leaning forward to kiss his cheek, "Don't worry, you'll see me again when Mom hits you with the child support suit." She stepped back, activated a small control pad strapped to her wrist, and was engulfed in the brilliant light he had seen descend into the building earlier. With some awesome special effects, she dematerialized. That was when Dino realized that she had never told him her name. Dino emmerged from the building to find that all of the Pneumonia Dragons were now caught in the throes of sugar comas, but that his friends were now engaged in a fiercesome battle with an entire army of coelosaurs, all bearing a brand of Cera's symbol on their right legs. Dino cursed. It appeared that half of the army was stuck outside the force field, and that the other half had gotten through and were now engaged in wonton destruction throughout the village. Obviously they had gotten through in the brief moment that the field had been down. The Anoles, however, appeared to be holding their own quite well. Two coelosaurs jumped down from the roof of the field building. Dino suddenly remembered his crossbow and fumbled with it. "Hold it!" he yelled, trying to pull back the string on the bow, "Wait. . . hold on just a moment. . . " The two saurs stopped and eyed him curiously as he struggled to pull the string back. He reflected that he probably should have chosen the 50 or 60-pound crossbow from the armoury, not the 80. Grunting, he strained every muscle in his arm, trying to get the weapon ready to fire. One of the coelosaurs hissed impatiently, crouching with the intention of springing. "No! Wait!! I got it!" Dino finally got the string pulled back, and was now futzing to get the small metel darts out of his jacket pocket. He fitted one into place and took a defensive stance, pointing the crossbow at the two saurs. "Are you ready now?" one of them asked. "Yes, thank you." The coelosaurs hissed menacingly, advancing on Dino with murder in their beady eyes. Dino pulled the trigger, and cursed up a storm when the string slid over the dart without shooting it. "Wait one more minute. . ." he growled, fighting the string back into place. The saurs waited with extreme impatience until Dino was ready again. This time, when the trigger was pulled, the dart snapped cleanly in half. "Okay, I know I can make it work this time. . . " One of the coelosaurs snorted in disgust, "Nevermind! Come on Fred, he's not worth the time." "Dino!!" Red shrieked as he flew a weaving path through the battle, "X! Here he is! I found him!" X emmerged from the fighting, leveling a glare at Dino, her teeth bared, "How the hell am I suppose to body guard you when you keep running off?! Now come on! The others are heading for the TURDIS, Cera's troops are swarming all over it!" Dino, more then relived to take up his position of safety behind the raptor, followed X and Red back through the field and to the TURDIS. The rest of the group joined them and they all fought to dislodge all the saurs from their transportation, until Jerhevon noticed a very important detail. "X! The door of the TURDIS is hanging wide open! Troops have gotten in!" X whirled on Dino, glaring at him yet again, "Dino! You were suppose to lock the door behind us!" "I did!" Dino hissed defensively, searching his pockets for his keys. When he didnt find them, he gave X a sheepish grin, a look which X was beginning to really hate. "I, uh, think I left the key in the lock. . ." .*&#, ______, ##mmWWWU-^~ -' `^4Xz. Jenn _7/ Joy and Raptors! fsjle@aurora.alaska.edu -Raptor X- Think about the world you're dreaming of. Let the sun shine down from up above. Give your dreams of peace a little shove; Spread your SPAM the way you spread your love.