Chapter 3 Touch to Dream

That son of a Blitznaking idiot scientist! Cosmic damning abomination! His mind was racing with curses to say, letting his native tongue slip a few unmentionable words about that accursed trog. The little heathen's claw sliced him right along the side of his face against his eye. Of all the injuries his body had been inflicted upon over the years (the broken bones from the academy, flesh wounds and bite marks from brawls, burn injuries from plasma blasters) this was not the worst pain but it was pretty damn close. Blitznak… he was bleeding into his eye. The stinging was making him tear. He covered his face with his hands and felt the open skin from the top of his cheek to just over his brow. The warm liquid trickling onto his hands. Ugh… he was getting his ass handed to him today.

"You, Shark-man," He heard a female voice in his direction. Gantu turned towards the older Earthling addressing him, looking at her with his good eye. She still held her arms outward, one towards him and the other towards the blue monster. The next thing he heard left the big alien surprised. "How deep is the wound?" He felt himself clam up. This was an odd situation he found himself; an Earthling asking him about his medical condition. He wondered if he should be sarcastic. "How much pain? On a scale 1 to 10, give me a number." She lowered her arms still looking up at him. He saw movement by her legs; experiment 259 appeared gazing up at him blankly. It was uncomfortable enough that Gantu took a step backwards.

"Aunt Pleakely, can you grab me towels and a bucket of hot water? Please?" The older female addressed the noodle in the wig. Aunt Pleakely? Really? He knew Pleakely was a strange comet but really? This is way too much into playing human…

"Shark-man?" Gantu felt a growl slip at being called by something other than his name. He watched the female jump a few feet backwards. It amused him. She told him everything in that action; she was downright scared but still trying to put up a front. Interesting.

"Pl…please…" her voice squeaked a little. "L-Let me see the wound. I…I can fix it." Gantu watched as her top half was perfectly still but her legs trembled a little. She was utterly terrified. "I…I've been trained in First Aid for humans and marine animals, le…let me clean it… b-before it gets infected…"

"I don't need your sympathy, Earthling." It was the first time he spoke since engaging the tiny female. His voice, being deep as it was, obliviously astounded her for her body relaxed. She stood straighter with her head tilting a little to the side. That told him she was in disbelief and intrigued. Were humans this easily distracted? "Why should I trust you?" He continued.

"I specialized in Marine biology, sharks being my highest interest. Since you appear to be that physiology," Gantu shrugged at that phrase, "I can help." That moment the walking Noodle came back onto the porch of the human dwelling. He had not noticed the rest of the abominations so called 'Ohana' standing close to the dwelling's entrance. The older female and Experiment 259 were the only ones near him. His military training was telling him to be on alert… trust was something to be leant out very sparingly he learned over the years.

"I'll send everyone in the house." Her voice broke through Gantu's concentration. "It will be just you and me out here. I promise." She was persistent. If he did this, he'd have to strike a deal. She'd leave him to bandage himself… and no needles…. He hated needles.

He was hesitant, not sure if going against his military training for a simple wound cleaning was worth his vulnerability.

"Fine. Just clean it, nothing else. I can bandage myself." He scowled as the word left his lips. Gantu watched her face as the female's eyes lit up, like he was giving her an opportunity of a life time. Humans really were this easily distracted. She turned her back towards him, informing the others to stay inside the dwelling as she started up the staircase. He watched as they all ran inside, both trogs growling. Experiment 259 had taken the female Earthling as its owner, just like the blue trog to the little Earth girl.

"Here, you can rest your head on the porch floor." Gantu's vision saw the older female sitting on the porch floor with a large space for his head. He had to give her credit, she thought things through. Hesitantly, Gantu took a step towards the porch's side and very carefully slid his head next to this odd human. "You can uncover your eye." He heard her say. Hesitantly he complied. His skin immediately felt the warm rags pressed against the wound covering his eye. "It's ok," her voice was softer now, he must have squirmed for her to talk so softly. "The warm water will clean everything up." One rag was wiping down his brow in a patted motion. Again, he had to give her credit, she knew her stuff.

There was an odd scent in the air. Gantu was not positive what it was but he recognized it. It smelled of things he knew like salty waves, crystal waters, exotic flowers, and a hint of coconut oil. Then the scent of lavender and sun filled into his lungs. Normally these aromas gave him headaches, but not this time. It relaxed him. He breathed it in again, all the aromas gently caressing his senses, relaxing him as each wave followed another. Then the realization hit him. They were not multiple smells, they were all one scent! It was coming from the Earth female… he was smelling her pheromone levels! Oh Blitznak, this was awkward. She was of breeding age for these human creatures, he only guessed she was producing them without knowing it. He just had the hypersensitive nose to pick them up… Yeah, definitely awkward.

"Did I hurt you?" He must have cringed when he made the scent discovery, rendering the female to think he was in pain.

"No. I'm fine." He was extremely grateful his skin was dark enough to hide any red color of flushed cheeks. There was a small silence before he heard her say,

"Gang..too, right?"

"Gantu." What was it with humans and pronunciations?

"Gantu…" he heard her repeat his name, taking the rags off and lightly touching the wound. "I'm Jenni." He thought it was a nice name, but he never got the chance to say anything for she continued, "Well, good news is, Gantu, it's superficial. The cut isn't as deep as I thought it would be, just barely touching the muscles and the blood vessels underneath. The only thing is…" she paused, he felt her fingers open his eyelid. He saw her looking at him with a concerned expression. This could not be good.

"The only thing is what?" He held his breath.

"Your cornea is scratched. Not bad, just a little scratch. You're lucky you have a protective membrane on your eye. That saved it, though it took most of the blow." She gave him a smile. "It's a little…ripped… Well, it's been ripped in half. That caused a lot of the bleeding. But they heal on their own with time. Bet your species can heal pretty fast, huh?" She was an odd human indeed.

"Normally, yes." He watched as this Jenni patted more rags around his eye.

"You really look like a shark." If he could raise his eyebrow, he would. "Your snout is pointed and broad like a Bull shark, and your pigment color is the same as a Great White. But your skin… it's as soft as a Beluga whale. Your eye structure is the same as a whale's too. I can see the pupil!" Gantu was not sure if he should be extremely nervous or take these as compliments from the excited Jenni human breaking down his body structure. "Your eye color… I've never seen a striking blue before." That one surprised him. With his species, it was always the males who complimented the females' eye color not the other way around. Humans did everything backwards he came to the conclusion. But he still let Jenni talk and verbally dissect him from his teeth and jawline to his tusks and bone structure. He let her babble on about words he had no idea about and theories on this so-called "evolution." That's when she asked what planet he was from and called him "E.T."

"Uhh… I'm from Earth." He flat out lied. "I'm from Samoa." She gave him a funny look, her eyebrow raised and she stopped the patting.

"Ha… nice. But Samoans aren't 20 feet tall and look like they walked off of a Free Willy movie set." He did not know what Free Willy was, but he knew he was caught.

"Well," the giant alien shrugged. "It worked on the locals." Gantu was surprised when Jenni let out a giggling sound.

"I am a local, I just have a Bio degree!" She laughed harder this time, covering her mouth with her hand. "I think I can tell the difference between normal humans and those pretending to be human." She gave him a rather devious smile, like the ones received when the big secret is out. "My work here is done, all clean and disinfected. You're free to go, Gantu." He watched her push all of the dirty towels to the side and stand up stretching her arms and back. He himself stood, straightening his posture and controlling the urge to touch the right side of his face. This was going to take a lot of self-control.

"Er… thanks." It was all he could muster. He never was good at expressing gratitude… then again, he was never good at expressing emotions to start with.

"You're welcome~!" The female's voice became rather high pitched which made his ears ring. Normally that would have bother him, but he let it slide. "Put a nice bandage on and clean it once a day. Just don't touch it!" Jenni was at the porch's ledge pointing a tiny hand towards him, most of her weight on one leg with the hip sticking out. Gantu's right arm retracted to his side… caught. He had not felt this childish since his schooling days. "I'd go home and ice it for the rest of the day, if I was you." What he saw from Jenni made him do a doubletake. It was small, but he could not deny it. Her hand was extended towards him, palm open gesturing for a handshake. She was genuine.

The big alien gently placed his index finger next to the human's delicate hand, his skin felt her fingers clasp around him.

"Th-thanks… again, Jenni." He was never good with words.

"Take care, Gantu." The look Jenni gave him almost made his legs buckle. Her eyes were wide; he thought he caught a twinkle. This was not fair! Why did humans use their ocular vision orbs like that? It was…it was… Blitznak, it was too damn cute to ignore! She looked even more like his cable crush… Ugh… this day needed to end soon…

It happened so fast he did not have time to react. In an instant, Experiment 259 was sitting on the ledge next to Jenni with an antenna wrapped around her arm. The other was reaching towards him. He felt the pressure of a burning coil wrapping around his hand, the sensation coursing up his arm until it exploded into the rest of his body. Every muscle begged him to run, but he could not. He was paralyzed. He was paralyzed and felt like he was on fire! Immediately the fire's heat ceased, a cooling sensation washed over him like gentle sea foam. He felt soft clouds press against him, almost lifting him off his feet. All he wanted to do was sleep. Sleep and dream of sunny skies and gentle breezes. His vision went black... he was not sure if he went blind or closed his eyes, yet he did not care. The darkness was peaceful…

A flash of golden light rocked his senses in one burst. An object came into view coming towards him at a fast speed; the material was metallic and carried etched markings. The object he recognized was of alien origin, but its purpose was familiar. Made of a bronze metal, it was crafted by hand as a shield for the head. The helmet covered all sides of the head with an elongated front. The opening for the front was a unique design; round slanted openings with a pointed nose piece connected each eye slit for protection of eyes and nose. On either side were layered armor plates which curled upwards to protect tusks. The metalwork on the helmet told a story of empires, wars, and soldiers of a once great age; and in the middle in location of the forehead was a crest, a symbol he understood from his ancestry. The Mark of Turo, the Galactic Federation's logo. He reached for it ready to catch it, but it dematerialized before he could touch it. The Earth dwelling materialized along with Jenni still holding onto him. His vision came back.

That… was weird.

Gantu felt strange. Odd sensations pulsed through him, his primal instincts were starting to kick in. The headache increased, feeling something magnetic pull him in the opposite direction. Something was calling to him over towards the other side of the island. He needed to go now.

Without saying a word, he looked down at Jenni who gazed up at him with a very blank expression. He bowed to her who she returned back to him, and left the Earthlings and Aliens behind. He needed to reach the other side of the island. He needed to go home.
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Jenni felt intense heat radiating through her body. It was painful as each flame licked her, the fire engulfing her. As soon as the burning came, it left, replaced with a cooling sensation. Her body relaxed to the new temperature as soft water covered her. She imagined she was laying on the sand as gentle ocean waves washed over her. Jenni felt light as a feather, her body being caressed by the softest silk and mattress. All she wanted was to lie in that mattress and sleep. The touch of silk and cooling waves gave her pleasurable sensations, her breaths deepened, her eyes closed and she let herself drift into darkness.

A golden light flashed before her and an object came into view rushing towards her. She knew its history, its origin, its purpose. It was a helmet worn by none other than warriors of the Greeks, though it had a few designs from the Romans. The connection eye to nose design was unmistaken, the elongated front and feathered train were beautiful, and its bronze casting with hammered etchings brought the Roman flair to the handmade helmet. From what she remembered, even though the Greeks built the design, the Romans stole the works and put their own imprint into armor such as this. Improvements for later soldiers and entertainment warriors such as gladiators. Now this was the problem; was the helmet Trojan? Mycenaean? Spartan? Athenian? Or Roman? She'd have to see the etchings, they told the story. But the story was something unrecognizable. She could not decipher the markings, they were alien to her. The images of beings not humans confused her, the crest on the forehead was not earthly. Its logo consisted of a unique triangular design, one inside of another. A diamond in its center. What did this mean?

More importantly, what was the helmet doing in her dream?

She reached out to touch it to get a better look, but it disappeared before her hands could reach. Her surroundings returned, back to reality. Her vision consisted of the Pelekai residence, Luna on her right, and a wide-eyed shark alien with a very blank expression in front of her.

That… was weird.

Jenni watched Gantu closely, he had not said anything. He may not have had the same experience she did, but she was sure Luna's antenna touched his hand. There was some magnetic pull to the opposite direction, away from the big alien. Whatever it was, it was calling her name. She needed to go inside the house, it was coming from inside. She felt Luna's fuzzy head push her away from the porch's ledge towards the house. Her eyes still locked onto Gantu. His head lowered in a bow formation, acknowledging his exit. She returned it to him. The unspoken action between them was their exit to follow the magnetic pull calling each one in another direction. She watched the alien turn his back to her, and walk out of sight.

Jenni felt Luna's paws push against her legs, the calling becoming stronger as she got closer to the front door. She felt multiple pairs of eyes watch her enter the house, each step becoming increasingly difficult. Her legs felt heavy, her breathing slowed, and her vision became blurry. A warm blanket wrapped around her, engulfing her in a soft cloud bringing the same lovely sensations as before. The last thing she saw before she allowed herself to drift into sleep was Luna; her soft mysterious smile and a third eye opening from her forehead glowing a soft golden light. She allowed the gold light to engulf her.
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625 beamed at his latest creation; a double decker patty melt with pineapple chunks on pumpernickel bread. Yummm. He could not wait to bite into this creation! He was just about to sink his teeth into the patty melt when the door to the ship opened. In walked his roommate, the blubber head, quite a few hours later than normal.

"Hey, Chowderhead, catch anything? Ha! Like you can catch one of my cousins." 625 snickered reaching over for a knife to cut his newest masterpiece. At the corner of his eye, 625 could see the empty glass experiment container. Same as any normal day."You're home pretty late, chief. I was beginning to think you actually caught one." The sandwich maker had a few more snide comments lined up, he wanted to see which one was going to push old Fish Leg's buttons until he exploded. "So what's it gonna be, G? Your head or ass served on a silver platter? Ha!" That one usually sent Gantu off on a rampage, cursing and yelling in his native tongue… but not today. There was no answer, just silence and Gantu's footsteps heading towards the shaft elevator. 625 was a little surprised at Gantu's reaction… really, lack thereof. "Uh… Blubberbutt?" The sandwich experiment wheeled around to look at his roommate. Why wasn't he in a frenzy and going around the ship cursing and yelling at him? This was not the normal Gantu. 625 jumped down from the galley table and ran after his roommate. "Hey, Gantu!" He followed the shark behemoth up the elevator and down the hallway. The little experiment was getting nervous. His friend was not acting like himself, there was a blank emotionless stare on Gantu's face. It creeped him out.

"Gantu… are you alright?" The big alien stopped in front of his bed chamber, and gazed down at 625. That blank stare was freaking him out, and the silence even more. He watched his friend enter the bed chambers, letting out a sickly heavy groan. And then the sharklike alien collapsed.

"GANTU?" 625 ran into the room and stopped right in front of Gantu's face, his arms pushing the alien over. "G? What happened? C'mon, tell me what happened?" What 625 saw as his friend's face came into view almost made his stomach do a somersault; the blank stare with a massive open wound around his eye. How could he have missed that? "Gantu? Speak to me!" Cold sweat broke out all over 625's body, G's breathing was slowing and his eyes slowly closed on their own. He needed to find a doctor, this was not normal! "Hang in there, G," the sandwich experiment used his strength to lift the big alien onto his bed. The breathing was still heavy and slow, eyes closed. If 625 was not freaked out as he was now, he would have thought Gantu was in a peaceful sleep. He still needed to find a doctor… who did he know was a doctor for aliens?

"Jumba…"
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He never knew he could run this fast. He raced through the forest trails until he made it to town where his "cousin" and his pet tyke lived. He stopped for a breather, he was so out of shape. Panting and wobbling, 625 forced himself to push forward up the hill where his creator the evil genius doctor lived. He finally made it to the front door, his little pudgy hand curled into a fist to knock on the door. A moment later his blue "cousin" answered.

"Cousin?" 626's ears perked up.

"Where's… Jumba?" 625 panted holding onto the door for support. "…I… need to… speak to… Jumba…"

"625?" the little Earth girl was at his side, semi supporting him. "What's…"

"It's Gantu… something's wrong with him… Jumba needs to…"

"E'speriment 625," his creator's voice called to him from inside the living room. He perked up and trotted into the room where he saw Jumba and the one-eyed Noodle hovering over someone laying on the couch. It was a female human, a lot older than the little girl, appearing to be in a peaceful sleep. "Tell me, e'speriment 625, vhat 'appened to Gantu? Did he fall asleep?" The sandwich making experiment was about to explain everything that happened, but it occurred to him. How did Jumba know the whale was sleeping?

"Yes…" his creator looked down at him, continuing,

"He and dis Earth female 'ave been touched by e'speriment 259, the dream viewer." The evil genius pointed to the white furred female canine with two long antennae who was sitting on the floor facing the television. Her eyes were closed and inhaling deeply. "259 was designed to put two people into a deep sleep and enhance a dream shared between them. Each partner contributes aspects to dream so they share the same dream. All is recorded into 259, who, as evil genius as I am, is connecting them as we speak. 259 will open her third eye so we can watch dream unfold and see every intention, every secret, and every deed both good or evil Jenni and Gantu have. Dis," Jumba was watching 259 now, "will be interesting…"

"So we're gonna watch a movie? Just it's a movie that both Jenni and Gantu are dreaming?" The little Earth girl (he thought it was Lilo or Lizzy, wasn't sure which one) voice had caught 625's attention. His cousin 626 had walked into the kitchen, followed by some crashing noises, and returned with a bowl full of hot buttery crunch treats. It smelt pretty good.

"Will they… be alright?" 625 asked looking at Jumba for answers. He hoped they would…

"Not to vorry, 625, they'll be fine. They'll just be dreaming, and when their deepest secrets are revealed and I know the intentions, the dream will end and they wake up. I must say, 626 had right idea," 625 watched as Jumba sat down behind experiment 259 and 626, grabbing a handful of the crunchy snack. "Earth butter snack is very good with movie night."

"Think of it this way, 625," the little Earth girl pulled him over to sit next to her on the floor, his cousin on the other side. "You can watch Gantu from here. Like Uncle Jumba said, they'll be fine." She looked over towards the other female sleeping on the couch, resuming, "I wonder what they'll dream about?"

"I just hope it's not a romantic comedy." Pleakely suddenly chimed in. The phrase made 625 shrug. Romantic and comedy plus Gantu did not go well together. And what would old Fish legs dream about anyway? He felt sorry for the poor Earth girl who had to follow his buddy in this dream sequence. Boy was she in for a rude awakening, no pun intended!

"Ih~!" 625 heard the white furred experiment speak, addressing all parties in the living room. She glanced at Jumba for a moment and then at Him… He thought he saw her wink. 625 shook his head watching 259 stare intensely at the blank television screen. Her eyes closing.

"259 says," Jumba began to translate, "it is time for dream sequence to begin. Pass earth snack please."

625 watched in awe as 259 finally shut her eyes, and a third eye open in her forehead. There was a soft golden glow, as far as he could tell, emanating off the television screen. Images started to materialize on the screen, the destination alien to him both in place and time. He leaned forward intrigued by the Dream Viewer's abilities and the story about to unfold. It was the first time in his life 625 reached for a snack that was not a sandwich.

The dream was about to begin.