I thank Anon e Mouse Jr. for some editing help.
2.1
"And if you come over here you'll see our main attraction, our dinosaur foss–" Naomi started to explain as she was leading a group of children and their parents to the fossil exhibit, but froze up at what she found when she turned to look at the exhibit.
"Hey, where are the dinosaurs?" One of the children complained, some of the others gave similar complaints and a few of the parents glared Naomi's way.
However, all Naomi could do was stare blankly at the empty exhibit, and the sign in front of it that read 'out to lunch.'
"Are you sure this is a good idea guys?" Tricera questioned as all the Dino Knights sat in Kaito's backyard (luckily his parents and brother were out). All of the Looping Dino Knights were Awake right now. But that didn't mean they were all privy to what each other were thinking.
"I'm not the one whom suggested it," Tyranno stated, before he moved to eat a rather large steak that Kaito placed in front of him.
"Then whose idea was it?" the human Anchor questioned after Tyranno swallowed his food.
"That would be me," Sabre raised his paw up.
"I understand the concept of wanting a break, but why did we all need to go when the humans would be there? Wouldn't it be better to go at night?" Brachio questioned–he, along with Stego and Mammoth still were not looping.
"To make a statement, we stand there all day long and only ever get out when there's a Dragozaur attack. And we get no breaks or pay, heck we don't even get health benefits," Sabre scoffed while Kaito and Rena stood by and held back chuckles.
"Plus, they have the gall to not even properly classify us. They just call us all dinosaur fossils, even though some of us might fall into a different category of reptile," Ptera spoke with annoyance before she ate a fish.
"At least you are a reptile," Mammoth commented. "Sabre and I didn't even live in the time of dinosaurs!"
"Yeah, just because we're all Dino Knights doesn't make us all dinosaurs," Sabre nodded.
"I'm hearing lots of negatives, but not very many solutions," Stego shook his head before he looked up to Tyranno.
"Well what do you propose we do Sabre?" Tyranno questioned–humoring the younger Dino Knight. Sabre seemed to think for a moment.
"… I think I know exactly what we should do!"
"Should we stop them?" Kaito asked Rena as they watched the Dino Knights discuss whatever ridiculous plot Sabre wanted to begin.
"Nah, this'll be hilarious," Rena snickered.
The next day Naomi came to open the Dinotarium and sighed. The dinosaur fossils had up and reappeared not long after the disappointed guests had left. Honestly she didn't know what was going on but she was sure something was up with those fossils.
She entered the exhibit room to make sure everything was fine… and then she just stared.
The fossils were not gone–no, that would be too easy! They were moving!
"We demand pay!"
"And health benefits!"
"And proper classification!"
Naomi stared blankly as the… dinosaur fossils were on strike? They stomped around the room holding sighs up with their tails or mouths. After a moment Naomi gave a small chuckle, then a laugh.
*Thud!*
The Dino Knights halted their chanting and looked over at the fainted woman for a few seconds.
"… I gotta be honest; we probably should have expected that reaction," Sabre sighed.
2.2
Rena and Kira glared at one another intensely for a few moments before crossing their arms and turning away from each other with an "Hmph!"
"Oh, what now?" Kaito groaned looking over at the two. The three were out at the park, it was another Loop where there were no Dragozaurs and Kira was human, and Kaito was hoping to just relax a little. Even if the Dino Knights weren't around this Loop (as far as he could tell…).
"Batgirl here thinks she'd be able to beat me in a fight!" Rena scoffed.
"I could so easily, Tomboy!" Kira exclaimed while glaring at Rena.
"Excuse me, but which of us can split into seven equally powerful individuals, not you," Rena smirked but Kira didn't look intimidated.
"Oh yeah, well Littlefoot gave me a time stone I can use to slow down time, you won't be able to beat that!" The two growled at each other fiercely.
"I can't take this anymore!" Kaito suddenly shouted and the two girls turned to stare at him. "Racing was one thing, but now you're talking about fighting!? I just wanted to have some time to relax! I'm out! You two do what you want!" Kaito suddenly changed into his raptor form and sped off.
Rena and Kira stared after their friend for a moment… And then both started chuckling.
"Oh man, didn't think he'd snap that fast," Rena laughed and Kira nodded in agreement.
"Geez, he should know we're just having fun," Kira giggled before looking a bit concerned. "We should probably apologize next time we see him."
"Yeah," Rena nodded. "Still, Kaito should know we wouldn't actually fight, I mean you might drive me crazy but I wouldn't want to seriously hurt you."
"Yeah, I–wait, what do you mean by that?" Kira questioned while eyeing Rena. "Don't you mean that you wouldn't want to get hurt by me?"
"What are you crazy? I'd cream you in a fight. But don't worry, I'd never actually fight you seriously," Rena nodded with a slight glare towards Kira.
"You're the one who doesn't have to worry because I'd never fight you seriously," Kira growled through gritted teeth. The two glared at each other for a few seconds, before they suddenly started shouting.
"I could beat you with one armed tied behind my back!"
"I could beat you with both my wings tied in knots!"
"Batgirl!"
"Tomboy!"
The two growled with lightning in their eyes.
Kaito sat in front of the museum with a yellow and red housecat beside him. The cat's ears perked a bit and looked around.
"Something wrong?" Kaito questioned.
"I think I hear Rena and Kira shouting," The cat spoke in Sabre's voice. Kaito sighed and shook his head.
"Just ignore them."
2.3 Harry Leferts
Looking at the hoard of approaching Puppymonkeybabies, Littlefoot glanced at his friends. All of them, and Kira, looked exhausted. For some odd reason the strange things got crossed with a zombie apocalypse. Hence why they were making a last stand on a mountain. Shaking her head, Cera took a deep breath. "If you're going to do something, do it soon. We're the last uninfected on the planet."
With a nod, Littlefoot gave a slightly sad smile to Kira. "Sorry that it turned out like this."
Kira only laughed a bit. "Doesn't matter, this has still been a good loop."
One final nod, and Littlefoot rose into the air with a single wing sticking out his back. Raising a paw, what looked like a medieval representation of the solar system appeared and then disappeared in a flash. "Supernova."
Even as the LBT loopers' eyes widened, outside the galaxy, something stirred. An almost like comet-like object accelerated to FTL speed and blasted its way across intergalactic space until it punched through the distance between it and the solar system. As it entered the Solar System, it shattered Pluto in a single hit and continued on. Next, it blazed past Saturn, wiping out most of its rings before punching a hole through Jupiter.
For several moments, the gas giant stood there with a tunnel through its middle as the object continued on. Then Jupiter just detonated. However, the comet-like object continued until it plunged into the Sun. Several seconds passed as the surface of the star roiled and bubbled before it exploded outward. The first planet destroyed was Mercury followed shortly by Venus. Looking up at the approaching blast wave, Cera only whistled. "Okay, no kill like overkill I guess."
Meanwhile, Kira's jaw dropped. "He... Blew up the entire solar system?!"
Grinning, Littlefoot pulled all of them and himself into his Pocket just before the Earth was destroyed. The rest of the loop was spent there on their spaceship...
2.4
"Do you know what your task is?" Kira awoke to the menacing voice of her creator and frowned. She hated waking up at the moment of her creation–it meant she had to face him. "Get the Dino Dagger, that's your primary concern, and you shall be rewarded."
Liar.
Kira turned from Dark Dragon and looked at the earth visible in the moon's sky.
"I don't think I'll be doing that," Kira muttered emotionlessly, Dark Dragon looked at his creation questioningly.
"Excuse me? I think I misheard you, it sounded like you said you weren't going to do as I ordered you."
"Yes, that's what I said," Kira turned to her 'master' with a harsh glare on her face. "I'm not going to help you Dark Dragon, I'm going to help the Dino Knights destroy you!" the humanoid shapeshifter spoke with confidence and anger as she glared up at the Drago Wizard that had created her. Dark Dragon snarled.
"You will do as I command! Or you shall be destroyed!"
"Then destroy me," Kira crossed her arms and spread her wings as she floated to the Dragozaur's eye level. Dark Dragon was infuriated, he lifted one of his clawed hands, ready to strike his rogue creation down, when suddenly time slowed to a crawl.
"You know, I don't know what's more pathetic," Kira muttered, holding the time stone Littlefoot had given her in her right hand. Dark Dragon's claw was slowly moving towards Kira, but she was in no danger of it hitting her. She turned towards the earth with a scowl on her face. "The fact that I used to be afraid of you, or that I used to admire you."
Kira turned into a swarm of Gloom Bats that flew towards earth, leaving behind a confused and furious Dark Dragon.
2.5 Harry Leferts
Sitting at one of the tables in the tavern, the teenaged Rena raised an eyebrow as she looked around. "Figures that we'd be stuck waiting..." There was a frown on her face as she glanced at the seventeen year old Kaito, who had a large hammer hanging from his waist and what looked like a mockup of his Dino Dagger on another section of his waist, it being the "Holy Symbol" he used. "Any idea how much longer we're going to... Oh, wait, I think that Kira just showed up."
With a blink, Kaito looked up and stared as Kira walked over before he blinked. "What the..."
There was a slight blush on her face as she sat down, being careful of her draconic tail as it swished. "Yeah... I'm a half-vampire, half-dragon this loop."
Raising an eyebrow even as she held up a finger for Roxanne, the owner of the tavern this loop, to bring them some food, Rena coughed. "How the heck does that even work?"
All Kira did was shake her head and shrug a bit, her wings flaring. However, a moment later, she softly smiled. "Well... my biological dad this loop is actually Littlefoot... he's a mixed breed dragon and before he Woke up, his unawake self apparently... had relations... with a vampire." Seeing that her friends were staring at her, she snorted. "Trust me, when it comes to dragons I've seen a lot weirder offspring."
While she coughed into her hand, Rena gave Roxanne a nod of thanks as the other Looper placed some food in front of them. "Right..."
Kira snorted and waved a clawed hand around. "No, I'm really not joking about that. We traveled a lot as dad wanted to spend time with me. At one point, we went to a gathering of dragons and there were other half-dragons there. Most were humans, elves, dwarves... that sort of thing. But I also saw a half-water elemental and a half-iron golem... and that's not mentioning the half-ghost. His mother being a ghost when they had him."
Both her longtime friends just stared at her before Kaito raised a hand. "Wait... half-water elemental? But those are made entirely of water, right? And a golem?"
Utterly weirded out, Rena nodded. "Yeah... And how does one, uh, you know, have a kid with a ghost?"
Once more, Kira only shrugged. "No clue, all dad did was laugh and state that dragons from loops like this can breed with pretty much everything and anything."
Still gobsmacked, it took Kaito a few moments to shake it off before he spotted some others heading toward them. "Hey, think that those guys are the rest?"
Laughing, Tim walked over and held out a hand. "You Kaito?" At the nod and shake of hands from the other teenager, Tim nodded. "Tim from the Jurassic Park Loops, Bard." He then gestured over at Lex who was also shaking Kira's hand. "Lex, my sister and Paladin. And over here we got Jess, also from our Branch and our Druid."
With a grin on her face, Jess nodded and shook Kaito's hand as she let go of Rena's. "Great to finally meet you."
Meanwhile, Tim gestured to their last member. "And this is Gray, he's a Ranger."
Nodding, Kaito smiled. "I'm Kaito, a Cleric." Gesturing to his two friends, he grinned. "And these are two of my best friends, Rena, our Rogue, and Kira, our Sorceress."
Once they were all seated and with food, Lex waved a fork around. "So... how are we going to work this? If we're going to adventure we need to pick a leader and such."
As she scoffed, Kira shook her head. "Don't need a leader as I'm pretty sure that all of us won't have issues sharing ideas and all that."
Several hours, and drinks, later the group all grinned as they sorted themselves out. With a mug of beer to his lips, Tim nodded some. "Guess that we need to choose what our first adventure will be then..."
Chuckling, Jess smirked a bit. "Already covered." At the looks, she held up a slip of parchment. "Apparently some of the merchants have been having issues getting through Shadow Dale. Mainly because of monsters..."
"AAAAAAAAAH! SPIDERS!"
With a grunt, Kaito swung his hammer as Rena ducked behind him and smashed a spider the size of a German Shepard. "It just had to be giant spiders and other things, didn't it?"
Hearing something, he turned and looked over his shoulder and sweatdropped at the sight of Rena stabbing another spider over and over. "DIE! DIE! DIE YOU CREEPY THING!"
Kira only sighed and shook her head before spraying a group of spiders with a stream of lightning mixed with fire. 'Figures that she would lose it...'
Meanwhile, Jess was batting various spiders out of the air with a staff while Lex, and Tim danced around, their swords flashing as they cut and sliced. At the same time, Gray grinned as his sling sang through the air. Sometimes he smashed it into a spider and other times let the pebble in it fly through the air, cracking exoskeletons. "Now this is fun!"
All that got him was looks from the others.
Grunting, Lex snarled as she swung her sword. "'Hey guys, I heard about this lone tower out in the woods' you said!" Swinging it again, another grunt escaped her. "'A minor necromancer lives there and it'll be easy to handle' at best some skeletons you said..." If glares could kill, the one that Lex shot her brother certainly would have done so. "Well, is it so fucking easy now!?"
Tim groaned a bit as he shook his head, his sword lashing out at what looked like a rotting lion's paw that leapt at him, dirty claws extended. "At least it's not those Kobolds this time!"
With a snarl, Jess flung out some acorns that exploded across the hallway. "FUCK TUCKER'S KOBOLDS!"
Twirling his hammer, Kaito smashed a human hand that was rushing him, metal claws glinting. On his backswing, he nailed a skeletal rat. "I don't know... these might be just as annoying." Grimacing as he felt the mummy rot in his arm, he shrugged it off. 'Going to need to cast a lot of disease curing spells... and poison curing ones.'
As she took a deep breath, Kira waved a hand. "EVERYONE! GET BACK!" Once Tim and Lex had leapt back along with Gray and Jess, Kira held her hands in front of her as eldritch energies gathered along them and shouted one word in draconic. "BURN!" A sheet of flame leapt from her hands and rocketed down the corridor, lighting the various undead hands, paws, and claws on fire. Under it, the rat and other vermin skeletons blackened and cracked. "Okay, that should give us some breathing room."
Slightly frowning, Gray could hear the scratch of claws on stone heading toward them. "Not for long I'm afraid."
Just facepalming, Jess groaned. "Just our luck that we met with a necromancer who decided to create undead vermin and then enchant their claws and teeth." Hissing, she cast a spell and felt her wounds begin to heal up, though slowly. "What kind of fucking sadist puts metal blades of wounding on claws of undead rats anyways!?"
While he snorted, Tim took a potion from his pocket and downed it. "The same ones who enchant crawling claws with poison and Inflict Disease?"
Lex rolled her eyes. "Or the ones who have corridors filled with stagnant, disease tainted water that also have zombie piranha, pike, and the like lurking in them?"
For several moments, there was utter silence before Kaito turned to Tim who sighed. "Okay, maybe I was wrong with how easy this would be..."
Snorting, Jess shook her head. "You think?"
After a second, Kaito shrugged. "Could be worse." At the looks he got, he blinked. "What?"
Closing her eyes as if in pain, Kira took a deep breath as she adjusted her leather jerkin. "Nothing... just... nothing." Turning her head, Kira cleared her throat as she glanced to where Rena was at what seemed like a dead end to the corridor. "You nearly finished with that hidden door?"
Rena sighed as her fingers worked. "Almost... there..." There was a click and she grinned as she turned her head. "And done!"
Upon seeing the relieved smiles turn into looks of horror, Rena turned around to find herself staring at a scorpionfolk wight who grinned, his dry, papery skin stretching and cracking. "Your flesh shall be delicious..."
Seeing the drider ghast behind him, Rena only blinked and said one word as she paled. "... Fuck."
Chuckling, the ghast raised his hands. "Oh no, my dear... Black Tentacles!"
As a mass of giant tentacles rose from the ground and Rena scrambled away, Kira took a deep breath. "Fuck this shit! I'm a young woman and seen enough anime to know where this is going!" Both undead were confused about what she said before their eyes widened as they saw the light in her mouth just before she unleashed a blast of fire and lightning into their faces...
Guiding the rest of her group through the cave, Kira took a deep breath and smiled as she smelt the familiar scents. 'Home...' After a moment, she shook her head. 'At least for this loop anyways.' Glancing at the others, she considered everything that had happened this loop. So far, it had been five years, and the group of them had become well known adventurers. 'Hard to believe it honestly...' Then a smirk crossed Kira's face. 'Though Rena's issue with always having giant insects attack is hilarious.'
It went without saying that said young woman glared at her friend/rival. "Are you laughing at me?"
All Kira did was give her a wide-eyed innocent look. "No, I'm not laughing at you." Turning, she smirked once more. 'At least, not out loud.' Just then, they crossed a corner and found themselves in a massive cavern. And there, in the center, was a massive Bronze/Gold hybrid dragon watching them with a smile. "DAD!"
Laughing, Littlefoot held one foreleg out as Kira rushed toward him and tackle hugged him best that she could. Though it was a sort of hilarious sight as he was larger than Roxanne was as a T-Rex. Just the same, he closed his forelimb over her and nuzzled her hair. "It's good to see you, Kira. And it seems that adventuring has agreed with you." Holding her out in one massive paw, Littlefoot hummed and raised an eyebrow at her clothing. "Though you got the sorceress look down and without relying on the usual, uh, armor."
Kira only raised an eyebrow in amusement and looked down at herself. Besides her trousers with greaves on her legs, she wore a leather jerkin made from a black dragon's hide that her group had slayed with the chainmail shirt showing. Though said jerkin was open just enough to show some cleavage. "Still better than, say... an armored bra."
Another laugh burst from Littlefoot at that. "True, true. I remember some of the outfits..." He then tapped his chin in thought. "Such as that one sorceress that wore a corset of belts." Seeing the raised eyebrow, Littlefoot just shrugged. "Fantasy world, outfits can get really weird."
While he set her down, Kira noted that Littlefoot greeted the others, though Kaito just stared at the massive pile of gold, jewels, and various other treasures that Littlefoot laid on. "Whoa... that's a lot of gold."
Slowly shaking his head as Kira facepalmed, Littlefoot just smiled. "Well, I am a dragon. And what is a dragon in a fantasy setting without a hoard of treasure?" He then shifted a bit as Kira sat on his shoulder. "So then, how can I help you guys? Kira sent me a letter stating that you guys wanted to talk with me about something?"
From where she was on his shoulder, Kira took a deep breath. "Yeah, dad?" Seeing that she had his attention, Kira continued. "I'm ready to become a dragon disciple. And the others want to get some training as well before we continue on with our careers."
There was an interested look on Littlefoot's face as he rubbed one chin. "I see... It's going to be hard training you know."
With a frown on her face, Kira narrowed her eyes. "Bring it on."
Rumbling in amusement, Littlefoot shook his head and rubbed her head with one massive claw. "Oh, I will and you'll regret it." He then turned to the others even as Kira blinked. "So then, what training do you bunch want?"
The others shared looks before Tim shook his head. "Most of us are simply going to get some training in our usual stuff. But... Rena here wants to become a Shadow Dancer, so..."
Once more, Littlefoot tapped his chin as he thought it over. "I do know a few Shadow Dancers who owe me a favor or two... so I should be able to get you some help with that." There was a knowing look on his face as he smirked a bit. 'Though I suspect that I know the real reason why.' A moment later, he shook it off and took the massive goblet that Tekeli brought over filled with fruit juice. "So then, are you staying the night at least? Because I do have some room though it might be a bit cramped in Kira's old room."
Shaking her head, Kira only grinned a bit. "We'll be staying, but I'm going to be using Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion for how long they're staying."
As he slowly nodded, Littlefoot just smiled. "Very useful spell that actually. And best of all, you can use it in your home loop as well to give you a place to stay."
Blushing at his pride, Kira preened a bit under his praise.
Ducking under a swing of the viciously serrated halberd, Kaito growled as he swung his war hammer, catching the evil cleric in the knee with a crunch that was only partially that of the armor of his opponent. Snarling, his opponent tried to decapitate him with another swing, only for it to be blocked by Kaito's buckler. "You won't win this day, Kaito the Light! Our Lord will awaken once more, for none can stand against Kyruss!"
With a snort, Kaito dodged another blow though out of the corner of his eye, he could see the others busy with their own opponents. "We've already won, Gyruk! Just give up and I promise that you'll get a fair trial."
If anything, that seemed to amuse the evil priest as he laughed, favoring his uninjured leg. "Won? No, you haven't. Besides, I will get to hear the screams of that rogue you care for first as it seems that the skull rippers have their eyes on her!"
For a moment, something burned in Kaito's eyes before he swung his war hammer faster than his enemy could react and the front of the evil cleric's armor caved in under the blow. "No, you won't."
Hearing a screech, he turned in time to see Rena rush past with two of the horrific constructs after her. Each looked like a giant scorpion composed of skulls and rotting heads, their foot long stingers glistening with poison. All Rena did was keep running from them as she shouted one mantra. "Nope! Nope! Nope! So much nope!" Before they could catch her, though, she dived into a shadow and vanished. A moment later, she popped out of a shadow inside an alcove in the stalactite above them and began to fling down flasks filled with acid, alchemist's fire, and the like before pulling out a wand from which fireballs shot and exploded against the screaming constructs. "DIE! DIEDIEDIEDIE!"
All Kaito did was blink at the sight and sweatdrop. 'Okay... note to self, do something nice for Rena after this...' When she began to cackle, he shivered some. 'Something really nice.'
Meanwhile, Kira was fighting another sorcerer, this one a half-Devil. Back and forth eldritch energies there flung as they fought. Fire, ice, lightning, acid, poison, necromantic blasts covered the area. Neither gave or took an inch as they fought. Snarling, the half-Devil felt one of his horns sheared off by a chain of black lightning. "Why do you fight for these lesser beings!? You and I, we are better than them. The blood of beings their superior run through our veins and we are destined to walk in greater worlds, yet here you are! Fighting alongside them! For them and not your own goals!
Rolling under a green beam, Kira only snorted as she answered with a blast of ice that was blocked with hellfire. "They're my friends, I don't need any other excuse then that!"
His body twisting around a fireball, the demonic sorcerer scoffed. "Friends. What is friendship but a pitiful pile of emotion? No, true power comes from inner darkness! You should embrace it!"
Kira narrowed her eyes some. "I know all about inner darkness." Having avoided a blast, she cast a spell that caused the floor to erupt in spikes that pierced through his feet. "I came from darkness and was cast into it. I know the power of it and was made of it! But! My friends brought me out of that and I will be dammed before I let that control me again!"
With a grunt, the half-Devil pulled his bleeding feet free of the spikes. "Perhaps I should kill your friends to teach you the truth then!"
It seemed though, that Kira was just annoyed. "No, this fight is over and you lost the argument. For one reason..." Her form seemed to blur and where she stood was now a giant dragon. "For I am a dragon, therefore your argument is invalid."
Moments later, her breath weapon composed of fire and lightning struck the sorcerer and consumed him utterly.
2.6
Rena sat on Brachio's back as she looked up at the stars, she had convinced her sauropod friend to come out of the museum for the night and do a little star gazing with her.
She had really wanted to spend time with him lately, but…
"Rena," Rena looked up at her name being spoken and saw that the large sauropod Dino Knight had turned his neck to look at her. "Is something the matter? You've been awfully quiet," she frowned at his kind, understanding voice. She really wanted to tell him.
Rena was friends with all of the Dino Knights, but like with Kaito and Tyranno, or Rick and the Cerozaur brothers, she herself had a special connection with Brachio.
Which is what made this all the harder for her.
"There's… nothing wrong," she muttered while looking down. She really hated lying to him, but honestly what could she tell him? That she, Kaito and some of the Dino Knights (not to mention Kira, a Dragozaur!) were going through time loops and that the universe was broken? Tyranno always saw it fit not to mention this to any UnAwake Dino Knight so why would she think herself able to.
"Rena, I know there's something wrong. You haven't been your usual self lately, usually you'd be a lot more excitable, but for the last couple of days you've seemed rather… melancholy," silence filled the night air as Rena contemplated all the things she wanted to say to her non-looping friend.
"… Brachio, there is something going on. I won't lie to you about that, but… it's something I can't really talk to you about."
"Oh… is it a human thing?"
"What? No!" Rena exclaimed while shaking her head before sighing. "Brachio, it's something that I really want to talk to you about and for you to be a part of… but I don't have a say in that matter and… I just really wish you could remember too…" she whispered the last part, but Brachio heard it.
The golden Dino Knight had no idea what his human friend meant by 'remember too' but he did not pry. He nodded to her and spoke in a gentle tone of voice.
"OK Rena, I don't know what you mean… but I won't try to get you to tell me. If you feel the information is best left unknown to me then I'll trust your judgement. But remember that if at any point you wish to speak to me about these issues, I'll always be willing to listen," Brachio explained, and Rena nodded back with a sad smile. Both turned back to look at the shining stars in the night sky.
Her partner wasn't Looping, but speaking to him was still comforting…
2.7
"Kira, what did you do?" Kaito questioned his shapeshifter friend with a suspicious look on his face.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Kira said with a smug grin on her face.
"I know you've done something, you've got that look."
"What look?"
"The look that you have done something." Kaito sweatdropped when Kira just chuckled.
"Don't worry Kaito, I just left the Dragozaurs a little… present when I left early this Loop."
"AH! WHAT IS THAT THING?!"
"IT'S DISGUSTING!"
"KEEP IT AWAY FROM ME!"
"What are you simpletons screaming about!?" Drago Wing questioned as he flew into the area where all the drones were screaming their heads off, his eyes nearly leapt out of his skull at the site that greeted him.
"Puppymonkeybaby!"
"Ah! What is that!? It's repulsive!" Drago Wing shouted in a panic as the strange part human baby, part monkey, part dog… thing, walked around their base repeating the same thing over and over.
"Puppymonkeybaby! Puppymonkeybaby! Puppymonkeybaby!" The Dragozaurs flew into a panic as it walked around, none of them wanting it anywhere near them, nor did they want to touch it. However in their panic the Dragozaur drones knocked the smaller Drago Wing to the ground where he came face to face with the bizarre horror.
"Y-you! Don't come any closer or… I'll destroy you!" Drago Wing shouted in a panic voice as the hybrid got closer and looked him in the eye.
"Puppy."
*Lick*
"Monkey."
*Lick*
"Baby."
*Lick*
"AH! I'VE BEEN INFECTED!"
Panic continued to spread throughout the Dragozaur base. Suffice to say, the Dino Knights didn't hear from the Dragozaurs for the rest of the Loop.
2.8
"… Ok, why am I raptor again!?" Kaito questioned as he got to his feet, of course once he looked around he realized that wasn't the strangest thing about this Loop–honestly, he ended up a raptor so much it shouldn't have been considered strange at all.
He looked around at the enclosure he was staying in at what appeared to be a dinosaur theme park of some kind.
"Huh, I wonder what all this-" Kaito was cut off when another raptor pounced on him excitedly.
"Bro! You're up! Let's play!" The green raptor cheered as she bounced around him. Kaito's Loop memories identified her as 'Charlie.'
"Yes, I'm up. Could you get off me?" Kaito grunted, the female raptor whined a bit but complied. Kaito noted there was one other male raptor in the habitat with them and three other females. In the fact the three females were in the process of glomping the lone male.
"Could you please get off of me before Owen shows up," The raptor that Kaito identified as his brother Konani, pleaded to the female raptors whom were their sisters: Echo, Delta and Blue.
"But this is comfortable," Blue chuckled a little sinisterly as the other two just snuggled him. Kaito shook his head at the scene, thankful that he wasn't in that situation.
"Hey guys! Brother's up!" Charlie called to her sisters excitedly and Kaito soon found himself being glomped by his in-loop sisters. Konani sighed as he got up.
"Ok, that's enough of that!" Somebody called, Kaito looked up as the man he identified as both 'alpha' and 'father' entered the enclosure and the six raptors lined up in front of him.
"Ok, who's Awake and feeling loopy?" at Owen's question the raptors each gave confirmation that they were indeed Awake.
"Um, I'm too," Kaito added at the end. "I don't really know any of you though… My name's Kaito."
"Kaito?" Owen thought for a moment before nodding. "Yes, Roxanne told us about you, and Gray mentioned you and your friends too," Kaito smiled at that but backed up a bit when Owen gave him an intimidating look. "You're my son this Loop so I won't hold it against you for being near my girls. But you better know how to keep your hands to yourself."
After that Kaito just stood there shaking for a moment, before Konani tapped him on the shoulder causing him to yelp. "Oh, it's you…"
"Hey, don't worry about Owen. He's just protective of his daughters. He does that kind of thing to me all the time," Konani said calmly.
"… Is that supposed to make me feel better?"
So Kaito found himself as part of an attraction at Jurassic World. A member of the Raptor Squad as they were called, and Konani apparently wasn't normally a part of it either. Him originating from the Nanosaur loop, which he had actually taken his place in once.
Anyway, business went as it usually would. There was some super dinosaur or something called the 'I-rex' or something, but Owen stated that they had made sure it wouldn't be able to escape 'this time.' He had decided to shapeshift to human and meet up with Gray whom was touring the park with his brother: Zach.
"So, Owen gave you the 'overprotective dad' act?" Gray asked as he walked alongside Kaito whom nodded. Kaito was a good deal taller than Gray, more around his brothers' height (whom was lagging behind them) still, despite the illusion of physical age Gray could actually be considered considerably older than Kaito, though it wasn't something he tended to think about much.
"Act? That was an act?" Kaito asked in some disbelief.
"Don't worry about him, he may threaten you. But as long as you don't do anything real bad he won't do anything," Gray assured Kaito with a chuckle. Kaito nodded, though he did wonder what exactly Owen would consider 'real bad.'
When they came to the pterosaur dome Kaito did notice a familiar looking green pteranodon looking at him from behind the glass.
"Um… Buzz?" Kaito questioned.
"Yes. Apparently, I'm a zoo animal or something? What's going on?" the transformed teen asked telepathically with a questioning tilt of the head.
"Um… Not exactly a zoo. You can shapeshift to human, right?" the DinoZaurs Anchor asked, and Buzz nodded.
"Yeah, but there's not really any way for me to do it and get out without anyone noticing."
"Hmm… maybe we can help you with that."
"Um, Kaito who are you talking to?" Gray asked with a confused look on his face. Kaito sweatdropped as he realized Buzz was only speaking telepathically to him.
After the explanation, he and Gray managed to help get Buzz out of the enclosure in human form, they hung around the park a little more.
"Hey, Buzz. I just had a great idea," Kaito said after Gray had gone over to his brother for a bit.
"Ok, what's your idea?" The green haired Dino Squad Anchor questioned with a raised brow. Kaito whispered something in his ear and buzz smirked. "Awesome. I'm in!"
"What the heck!?"
"Is it a publicity stunt?"
"What's going on!?"
"That is so fake."
The guests of the park muttered all these things as a green pteranodon flew overhead with a red raptor standing on his back as if he was surfing.
2.9
"Rena, do you have a crush on Kaito?"
"What?" Rena turned to Kira with an annoyed look on her face as they both sat on the bench in the park. Kira was holding an ice cream cone. "Why would you think that?"
"Well, you sure got riled up in baseline when I tried to get him alone," Kira shrugged before she took a lick of her frozen treat. "Seemed a little telling, wouldn't you say," Kira smirked as Rena glared at her.
"Me? What about you?" the red haired girl pointed an accusatory finger at her companion.
"Me?" *Lick* "What about me?" *Lick*
"You're the one who wanted him to yourself, and you even wanted him to go on a date with you. I'd say you have a crush on him," Rena crossed her arms and smirked. Kira was now glaring at Rena.
"Hey, I was only doing that to get his Dino Dagger. It was an act, I was working for Dark Dragon," Kira nearly threw her ice cream in disgust at the thought of her old creator and master. But stopped herself before she did. "No, not the ice cream's fault," Rena's eyebrow rose at Kira's weird statement. "Anyway, you sure got steamed when I said Kaito and I had a date, and I'm pretty sure you weren't acting."
"Hey guys, what're you talking about?" the two girls ceased glaring at each other when they noticed Kaito coming over.
"Oh, nothing important," Rena waved her hand while Kira just went back to eating her ice cream. Kaito looked at them strangely for a seconds before shrugging.
2.10 Harry Leferts
Leaning back against the bench as she continued to eat her ice cream, Kira hummed a bit. "Kaito, you know I have been thinking..."
Without a beat, Rena snorted a bit. "I thought that something was burning."
As he ignored how Kira attempted to swat Rena upside the head, which the other girl dodged, Kaito frowned a bit. "Okay? So what have you been thinking?"
Kira raised a finger as she looked over at her friends with a slight smirk. "Well... it's about the Dino-Daggers actually." At their looks of confusion, she sighed and rolled her eyes. "You know how the Dino-Daggers at the end of the loop lose their energy and thus the Dino Knights return to just being fossils, right?"
Sighing, Kaito frowned a bit and stared up at the sky, the clouds slowly passing by as he nodded. "Yeah, it really sucks to be honest." Kaito then scuffed one foot against the dirt surrounding him and as he scowled. "I've tried everything to stop it, but nothing works!"
However, much to his surprise, Kira chuckled and shook her head as she winked at him. "I actually got an idea as to how to fix that."
Eyes wide, Kaito turned to her as did Rena, both of them shouting as hope shone from their eyes. "Really!?"
More than slightly surprised at their reactions, it took a moment for Kira to shake it off. "Uh, yeah actually." With a frown, she finished off her ice cream and then began to munch on the waffle bowl itself. 'Mmm... I love these...'
With her eyebrow twitching, Rena took a deep breath. "So what is your idea then...?"
Blinking, Kira looked over at them. "Well, the big issue is that the daggers need time to recharge, right? So... why not take the Dino-Daggers at the end of the loop and slip them into our Pockets? Then each loop afterwards we put the ones we Pocketed somewhere out of sight until the end of the loop before Pocketing them again. They'd be exposed to the Earth's life energy each loop and slowly recharge until they're fully functional again then we could use them once the Loops end to keep the Dino Knights from becoming fossils again." Utter silence met her and she slowly blushed under the stares of her friends before she huffed. "What?"
Rapidly shaking it off, Kaito grinned and hugged her. "That's awesome!"
Her face utterly red, Kira tried not to grin at the look at Rena was giving her which was a combination of hopefulness and annoyance. "I don't know if it'll work you know, but it should and we can test it. We got the time for that after all..."
Rena frowned and crossed her arms. "Yeah, I guess... and we might be able to build up extras too."
That caused Kaito to blink and frown a bit. "I wonder if that means that maybe we could awaken other Dino Knights too..."
Both Rena and Kira shared a shrug at that.
2.11 Black Omochao/Harry Leferts
When Owen woke up this Loop he had gotten a few pings back, and confirmed that at least his daughters, Gray and Claire were Awake, and the Indominus Rex project had apparently been halted before anything could be made from it, so perhaps Hammond was awake too.
Still, despite there being no immediate problems, there was one point of concern and confusion in this Loop that he found himself unable to ignore.
"Why is there an exhibit for a saber-toothed cat?" The raptor handler questioned as he stared at the red and yellow furred prehistoric big cat that was resting in its enclosure. He'd understand if the entirety of Jurassic World was for ice age creatures this Loop, or just for prehistoric creatures in general. But it was still dinosaur-themed with this random prehistoric mammal placed as if it were any other dinosaur.
"You're not the only one confused," the male voice caught Owen's attention and he was surprised to see the smilodon looking his way with a slightly annoyed look in its eyes before getting to its feet. "I mean really, what's with humans and placing Mammoth and me in the same category as dinosaurs. I am a mammal," the big cat looked around the enclosure for a few moments while Owen watched him.
"Um… excuse me," Owen called out and the saber-toothed cat turned back to him with an apologetic smile.
"Oh, sorry. I got distracted there for a second. My name's Dino Sabre and I'm a Dino Knight from the DinoZaurs Loops. And I know that's a lot of 'dinos' but I assure you I am not a dinosaur."
"… Ok, then why are you a 'Dino Knight?' and why are you in an enclosure at a dinosaur-themed park?" Owen questioned, unsure of what else to ask at this moment. Honestly the idea of people seeing prehistoric mammals as being no different than dinosaurs did bug him a little.
"'Dino Knight' is just a position, not all Dino Knights are dinosaurs. As for why I'm here, I don't know. Maybe because I'm normally an exhibit at a museum meant to be only about dinosaurs?" Sabre sighed before shaking his head. "It's probably not worth getting upset about, but it's just something I've been noticing since I started Looping. This is a little better than the Dinotarium though. At least here I can get a little cardio done."
"Cardio? You do cardio?" Owen questioned blankly.
"Well I need something to do when I'm not busting up Dragozaurs or being a museum exhibit," Sabre shrugged. Owen wasn't sure if he should continue talking to the visiting Looper or see if he could find Claire or something, when suddenly a green blur zoomed by him and jumped into Sabre's enclosure.
"Kitty! Fluffy Kitty!" Charlie cheered as she snuggled into Sabre's fur.
"… Um," Sabre sweatdropped, looking unsure of what to do about this situation.
"Charlie? Get off of him!" Owen called after the shock of what had just happened faded.
"No! My fluffy!"
"Could somebody get this thing off me… please?"
Owen then suddenly looked toward Gray who was just looking on in confusion before he leaned over and whispered into the other Awake looper's ear. Shrugging, Gray transformed into his squirrel form and Owen pointed at him. "But do you want that fluffy while I take this one?"
Moments later, Charlie was there holding the amused Gray above her before she ran off. "MY FLUFFY GRAY!"
Blinking in utter confusion, Dino Sabre turned toward Owen. "... What the heck just happened?"
2.12 Harry Leferts
Leaning against the doorframe, Rena raised an eyebrow as she watched Kira inside writing something down. After not being noticed for several minutes, Rena gave a cough that caused the other looper to jump in her seat out of shock. "So, I've noticed the last few loops that after you Awake, you go off by yourself and pretty much ignore everything that is going on. Kaito and the others won't say anything because they want to give you some space... but I'm not them." Narrowing her eyes, Rena crossed her arms across her chest. "So spill, what's the problem?"
Kira glanced over at her and grumbled a bit. "Nothing's wrong."
Just slowly shaking her head, Rena walked away from the doorframe and snorted. "There's something going on, Kira. We've both been around each other far too long for that sort of line to work. Now then, what's your problem?" Catching her flinch, Rena frowned a bit as something occurred to her. "... Was it something that an unAwake me did?"
Once more wincing, Kira coughed. "Well..."
With a sigh, Rena reached her and raised an eyebrow. "Spill."
Hanging her head, Kira slumped into her seat. "The unAwake you got in an argument with me while none of the others were there and... words were said. But she had some good points though." When her eyes closed, she missed Rena's eyes narrowing. "I'm technically a Dragozaur, Rena. And as she pointed out... how do I know that one day that I won't feel the same hunger? The hunger for lifeforce and then eventually giving in. And if I do that, what will I do to Kaito? To you? Or... to the Dino-Knights?"
A scoff caused her to turn to see Rena roll her eyes. "I wouldn't worry about it. The unAwake me is an idiot if she was concerned about you doing that."
For a brief moment, there was a thankful smile on Kira's face. Then it was gone as she waved at her notes. "Anyways, I've been trying to figure out something just in case. You know, so that I won't hurt anyone if the worst comes to pass."
Eyes narrowing, Rena pinched her nose for a moment. "Okay, let's hear it..."
Taking a breath, Kira let it out with a sigh. "You know how humans figured out that energy can't be created or destroyed, right? It just gets transformed?"
With a snort, Rena nodded. "That's stuff we learn in school." Then she frowned a bit. "Though I was surprised when the Dino-Knights explained that using fossil fuels has the effect of using the planet's life force up..."
Just nodding, Kira pointed at her notes. "Well... I've been trying to figure out how to transform other types of energy into life force, like sunlight or wind power..." She then frowned as she seemed to look into the distance. "But... can I ask a favor?"
Rena looked at her and shook her head. "Don't worry, if you go nuts or something after the loops end, I'll stop you."
Her shoulders slumping in relief, Kira nodded. "Thanks. I don't want Kaito to know though."
All Rena did was nod. "Yeah, Kaito wouldn't understand." Then her fist shot out and punched Kira in the shoulder. "Now enough of this emo stuff. How about we head out or something? I know that you haven't tried all the ice cream flavors yet and Kaito does owe the two of us some because of the last loop."
Laughing, Kira put her notes into her Pocket and nodded. "Sounds good. And no one knows about what we discussed, okay?"
There was a flash of green outside the window that Kira didn't see, but Rena spotted before she nodded. "Yeah... I don't want to ruin my reputation."
Outside the window, Ptera just shook her head and chuckled a bit before she took off. 'Somehow, I don't think that you need to worry about this stuff, Kira...'
2.13 Black Omochao/GarnettFoxy
"… What the hell is this?" Roxy questioned with a look that was both agitated and baffled at the same time, the four currently Looping Dino Knights looked at her, a few of them on appropriately sized exercise machines–Sabre on a large treadmill being a notable example.
"It's a gym," Tyranno answered simply.
"A gym?" Roxy responded to the other tyrannosaurus with a blank look on her face.
"Yeah, you know. Exercise and all that, thought that your hotel could use a place for stuff like that," Tricera said proudly, oblivious to the fact that Roxy's eye was now twitching.
"We'll be offering a few training programs to get any potential Dino Knights into shape, after all any of you guys could Loop in and join as at any time, so it's good to be prepared," Ptera said while hovering by.
"And it's rather therapeutic," Sabre said before getting off the treadmill. Roxy stared at the four biomechanical prehistoric creatures for a few more seconds before she finally snapped.
"... You're kidding me... I THOUGHT WE WERE ALL DONE WITH THIS SHIT AGES AGO!" the sudden shout of the hotel's owner startled the Dino Knights before she stomped off muttering something about 'gas-lighting her' or something. Godzilla noticed the commotion and stepped over while looking Roxy's way with a concerned look on his face.
"... I'll talk to her... Well fight with her, talk with her then... Excuse me." Godzilla said before going after her. The Dino Knights flinched when some loud crashing noises followed.
"Ice cream!" Kira suddenly exclaimed from a little side bar on one wall of the gym. "We've got all kinds! Nothing better to cool off after a workout then a good ice cream cone!" the Dino Knights stared in the humanoid Dragozaur's direction. "… What?"
2.14
"Hmm… Where am I?" Eric Kirby glanced around for a moment after Awakening, before he came to a couple of conclusions. 1: He was in a museum. 2: He was a dinosaur skeleton. And 3: The dinosaur he was a skeleton of, was a spinosaurus… "Of course…"
"Spinozaurs?" Eric, or 'Dino Spino' questioned incredulously after the Loops Anchor Kaito had gotten him and the other Dino Knights to come face off with their enemies, and it really shouldn't have been that surprising to see several biomechanical spinosaurus, that reflected his own new form almost perfectly, except for their odd goldish color in comparison to his purple and yellow.
"Everyone, stand together!" The unawake Tyranno ordered before the Dino Knights began their transformations.
"Dino Tyranno! Power of the Ancients! Silver Sword! Dino Knight ready!"
"Dino Brachio! Power of the Ancients! Axe of Valor! Dino Knight ready!"
"Dino Stego! Power of the Ancients! Stego Skeletal Revolution! Dino Knight ready!"
"Dino Sabre! Power of the Ancients! Sabre Wailing Whip! Dino Knight ready!"
"Dino Ptera! Power of the Ancients! Ptera Bristle Boomerang! Dino Knight ready!"
"Dino Tricera! Power of the Ancients! Tricera Spears of Jade! Beautiful, this Dino Knight is ready!"
Eric muttered something to himself about call-outs before deciding to follow their example, he searched his in-Loop memories for whatever his transformation 'code' was before he followed their lead.
"Dino Spino! Power of the Ancients!" his body flipped around, the back becoming the front, the tail flipped back to reveal a new head, arms and legs switching uses and the original head simply becoming hidden. The spine popped off and he grabbed it. "Spino Sawblade of Silence! Dino Knight ready!"
"So, you're replacing Mammoth for the Loop?" Tricera questioned as he looked over 'Dino Spino' after they had beaten off the 'Spinozaurs.' The other Dino Knights weren't awake so it was up to Tricera to judge his friend's replacement.
"Why so unsure Tricera? Eric's been Looping longer than either of us, I think it will be fine," Kaito smiled as he came over while Eric looked between the human teenager and the biomechanical triceratops.
"Mammoth? If I'm replacing someone called Mammoth why am I a spinosaurus?" Eric questioned, feeling rather annoyed that he had been forced into the form of a creature he had no over-abundance of love for…
"Well species is one of those odd things when it comes to replacement Dino Knights, I've been a Dino Knight before and am pretty much always a raptor… Though the Loops seem to just like making me a raptor," Kaito muttered that last part under his breath before continuing. "Rena and Kira have both had times when they were Dino Knights and no matter what Rena always ends up as some sort of long-necked sauropod and Kira as a toothed pterosaur."
"So I get spinoaurus–and whenever I Loop here I'm going to be a spinosaurus?" Eric questioned in a dead-pan manner.
"Not always, just when you're a Dino Knight," Tricera said in an encouraging way that did not encourage Eric at all.
"What I don't get is, why all the Dragozaurs replaced with these… Spinozaurs?" Kaito questioned, Eric meanwhile began ramming his metallic skull against a tree.
"Every!" *Bang!* "Freaking!" *Bang!* "Time!" *Bang!*
2.15
"Rock. Paper. Scissors!" Rena and Kira both threw their hands down.
"Ha! Scissors cut paper!" Kira taunted holding her hand up high while Rena groaned at the defeat. Kaito looked at them oddly from a nearby bench before going over.
"What exactly did you bet this time? You going to have to buy Kira another freezer stuffed with ice cream for her pocket?"
"Nah, we were deciding which one of us would get you in bed first," Kira said as she and Rena both smirked evilly at Kaito. Kaito sweatdropped and backed away from the two.
"Um… that's a joke. Right?" the expressions on the two girls faces didn't change before they started approaching him. "Um… do I hear Tyranno calling me? Sorry guys, this might be important! Coming Tyranno!" Kaito sped off leaving behind his two female friends whom immediately started laughing their heads off.
"Oh man, that was a good one! Did you see the look on his face?!" Rena laughed while rolling on the grass. She sat up, her laughter died down to a bit of chuckling and looked at Kira whom was in a similar state, though hovering in the air with her wings out. "Gotta hand it to you Batgirl. That was a good joke."
"Joke? What joke?" Kira questioned with the same smirk still on her face, Rena looked at her with narrowed eyes for a moment.
"You were joking, right?" Rena glared at the smirking shapeshifter for a few seconds before Kira responded.
"Maybe I was… and maybe I wasn't," Kira shrugged with a chuckle. "Who's to say?"
"Kira…" Rena growled dangerously. Kira just laughed.
"Don't worry Rena, I won't steal him from you," Kira waved her hands. Rena coughed a bit before standing up angrily.
"Steal him!? I'm not interested in Kaito!"
"Oh, is that an invitation?"
"KIRA!"
2.16
"You know, I don't think I've seen the Dragozaurs lately," Kaito noted while standing next to Ptera, whom was the only currently Awake Dino Knight.
"Yeah odd, they haven't attacked since… hey, didn't their activity stop around the time Kira is supposed to show up?" The green, biomechanical pteranodon question the (seemingly) young Anchor. Kaito looked at the sky in thought.
"Huh… that is true…"
"Hey guys!" an irritated looking Rena skated over in a hurry holding a newspaper.
"Rena, what is it?" Ptera questioned in concern while went over to meet her.
"Look at this!" she huffed before shoving the newspaper into Kaito's hands.
"What is it?" Ptera tried to look over Kaito's shoulder as he looked at the headline.
"Worldwide ice cream shortage? All over the world ice cream has mysteriously vanished?" Kaito read aloud. The three stood in silence for a couple of seconds before all looked at each other and spoke in unison.
"Kira."
"Yes! More ice cream! Bring me more ice cream my servants!" Kira, shouted as she sat atop a mountain of ice cream inside the Dragozaur's lair as Dragozaurs looked up at her from all around, some of them looking uncomfortable due to the floor being sticky from melted ice cream.
"O-of course your eminence, whatever you desire," Drago Wing bowed fearfully. "How did this brat defeat Diamond Ryugu and Dark Dragon so easily," he muttered under his breath. Kira seemed to hear him and glared in his direction, before her form seemed to blur and in her place sat a massive dragon.
"What was that?" she growled. Drago Wing nearly screamed in surprise and backed up a bit.
"W-we'll be getting your ice cream! Come on you imbeciles! Her eminence is waiting!" Drago Wing shouted at the other Dragozaurs whom all looked to be panicking. Kira chuckled as they scrambled around to procure her more of her favorite treat.
"It's good to be queen."
2.17 Harry Leferts
Tyranno Awoke with a jolt inside of a robotic body. Several seconds later though, he had to force down panic as his body didn't move when he told it to. That is, until Tyranno realized something and would have blinked. 'I'm... In a shutdown state? Hmm...' Noticing some humans down below, Tyranno raised a mental eyebrow at how they seemed ant sized. 'I wonder...'
On the catwalk about level with his eyes, two humans walked out with one leaning against the railing. Letting out a low whistle, he shook his head with a grin as he stared at Tyranno. Even though he spoke Japanese, Tyranno understood it perfectly. "So, that's Kiryuu then?"
Beside him, the other man nodded as he chuckled. "Yup, the third of the MechaGodzilla series."
Softly snorting, the first man shook his head. "Yeah, because the other two and MOGURA did so well against Godzilla and the other Kaiju."
Meanwhile, Tyranno mentally frowned in his head. 'Godzilla? I remember those movies that Kaito watched with us that one time...'
The first man shuddered a bit as he looked at Tyranno before grimacing. "Still, that thing is pretty damn creepy. It's like some kind of freaky cyborg zombie since you guys used the skeleton of the first Godzilla as a frame for the rest."
While he shook his head, the second scoffed. "You're being superstitious again. Nothing will happen from using the skeleton in it. Nothing. Now then, we've wasted enough time."
And with that, the two walked off arguing as Tyranno watched the best that he could before he hummed. 'Interesting... And some of the weapons could be useful, like the Absolute Zero cannon...'
2.18
"Kaito," the DinoZaurs Anchor looked up at his dinosaurian friend and noticed a troubled look on his skull/face.
"Tyranno… is something the matter?"
"I have… memories this time, Kaito," Tyranno looked down in a solemn way that only confused Kaito.
"Memories? Tyranno what do you mean by that?"
"Of before… before we went dormant… before I became a Dino Knight. Of the Ancients."
"The Ancients! You actually remembered something about them!?" That got Kaito's attention, the Dino Knights had spoken of the Ancients in the past, and there was always that 'power of the Ancients' phrase in their transformations. But any real info on the Ancients themselves was something that alluded even the Dino Knights, it was just one of those things that the Loops seemed to obscure.
"Yes Kaito, this Loop the Ancients… created the Dragozaurs," Tyranno said with the most neutral expression he could give.
"Wait, what!?" Kaito thought he might have misheard his biomechanical friend, the Ancients, the ones whom gave the Dino Knights the power to defend the earth in the first place–created the Dragozaurs this Loop?
"It was a mistake… they were supposed to store excess life-force… they were just like us, Kaito. Those Dragozaur drones… the ones we've fought so hard against. So many of my fellow tyrannosaurus…" as the words Tyranno spoke sunk in Kaito realized what a horrifying revelation Tyranno was speaking of.
"Tyranno…"
"All that weren't transformed were drained by the Dragozuars… that's how the dinosaurs went extinct this Loop, Kaito. I don't know why we were different than the others, but we were charged by the Ancients with… driving our brethren off their own planet…" Tyranno shook his head. "We were alone for millions of years, it was awhile before Sabre and Mammoth were born, neither of them know. None of us could bare to explain it to them…"
"Tyranno… those must be some horrible memories," Kaito placed his hand on the large theropod's leg in a comforting manner. "But it's just this Loop Tyranno, we don't know if the Dragozaurs and you guys have any connection."
"But we don't know that there isn't a connection," Tyranno pointed out sadly. "I'm frightened Kaito… Have you ever noticed how much they look like us? I've dedicated my entire existence to protecting the earth, but what if… what if one taste of life-force is enough to-"
"That won't happen!" Kaito interrupted his Dino Knight friend firmly. "Tyranno, no matter what happens, no matter what crazy things the Loops throws at us next. I assure you, you will never be a Dragozaur. You may Loop as one at times, but inside you will always be a Dino Knight and I know you would never do anything to harm the planet."
"… Thank you Kaito."
"You're welcome… my friend."
2.19 Harry Leferts
Dino Brachio blinked in the bright sunlight as he walked along. Confused, he frowned a bit as the last thing he remembered was becoming a fossil again, though he had been rather confused by Kaito, Kira, and Rena stating that they would see them again soon. And now here he was walking in sunlight with the plodding of massive footsteps around him from other sauropods. Brachio's lungs filled with air and he could almost taste the salt and ozone on the air-
Wait... he had lungs.
It took him a few moments to check himself over. Having gone without such things for tens of millions of years, it was easy enough for him to feel each beat of the massive heart in his chest that sent blood flowing throughout his body. Each inhale which expanded his chest, filling his lungs with air before exhaling. The slight burn of his muscles as he walked and the pull of them working under his skin. He could even feel, in a sense, his digestive system at work in regards to the meal in his stomach. Each and every little thing that came with being alive and fully biological.
Things that he would freely admit, even if only to himself, that he had missed.
Stunned, it took Brachio's mind several moments to catch up, not breaking his stride in the meantime. 'Hmm... Perhaps this is a dream of some sort?' However, just a few seconds later, he shook his head. 'No, by my observations, this is not a dream. There many inconsistencies for it to be one. I am... alive again, somehow.' A few familiar shouts caused him to turn his head and blinked as he finally realized that the "Herd" he was in was composed of a number of different sauropods. Moreover, some of the sauropods had structures on their back or saddles near the top of their heads...
Much to his surprise, said items had humans on them. 'Humans and living dinosaurs? Hmm... And their language, it's not English but... Ah, it's a mixture. Latin being one of the parts.' Glancing around to find themselves walking on a large road that crossed an ocean side plain, Brachio frowned somewhat as he noted the dark and angry storm clouds out to sea. Unnoticed to himself, he mumbled a little to himself as he decided to simply observe and try to find out exactly what was going on rather than draw attention while at the same time he reviewed his memories and found new ones. Said memories told him that he had lived a life he was sure he had not, and that was now on his way to confront some pirates who had somehow landed on the shores of the microcontinent he was on. "Curiouser and curiouser..."
Beside him, an Apatosaurus looked up at him with a slight frown on her face before the sink where an eyebrow would be stretched upwards slight. Moments later, Helen sent off a Ping to see if the odd Brachiosaur would react, then frowned a bit more when she got none, though several return Pings answered her. 'He just spoke English...' A smile then crossed her face as she turned back to the road. 'Things just got a bit more interesting...'
Hours later, night had fallen and Brachio drifted toward the back of the herd where he was less likely to be watched as he continued his observations. Over the hours that had passed, he became more and more convinced that not only was it not a dream, neither was it a Dragozaur trick. He had considered transforming, but had dismissed the thought nearly as fast as it had come. No, best to just continue to watch. Looking up at the stars, he frowned slightly at what he was seeing as none of it made any sense. Unseen by him, Helen walked up until she was beside him and chuckled. "Is something the matter?"
Slowly, Brachio shook his head as he frowned and sighed, deep enough in thought that he didn't give any consideration to what he was doing until it was too late. "Yes, something is going on here. By my calculations, we're a hundred and fifty years before I last awoken and I am certain that there is no place where dinosaurs and humans... lived..." It dawned on him that he had spoken when none of the other dinosaurs had. Even more, the Apatosaurus beside him had spoken English, which his memories had told was impossible. "How?"
Tilting her head back, Helen hummed a bit. "How? How do you remember more than one life? How is it that you find yourself in a seemingly impossible place by one set of memories? And how are the two of us having a conversation in normal, plain English?"
Eyes slightly narrowed, Brachio nodded with a deep frown on his face. "Yes, to all of that. Perhaps you wouldn't mind explaining?"
Just nodding, Helen turned nearly her full attention onto him, keeping just enough to make sure that no one would stumble onto their conversation. "Let me introduce myself, I'm Helen from the Branch of the multiverse known as the Land Before Time."
Intrigued, Brachio hummed a bit. "I am Dino Brachio, Dino-Knight."
With a simple nod, Helen frowned slightly as she searched her memories until she remembered something. "Just to check, but have you ever overheard comments about a... loop of some sort from others you know?"
That got Brachio to blink as he rolled the idea around in his mind. "Yes... I remember Dino-Tyranno once speaking to Kaito about... loops." Several moments passed before he turned his full attention onto Helen. "Is that what this is? Some form of... time loop?" Brachio then frowned. "And from what you mentioned in regards to a multiverse, I am going to theorize that you know what exactly is happening then?"
Nodding, Helen took a deep breath before letting it out. "Imagine for a moment a massive tree. One which is so large it encompasses the entire multiverse... or perhaps omniverse would be better." Musing to herself, Helen soon shook it off. "Now, this tree is not just a tree, but also the most powerful computer imaginable..."
Brachio nodded to himself as he blinked away droplets of rain. Below and around him, the pirates, a family of Struthiomimus (one of whom he was told was a Looper), a Deinonychus, a T-Rex youngster, a Protoceratops and a human (both Loopers he was told) began to climb onto the backs of the sauropods or fastening themselves to the ropes hanging from the giant beings. Looking out toward the dark, and now tempestuous ocean, Brachio frowned as he did calculations in his head and shifted his bulk just slightly. 'There... by my calculations that should increase my stability by a bit, while helping to deflect the incoming wave.'
Glancing at Helen, who nodded at him, Brachio turned his thoughts toward what he had been told the night before by Helen. Long into the night the two had talked with the Dino-Knight asking question after question, and clarifications. All of which Helen answered to the best of her ability. Now, Brachio had not quite gotten the hang of the Pocket, or the Ping as of yet. But the two sauropods decided to put it off until the newest crisis had been resolved. Narrowing his eyes before they widened in surprise at what he saw. Out, beyond the reef, the ocean floor angled around the Northern Plains to form a massive funnel. The waves from the super-typhoon now battering the area, powered by the height of the Indian Monsoon at hundred-year peak, piled on top of each other, forced by the funnel to greater heights and more power. At the same time, the Moon was full and the Spring Tide was at its highest. A powerful storm surge and tidal bore coming together. All of these factors combined into one awe and terror inspiring fact...
Every one fell silent at the sight of the massive wave line that began to rise above the reef and seemingly stretched from one part of the horizon to the other. Twenty feet high and still building ever higher, the wave swept over the reef and slammed into the pirate ship at anchor, easily ripping it from its mooring and tossing it along like a toy in some giant's bathtub. Covering the mangroves and burying the palms under the surface, the wave continued toward the group, sweeping across farmland and laying waste to everything in its path as it continued to grow in power. With one last look shared between them, Brachio and Helen made last second adjustments as the sauropod riders shouted out instructions...
And then the wave hit.
Over thirty feet tall, the water slammed into hundreds of tons of sauropod flesh and bone. An unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. The pirate ship, masts and sails gone, just missed the group as it spun past. Growling, Brachio strained against the force of the water which also dug away at the ground beneath his feet. Finally, with a great sucking sound, the wave withdrew only for a second wave, just slightly less powerful then the first slammed into them.
Which as it also withdrew, was followed by a third, smaller one. Each hit caused the giant dinosaurs to shudder, but none of them stumbled. A thousand tons of dinosaur determined to stand their ground are not easily moved, not even by storm surges greater than twenty feet. By the time the third surge finally withdrew, the typhoon had moved on and rain fell in torrents, washing the salt out of the soil as fish and various sea creatures littered the ground. As the group pulled apart, Helen grinned slightly and whispered just loud enough for Brachio to hear as she brought her head as high toward his as possible. "Amazing, wasn't it?"
Chuckling, Brachio shook his head as he smiled and whispered back, resolving to tell what happened to Tyranno and the others once he returned home. "Invigorating."
Walking along the wooded path, Helen hummed a bit as she glanced around before looking at the Brachiosaur beside her. "Enjoying yourself?"
After a moment, Brachio opened his eyes and smiled as he slowly nodded. "This... Loop, has been rather invigorating. It's rather nice to be able to simply enjoy peace and quiet without having the Dragozaurs interrupting it." Taking a branch into his mouth, he pulled some of the leaves off it and then chewed them before swallowing. "And being able to eat and drink again is also pleasant."
Just nodding in agreement, Helen let out a soft sigh. "There's a reason why us dinosaur Loopers all enjoy Dinotopia. It's always peaceful and one can simply relax during the loop. And I do understand where you're coming from in regards to peace and quiet, my own loop is not the most peaceful after all. Even the... 'Safe' spots are not as safe as one might think."
There was a slight frown on Brachio's face as he looked at his traveling companion. For the past year, the two of them had simply been traveling the width and breadth of Dinotopia and building something of a friendship. "I don't believe that you have told me much about your Branch."
Helen glanced at him before looking up at the sun dappled canopy above them. "It's somewhat similar to many Earths during the Mesozoic, but much more dangerous. I've been told by Loopers that dinosaurs from my Branch are considered... almost Super-saurian I suppose would be the word. I've been able to break stone with ease, take Tyrannosaurs, though we call them 'Sharpteeth' leaping onto my back after they've jumped forty feet into the air..." Her voice became softer as she continued. "It's... a hard life. Besides the normal dangers, there's Earthshakes that rip apart entire continents, entire mountain ranges of erupting volcanoes, droughts, famines... Only the Great Valley gives much, if any, safety."
Frowning, Brachio thought over what he had been told before he slowly nodded. "It sounds like a harsh existence."
Simply nodding, Helen let herself sadly smile. "It is. Though unless either I or Littlefoot Wake up in time, I die due to saving him and a future friend of his." Ignoring the surprise on Brachio's face, Helen continued. "I've been rather surprised at what my son has done though, even Baseline. And in the Loops? I couldn't be prouder of him though sometimes I do wonder how it is he found a three horn as a mate, though I do approve of Cera."
Looking at the path ahead of them, Brachio softly mused as he thought over what he had been told. "I see..."
All Helen did was shrug as she looked at a bird on a branch. "The loops are a wondrous thing and I, for one, am glad for the chances they give me." Shaking it off, she then let out a puff of air. A number of minutes of silence passed before Helen cleared her throat. "You know, I don't know if any of your friends have ever been here in Dinotopia. Perhaps we should try and go looking for them?"
Brachio understood the unsaid words and just smiled. "Perhaps. Now to try and see if any of them are here..."
Despite searching though, neither Brachio nor Helen did find any of the other DinoZaur Loopers before the end of the loop.
Closing Comments time!
2.1: Always be sure to give your employees pay, health benefits, and proper classification.
2.2: Ignoring them is for the best…
2.3: Some might say that was overkill, on the other hand what else could they have done?
2.4: Broken Pedestal…
2.5: Nothing like an adventure with friends! Even if you keep getting attacked by giant spiders and scorpions and one of you is afraid of bugs, at least you have a dragon on your side!
2.6: Don't worry Rena, Brachio will join you soon. Real soon…
2.7: Great, now she's weaponizing it.
2.8: The logical conclusion, if you're a raptor, and friends with a pterosaur.
2.9: Kira enjoys teasing Rena.
2.10: And thus, the Life-Force Conservation Squad is born!
2.11: Dino Sabre: A Dino Knight through and through, but still 100% mammal!
2.12: A nice talk between friends, and a new goal is found for the Life-Force Conservation Squad!
2.13: And with that, the Dino Knights have given their contribution to the Mobius Hotel, Roxy doesn't seem too pleased though…
2.14: No matter where Eric goes, he just can't escape the spino…
2.15: Is she joking? Is she serious? We may never know.
2.16: Kira takes over an entire army of biomechanical dragon-aliens. So, the most logical course of action is obviously to steal all the worlds ice cream…
2.17: You know, if you think about it Dino Tyranno and Kiryuu are kind of similar.
2.18: It is kind of strange how much they look alike…
2.19: And Brachio has joined the Loops! As well as made a new friend.