"I'm not sure why you want to begin an assessment." Donovan said as he took a few steps towards the humans that stood before him. Some looked at him cautiously, causing Donovan to roll his eyes. "They show some fear towards me...how can they be trusted to not do the same with the enemy? Showing fear is a sign of weakness."

Stone shook his head, chuckling lightly. "In your eyes yes. It's not a precursor to weakness, however. Don't forget that you used to, and sometimes still do, show fear. So don't be such a hypocrite, my friend. Now, judge them, and fairly too. You know how important that is."

Donovan sighed, slightly annoyed. He didn't always agree with Stone, but he never bothered to challenge him. He conceded to what Stone wanted and walked closer to the Dino Squad. He stopped a few feet in front of them. His eyes were narrowed, but it was hard to tell with the dark glasses he wore. He looked at each human, sizing them up, studying them. A couple of times, he shook his head slowly as if he were disappointed.

After a moment, he pointed to the group and said, "Morph now." The Dino Squad hesitated, looking at each other in confusion. Donovan didn't have a lot of patience and it was clearly apparent. He bared his sharp teeth and repeated his command, this time louder and with more force. "Morph now!"

Stone said, "Just do what he says. It's part of the assessment. He must now judge your dinosaur forms."

Moynihan nodded. "Very well then..."

Wordlessly, she and her students transformed in their dinosaur selves, including Rump. Originally he was going to be left in the house, but Stone had insisted earlier they should all let Donovan judge them, including Rump. Though small and not a full dinosaur, the mutant dog would still come in handy in the battle. Stone admitted to wanting to test the dog's bite strength soon, seeing how big the jaws were.

Donovan looked up at the now transformed Dino Squad. Standing before him now was a small mutantsaur dog, a tyrannosaurus, stegosaurus, styracosaurus, pteranodon, spinosaurus, baryonyx, guanlong, and velociraptor. Donovan hardly looked surprised at their ability to transform and didn't look afraid in the presence of a big carnivore like tyrannosaurus. Cracking the knuckles on his hands, he moved even closer. To aid himself in judging these larger creatures, Donovan transformed, revealing himself to be a black alimon with blue markings.

The first one he approached was Buzz. He reached out with a paw and seized Buzz's long head. He pulled down and tilted the head from side to side, studying him. He then proceeded to grab the wings and investigate them as well. He walked around Buzz a couple of times, looking at his overall body shape and appearance.

Without saying a word, Donovan moved onto the next person, which was Fiona. Since the spinosaurus was taller than he was, he had to gesture for her to lower her head and neck towards the ground. Once she did that, Donovan grabbed onto her, looking at her jaws, eyes, and neck. He also felt the muscle in her jaws and neck. He moved down her body, looking at her arms, legs, talons, sail, and tail.

Next up was Fiona's younger sister, Terri. The baryonyx looked worried, but still lowered herself so Donovan could more easily judge her. Donovan repeated the same things he did with Fiona, looking at Terri's overall body, muscle mass, and different body parts like the head, neck, and legs. He spent a little extra time on the hands, looking at Terri's enlarged hand sickle claw, something Fiona's dino mode clearly lacked.

Several minutes pass as Donovan continued looking at each member of the Dino Squad. He looked at their different features, depending on who he was looking at. When he looked at Max, he focused mainly on the legs, tail, and head, as well as looked at the sharp teeth lining his jaws. For Rodger, he spent most of the time looking at his overall body bulk and muscle mass, his frill and horns. Moynihan, he predictably spent more time on her legs and foot talons than her head and neck. Michelle, on the other hand, had equal time spent on her teeth and claws, though Donovan showed some interest in her long dewclaw which allowed her to grab with her feet.

For Caruso, again he looked at the body bulk and muscle mass he had, though mostly in the second half of his body, particularly his tail. He looked at the plates and spikes as well, touching them. Finally he looked at Rump. The only body part he bothered spending a lot of time on were the jaws, feeling the muscles that powered it and looking somewhat impressed an animal that small had a bite like that. After he was done, he released the dog and let him run back to the team. He closed his eyes and shifted back to human form and returned to Stone.

"So what is your analysis?" Stone asked.

Donovan sighed. "A little disappointing I admit. These guys are not as strong as full-fledged dinosaurs. They lack a bit of muscle mass. They also don't appear to be as agile as they could be if they were full-fledged dinosaurs. And because they were not dinosaurs to begin with, and because they were not trained in true fighting before, I fear they aren't going to be much in battle. They'll be easily defeated."

"Well what of Moynihan? She's a full-fledged dinosaur." Stone said, tilting an eyebrow.

"Even she needs some work." Donovan said, narrowing his eyes. "Living with humans has made her soft, at least in one area and that's fighting. She may be a real dinosaur and not just some human who gained a dinosaur form, but I feel she's a little rusty in actual combat, and even if she weren't, she may not do well against an alimon. We already agreed that the Dino Squad need some work in fighting the Darkarians."

"Yes, and that's why you were assigned to train them." Stone said, nodding his head. "The question I'd like to be answered is this: how much training do you think they will need before you feel they'll be able to hold their own against some Darkarians?"

Donovan narrowed his eyes as he glanced back at the Dino Squad. He ignored the glares he was getting from them. He didn't care that he had insulted them with his comments. He was all serious business and he didn't mess around when making judgments. He spoke the truth, even if that truth was hurtful or spiteful. "A lot of training. I suggest I start them off with some basics and work my way up from there. A few weeks of hard training may help them learn how to at least hold off a Darkarian, but I do not expect miracles..."

Caruso bellowed in anger, sick of hearing Donovan's harsh words. He slammed his tail into the ground, kicking up dirt and dust into the air. 'Who are you to talk to us like that?!'

'Yeah!' Rodger snorted, pawing at the ground with his head lowered slightly. 'You've never seen us fight before!'

'And besides, who are you to say how well we'd perform in training?' Max asked, baring his long sharp teeth.

Donovan looked up at the Dino Squad, unblinking. "My judgment was required, and I passed it. Do not get so angry just because I gave you a little bit of criticism. I was being nice."

Max's eyes widened in anger. 'Nice?!'

Caruso narrowed his eyes, showing off his sharp teeth. 'If that's your idea of nice, I hate to see you in a bad mood.'

Attempting to remain calm, though still shaken by what Donovan was saying, Fiona took a step forward. 'At least watch us in battle before you judge us. You can't tell how well we'd fight just by looking at us. If you honestly think that you can tell me how well I can fight simply by looking at my body, then you are sadly mistaken.' After she finished, she paused, staring at Donovan and waited for him to say something.

Donovan narrowed his eyes further. "I am not mistaken. I have made such judgments before using the same method I used on you all. And guess what? I've always been correct. What makes you think you are any different? If I say you are weak fighters, then that is what you are. Try to prove me wrong, and you will only prove me right."

Fiona opened her jaws slightly, letting out a low hiss. 'You are being unreasonable.'

Donovan shook his head. He folded his arms tightly, giving Fiona a stern, unemotional stare. "Lady, I am never unreasonable. Do not forget I am one of the best fighters of the Rock Rangers. I do know what I am talking about."

'No! You're wrong! You have no right to speak to us like that!' Terri said, snapping her jaws angrily.

Fiona nudged her sister. 'Terri, chill!'

Buzz, who was getting as angry as the others were, glared over at Donovan. 'No, she's right. I don't care who you are, Donovan. You cannot talk to us that way! We're better than you think we are!'

Donovan cocked an eyebrow. "Oh is that so? Do you weaklings really have what it takes?"

As the Dino Squad vented her anger against Donovan, Moynihan and Michelle simply watched, quiet. Moynihan didn't want to get in the middle of the fight. She did agree Donovan was being a little unreasonable, but he was Stone's friend and she felt she should give him a chance. Michelle, on the other hand, had been used to harsh judgments before and Donovan's words were actually less severe than what she heard from Dr. Veloci.

'Before you judge someone so harshly, see them in battle first! We can kick your tails if we really wanted to!' Max said, trying to sound confident.

"I do not have to watch you in battle. Knowing that you were bested by a few Darkarians in the past is enough for me to know you are too pathetic to actually fight as you are now." Donovan said, narrowing his eyes. "Nothing you say or do will make me change my mind at the moment. Say what you will about me. But if you wish to live, you will listen to me."

'That's it!' Rodger stomped the ground, lifting his tail slightly.

'We've had it!' Buzz said, letting out a screech.

Max stomped over towards Donovan, lowered his head, and roared in his face. Donovan looked completely unfazed. 'I'm sick of your so-called judgments! I don't care what you say! We're calling off this stupid training! We can find our own way of fighting the Darkarians! Am I right, team?'

'Absolutely. We don't need someone like you telling us what to do.' Rodger said.

'We're sorry to have wasted your precious time.' Terri said, receiving another nudge from Fiona, who was glaring at her.

Donovan glared at the Dino Squad, looking like he was disappointed in their behavior. "So you are out to prove me wrong?"

Caruso nodded his head. 'Exactly. And we won't let you stop us!'

Donovan stared at the Dino Squad for several minutes. In that time, no one did anything except stare at each other, some glaring. Stone looked at Donovan, somewhat worriedly. He didn't step in, though, waiting for Donovan to make his move. Not many back talked to Donovan like that and those who did were usually punished for it, particularly by Donovan. The alimon was not known to take lightly to those who doubted him in anyway. Stone started to wonder if it was a good idea using Donovan to begin with. Perhaps he should have called upon a less aggressive male to train the Dino Squad.

Donovan was still looking at the Dino Squad. As he did before, he looked at each of them, studying them, sizing them up. He looked at their bodies, stances, and facial expressions. He thought about what they had told him. Normally he would punish if he had received such talk from a member of his pack. But things were different with the Dino Squad. They lived a different style than the Rock Rangers. They lived by different rules. They lacked the initial aggression they'd need to face the Darkarians. And for them to stand up to a high-ranking alimon, well, that took a lot of courage.

He folded his arms again and stepped closer to the team. Instead of glaring, what appeared to be a small smile appeared on his face. "Congratulations. You've passed your test, if you can call it a test anyway."

Buzz tilted his head. 'Test? What test?!'

"You've shown determination to prove me wrong. Instead of falling apart and agreeing with me that you were weak, you stood up for yourselves. You did it in spite of me being able to rip you apart if I wanted to. Doing that took courage and determination, two qualities you will need to face the Darkarians." Donovan said, the smiling broadening slightly. "Training will begin tomorrow back at our hideout. There's more space to train there and some obstacle courses that will prove useful. I will see you then and I look forward to our first training session." With that, Donovan turned around and walked away. He opened up the door to the vehicle and climbed back inside, shutting the door behind him. He made himself comfortable and waited for Stone and Crescent to return to the vehicle, having done his duty.

The Dino Squad were in total shock at what happened. They had not expected Donovan to react like that. This whole time they were being tested to see how determined they were? Is that why Donovan was being so harsh to begin with? The squad wondered how much of what Donovan said was serious and how much of it was only said to see if they would fight back. While they were somewhat satisfied that the alimon was taking them seriously and not just blowing them off, they still felt angry that Donovan purposely made them mad just to test a quality of theirs.

Sensing the Dino Squad's frustration, Moynihan decided to move on to the next part of judgment. Perhaps this one will be less harsh. She looked over at Stone. "So is it now Crescent's turn for judging us?"

"Oh, thanks for reminding me." Stone said. He looked down at the woman standing next to him. He gently nudged her forward. "Go on, Crescent."

Crescent hesitated, looking at the Dino Squad with uncertainty. Eventually, she got herself to walk over to them. She slowed down as she got closer to them. The Dino Squad looked at each other and shrank back in their human forms, no longer seeing the use in being in dino mode for medicine training. When Crescent got close enough, she stopped, staring at the humans she will soon be training. She looked unsure, as if she didn't think her training would be good enough.

"So..do any of you have any books on plants?" Crescent said.

Moynihan nodded. "I do. It's in the lighthouse."

"Why do you need a book?" Buzz asked. "Can't you just use the plants out here?"

Crescent shook her head. "I'm afraid not. I need a book so I can point out certain beneficial plants native to this area. The lighthouse doesn't have a lot of variety of plants growing around it, so it won't be of much use to me."

"All right then, follow me." Moynihan said, gesturing for Crescent. "We'll discuss this in the lighthouse. I'll grab the book." With that, everyone, except for Stone who waited outside with Donovan, walked back into the lighthouse.

sss

Dr. Veloci sat in his chair and looked around the large room. Usually, at this hour, he would have some scientists performing some minor experiments, provided he had any in mind. But at the moment, it felt very empty. He had ordered most of his men to remain on higher levels of Raptor Dyne. He felt they would just be in the way, and most of them were cowards anyway. They wouldn't be of much use holding off the alimons. They would most likely get killed, which would leave him with that many less employees and he'd have to go hiring again.

A few of his non-dinosaur workers were more tolerable and were unafraid of risking their lives against an assault. One of them was Blizzard. Despite his age, he was pretty energetic and he had never flinched at the site of the Dino Squad. Except for him being tricked by the Dino Squad into thinking he captured kids instead of dinosaurs, he had a good track record. Following Kista's advise, Blizzard was stationed near the front entrance rather than a rear entrance. He was to remain there until it was either over or if he had something important to tell Dr. Veloci. To help him, Veloci had paired Blizzard up with one of his morphing employees, Oscura.

He, Peter, and Kista would remain on the lower level to protect the rear entrance. He didn't know exactly when the alimons would show up. They might not even arrive today and he was just wasting his time. But he didn't want to take any chances. He had experienced first hand how nasty the alimons could be in battle. No wonder the Dino Squad were having such a hard time with them, even with their increased size and numbers.

Kista felt Veloci should have put up more of a defense at the front entrance, but Veloci felt the alimons would try for the rear entrance instead, thinking it would be less guarded. He had given Blizzard a tar and net gun just in case he needed to use it. Oscura's poisonous bite would aid her in the battle. The alimons couldn't be immune to her poison; they were still dinosaurs after all. But that didn't convince Kista, who insisted that Veloci was making a mistake by not evenly distributing strength to both guarded entrances.

Veloci looked at the watch on his hand to note the time. He had been sitting around for a few hours and so far nothing had happened. He wasn't going to let his guard down. He was prepared to transform any second. He looked over his shoulder and saw Kista and Peter standing a ways from him, talking about something. They were closer to the door than he was. He couldn't hear what they were talking about and he didn't really care about that. He was satisfied that they were close to the door. That way, if the alimons break through, they could stop them.

He looked up at the scanners mounted on the walls. He hadn't seen any signatures all day. Since the alimons could be in human form, he suspected that they would be in human form again when they came to raid Raptor Dyne. His scanners could not pick up human DNA. Despite knowing that the Dino Squad are human, he never bothered upgrading his scanners. There are too many humans on the planet and implementing a human scanner into the main scanners would result in many detections at once. Now if he found out how to get it to only detect humans with dino DNA, then he might consider it...

He was taken out of his thoughts when he heard footsteps approaching him. He turned over and saw Kista approaching him. He sighed, knowing what was going to happen. He quickly turned away from her. "What do you want, Kista?"

"I still don't think it was wise of you to station only Blizzard and Oscura at that entrance. What if they are overwhelmed?" Kista asked, folding her arms.

Veloci just shrugged it off. "Then it's their fault for being weak. They should be able to take care of themselves. If they die, then it's their fault."

Kista narrowed her eyes. "After all they've done for Raptor Dyne..." Veloci growled softly. Kista just shook her head. "It's no wonder Michelle verved you."

Veloci glared up at Kista. "Don't mention her to me."

"She was one of your best employees, Veloci. You yourself said she was more trustworthy than Oscura. She got the job done just as you wanted her to. She even weakened the Dino Squad's defenses, allowing you to capture Caruso. You wouldn't have gotten the same result if you sent only Oscura." Kista said. She knew she was angering Veloci, but she didn't care. "When she left, you lost one of your best employees and missions haven't exactly gotten any easier."

"She didn't just leave. She betrayed me." Veloci said. "She could have stayed, but..."

"No she couldn't have! You tried to kill her!" Kista said, raising her voice slightly. "She left you because you tried to rip out her throat! Did you really think she'd stay after that?"

Veloci shook his head, rubbing his forehead with one hand. "Just shut up, Kista. Now's not the time to talk about this."

"I'm just saying..." Kista said as she started to walk way. "..you should show more respect towards your workers, especially those who have done besotted work time and again. You'd see less betrayals that way."

Veloci didn't say anything. He watched as Kista watched back to where Peter was. He sometimes didn't understand her as much as he thought. She was willing to help him with his goal and yet she was more tolerable of humans than he was. She wasn't as compassionate as Moynihan was, but she was still fairer with humans than he tended to be. He didn't think much of what Kista had said. To him, showing compassion was weakness. He knew he had to remain tough to keep Raptor Dyne up and running. He would rather be feared by his men, not loved by them.

A few seconds later, before he was able to relax some, he heard someone else approaching. He sighed. He thought it was either Kista again or Peter. He turned around and prepared to tell either of them to remain where they were until the alimons arrived, but when he swerved his chair around, instead of seeing Peter or Kista, he was looking at one of his men. He narrowed his eyes angrily. "I thought I told you to stay out of this part of Raptor Dyne! What are you doing here?"

The subordinate lowered his head in fear. "I'm sorry, sir, but..."

"But what?" Veloci snapped, displeased.

"Blizzard found something." The subordinate said. "He wants to show it to you."

"Why doesn't he just bring it down himself?" Veloci hissed.

"He can't. He said it's too big." The subordinate replied, head still lowered.

Veloci turned away from the subordinate. "Then tell him to wait later. Right now, we could be attacked at any time. Now is not the time to have some kind of..show and tell." He waited for the man to leave him in peace like the other subordinates usually do. But this one, to his disgust, stayed where he was. He knew he was still there because he could still hear his heavy breathing. He faced the man again and said, "Get out of here!"

"But sir, he said it was urgent." The subordinate said. He rubbed his head as if he tried to think of how to continue. "He said it might help with the alimons."

Veloci blinked a few times as he swerved his chair back. "Help with the alimons?" The man nodded. Veloci didn't look convinced. "How?"

The subordinate shrugged. "He didn't say. He wanted to show you as soon as possible."

Veloci thought about this for a moment. He didn't really want to leave to look at whatever Blizzard had found. But if it really could help, perhaps he should check it out. The alimons may not arrive anytime soon. They had been waiting for hours and nothing. And besides, he still had Kista and Peter stationed near the door. They could warn him if they saw any alimons enter Raptor Dyne. He wouldn't be gone that long anyway.

Veloci got up out of his chair. "All right then, take me to this..thing Blizzard had found."

"All right." The subordinate, along with Veloci, made their way towards the elevator. "He told me where it was, so I should be able to lead you there."

"Let's get this over with." Veloci said. He wanted to return to his laboratory as soon as possible.

sss

Blizzard stood next to Oscura near the front entrance. They hadn't been seeing a lot of activity recently. No one had even entered Raptor Dyne outside of the usual workers. Stationed at the desk near the door was another receptionist, a man this time. He was pretty quiet and uninterested in what Blizzard and Oscura were doing. The old man glanced down at the teenager standing beside him. He wasn't happy about being paired up with her. She was too eager.

"Where are these stupid alimons?" Oscura said, clenching a fist tightly.

"Patience, little girl. Patience." Blizzard said, narrowing his eyes. "They have to arrive sometime."

"I hope they arrive soon. I'd like to give the alimons a little payback for what they did to me." Oscura said, growling.

The old man chuckled. "Oh, so you get knocked down once and you want to have revenge for that. You are something, you know, Oscura?"

"Shut up!" Oscura snapped at him.

Blizzard smirked at her. He recomposed himself and stopped smiling. He then heard a sound on his wrist. He narrowed his eyes as he stared at a flashing light under his costume. He turned to Oscura. "I have something I need to do quickly. I won't be gone long. Do you think you'll be able to handle this area by yourself?"

Oscura grinned. "Of course! I'm not a weakling. I can take care of myself!"

Blizzard nodded. "I know you can. Stay here, Oscura. I'll be right back."

Oscura smirked as the man walked away. She didn't really care where he was going or why. She was just glad that he was gone. She preferred doing this on her own. She wanted to do this her own way and the old man would have just slowed her down. He couldn't even transform, so she didn't understand why Veloci even bothered putting him here to begin with. He wouldn't be able to stop an alimon invasion at all. She turned her attention back towards the doors, waiting for any sign of life approaching them.

sss

The subordinate led Veloci to a room on one of the higher levels of the building. This room was mostly abandoned and was rarely used. The room was not entirely empty. There were a few papers on the floor and a dusty desk near the middle of the room. Veloci and the subordinate walked inside. Veloci looked around, not seeing anything of interest. He shook his head and turned back to the subordinate, glaring at him.

"If you dragged me up here just to waste my time..." Veloci warned, baring his teeth.

The subordinate waved his arms in front of him in a defensive manner. "I'm sorry, sir! I'm pretty sure this is where he said he wanted to show you something! Maybe I got the room wrong..."

Veloci narrowed his eyes, a slight glow to them. "Get out of here..." The subordinate screamed and ran out of the room, his footsteps fading quickly. Veloci sighed. "I should have known this was just a waste..."

He headed towards the open door. As he stepped out, he saw a flash of grey, pressure on his chest, and he found himself tumbling backwards. He quickly regained his footing and looked at who had pushed him. He saw that the subordinate who had led him here to begin with now stood in the door way, all signs of fear gone. Before Veloci could react, the man shut the door and locked it. Veloci ran towards the door, grabbed the handle, and tried to turn it. It was stuck, much to his anger.

Veloci pounded on the door as loud as he could. "Open this door!" There was no answer. "I said open this door! If you don't, I'll kill you! I'll tear you apart!" He didn't hear anyone answer. He couldn't tell if the subordinate was still standing in front of the door or if he had left. He pounded the door again. "Open this stupid door! Now!"

After a few minutes of pounding the door, Veloci realized he wasn't going to get out, at least not this way. He growled in frustration as he lowered his fists. He could go dino and tear down the door, but he wanted to avoid that if possible. Not all of his Raptor Dyne employees knew about his velociraptor form and he would rather them not find out.

He pulled out a communicator he remembered to take with him. He attempted to turn it on to contact Oscura, who was the closest to his location. But when he attempted to use it, all he got was static. Angered and disappointed, he slammed the communicator on the desk, not caring if he broke it or not. He could always get a new one anyway. He paced around the room, trying to think of a way to get out without exposing his dinosaur form to unworthy members at Raptor Dyne.

Veloci didn't have to wait long to get out. He had only been in the room a couple more minutes when he heard the door open. He turned and saw Blizzard standing there, his eyes narrowed. Veloci walked over towards the door, expecting to get out. To his confusion, Blizzard didn't move for him like he usually would. Veloci narrowed his eyes at the man. "Get out of my way, Dr. Blizzard. I have to return to my laboratory."

But Dr. Blizzard just stood there. Slowly, he folded his arms. "Sorry, but I still haven't shown you..."

"Oh yes, I was informed by one of my subordinates that you wanted to show me something." Veloci said. "That is before he shoved me into this room."

A smile appeared on Dr. Blizzard's face. "Shove you? You mean like this?" Blizzard seized Veloci by the shoulders tightly and, as hard as he could, pushed him backwards. Veloci fell onto his back against the desk. He shook his head and stared up at Blizzard, clenching his teeth.

"You better have a good explanation for why you did that...for your sake..." Veloci said, his eyes glowing angrily. "Consider yourself lucky I'm not ripping out your throat this instant!"

But Blizzard didn't look fazed. "Your threats don't frighten me anymore, sir." There was noticeable sarcasm dripping from the last word as Blizzard spoke it.

Dr. Veloci picked himself off the ground, brushing off his red suit. "Then I should stop stating threats and actually carrying them out." He walked towards Blizzard. "We will discuss your punishment later."

Dr. Blizzard grabbed Veloci by his tie and pulled upwards slightly. "Oh we will be discussing something all right.. but it won't be my punishment."

Veloci struggled to free himself, but Blizzard was stronger than he had anticipated. "Let me go! Release me now or your punishment will increase in severity!"

Blizzard chuckled. "I'm in control now, Dr. Veloci." He grinned as he lifted Veloci off the ground with ease. "You have no idea how long I've waited for this moment. Years of acting have finally paid off." Blizzard's body glowed and, before Veloci had time to say anything, he transformed into an alimon, nearly solid white except for some grey. His eyes glowed red.

"Oh..my..." Veloci said softly, his eyes widening at the sight of the large male alimon now holding him up. Blizzard's head was raised up, letting out a loud hiss. He bent his head down, growls escaping his throat. After a few seconds, he opened his jaws wide, letting out a loud roar, and snapped his head forward.