Buzz lifted a Darkarian as high as he could go, and then flung him to the side. The Darkarian hit against the wall and fell to the ground. Buzz wasn't finished yet. He dove in towards him, hoping to strike with his sharp talons. As he got close enough, the Darkarian opened his eyes and looked up at his attacker. He struggled to his feet and reared onto his hind legs. He pulled a paw back, poised to strike. Buzz changed his position at the last second, instead slamming his lightweight body against him. The Darkarian, being on his hind legs, went down pretty easily.
The evil alimon shook his head and looked up as Buzz stood next to him, still in his pteranodon form. He hissed at him loudly, showing off his large fangs. Buzz responded by screeching back at him, causing the alimon to rub at his ear holes, the noise causing him pain. He wasn't the only one. A few others in the room were responding in a similar fashion. Buzz did eventually stop screeching, but the Darkarian could still hear a ringing sound in his head.
As he shook his head to get the sound out of his mind, Buzz moved into another position and lifted a foot. He aimed at the alimon's underside and struck down. He made contact with the flesh, tearing into the alimon's chest and underside. Blood squirted everywhere, covering the ground, Buzz, and the alimon. His talons dug in deep, ripping open the alimon's abdomen wall a little. The Darkarian roared in pain and struck Buzz away with his tail. He struggled to his feet and moved towards the pteranodon.
He tried to ignore the pain in his belly as he approached the pteranodon. But he wasn't able to make it too far. He felt someone was getting close to him. He looked over to see Tanner just upon him. He grunted in pain as Tanner pushed him onto his back. The light red alimon then struck him in the same spot Buzz did. His claws cut in much deeper and as he pulled out, the Darkarian's intestines spilled out onto the floor, steam rising up from them.
The Darkarian fell to the ground, howling in pain. He looked up at Tanner in fear and then glanced at his wound, horrified at the extensiveness of them. His nose was filled with the scent of his own organs out in the open. The pain soon began to die down. His vision started to blur and darken. He struggled to get up, but he was too weak. He slipped back down. Finally, he closed his eyes and his body went limp. A horrible smell started to emit from his body, the scent of death. Tanner lowered his head, sniffed him a few times, then turned and walked away.
Michelle lowered her head and dashed towards Haze, who was making his way towards Oscura. She jumped into the air and landed on his back. She bit into the back of his neck and held on tight. Haze hissed, annoyed by Michelle's interference. He violently shook his body from side to side, eventually using his weight to knock her off. The guanlong stumbled across the room. She got up, shook her head, and looked over at her attacker. Haze ran towards her, mouth agape. Eyes widened, she managed to jump out of the way at the last second.
Haze quickly turned and backhanded Michelle with a front paw. She fell onto her back. She opened her eyes just as Haze placed a foot on her chest and underside. She winced in pain as she felt the talon tips dig into her skin. She could feel blood slowly dripping from here, but it was hard to tell due to the red hue of her chest and belly. She opened her jaws wide and bit down on the paw. Haze snapped his head back, roaring. Michelle took this chance to slip out from underneath him. She ran around him and jumped onto his side.
She bit down on his shoulder, tearing at the flesh. She dug her hand claws into him. She kicked her feet at him, her long foot claws dealing more damage. She shredded up the skin the best she could. Several lacerations appeared on the Darkarian's right shoulder. Blood dripped to the ground. The smell of his blood quickly filled her nostrils. Haze was struggling to get her off of him. He moved his head over, snapping his jaws at her body. She could feel his hot breath as he kept missing slamming his teeth into her vulnerable side. Her luck soon ran out and she roared in pain as he bit down on her tail. He threw her into the ground and made his way towards her.
Michelle struggled to get up, but she was quickly pushed back down by a huge alimon paw. She looked up with one yellow eye as Haze loomed over her, his expression showing how pissed off he was at her. He bared his teeth at her, growling softly. She could tell what he wanted to do with her and she knew he wasn't going to waste his time with it. Her suspicions proved true as the alimon opened his jaws and moved towards her neck. She felt the teeth press against her skin. She could feel Haze apply pressure, driving the teeth further into her neck.
Haze suddenly roared in pain and reared onto his hind legs. Michelle got up as quickly as she could and moved away. She looked back, her eyes widening in shock when she saw who had come to her rescue. '...Oscura...?'
Indeed, Oscura had transformed into her troodon self and attacked Haze. The small dinosaur clung on the best she could. She had bitten down on one of the wounds Michelle had made previously. She held on as long as she could before Haze managed to throw her off. She rolled across the ground, but quickly regained her footing. She glanced over at Michelle momentarily and looked back at Haze. She took a step forward and let out a loud hiss, showing her claws to him. The Darkarian narrowed his eyes and roared at her. He ran towards her and snapped his jaws in her direction. The red troodon dodged out of the way and looked back at him, looking like she was expecting something to happen.
And, within a few seconds, something did happen. Haze started to wobble from side to side. His eyes were starting to close. He was having a hard time keeping them open. He looked over at the troodon and guanlong. His vision was rapidly blurring, and soon all he could see were blurs of many different colors, some vibrant, some dull. He struggled to walk, but his body swayed more and more. He shook his head several times, but that just made him feel even worse. He collapsed onto the ground, closing his eyes. He wasn't dead yet. His breathing could still be heard, ragged.
Michelle looked over at Oscura. Of all the people, she was the last one she'd expect to help her. She knew there was a catch, though. Oscura hated her, so there must be a reason she'd even think of letting her live. 'I never would of thought you would come to my aid.' She said, her tone that of amusement.
'Oh shut up.' Oscura said, staring intently in her direction. 'I only did it for two reasons. I did it because these alimons are a bigger threat to us than you and the Dino Squad, and I did it because I want to have the pleasure of killing you myself...' As she said this, she bared her teeth at Michelle, drool dripping from her jaw.
'And I expected nothing less from you.' Michelle said before she turned her attention back to the battle.
sss
Crescent and Axel wrestled with each other across the floor. Their claws were interlocked together as they struggled to pin the other down. They moved so quickly across the floor that they would appear as nothing but a blur of color to anyone watching them. The floor creaked a few times in weak spots as the heavy animals continued their wrestling. They ignored all the blood, organs, and corpses they were rolling across. Their jaws were open and they hissed loudly at each other.
Finally they came to a stop. They were up against a corner, a dead end hallway. Crescent found herself on the ground, looking up at the menacing Darkarian. She tried her best to hide her fear, but it was difficult not to tremble at the sight of this particular Darkarian. She had heard stories about her in the past. Axel was one of the most aggressive Darkarians and usually only Donovan could take her on and win. She herself had never fought Axel before and she would be foolish to think she could win this fight. She had to find some way to escape.
Axel's icy blue eyes looked down at her in contempt. She didn't know why Stone bothered bringing someone like her along. Crescent had no real training in battle. She was just a nurse. All she was good for was fixing up wounds and healing the sick. She was useless in battle. Stone had wasted his time bringing her here. She couldn't imagine what the old geezer was thinking bringing someone as pathetic as this nurse Rock Ranger. Killing her would almost be unexciting for her.
"I still don't know why Stone bothered to bring you with." Axel said, lowering her head slightly. She looked Crescent up and down, an unimpressed expression on her face. "You haven't been trained for any kind of fighting."
Crescent narrowed her eyes at her. "You're wrong! We're all trained for fighting! I was taught how to defend myself against scum like you!"
Axel cocked an eyebrow and chuckled. "Oh really now? I can't imagine you were taught for very long. After all...what would a nurse Rock Ranger need with fight training? You heal and that's it. That isn't very useful in battle."
"True, but never estimate your opponent." Crescent said. She still had a frightened look on her face, but she was doing her best to look brave.
Axel could see right through this charade. She was good at recognizing emotion and could gauge what others were thinking by looking at their faces. This wasn't always the case, but it was reliable enough for her. She looked at Crescent, seeing her tremble, seeing the look on her face, noting her increased heart rate. She was amused that this little brat was trying to make herself look tough. It would almost be a shame to kill her off. She could keep her as a prisoner of war and amuse herself with her. She grinned evilly at the thought.
Crescent seemed to read Axel's mind. "If you're thinking of taking me prisoner, think again!"
Axel laughed at her darkly. "And just how do you plan on stopping me?"
"Like this!" Crescent shouted back. She moved her tail up and wrapped it around Axel's. The Darkarian hissed at this and snapped her jaws towards her. The blue alimon reacted quickly enough and pulled Axel away. As Axel was on the ground near her, Crescent got off the ground and moved away from her.
Axel didn't remain on the ground for very long. She got onto her feet almost as quickly as she went down. She shook her head and looked over at Crescent. She hissed at her, baring her sharp teeth. She wasted no time in charging towards her. Crescent reared up just as Axel struck at her, slashing her shoulder. Crescent roared in pain before taking a swipe at Axel. She felt her claws make contact with her and she slashed downwards. The yellow alimon grunted in pain and moved back on all fours. She struck out with her tail, effectively knocking Crescent back on the ground.
Crescent looked up as Axel stood over her, grinning evilly down at her. She turned her head away and quickly noticed a discarded weapon. It must have fallen from the hands of a Raptor Dyne employee as they tried to defend themselves. It was covered in blood and crushed up, rendering it useless. Crescent turned back over at Axel, realizing something that she could do. She slowly reached for the weapon, waiting for Axel to get close enough. When Axel got close enough, Crescent tossed the weapon at her as the evil alimon reared on her hind legs.
The weapon skidded across the floor. Axel didn't notice it in time. When she took another step, her foot got caught on the weapon. Since she was standing on her back legs, she easily lost her footing. She fell down, hitting her stomach with some force. She grunted, slowly getting back onto her feet. She couldn't believe she was stupid enough to allow herself to be tripped up by a mere piece of junk. She kicked the weapon away and shook her head. She looked up at where Crescent was. Her eyes widened as she saw the nurse running down the hallway.
"Oh no you don't..." Axel hissed and gave chase. "Get back here! I'm not done with you yet!"
Crescent looked back, not bothering to stop. "You have to catch me first!"
Crescent ran as fast as she could. She knew Axel could catch up to her quickly if she wasn't careful. She didn't know where she was going. Her mind was racing. She had to find some way to get rid of Axel long enough so she could rejoin the others. She'd never get back with them with Axel tailing her like this. She looked back briefly and she could see the Darkarian was only a few feet behind her, snapping her jaws in her direction. Crescent looked out in front of her, not finding any way for her to get away.
She noticed a large set of doors that were open. A horrible smell emitted from it. She ignored the smell and jumped right inside, but she quickly regretted this decision. The room was filled with a lot of heavy boxes, likely equipment that hadn't been unpacked yet. There were a couple small desks in the room, mostly concentrated in one corner. There wasn't a lot of room to maneuver in here and she could be easily backed up. And on top of that, the room was littered with human corpses. It didn't take her long to know that the Darkarians had been in this room.
She turned back and saw Axel had reached her already. The yellow alimon growled and slowly approached her, head down low in a threatening manner. Crescent could only back away, trying to ensure distance between her and Axel. Suddenly, Axel lunged at her. Teeth tore into her front leg. Crescent pulled her head back and roared. She struggled to pull her leg free, but Axel's grip was like a vice. Axel, mustering up as much strength as she could, threw the light blue alimon into a pile of heavy boxes. Crescent yelped as a box landed on her tail, trapping her.
Axel smirked at this. She walked a little away from Crescent, though still keeping close to her, and looked at her. "I might have expected this from you. I told you...you are not fit for battle." She turned slowly towards Crescent, grinning maliciously. Her tongue licked across her lips as she imagined what she could do with Crescent now. She took a step forward. "However, you may be fit for a dinner. You are good with herbs and spices, aren't you?"
Crescent struggled to get herself free. But her tail was stuck tightly. She looked at it worriedly, wondering how she was going to free herself. She looked back at Axel and backed up as far as she could without bending her tail painfully. She lifted up a paw and showed the yellow alimon her claws defensively. "Don't come any closer."
Axel laughed at this. "You really are funny, you know that?" She started to approach her. "Perhaps I should consider my option of keeping you prisoner instead. You could amuse me."
Crescent growled at this, but then noticed something moving beside her. She turned her head slightly, straining her eyes to see the object. It looked like a severed human arm. But why was it moving? She continued to look down until she could see some clear fluid on the floor. Her eyes trailed over and she saw that a box had been opened. Inside was an unused large bottle of water humans tend to put in their work places. There were a few small holes on it, causing it to drip.
She stared at it for several moments, almost forgetting about Axel behind her. She quickly remembered when she heard Axel roar and dash towards her. Crescent looked back. Frightened, her body filling up with adrenaline, she jumped out of the way, her tail finally getting free. Axel was shocked at this and found herself slamming into the water device. Her claws easily ripped it open. Axel roared as she was doused in water. She tried to keep her footing, but she slipped and fell. She slid across the room and slammed against a wall.
Crescent took this opportunity and moved behind one of the pile of boxes. She slammed against it as hard as she could. The boxes tumbled down. One of the boxes, thanks to the water on the floor, slid at a considerable speed over at Axel. The Darkarian turned her head just as the box slammed against her. She let out a loud roar of pain and then there was silence. Crescent waited cautiously, dust rising from the floor where it had struck the evil female alimon. After several minutes, there was nothing but silence. Crescent wasn't sure if Axel was dead or not, but she decided not to wait to find out. She bolted out of the room.
As she left, a flash of light emitted from behind the box. Axel, in her human form, pulled herself out from between the wall and box. She was covered in dust and received a few new scrapes. Her hair was missed up, in need of some washing. She looked over at where Crescent fled, her eyes glowing, enraged. "I'll get you for this..." With that, she stumbled towards the door, grabbing it to support herself. She watched as Crescent continued to run down the hallway. "Mark my words, you brat."
sss
'Where do these things keep coming from?!' Buzz cried as he barely dodged another attack from an alimon. He didn't know how much longer he could keep this up. His wings were getting really tired from flapping for so long.
'Shouldn't we just get the survivors to safety?' Michelle asked, turning her head towards Max. 'It would be wiser to do that than to sit here and fight all these Darkarians.'
'We must wait for Stone! He should be here any second!' Max bit down on another Darkarian and tossed him to the side.
Oscura, who was back in human form, leaned against the wall and watched the scene playing before her in confusion. She didn't know why the Dino Squad would come to their aid. They were enemies after all. She had tried to kill them before, especially Michelle. The thought of them helping her even after all that puzzled her. She shook her head. They were a bunch of fools. They'll realize their mistake soon enough. But for now, she admittingly was enjoying this fight, even if she had to sit this one out. She was still injured.
Max was growing increasingly exhausted. His movements were becoming more and more delayed. He hadn't even been fighting that long. He didn't know how the alimons could fight like this. He had never had to move so fast, react so quickly, like this before. And the alimons just keep coming. Just when he thought he was finished, many more take their place. Not all the alimons were down for very long. Some Max had thought were dead were merely unconscious. As soon as they were awake, they lunged for him, biting into his legs, tail, and back.
Michelle and Buzz were not fairing as well either. Michelle was slowing down considerably and soon she found herself being knocked into the ground. She defended herself the best she could. Buzz helped her out, driving his talons into the alimons' backs. But he was slowing down as well. Soon the pair stood in one part of the room, leaning against each other for support. They looked over, watching in horror as the Darkarians stalked towards them, not looking nearly as tired as they were.
'How...' Buzz asked, his beak wide open as he took in several quick breaths. '..how can you still have the energy to fight?'
A male Darkarian laughed at this. "Well isn't it obvious, bird brain? We've actually trained ourselves in the art of fighting. We have more endurance than you could ever hope for!" He and his group continued to move towards the two. "But now you don't need to worry about that anymore." He licked his chops.
Michelle turned her head towards Buzz. 'Do you think you could carry me?'
Buzz shook his head. 'No..I'm too tired. I'm sorry.'
"Enough chit chat. Time to die!" A female Darkarian shouted.
Buzz and Michelle watched as the Darkarians bolted towards them. Before they had time to realize what was going to happen to them, there was a loud crash and dust quickly filled the room. Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing, coughing and waving at the air to clear up the dust. Once it had cleared up, everyone realized there was a new set of alimons, but these weren't Darkarians. They were Rock Rangers. The Darkarians that were about to attack Michelle and Buzz suddenly found themselves tackled by a small group of Rock Rangers.
The remaining Darkarians, once they had gotten out of the initial shock, turned their attention away from the Dino Squad and towards the Rock Rangers that were attacking them. Blood quickly splattered the ground. Teeth tore into flesh. Roars raised in volume, mixing in with one another. The alimons became blurs of color as they attacked each other. Some alimons fell down, unconscious or dead. Others continued to hold their ground despite what wounds they may have and bit into their hated enemies.
Max shook his head as he looked out at the battle before him. He noticed a familiar gray alimon approaching him. He lowered his head. 'Stone! Where are the other members of my team?' He couldn't see them anywhere. He thought they would be here by now.
"They are safe, waiting outside for us." Stone said.
Max was confused. 'Waiting?'
Stone nodded. "Yes." He turned his head towards where Oscura, Kista, and Peter were. "We can't waste much time. We have to get them to safety and treat their wounds."
Max nodded his head. 'I understand.'
Stone narrowed his eyes. "Now go quickly! Get your other two friends and get them out! Don't worry about these three. I'll have them escorted out. Meet me outside!" As Max turned to leave, Stone quickly turned his head. Behind them, his two sons, Cobalt and Emerald, were approaching him, along with their friend, Fluke. "You three, take those three out of this building and to the Dino Squad's lighthouse!"
Emerald nodded. "Okay, dad!" He and the other three approached the injured humans. He walked up beside the male one, lowering his body. "Get on!"
Peter glared at the alimon. "How can I trust you..?"
Kista glanced over at him. "He is offering to help you. The least you can do is accept it." Fluke approached her and lowered himself. Though it was a struggle, Kista managed to get on Fluke's back. She held onto him as tightly as she could.
Peter growled. He didn't like the idea of getting on this creature's back. But he didn't have much of a choice. It was either this or risk getting killed. "Okay fine." He climbed onto Emerald's back.
Oscura didn't hesitate to get on Cobalt's back. She had seen the way Tanner had risked his life to help her, as well as Kista and Peter. She understood that these particular alimons are more interested in forming an alliance than try to hurt them. Usually, she wouldn't accept help and she was still tempted to attack Cobalt while he wasn't looking. But she stifled herself, knowing that a far worse fate awaited her if she did that.
Emerald looked back at the other two. "Everyone ready?" The others nodded. He looked up and saw Max quickly running away towards the large opening. Buzz flew out from behind, heading in the same direction. Michelle arrived as well, but she stopped and looked back at him.
'Stone is waiting for us outside.' She said.
"I know. We were just leaving." Emerald replied. Sucking in a deep breath, he shouted, "Everyone retreat!"
The Rock Rangers that were fighting immediately stopped, even Tanner who was still itching to tear up more Darkarian flesh. The Rock Rangers, along with the survivors and the Dino Squad, fled out of the room. The Darkarians ran close behind them, snapping their jaws. They were trying their best to ensure that the group didn't make it out of the building alive. But they weren't fast enough and soon the Rock Rangers and their new allies had ran out of the building.
The Darkarians hissed, annoyed by this turn of events. Some started to head out of the room to give chase, but a loud roar stopped them. The Darkarians adopted a submissive pose as one of their leaders, a black alimon with fire-orange stripes, approached them. The Darkarians moved out of the way as the black alimon, along with Blizzard who followed close behind, approached the opening. The two males stared out of the opening, their eyes narrowed as they watched their enemies flee from Raptor Dyne.
The black alimon turned his head towards Blizzard. "Shall we pursue them?" He turned his head away and looked back out. "I really want to get my claws into those fools!"
Blizzard paused, thinking for a moment. But he quickly shook his head. "No, Fire... Let them go." He laughed darkly for a few seconds. He lifted his head up, feeling proud of himself and what he had accomplished. "We already got what we came here for...Raptor Dyne is now under our control!"