The night air had fallen over the complex of Tri-Macrock-Labs. A large number of soldiers were on patrol but not as many since 150 of them had been recalled to the main headquarters of Tri-Macrock-Labs which was located further north somewhere. All but two scientists also went back and so had eight technicians. The recall was used so that the base was not likely to be attacked despite that no one in their right mind would come this far south. A large stage was set up by the lab pointing towards the large open concrete used for storing crates which had since been moved into one of the many smaller buildings to prepare for the night's entertainment. Professor Helienson stood only a few feet away from the stage itself overseeing the work to get the drums, keyboard and other equipment up on it ready for the entertainment. Lieutenant Maxcien walked up to the professor,
"Sir, are you sure this is wise? You know, this whole 'Evening Blaster'?" Helienson turned to Maxcien and smiled.
"Yes I am sure. Even with a low number of soldiers now it's still going to put stress on them. So what better way to relieve the stress by having this Evening Blaster. That way, all will enjoy."
"Well thought of professor," Maxcien replied walking up beside him taking out a cigarette and lighting it. She took a puff and looked at Helienson.
"A cig is all I need to relieve stress." Helienson looked up and gave a small shake of his head.
"Smoking is bad for the health but I can't question what you find best to relieve stress." Helienson walked up to the stage and rest his hand upon it from where he stood and looked back up at Maxcien.
"Why don't you get our guests and bring them out here. I know that brat Longston can't be bought out but maybe we can win the trust of that little Brontosaurus."
"Sir, the little Brontosaurus is about two years younger than the boy," Maxcien replied quickly.
"Pardon?"
"After we took a blood sample of both of them sir. The boy, Longston, and the dinosaur, we found the cellular growthto be at a rate of 23.6 in the dinosaur. Age estimated around thirteen years and very healthy for his age," Maxcien said to the Professor, "just thought I'd let you know but I will go get them at your request." With that, Maxcien turned away and began walking to the main building.
"Hmm…Now that is interesting… Wayne Longston is about fifteen years old since he was in the dinosaur era with little time passing and the dinosaur's two years younger. Still having an innocent soul,"Helienson spoke to himself with his chin resting on his hand, "But why do I get the feeling that there is another force at work here?" Helienson knelt down picking up a rock. He stared at the smooth, round stone admiring the texture of its surface.
"Maybe this world isn't worth it… but I've come too far for some little dinosaur and his friends to get in my way now."
Suddenly, Grant came up to Professor Helienson from the Commander's building with a pad in his hand.
"Professor!" he called. Helienson turned around and looked at Grant and the pad he had in his outstretched hand. Helienson took the pad and looked at it for a moment before getting a pen out of his white coat pocket and wrote on it.
"Professor, what would you like us to do with the Chrono Cannon at this time?" Grant asked as Helienson handed back the pad and put his pen away.
"Put it on minimum power and we will put the three gems into the program slots tomorrow."
"Three sir? We have only…"
"Talk about it later Grant," Professor Helienson said as he turned away going to a few soldiers to talk to them. Grant gave a nervous look behind the Professor's back.
"Oh crud… I'd better go find that missing gem before all hell breaks loose from the professor…" Grant turned to the command building and ran to it as fast as he could.
Meanwhile, Maxcien came to the doors that led to the main labs. She looked over to her right and saw the crates still where they were three years ago remembering that she was right on top of that boy and neither her nor the two men saw or heard Wayne hiding behind them.
"Snooping around got you into this mess," Maxcien said opening the flap of a security panel and pushing the numbers on the pad '2-6-7-1-1-8' and she pushed the green button to confirm. Maxcien waited for a few seconds and the doors slowly cracked open swinging inwards. She walked through and stopped looking at the name of the main corporation then the logo.
"So the old crack pot finally put that logo for Tri-Macrock-Labs back where it belonged." Maxcien gave a smile walking onwards into the main building but there was hardly anyone around since they was all outside. Maxcien picked up the keys from a hook on the wall and made a right turn down a corridor lined with metal doors.
"Now, what cell were those two in…" Maxcien asked herself putting a hand on her hip and taking a look at all the doors, "God, this is going to take ages to find that cell…" Maxcien shook her head and headed to the nearest one. Putting the key in and unlocking it, she about to open it but a screech and slam knocking her flat on her butt.
"What in the world is that?" Maxcien quickly got up and pulled the door shut locking it, "Phuf…" she winced as she opened the shutter and looked in there to get a good look at a dinosaur mouth with sharp teeth come at the shutter. She quickly jumped back from the door.
"Whoa! How on the… I wouldn't like to know…" she mumbled walking away from the door.
Wayne and Littlefoot both woke up at the same time with start. Wayne fell off the top bunk and landed on the hard ground and Littlefoot tumbled right on top of him.
"W-w-w-what was that?" Littlefoot stuttered.
"I… don't… know…" Wayne gasped from under Littlefoot who was sitting on top of him. Littlefoot got off Wayne and turned to face him.
"Sorry, just whatever that was scared me."
"Same here…" Wayne added pushing himself onto his knees looking at Littlefoot, "It did come from outside this cell… must be something else in a cell."
"Yeah and scary," Littlefoot replied but he suddenly picked up on the sound of doors opening and shutting, "What're those noises?"
"Sounds like cell doors but I wonder who been looking in them especially at this time of day," Wayne said turning his head to the barred window seeing darkness had fallen.
"It's night time? Wow, we must have spent not long… erm Wayne?" Littlefoot gave a quick pause remembering something about them sleeping. Wayne felt a bit uncomfortable the way Littlefoot had finished that sentence.
"Yes?"
"Do you remember that dream you had? You know, where you was looking like a Threehorn?" Littlefoot spoke with an unsure yet slightly freaked out voice. Wayne for a minute or two to think before turning his eyes to Littlefoot again,
"Yes I do and how it felt… I think my theory is right. Something causing us to have very real dreams and I don't think it was a natural event."
"Why?" Littlefoot asked a little baffled by what Wayne meant. Wayne pushed himself onto his feet then stood up going to the barred window and looked through it.
"Since the dreams felt as like it was real and feeling myself as a threehorn to the point of someone stepping on the tail," Wayne said glancing over his shoulder at Littlefoot, "Did you ever feel that dreams were real?" Littlefoot shook his head,
"No I haven't," Littlefoot replied lowering his neck, "are you saying that the 'feel real dreams' we had were not suppose to happen?"
"Right, you got it," Wayne verified turning around fully pointing both index fingers at Littlefoot, "the dream we had with Cera in it means Cera was linked in the same dream which also shouldn't be possible," he continued in a worried tone, "it's like dreams are becoming real to the point of death or being permanently trapped in a dream unable to out… this is dangerous with this real dreaming…"
"We got to stop it then! What if Grandpa and Grandma start having real dreams?" Littlefoot shouted looking very shocked. He didn't want to imagine what worse things could happen.
"Calm down Littlefoot. We will stop it I promise you that," Wayne said putting his hands in front of him and pulling the arms back a bit and then forwards about two times.
"Sorry," Littlefoot quickly apologised. Wayne went over to Littlefoot and sat down on the hard floor beside him.
"No need to be sorry Littlefoot. You're worried about your family, that's understandable," Wayne said looking at him. Littlefoot sat down as well with his tail swishing side to side slightly,
"Since I first saw you Wayne, I thought you were a great hero for saving me and I still do think that."
"Littlefoot, I am no hero… I just saved you because I thought it was the right thing to do at the time… I don't want to be anyone's hero," Wayne said turning his head away to stare up at the wall. Littlefoot stood up on all fours and circled around Wayne to look him in the face.
"You DID do the right thing and you are a great friend; even if you do have a stubborn side to you," Littlefoot said with a cheerful voice. Wayne stared at him in the eyes for a second.
"That 'stubborn side' comes from my mum. I guess her yelling at manager after manager gets to you and mode it into ya," Wayne told Littlefoot, "and you're a great friend as well. One of the first friends I've ever had."
"The first?" Littlefoot questioned slightly taken aback but Wayne nodded.
"Yeah. I never had friends while I walked around… I guess being alone from the age of six did that to me… Nine years on and I didn't have friends until I met you and the others." Littlefoot smiled proudly on hearing this; he was happy that he was the first friend Wayne had had in a long time. As Wayne went on about his past and Littlefoot listened and conversed, Maxcien was, on the other hand, getting really ratted up opening door after door finding them all but the first one she checked completely empty. She placed a key in the lock of the next cell and turned it. Hearing the bolt unlocking, Maxcien pushed it open, looked at the floor and shook her head.
"Another empty one… how many more to check…" She said in an exhausted tone pulling her head up again and turning around to look at the remaining doors, "another twenty-three to go…" Maxcien grumbled walking to the next door. Then, she stopped halfway on hearing someone talking.
"Ah, found ya!" Maxcien smirked walking to the door opening the shutter a bit to see Wayne and Littlefoot inside talking to each other, "Should I cut in on the chit-chat?" Maxcien whispered to herself and then smiled, "Why not?" Maxcien put the key in the lock and pulled it around. She then pushing the handle down and pushed the door open.
Both heads turned looking at Maxcien with startled looks.
"Oh don't give me that look because I burst your bubbles," Maxcien said with both hands on her hips, "It's taken me twenty-eight tries out of fifty cells to find this one," Maxcien sneered at them. "So do me a favour and keep your mouths shut. Say nothing and get a move on." Maxcien stepped to the side putting her right arm up pointing out the door. Wayne stood up and grabbed his packback only to have Maxcien snatch it away.
"Hey! That's mine!" Wayne whined and went for it only to have a gun pulled at him pressed against his forehead, "Erm…never mind… you can have it…" Wayne said with a panic-stricken look. Maxcien placed the gun away keeping an eye on Wayne as he walked out of the cell with Littlefoot looking both quiet and quite scared.
"Look if it makes you two feel better I wasn't going to shoot you and here is your bag back all I wanted was this," Maxcien said throwing the bag back to Wayne. He caught it looking at what it was in her hand, "I knew you had a lighter in it and I needed it to light my fag," Maxcien said pulling out a cigarette from her army-combat trousers before putting it in her mouth and lighting the end with the lighter. Littlefoot watched with great interest as Maxcien pulled the cigarette out of her mouth and blew out some smoke.
"What is that?" Littlefoot asked intrigued.
"This? It's a cigarette and I smoke it by lighting the end up. It relieves my stress but I would recommend you try it…not suited for kids your age," Maxcien said taking another drag.
"Can I ask why you keep changing your attitude?" Wayne asked with a frown. Maxcien took a minute to think looking at the ground.
"Mmm… good question. I am not really sure, but I know how I acted three years ago but I feel like now it wasn't me at all."
"What do you mean?" Littlefoot asked her but still keeping his distance by standing beside Wayne. Maxcien took another few seconds to answer.
"Someone called… erm… I am not sure what his name is but I remember being in a chair and some device on my head," Maxcien said and finding that the pieces were adding together, "Why were over a hundred and fifty men and women sent back to HQ and us kept here… something smells fishy here."
"In what way?" Wayne asked.
"The ones left behind have been gathering to enjoy a party yet only me, two of the best men we have, Professor Helienson and the four technicians aren't joining the party…" Maxcien suddenly let her mouth hang open in shock allowing the cigarette to fall out. "Quick! Come this way! I think we're about to find something disturbing," Maxcien took off into a sprint leaving Wayne and Littlefoot confused staring at each other.
"Should we follow?" Wayne spoke temporarily forgetting that they were still in the building.
"Yeah she seemed confused and shocked, did you notice that?" Littlefoot replied turning his head to Maxcien who stopped and waiting for them.
"I did, maybe it something to do with that head device she said," Wayne suggested noticing that things were become more and more strange.
"Come on!" Maxcien shouted out to them.
"Coming!" Littlefoot called back starting to make a run but the smooth polished surface made Littlefoot loose his footing and he ended up landing on his stomach and slid across the floor. Wayne ran up to Littlefoot and helped him up and both quickly caught up to Maxcien taking sometime that was a good thing in the long sense.
Somewhere outside the base, a black dressed figure was looking over at the base with a pair of binoculars with an evil smirk on her lips. She pulled up a radio to her side of the face,
"Black Raptor to Red Falcon…"
"This is Red Falcon. What is your status?" a voice crackled back.
"I am here and I have hacked into the Chrono Cannon mainframe. I am ready to let off a Chronotanic discharge but unable to access the database on the location but it'll open a gateway too," Black Raptor replied back lifting a lid from in front of her looking at the screen.
"Are our main objectives going to live through it?" Red Falcon said back from the other side of the radio line.
"Lt Maxcien, Professor Helienson, Alice, Alan, Grant, Janny, the two scientists, Stud and Trud will all be the last living things on the base," Black Raptor replied typing in the codes, "Ready to fire."
"Do it." Black Raptor smiled putting her finger over the enter button.
"50 men on the wall,
50 men on the wall,
Put a discharge down,
And there will be 0 men on the wall," Black Raptor sang with a small laughter as she pushed the enter button, "Time for the fireworks of discharges." She put her hands behind her head and stared towards the base from where she sat on her jeep's bonnet.
Back in the base, the men gathered around ready to listen to the first musical act all giving a cheer ready for the fun to begin, unknown to them the Chrono Cannon was powering up at a fast rate until a humming noise started radiating out from it. They all turned and stared at the Cannon, some pointing at it and nervous chatter started to break out.
'What's going on?'
'Is this part of the show?'
'I got a bad feeling about this…'
They all looked on as a purple cloud began forming around the tip of the coil like a pole. All of a sudden, the cloud started spreading out in all directions, covering them and leaving them confused. Panic started setting in as they began running in all directions trying desperately to head towards the nearest shelter but it was too late. A large flash appeared at the end of the ball at the tip of the coil causing a discharge full of energy to spread within the cloud striking the men as they fled causing them to drop to the floor. In a matter of seconds, it was over. The cloud had disappeared with the discharge and the Cannon returned to its normal status leaving soldiers littered all over the place not moving a muscle. The only ones left standing were the technicians who stood outside the command building staring in shock at the sight with the two guards. Over in the lab complex, Professor Helienson stood there with the two scientists horrified at the view they were witnessing. Lieutenant Maxcien, Littlefoot and Wayne came up alongside Helienson and the scientists; they too gaped with hanging mouths both looking startled, shocked and scared. All stood standing silently; all with the same speechless reactions and expressions.