Warning, this chapter contains uncomfortable and disturbing scenes.
—
Sue, Amy, and their dinosaurs were searching for the cosmos stone and the jammer on the board of the Backland.
"Wow, this place is huge," Amy awed.
"Yeah, but that's the problem..." Sue sighed. "I'm pretty sure we've passed this door before." She looked around, pointing at the only door in the corridor.
"How can you tell? Everything seems the same to me..."
"A gut feeling."
"Good... Maybe we can try the door?" Amy suggested.
"Great idea!" Sue grabbed the doorknob, but couldn't move the door an inch. "Damn it!"
"Maybe we need a password?"
"Wait! I remember that Zoe mentioned something once. We gotta give it a try." Sue turned to the door with a serious expression. "Open, Sesame!"
"Um, really...?" Amy stared at her in irritation. But then the door started to open. "...wow..."
Annie and Hana walked into the room.
"Hell yes!"
"Do you think that Dr. Cretacia came up with that?"
"Oh, definitely!"
Suddenly, they heard a deep hum approaching them.
Sue took Amy's hand and pulled her in the room, the door closing behind them.
They heard the humming getting close alongside slow footsteps; they stopped. "I know you're here. You can't hide from me." Zepar then continued walking.
The girls sighed in relief and observed the room they were in; it was a cockpit. The whole city could be seen from there. They walked to some control panels and typed something in, making camera recordings and a map of the place appear.
"Here's that jammer!" Sue pointed at one screen.
"And here's the stone!" Amy noticed, looking at another screen.
"According to the map, they aren't that far. Let's go!"
They peeked from the room, making sure that the coast is clear. They headed to the elevator and got in the engine room to turn the jammer off. After that, they went to grab the cosmos stone.
Amy took the capsule with the stone. As soon as she did, a woman formed in the room.
"Zepar...?"
"Aren't you a little young to be a superhero?" the woman asked.
"Aren't you a little old to be alive?" Sue asked back, stepping in front of Amy, "look, old lady, I'd fight you, but even I respect old people."
Zepar chuckled. "Old lady? Tch... Is that all you can say?"
"Stay the hell away from Amy!" Sue growled.
Zepar's eyes glanced at the girl behind her. "She means nothing to me; she's useless. I need you, your stone plate."
"Never."
"We'll do it the hard way, I see."
"Amy, run," Sue told her friend.
"I won't leave you!"
"Now's not the time for a heartwarming speech. Get out of here!"
Amy took her hand. "I'm staying with you."
—
The others were meanwhile walking towards the Backland. The Dark Pterosaur was gone as she turned into her human form.
Max was trying to contact Justin when it suddenly worked. "The jammer's turned off!" he gasped. The rest looked over his shoulders. Justin's face appeared on the screen.
"Guys! The communication works again!"
"Justin! Oh my gosh, are you okay?" Kyra asked him.
"Yes, I am. I am with the Sakura Group," he replied.
"Is anyone else there?" Alice wondered.
Her little brother nodded. "The Shinoris and Cruz are also here."
"That is everyone," Rex pointed out.
"Can we speak to Agent Shinori?" Spike spoke up.
Sora pushed Justin away and looked through the screen. "Here!"
"Sora, we need you to lead everyone on board of the Backland and meet us in the engine room."
"Sure thing!"
The call ended and they continued walking.
"Um, Mike?"
Dr. Drake glanced at Drack. "What do you want?"
"I know that this might not be the best time, but... I'd like to explain myself."
"You don't have to say anything. I've heard enough. You returned in the Akuno because of Zepar's threats and she punished you; that's why you're like this."
"I've fallen in love with Vivian and I still do love her—Zepar can't take that away, no matter how much she tortures me. I've promised myself to never forget her; have you ever noticed how similar 'Drack' is to 'Drake'? I've taken her last name, changing it slightly. I'm sure you don't even care. I've hurt your family enough, it was my punishment after all. But note this; Zepar's punishments are always meant to hurt us not you."
"Drack?"
"What?"
Mike inhaled, preparing to say something. His fists were shaking; he couldn't say it. "...nothing..."
Meanwhile, Kyra kept her eyes on Rod and was uncomfortably close. Laura knew that blushing cheeky face she was making.
"Oh no, Kyra! Not my brother!"
"Huh...? Why not...?"
Lucy sighed. "Kyra, please, let him at least be your age before you flirt..."
Kyra pouted, then her eyes fell on Laura. "Kami!"
"Oh, forget about that! She said your age..."
"You aren't 16?" Kyra titled her head.
"No..." Laura rubbed the back of her head. "That's just the form I've decided to keep. I'm actually 116."
"116?!" the others wondered.
She chuckled.
"So, you're the old lady now," Zoe joked, making some people including Laura laugh.
Cole blinked a few times. "You still look hot though, Kamila."
Laura blushed.
"And you still wonder why I'm mad at you..." Kyra murmured.
"But she kissed me!" Cole objected.
"You what?" Rod turned to his sister.
"I had to. Zepar sent me to get close to Kyra and I had to make her somehow stay away from me myself. Since Kyra's sweetheart, this was the only way. I wouldn't kiss him, not my type."
"Thanks..." Cole groaned.
Similarly to her brother, even Mary tried to make peace with someone.
"So-"
"Get away from me," Lucy told her immediately.
The ginger frowned and walked away.
Lucy suddenly coughed, her knees got weak. Somebody wrapped their arms around her, helping her stand. There was one person on her mind who would do that, but when she looked at them she saw someone different. "S...Foster...?"
"Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah... I'm fine..." She smiled at him weakly. She took a deep breath and managed to stand.
In the other part of the group, Laura sighed. "It'll be nice to go back home after such a long time..."
"Yeah, 8 years is a long time," Rod agreed, but then realized what he said, "oh...108 for you...Sorry."
"It's okay. It doesn't feel like that much when I look back at it..."
"The question is if we'll ever be able to go back," Trias said.
"Right..."
"The Backland might be operational after some repairs, however, it cannot travel through time without the stone plates that would get destroyed if we defeat the Dark Pterosaur."
"Zepar is able to create time warps, but it takes a lot of her energy; that's why she'd rather use the stone plates," Laura explained, "that also isn't a possibility. And those random time warps can take to who knows where. We might have to stay here."
As sad as this situation seemed to her, Rex and Alice felt happy and smiled at each other. Cretacia noticed their happiness; Rex doesn't have to be without his friends, while Alice has a chance with him.
Reese had her hand on her wound, trying to suppress the pain.
Rosie touched her shoulder. "We can slow down or stop if you need to."
"No. I can handle this."
"Please, don't be stubborn..."
"I'm fine-ugh!" Suddenly, a stabbing pain ran through Reese's body; she stopped and almost fell down. Her mother supported her.
"Reese..."
"What's wrong?" the others wondered.
"That wound hurts her again," Rosie told them, "go ahead without us."
"But, Rose-"
"Go. You don't need us and Reese must rest."
Mike nodded.
"...wait-!" Reese groaned, her face cringed with pain. She took the metal plate of her scarf and gave it to Rod. "...it might be handy..."
"Thanks."
"You don't have to stay behind. We'll just wait," Zoe said.
"...I'll only slow you down...you...don't need us to finish it..."
"We'll join you as soon as we can," Rosie reassured her.
"Okay..."
They continued walking.
Reese leaned her back on a tree.
The rest stopped when they were at the place.
"That's it?" Cole wondered.
"Just wait," Spike told him, looking for a device in his pockets, "hm...?" He couldn't find it. "Huh?! Where is it?!"
Aki poked his shoulder. "Spike?"
He looked at her.
"You gave it to me with words 'I would lose it, please, be kind and carry it for me', remember?" she reminded him, waving with the device.
He hugged her. "You are amazing!"
She smiled at him.
He took the device, pressed a button and they were all transported on the Backland.
Cole gasped. "This is awesome!"
"Yeah, but we gotta find Amy and Sue before Zepar does," Alice spoke up.
"Right."
Drack summoned his Megaraptor in a chibi form. "Mahin, can you smell anyone close?" he asked him.
The Megaraptor sniffed around and rushed after a smell he got; the rest followed him.
They ran through several rooms and corridors when they noticed something strange on the ground. Red drops were on the floor. Their first assumption was obvious.
"Blood..."
"This could be an illusion," Mary pointed out, but some of them didn't listen.
"Amy! Sue!" Zoe followed the trail of blood. She soon saw someone sitting on the floor; they seemed unconscious. She knew that brunet hair in twin tails. "Sue!" She knelt to her friend. "Sue! Wake up! Please!"
"Ice Queen..."
"Wake up, Sue..."
"Ugh-" Sue inhaled a little and opened her eyes, spotting an indescribable beauty. "Girl...? Heh... And I thought I'd go to hell when I die..."
Zoe sighed in relief, smiling. "Oh, Sue..." She hugged her tightly and pecked her cheek.
"Girl..." Sue blushed.
"Are you okay? What happened?"
"I'm fine," Sue murmured, smirking weakly, "that old hag challenged us." She stood up hardly. Zoe supported her. "We turned off the jammer and grabbed the stone. Annie and Hana had no chance against her, so we called them back. I told Amy to run when Zepar attacked me." She pointed at a deep scratch on her right side. "She used the same thing as with Reese, so I knew what to expect. Amy got away to safety... While I...had to stop the bleeding..."
"You cauterized it with fire..." Mike realized.
"It was the only way. It hurt... a lot. Reese's was worse though."
Kyra took a look at the wound. "You're right, it is sealed by fire."
"I had a source of fire... So, not a big deal. Here, teach." Sue gave the lighter back to Lucy.
"I don't need that anymore. I...don't have a reason to smoke."
"I don't give a damn; it's still yours and you might need it."
"Thanks..."
"Do you know where Amy could be?" Zoe asked Sue.
"Not a clue..."
Rex and Alice frowned thoughtfully and then looked at each other. "Tashi!" Alice summoned her dino and the Pachycephalosaurus immediately rushed after the sense of the black cosmos stone. The others followed her. She was scratching at one door.
"Amy, are you in there? Amy?"
The doorknob moved slowly and the door opened. Amy was standing in a small room, holding the capsule with the stone.
"You're okay!"
She hugged her best friends tightly.
"Are you hurt?" she worried.
"I'm fine, I'm fine, really," Sue reassured her.
"I...I shouldn't have run away..."
"Hell no. She'd attack you too! I wouldn't forgive myself."
Cole clapped. "Great to see you happy and together again, but we gotta go to the engine room or wherever. And you still owe me that soda, Ice Queen."
"Not now!"
"Okay..."
—
Reese and Rosie were sitting under a tree, waiting until the pain fades away.
"Does that woman have an effect on you because she was in your body?" Rosie wondered.
"Y-yeah...in a sense. Up until the point of our separation, we share memories. When we merged, I could see her whole mind, I know everything she did at that moment; the same with her."
"I see... So, she knows everything about us as well."
"Exactly. I...understand her. She and her sister were the first living beings in the whole universe; she wished to have the Earth, but her sister took it from her. Zepar decided to own a different planet; the one the Space Pirates once called home. She was their goddess. Her creations turned out differently than expected, selfish, arrogant, dominate. Both Pterosaurs are the same as their creations. Zepar was disgusted and killed all of them excluding four individuals, the Space Pirates.
They each represented what she adored so much.
The desire for power, strength, dedication, brain, and beauty.
She made them worship her and give the power that belongs to her. The cosmos stones were about to hit the Earth and make dinosaurs, the sister's creations, extinct, when the pirates were in reach of them. That impact formed not only the stone plates but also the crystals. Zepar took over, creating her masterpiece, humankind. However, they turned out to be even worse than the pirates' race. She hates us. What also adds to the hatred is the fact that her sister took on the life of a human being. She became a woman known as Ronwe Grey.
Zepar made sure that such a betrayal won't go unpunished. She managed to destroy Ronwe's human form and as the Greyholt legend says, she asked Sikers to give him his daughter. Zepar saw Harc as a perfect human due to her mother being a goddess. When given the wrong one, Zepar tried to make a perfect being out of Laura, but it wasn't as she imagined.
Once she met me...I guess she saw potential in me. She calls me her perfect creation. Smart, strong, beautiful, dedicated. But I'm nowhere near perfect..."
"You've made a mistake, but that doesn't make you a bad person," Rosie reassured her, "I knew that I can trust you when I made you a guardian; you'd do anything for Zoe and the crystals."
Reese was about to reply when a Dimetrodon ran to them, nuzzling her. "Karo?"
They noticed that a group is heading towards them.
A small brunet boy gasped and rushed to them. "Reese! What are you two doing here?"
"Justin..." The blonde smiled softly.
"Your coat is destroyed..."
The rest caught up with him. "Hey, where are the others?" Ema wondered.
"On the board of the Backland," Rosie replied, "we had to stop because of Reese's injury."
"Injury?!" Dark gasped. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine; it's an old wound."
"So, you're going to catch up with us?" Niki asked.
"Maybe."
"You have the device with you, right?" Sora wondered.
"Actually...no."
"Then how are you gonna get up there?! We might be in the middle of the fight, so we won't be able to teleport you on board."
Reese glanced back at Justin and his laptop and communicator. "There might be a certain way. Justin, you could log into the main computer in the engine room and connect it to your communicator. You can just get us on board once I call you on the phone."
"Me...? I'm not really sure."
"No way, bud, you can do it!" Andy cheered him up.
"That's right; if there's anyone who can do it, it's you, Justin. I trust you."
"You do?"
Reese nodded proudly.
"Wait, the Backland is technologically advanced, how would he be able to even understand the programming of that?" Den asked.
"Because he is the second-best for the job."
Justin chuckled softly, blushing.
"I know you are, Justin. If you have trouble with it, there are people who will help you."
"Thank you for believing in me. I will not disappoint you, I promise!"
"And what about you? Do you have any way to defend yourselves?" Sabi questioned.
Rosie shook her head.
"You should," Cruz told her, "Zepar can send strong searchers or worse beast searchers; no human has a chance against those without a weapon. We can stay here with you."
"No, you are needed in the battle."
Zakuro sighed, looking down. She got an idea when her eyes fell on a bag she was holding. She tossed it on the ground in front of Rosie, who immediately looked inside.
"Kunais and shurikens?"
"As Cruz mentioned, you need some weapons more than us."
"Thank you."
"No problem," Zakuro chuckled.
"'Kay, 'kay, let's hurry up now; they're waiting for us," Kenji tried to speed the group up.
"Yeah, right." His step-mother nodded. "Let's get going. You sure you're going to be okay?"
"We are."
The group headed away.
—
The D-Team and Traveling Forces arrived in the engine room, some of them were amazed by the machine.
Laura put the cosmos stone in the sword handle; her gloves protected her from any side effects. "I don't think we should store the crystals in the stone yet. Zepar can send out strong searchers, meaning everyone without a dinosaur or a weapon would be in trouble. I have no idea how big Zepar's powers are with the Last Crystal and how it affects the limits of the searchers. We have a disadvantage because unlike her we don't know what to expect."
"But we can still surprise her," Drack suggested, "she sees everyone but the owners as useless and weak; giving guardians the crystals might throw her off."
"Maybe."
Then the door opened at the Sakura Group walked in. "Guys!"
"Hold up, who the heck are these guys?" Andy asked once he spotted the Ancients and Rod, "and why is the Akuno here?!"
"A long story..." Max shrugged.
"Just get those bastards out of here," Ema growled.
"Cousin, I've already suggested that," Sue told her, "but we hell need all possible help."
"How can they ever help us?" Sabi wondered aggressively.
Dengyo held her back. "Right now, we are only left to trust the D-Team's judgment and I trust them."
"Of course, there is no telling whether Drack and Mary are clear, but we can trust Kami. As long as she doesn't have the cosmos stone around her neck, she is harmless," Cruz said.
Laura smiled when she heard that. "Let me correct you," she exclaimed, ripping the sleeves off her shirt and wrapped the brown cape around her waist, "as long as I'm not wearing the stone, I am on your side."
Rod stared at her. "Since when are you such a badass?" he asked his sister.
Meanwhile, Justin walked over to the console, plugging his laptop to the main computer.
"We're in the middle of a literal apocalypse and the first thing you do when you see your family again is turning on your laptop?" Lucy raised her eyebrow.
"I must do this, so I can get Reese and Mrs. Drake on board during the battle," Justin explained, plugging his communicator in.
"You can do that?" Mike wondered.
"Maybe...It depends on the programming of the Backland." Justin typed something in and the screen filled with lines of code, starting to work.
Dark approached the Ancients. "I am glad to see that you are okay."
"That's mostly thanks to you," Trias told her.
"You know these people?" Sabi asked her friend.
"She saved our lives!" Cretacia replied before Dark could.
"Thank you so much, Dark." Rex hugged the dark-haired.
"Rex...I only did what everyone would..."
Ema glanced at her cousin, noticing the blood on her. "What on Earth were you doing?"
"Don't worry, it's my blood; I didn't kill anyone," Sue reassured her.
Ema sighed and opened a bottle of water she had with her. "Why do I always have to take care of you?" She summoned her crystal and made the water splash on her cousin's blood.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome. Now, what's the deal with those killers?"
Drack crossed his arms. "We aren't here to fight you." Suddenly, he got splashed in the face, groaning. He continued. "You don't have to take us as allies-" He got splashed again. "-we only have the same enemy." He finished as if nothing happened.
"We need everyone who can help," Amy tried to convince Ema.
"Does this help you judge us less?" Drack opened his coat, revealing pockets filled with dinosaur cards and move cards. "I managed to steal every single card from the Akuno, giving us some hope in the battle."
Ema glance away. "Fine..."
"So, where is Nick?" Niki asked, "I thought you said all of us would be here."
"He got captured," Kyra told her.
"No way..."
"Guess we can't go for a kill right away," Sora mumbled, "wait, does he have the crystal?"
"Actually..." Lucy pulled the ice crystal out of her pocket. "I kept it since Komatsu's death; though I'm not its guardian, so I can't use it."
"Good, so, we get Nicolas from the demon and strike? Okay!" Andy grinned.
"Uh, uh, uh~" Mary wagged her finger. "We stab her before striking."
"A little gory, don't you think?" Zakuro asked sister.
"Not my idea. That blonde lab chick came up with that. We stab her with a special sword that'll allow us to hit her and defeat her."
Then a mysterious female voice sounded through the room. "You shouldn't..."
"Huh?"
A bright light in the shape of a bird appeared in the room. "You cannot destroy Zepar..."
Some of them recognized that appearance. "The Pterosaur?" While others recognized the voice. "Ronwe Grey?" Rod and Laura said, "you're alive?"
"Oh...You two are here...This is...awkward..."
"Ronwe Grey, the White Pterosaur and Zepar's sister are one and the same," Laura exclaimed, "that explains a lot. That's why Zepar wanted Harc; she wanted your daughter."
"That isn't why I am here... I must stop you before you make a mistake... Zepar and I are meant to maintain balance in the world."
"Yeah, right. Except for the fact that your sister's trying to murder us," Cole commented, "you kept her alive."
"I had to...If she dies, I die as well..."
"You're just afraid of death," Cruz told her, "you caused so much suffering because you are afraid to die."
"That is not-"
"If this is your true identity then you are able to open the time wraps and you know what is going to happen," Rod spoke up.
"Yes."
"Then...why didn't you save Sikers and Harc? They perished in the WW1, you could have saved them."
"That would damage the timeline, I couldn't do that..."
"They were your family. Your husband and daughter and you couldn't save them?! You let them die..."
"I had to. Their souls formed into the crystals of light and darkness after their deaths... Any change of that would have unimaginable consequences. Not to mention that a certain guardian and owner are Harc's descendants..."
"Descendants? You mean-"
"Harc was pregnant. She meant to tell you the day you disappeared. She had a daughter."
"What...?" Rod's eyes filled with tears as his fists shook, digging his nails in his palms.
"Rod..." Laura took his hand.
"I'm fine..." He forced her to let go.
"I can't let you kill Zepar."
"You didn't even try to save your husband and child, but you protect someone who wants to destroy the world?" Aki glared at Ronwe in disbelief and disgust.
"Stop that, Ronwe," Alice spoke up, "it is our choice to make. We decided our fate and we choose to fight and protect everything we love."
"You cannot, not in this formation."
"We will."
"Serve yourselves." Ronwe disappeared.
"To put it simply," Drack continued in the previous topic, "we fight until Zepar needs to recharge her powers, we distract her-"
"And we store the crystals inside Excalibur here," Dengyo interrupted him once he understood.
"Woah! Woah! Woah! We can't call it 'Excalibur'!" Kenji objected.
"What...? Why?"
"Because it is overused! We need something original like 'Demon Slayer'! No... No, no, no, no, no! That's a little over the top..." He suddenly gasped. "Time Defender!"
—
"I think I've just sent them to their deaths," Reese said, "what if I'm wrong? What if the weapon's useless?"
Rosie touched her shoulder. "Reese, you shouldn't think about it like that. You did everything you could and gave us hope. Even if it ends badly, it doesn't matter; we did our best."
"Mom, what are you-"
"I know you analyze the situation and always choose the right thing to do. I trust your decisions no matter what."
"I'm...not so sure about those..." Reese placed her hand on her wound. "After all, I gave her my body."
"You said that you had a plan."
"I did say that but...I don't even know if I had one. It was so stupid!" Reese yelped, burying her face in her palms.
"It was," Rosie told her, "that doesn't mean it was wrong, at least for you. A lost of something you've never had broke you. It hurts me to see you that way."
"...I...I just...I've lost what I've always wished for..." Reese uncovered her face, crying, "ever since I was a little kid, I've wanted what you and dad have...what we all have...A partner I can trust...A loving family... A chance of getting that was suddenly taken away from me and emotions that I didn't know exist started to fill my heart before I even realized that. I kept my feelings locked away and I threw away the key, waiting for someone to find it, but that lock was broken by force, turning me into...this... What man would ever want a woman that can't give him children and breaks down because of it...?"
"There sure are many and I know one of them personally." Rosie smiled nostalgically and looked at Reese once again. "When I said that I'd do the same, I meant it and you should know that I understand your pain."
She took a deep breath.
"After all, he was meant to be your little brother..."
—
Zepar was standing on the board of the Backland, right outside, waiting, holding the Last Crystal. "You can't hide from me."
As soon as she said that, an elevator arrived. She grinned and turned to it, as the door opened. "Oh, there you are."
Max, Rex, Zoe, Spike, Aki, Foster, and Mike walked out.
"Hm? A rather interesting combination I must say; I wasn't expecting you to take the useless ones with you or did you come here to die?"
"We're here to fight you!" Max replied.
"Is that so?" Zepar's body turned into a black-haired woman with red eyes, her sister Ronwe.
"And can you really do that?" She then took on the appearance of a blond man with green eyes and missing left arm, Sikers Grey.
"You stand no chance." And then she was Harc.
"You're weak." Then Haru Shiraki.
"Naive." Then Komatsu.
"Nothing." Then Phoebus Kato.
"Soon you'll lose." Then Michael Miharu.
"And end up just like them." Then Trias.
"Dead..." And then Cretacia.
"That's where you're wrong!" she heard behind her and looked back, changing into herself. Her eyes widened as she watched Rod, Laura, the Ancients, Drack, and Mary.
"Not all of us are dead."
"H-how...? You are supposed to be dead!"
"You shouldn't trust everything you hear," Drack told his former queen.
"Traitor."
Out of nowhere, a fireball hit Zepar's back. The queen's grin widened and she turned to the third group, doing as if nothing happened. There was no dinosaur, so the fire must have come from the fire crystal.
"Is that all or should I expect another visit?"
"This is everyone," Laura said.
"I see. So, my creator is scared to meet me, huh? Never mind; let's get this over with." Zepar stomped on the floor and shadow-like figures rose from it.
They were already prepared for that and swiped their cards. "Dino slash!"
Max summoned Chomp the Triceratops and Blitz the Styracosaurus.
Rex summoned Ace the Carnotaurus.
Zoe summoned Paris the Parasaurolophus.
Alice summoned Tashi the Pachycephalosaurus.
Justin summoned Karo the Dimetrodon.
Ema summoned Ellen the Ampelosaurus.
Sue summoned Annie the Daspletosaurus.
Niki summoned Stegi the Stegosaurus.
Sabi summoned Star the Dilophosaurus.
Andy summoned Aaron the Coelophysis.
Dengyo summoned Shadow the Lufengosaurus.
Kyra summoned Jessica the Corythosaurus.
Cole summoned Mitch the Compsognathus.
Dark summoned River the Allosaurus.
Aki summoned Alpha, Zeta, Gamma, and Delta the Compsognathus.
Trias summoned Spiny the Spinosaurus and Tank the Saichania.
Amy summoned Hana the Euoplocephalus.
Rod summoned Terry the T-Rex.
Drack summoned Mahin the Megaraptor.
Mary summoned Feray the Carcharodontosaurus.
That threw Zepar off. Her eyes traced from Dark to Aki to Trias and then to Rod, realizing that was their plan. She'd never expect these four to fight.
The figures formed into different dinosaurs that attacked the real ones.
Zepar sighed."If everyone, then everyone." She snapped her fingers and Nicolas appeared next to her, his feet trapped in ice, and she was holding his stone plate and cards.
"Nick!"
"This is fine..." he commented.
"Let my son go," Lucy said.
"Then come and get him."
"As you wish." The scarlet-haired pulled the ice crystal from her pocket. "Andy, distract her..." she whispered, giving him her lighter, "Cole, tell Mitch to take the plate and the cards."
"Okay."
Andy fired some firecrackers and threw them at Zepar. "Hey! Leave him alone!" The crackers popped, making her cover her ears. Mitch quickly climbed at her and grabbed Nicolas' stuff in his jaws, escaping. Lucy tossed crystal to her son. He caught it.
"Focus on melting the ice!" she instructed him. He directed the crystal at the ice; the cyan crystal started to glow and the ice slowly turned into water. Once he was free, Nicolas ran away. He took his stuff from Mitch. "That was pretty cool," he admitted.
"Don't you mean pretty cold?" Andy wondered.
Nicolas glared at him.
"Pretty chill?"
"Andy, stop..." Sabi mumbled.
"Pretty frosty? Pretty icy...?"
"Dude, no. Just no," Nick told him.
"Okay..."
"Now, it's time to show her blizzard." He swiped his card, summoning Ria the Cryolophosaurus.
Zepar added some human searchers to the beasts to go after anyone without a dinosaur.
Max and Aki rode Chomp and Blitz respectively while the Compy Squad led the attack at Ceratops-like searchers. The Compy Squad split up and distracted the enemy, trying not to get stomped on. Chomp and Blitz rammed into the opponents.
Ace, River, and Mahin took care of big groups with Ninja Attack and Mayfly. Tashi, Ria, Star, Aaron, and Terry charged at Zepar while Paris, Karo, Ellen, Annie, Stegi, Shadow, Jessica, Mitch, Hana, Feray, Spiny, and Tank stayed back as a defense of the humans; it was needed.
A normal searcher grabbed Ken by his striped shirt and pick him up as he was running. "Hey!"
Sora punched the searcher away, Kenji fell down. "Ow... Thanks, dad..."
"Glad you're okay."
"Yeah..."
Then they heard a scream that made them shot their heads to the right. "Get away from me!" Zakuro was in trouble; several searchers gathered around her and she didn't have a source of fire near her to use the crystal. They were about to run to her when Mary, who was standing the closest to them, noticed Zepar's smirk as the Last Crystal formed spears out of Backland's metal roof. The spears flew at the Shinoris, but then Mary pushed the two away.
They both hit the roof and looked up to see 'Mary'...being impaled by more than 15 spears... No, whoever was standing there wasn't Mary...or at least they didn't know those two were the same person. Mary's ginger locks in a plait were suddenly shorter, down and bright blue; the body type also changed. This wasn't the Mary they knew, but they knew her...
"H...Hikari...?" Sora let out a choking sound; he couldn't believe he'd ever see her again.
Kenji has heard that name uncountable times and wished to meet that woman, however, not like this... "Mom?"
Mary or rather Hikari Yori smiled weakly, life slowly escaping her old body, turning into dust. She whispered her last words, they could barely hear her. "...I wanted to tell you after we win..." The remains of her body were gone before she could even hit the floor.
Just like with Drack's injury, there was no blood. Zepar kept them alive for too long...
This was the second time they both lost her...
Sora charged at Zepar for that, but a female voice stopped him. "Sora!"
"Zakuro!" He gasped and rushed to help her. He managed to beat the searchers up. "Keep your hands off my wife!" A few of them disappeared.
Zakuro smiled.
Drack could only stare at the place where his little sister perished.
"It hurts, doesn't it?" Ema asked him sarcastically.
"It does... I haven't felt like that in a while..."
"At least now you know how it felt when you took Miharu away from me."
"Ema, don't provoke him," Rex told her, "Drack... I am sorry for your loss..."
"Thank you."
Meanwhile, everyone without a weapon was gathering behind the dinos, while the ones with weapons protected them from the other side. Foster was keeping the searchers away with gusts of wind by the wind crystal. The ones that managed to go through it were attacked by Spike's and Laura's whips and Mike's needle. Cretacia cheered them up.
She, Cruz, Sora, and Kenji were protected, however, some searchers slipped through the defense. The rest turned around and were about to stop the searchers when fire burst out of nowhere, destroying the searchers. The fire died out, revealing Lucy and Zakuro holding a lighter and the fire crystal respectively.
"Wow, my wife is freaking badass," Sora awed, his jaw dropped.
Zakuro smirked.
Lucy pulled the metal crystal out of her pocket. "Let's get you guys some weapons." The crystal started to glow; four metal sticks came out of the Backland's roof and formed into two katanas, an Estoque sword, and giant scissors. Each of the unarmed took one of them.
"LET'S GOOOOO!" The Shinoris rushed into the battle with the katanas.
"And I love that dork..." Zakuro facepalmed herself, blushing.
Cretacia ran to Trias to protect him since she now had a weapon.
Cruz stayed where he was.
As more and more searchers made their way towards them, Zakuro and Lucy were prepared to strike, but then...
"Lucy..." that male voice made her freeze. She turned her head slightly to the left and saw him.
There's no way...
A brunet man that resembled Nicolas if he was older.
"This can't be..."
"What's wrong? Aren't you happy to see your husband after five years?" he asked her.
"You're dead."
He could only smile softly at her.
"He must be an illusion and-" Zakuro was interrupted by a different male voice.
"Zak..." She and Laura looked to its source; they knew that voice.
They stared at a dark-haired man with glasses.
"Dad...?"
"Haru..."
Komatsu and Shiraki weren't only dead ones that stood there. Andy, Ema, and Rod stared at their father, best friend, and lover respectively.
—
"Why do you bring him up all of a sudden?" Reese wondered, "he was taboo for 15 years."
"Because I want to remind you that your situation isn't unique. Except for that evil goddess trying to take over your body. Michiko..." Rosie whispered Reese's second name, making her look at her. "As a child, you stayed silent and sad, so dad and I wanted to give you someone special to you. You were so happy when you found out you're going to be a big sister. I'll never forget your smile... You were preparing to meet your brother more than we were. In several months of my pregnancy, we lost him... My heart broke three times that day when I found out he's dead, when we told you about it, and... when I was told that there is a small possibility that I'll ever have another child... I reacted the same way as you now... I understand you."
"Mom..." Reese sighed. "...When I ran into my room that day, dad followed me and asked me to help you as much as I can. Now I understand why..."
"I'm so thankful to both of you; you both gave me hope and I think that hope is why we have Zoe; she is our miracle that has always fought for her life. Despite what I was told, I managed to give birth to another child."
"What's your point...?"
"Miracles can happen even in the most hopeless situations. Your miracle is waiting for you, you only need to find it and that won't happen if you give up."
Reese smiled. "Thank you..." She stood up, taking a deep breath. "I feel much better now. We should head out, the others need us."
Rosie nodded. "Let's go."
—
"Miharu..." Ema smiled, looking at her best friend.
"Hey, Wada."
"I'm sorry I wasn't with you; that I couldn't save you."
He shook his head. "Not your fault."
"I know..."
"...Harc, is that you?" Rod reached his hand to his lover. He stroked her cheek. "I've missed you..."
She held his hand. "So have I. Please, come back home."
Tears filled his eyes. "How was she like? Our...our daughter..."
"I can't really tell you."
"Because you aren't real... I know..."
Phoebus rubbed Andy's head. "Happy to see me?"
"Sure, but..." Andy frowned. "You're going to disappear... I wish you were here to help us fight."
"Me too."
"At least I can finally tell you... Goodbye, dad..."
Zakuro was looking at her father; she was breathless.
"You've grown up so fast, Zak," he told her.
She shook her head, tears in her eyes. "...don't do this to me..."
Laura touched her shoulder. "Zak...I know, this hurts, but you can't bring him back."
Zakuro nodded, reaching the fire crystal towards the illusion of her deceased father, however, she couldn't get rid of the searchers even if she wanted because the source of the fire was distracted.
Lucy had her eyes on her husband, ignoring everything around her.
The situation caught even her children's attention. Alice and Justin held Kyra from running to the illusion. Nicolas trembled, emotions mixing inside him; he was happy but mad...
The red-head walked over to Komatsu.
"Lucy, stop! He isn't real!"
But she didn't listen...
"It's been a long time... I've tried to get myself closer to you to see you sooner." She glimpsed at the lighter she was holding. "I've been killing myself with an addiction, but... I can't do that anymore..."
"Lucy, you know that I love you."
Her face cringed. "Then why...? Tell me why did you do that...? Why?!" she cried and slapped him, "...why did you do that to me, bastard...?"
Seeing what this illusion causes to his mother, Nicolas decided to stop this. He had Ria use Snow Crystals at his father, making him disappear. Lucy continued crying. "I love you..." she whispered softly.
Her smoker cough came back out of nowhere, her knees were getting weak, her whole body was shaking. Arms wrapped around her, helping her stand and calm down.
"It's going to be alright," Dr. Owen told her.
"Foster..."
The rest of the dead ones were also taken care of.
Zepar raised her hand, meaning to summon more searchers since they were all defeated, but she was weakened, using too much power on the last five illusions; she must do it on her own until she recharges.
Laura noticed. "Distraction! Now!"
"Cole!" Sue turned to the brunet.
He nodded his head and swiped the Death Grind card. Mitch charged at Zepar, using only the last part of the move. "Sue!"
She activated the Volcano Burst card. Annie's fire headed to the queen, mixing with the gas and exploding.
"Boom!" both Cole and Sue yelled.
The others gathered, storing the crystals inside the cosmos stone in the Time Defender.
"How dare you?! I am your goddess and you dare to use a farting move against me?!" Zepar shouted, "this crosses the line!" She picked Mitch up by the tail.
"Let him go!"
The Compy Squad attacked Zepar to save their pack's Beta. She simply pushed or kicked them away.
"That's enough!" Cole was about to get payback for his dinos.
"Do not interfere until I can stand," Laura said before charging against Zepar with the Time Defender.
"Laura!" Rod wanted to follow her, though Cruz held him back.
"She must do this."
"I can't lose her again!"
"Understandable; I know exactly how it feels, nevertheless you must trust your sister. No matter how this ends, it'll set her free."
Rod sighed, hanging his head.
Zepar watched her princess approach. She threw Mitch away, preparing to fight. Laura pressed the button on the handle to power the blade and slashed the sword. Zepar jumped back.
"What are you trying, princess? You know you can't hurt me. As long as I am aware of the attack, I can avoid it."
"We'll see about that." Laura was about to strike, leaving herself open to Zepar's attack. Zepar kicked her in the stomach. Laura hit the metal roof but immediately got back up. Zepar was ready for that; she made the metal rise up by the Last Crystal, throwing Laura away. She hit her head and couldn't stand up, letting go of the sword. Zepar walked over to her, stepping on her wrist.
"I've never wanted to hurt you, Kami. You've been like a daughter to me."
"...I've never been...I've been only a slave to you..."
All of sudden, Drack high-kicked Zepar's back. The demon faced him and swiftly grabbed his throat. As Zepar was distracted, Rod rushed to his sister and carried her away.
"...I failed..."
"No, you did great," he reassured her.
Zepar squeezed Drack's throat; he was doing his best to make her lose the grip, but unsuccessfully.
Mike threw his needle at Zepar, stabbing her shoulder. She groaned and let go of Drack. She focused on him so much that she left herself open to attacks. She took the giant needle off her and destroyed it.
"Say hello to my little friend!" Nicolas yelled before he tried to stab her with the Time Defender from behind. Zepar simply made a few steps to the side.
"You know you shouldn't yell before sneak attacking; it defeats the purpose."
Zepar knocked Nick down instantly, stepping on his head as he was facing the roof. The sword fell out of his hand.
"Another one of these strong talk idiots. Just be gone already." Zepar's right arm turned into a sword blade, slowly rubbing it against Nicolas' throat.
"Nick, no!" Niki swiped a move card. "Spike Arrows!" Stegi charged his attack and he shot at Zepar.
The queen smirked and her body turned into gas and the spikes flew through her, then she materialized again. She rolled her eyes. "What did I literally just say? Are you really that stupid?"
"Well, maybe I am, but I won't let you touch him!"
"Why do you care? He is arrogant, selfish, careless, not worth living."
"Well, you're wrong," Niki told her, "Nick might be all that, but he only needs people that don't judge him. Everyone acts according to the expectations of others, even you!"
"Huh?" Zepar glared at the blonde. "Why do I feel like you're wasting my-" Sooner than she could finish that sentence, she felt several stabs in the back. She quickly turned around, pulling shurikens that hit her out of her back. Her smirk widened as her small dark eyes fell on Rosie and Reese who just came to the battle. "Creator, finally. I have been waiting for you."
"Right on time!" Justin cheered.
Nicolas took his chance to escape.
As soon as he was near the group, Zepar used the Last Crystal to trap them in a metal box, keeping only Rosie and Reese free.
"Stay back. I'll take care of her," Reese said before walking towards Zepar.
"Be careful."
"I will..." She smiled.
"Oh, Creator, haven't you learned? You cannot defeat me."
"We'll see about that."
Once she was close enough, Zepar tried to punch her, ending with the same result as the last time; Reese stopped her fist. Zepar's right arm was still in the form of a blade—she slashed around, attempting to hit the scientist. The blonde dodged every single try and backed away, however, as she focused on Zepar, she didn't realize the demon can use the crystal and manipulate the metal under them or that there can be things lying around. Reese suddenly tripped and fell down. Zepar pointed the blade at her, brushing it against her cheek.
"So, perfect; pity that I must destroy my best creation."
Zepar pulled her arm away to strike the strongest hit she can.
Reese noticed the spike arrows that were lying around—she tripped over one. She grabbed one of them, blocking Zepar's stab. "You can't kill me that easily." She kicked Zepar off her. She got up, pointing Stegi's spike at her like a sword.
"That's why you are so perfect."
Meanwhile, the group had to get out of the metal box.
"...Rosie...Reese..." Mike whispered.
"We have to hurry!" Zoe said.
"We can't," Dengyo replied, "the crystal of metal is inside the 'Time Defender'."
"Which is outside; we must break through then," Justin realized.
Nicolas sighed in irritation. "Step away from the wall," he said before swiping the Blizzard Smash card. Ria froze one of the walls.
Tank and Hana hit the wall with their club tails and Tashi rammed into it with her head; it did nothing. They did it again with the same result.
It all seemed hopeless when then a bright light appeared in front of them, blasting off the walls. The light formed into a human body; a tall woman with curly black hair and red eyes, wearing a white robe.
"Ronwe? Why are you here?" Rod asked her.
"I told you that you cannot win against her in the formation you were in, but that's changed, hasn't it?"
At that moment, Zepar smashed Reese's weapon out of her hand and knocked her down. The blonde was looking up at her, backing away, however, she had to stop because she got near the edge of the Backland.
"Well, well, well, I guess this will be the end of you. Time to say goodbye."
"Leave her alone!" Zoe rushed between them, protecting her sister.
"...Zoe..."
Zepar's smirk widened more if that was even possible.
Zoe's action inspired even someone else. Mike stepped in front of her. "Don't touch my daughters."
"Let me guess, I'll have to get through you first. News for you, I want certain people dead, including you three; I don't even care anymore. Just die already!" Zepar charged towards him.
"NOOOO!" Reese screamed.
The time almost seemed to be frozen for a moment.
She got up and rushed over to Zepar, pushing her father off the way; her eyes were closed.
She stopped, waiting for the blade to impale her.
Then she heard Zepar gasping for breath.
She opened her eyes, staring at Zepar's arm that was reaching to her face; it was back to normal...? How...?
After that, she noticed the Time Defender's glowing blade sticking out of Zepar's stomach. The queen's dark eyes were wide opened and bloodshot. More than in pain she seemed surprised, shocked that a mere stab could cause her body to disobey her and turn into completely human-like form.
"How...? This...this shouldn't be possible..."
Zepar wasn't the only one confused; Reese had no clue about who actually saved her. She leaned to the side and saw light brown nearly ginger hair.
"Mom...?"
Rosie couldn't tell her anything to that—she was just as shocked as everyone else.
"You can't...YOU CAN'T DEFEAT YOUR GODDESS!" Zepar yelled and the Last Crystal started to glow. Several metal spikes, arrows, and spears came out of the roof. The whole family made their way away from Zepar unharmed by her attacks, the Time Defender still inside her.
She was about to follow them when arms wrapped around her from behind, keeping her in one spot.
"Stop this already, sister," Ronwe told her.
"Oh, Ron, do you realize that this will be your end too?"
"I don't mind... I cannot let you destroy everything we built up. Now! Do it!"
Hearing those words, everyone, who could, activated a move card and all dinosaurs attacked the sisters. A huge blast hit them, creating a pressure wave that filled their surroundings.
Zepar soon chuckled as her body slowly disappeared. "You really aren't all that bad... Humans aren't all evil. You managed to prove me wrong. Princess... Creator... It's been a pleasure to meet you. Apologizing to you all would be pointless; you'd never forgive me. Do one thing for me...celebrate your victory...You've just killed the most powerful being in the universe after all..."
Ronwe continued when her older sister was gone. "I've never thought this would be the end... But I am glad I'll be able to see them both again... Before I go, a time warp leading to the year 2130 is going to open in two days at this exact time. I am sorry that I could not help you more...Goodbye..."
They were both gone...
Only the Time Defender and the Last Crystal were left lying on the roof. Reese headed to get them.
The sky was clear and all Zepar's tricks were nowhere to be found. All dinosaurs turned into cards, exhausted from the battle.
"What the...?" The stone plate in Nicolas's hand vanished.
"Both of them are gone, there is no point in the existence of objects with their powers," Justin theorized.
Reese picked the Last Crystal up and sighed. "It might not be over yet..."
"What do you mean?" Sabi asked her.
"The crystal's still here. I'll go destroy it. Who-knows what destroying of this thing can do to me, so I rather do it without you watching. If I don't come back in five minutes, come after me." And without another word, she went inside the Backland.
She returned after a while, smiling. The first one to rush to her was Kyra, who hugged her tightly.
It was over...
—
And that's it! We only have one chapter to go, but before I tell you goodbye, for now, I have a few things I wanna clear out.
Don't take Mary turning into dust as an Infinity War reference, I see it more as a Tangled reference.
The whole part with Reese and Rosie talking was once again a last-minute addition.
I don't think I have any words to the combo of Death Grind and Volcano Burst, other than the Death Grind is meant to be the Japanese version of the attack.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading and I'll see you in the last chapter.