Sorry about the delay, I'm still trying to figure out how I want to end this story so writing is a bit slower. So I do apologize if this story seems to be dragging, I promise the next few chapters is going to speed up in terms of action and then the conclusion. eventually.

The inside of the facility was even creepier than the outside, the debris from years of neglect was piled in the hallways and the desks. Leaf piles littered the hall, and in a broken vending machine. The light from outside barely shone in as they delved deeper. Eric and Owen held Maria's hands tightly as the three stayed close together, she remembered Billy's tale of the raptors. She wanted to be able to bolt as fast as possible, even with Ripper here she didn't have faith in a runin with the wild bipeds.

"Looks like there's some offices around the corner on the landing," Owen observed as they entered the laboratory.

"Let's stay up here," Maria suggested as she eyed the egg hatcheries below. Broken shells, and a few skeletons of the unfortunate babies that didn't make the jump to the ground. Being on the high ground was a better bet than being in that pit.

"There better be some clues here, Ms. Brennan," Vilks grumbled behind them as the agents readied their guns.

Maria glared at the wall in front of her at his words. God, did she want to sic Ripper on his ass. But not now, it would be too obvious…

She extracted herself from Owen and Eric as she approached the first door and steeled her breath. If it was closed, then there shouldn't be anything in there, right? She hoped so, because she didn't think she could handle it if a dinosaur was in there. She looked at Owen and Eric, before nodding at the door. Owen raised his fists in a defensive stance, Eric tensed beside her as she hyped herself up to opening the door.

The door came open with a loud screech and several creatures rushing at the three. Maria let out a shriek as Eric grabbed her and Owen jumped out of the way. Some shots rang out in reflex, narrowly missing the little green demons that ran down the stairwells with Ripper and Blue hot on their heels. The five stared down after them as they all caught their breaths, slowly relaxing again once they realized that it was all just a couple of compy's escaping.

Eric slowly released her as he caught his breath again, still keeping a hand near her arm in case anything changed. Owen nodded to the door as Maria peeked in again, relaxing fully when it was found empty. "Let's go," she gave the men around her a shaky smile as she went into the office.

There were papers everywhere, notebooks with yellowed pages littering the desk and floor. Some papers were torn from the dinosaurs, others looked like they'd been purposely ripped. A map of Isla Sorna resided on the wall, one end hanging on the last bit of tape. There were pins in the paper, helping it stick to the wall. Some pinpointed the docks, the current position and even a few safe house facilities.

Maria drew nearer to the map as she tried to gather the intel on it. The InGen facility that Kelly had told her about resided up at the top of the island whereas they were currently near the middle. She eyed the clear split in the island, a ravine that would no doubt cause problems if they had to cross it. Maybe there would be a boat somewhere that they could rig up…

"What's that circle?" Eric sounded next to her as he peered over her shoulder to take a look as well. The circle in question was bordering a small cluster of trees on the map. Nothing special, or really nothing at all present to require the attention. And yet…

"That's not too far from here," Maria murmured as she cocked her head down at it.

"It can't be that easy," Owen said softly as he joined them, brows furrowed as he took in the symbols. "Can it?"

"He did allude that he wanted to be caught," Maria whispered softly to him. She didn't want the agents to know that she had come into contact with Henry before they reunited. She eyed the circle and glanced around the map in case there were any other clues. Everything else wasn't of importance, it was all well documented facilities, shed locations and even the airport that was likely in ruins by now.

The circle was their only clue.

"Find anything?" Wilson asked as he peered in, eyes scanning the room.

"We have a lead," she said as she pointed to the circle. "This is the only area without any premade icon, it's gotta be something important," she explained as he came over to inspect it for himself. "It's not too far, maybe a day's walk if we're careful."

He was quiet a moment as he took it in, eyes scanning the map for anything else before he finally nodded. "It's something," he agreed. "We'll search the rest of the facility, see if there's more clues."

"Are you sure that's safe?" Eric asked as he eyed the doorway nervously. "This place was filled with raptors the last time it was occupied."

"We have the hybrid and the raptor," Vilks scoffed from the hallway. "I think we'll be fine."

"Yeah, you said that before back when there were three of you," Owen huffed. "Are you looking to even it out?"

"You listen here-"

"Vilks!" Wilson cut the man off as he tried to enter the room, a hand on his holster. "Enough, go back in the hallway."

"Yessir," the man mumbled as he turned back around, one last glare being sent to Owen.

"Now, let's all just stay calm about this," Wilson said to the three of them as he turned back to face them. "We're all on the same side here. We all want to get this done and get off of this island."

"Then listen to us,' Maria said lowly as she looked between Wilson and the door. She tried to keep her emotions calm, knowing that if Ripper smelt anything amiss he'd be coming up here to check it out for himself. "This is a lead, the rest of the facility isn't secure. A large raptor could get in here without much problem, who knows what else could."

Wilson regarded her a moment before looking to the door. "We have weapons and we have two assets here with us," he glanced back at her. "What could be so dangerous that those details can overshadow it?"

"What good were your guns when we ran into the gigas?" Owen asked.

"Or our dinosaurs?" Eric added with a raised brow.

"Guns didn't do anything against the spinosaurus," Maria stressed. "If we run into anything bigger than Ripper, which isn't hard to do on this island, then we'll be screwed. He's strong, but only against creatures his size or smaller. And even then, Ripper is not a seasoned fighter like Rexy is." God, she didn't want to see him try his luck against another dinosaur on this cursed island.

Wilson pursed his lips. "The raptor is. At the park she attacked the indominus."

"She barely survived that fight," Owen bit out. "If it wasn't for Claire releasing Rexy, then Blue wouldn't even be here."

"So you suggest we just run with this in hopes that we find the facility," Wilson raised a brow at them. "And you expect me to agree to that?"

"We don't have to follow you, you know," Eric snapped. "You need a guide, you need the protection that Maria and Owen offer with their dinosaurs. We don't have to stay here, we have our lead, we'll follow it," he stood tall, shoulders squared as he stared at the man. "You two can use your fancy guns and see how far it'll get you."

Wilson glared at him, eyeing Maria and Owen as they squared their own shoulders. He turned back to Eric and squared his own shoulders. "We could force you, you know. We hold a higher rank, you're here on our payroll."

"I'll take no pay if it means not doing unnecessary risks," Eric said evenly. "We told you that this facility isn't safe, it's been compromised many times in the past. I highly doubt that those compy's were the only thing in here, and the fact that nothing has shown up yet is nothing short of a miracle."

"We have our lead, we shouldn't push our luck here," Maria said softly. "Please," she added once she saw him waver.

"If this turns out to be a dead lead, Miss Brennan," Wilson raised a finger at her. "There will be consequences. But fine, you've made your point and we'll comply for now. Get the location marked, and let's go."

The three of them relaxed finally, turning, Maria grabbed a pencil as Eric grabbed the map from his back pocket. Owen went over to the desk to see if he could find anything of importance as she marked the location onto the map. Once she and Eric were satisfied that it was marked correctly, Owen came up and handed some papers with a list of dinosaurs written in a hasty scribble.

A scribble in Henry's handwriting.

Maria took it and scanned over the names. Alxasaurus, Carcharodontosaurus, Megalosaurus, Nanotyrannus… none of these names were on InGen's list, or approved from Masrani Global. A chill went down her spine as she recognized the names of several carnivores. "Are these his new clones?" She looked up at the two men in front of her with thinly veiled terror. "We're going to have a bigger problem on our hands if these get out of their enclosures."

"Then we'll make sure it doesn't happen," Owen said determined.

"What would you say is the bigger threat?" Eric asked as he read the list.

"Aside from the obvious abundance of carnivores? The Carch and the Meglosaur," she nodded at the list. The rest of the list had faded, some were too hard to make out while others were just legible enough for her to panic a bit. "Those are huge, if they get out we have no chance."

"They won't get out," Owen stressed again.

"Bro, you said that before," Maria looked up at Owen with a raised brow. "Remember the Indominus?"

Owen scowled but stayed silent as she pocketed the list. The three shared a silent look, a silent promise. They weren't going to say shit about the list until they saw the facility themselves. It could have been an old list of Wu's, they couldn't be even cloned at this point in time! And yet, in the back of Maria's mind, she thought back to the photos of the illegally cloned dinosaurs months ago.

It was entirely possible.

The sunlight burned as they exited the building, for a moment Maria almost imagined herself coming out of the old hatchery near the Visitor Center back on Isla Nublar. But as her eyes readjusted, she took notice of Ripper and Blue tensing as they entered the parking lot. Both dinosaurs held themselves low to the ground, muscles taut as they looked wildly around them. Wilson and Vilks drew their guns as Owen and Eric grabbed Maria.

"What do they see?" Wilson asked as he looked around for any signs of danger.

"I, I don't know," Maria studied their surroundings, there wasn't anything in sight. She thought it was the raptor pack but when there was no lone scout seen, she threw that out the window. She cautiously took a step forward, only to leap back when Ripper turned and snapped at her.

Stay on the steps.

A growl came from the edge of the parking lot, one that didn't belong to either Ripper or Blue, and yet it held a familiarity in it. Any handler at Jurassic World was expected to know the warning sounds of any and all dinosaurs. Especially those working with carnivores, as they were the most likely to find themselves in the crosshairs. It was a growl that she and Owen had heard plenty of times in their time on the island, one both heard in person and in recordings.

"Carnotaurus," the two raptor handlers breathed, eyes wide as they searched wildly for the ripple, the giveaway of it's position. Seeing Carrie and her sibling hunt many times back at the park, they were well aware that the carno's breed by InGen were capable of camouflage.

There, on the far edge, she spotted the shifting of light that filtered from the trees. The flash of red and black scales flashing ever so slightly as the carnos adjusted to their surroundings. They were hunting them, waiting for the perfect opening before striking. She wasn't sure how many were out here, she knew Henry made mention that there were two a few years ago but they could have bred. In fact, it was very likely that they did breed.

"What do we do?" Eric asked as he tensed nervously beside her. His eyes darted from the two hiding in front of them to the wide and open lot around them. His train of thought was the same, they had no idea what else was hunting them.

"It's a waiting game now," Owen said as he eyed the other side of the lot. "If they're like Carrie and Sarah, it's just the two of them. Hunting in pairs, remember the quizzes?" He risked a glance at Maria before looking back.

"In pairs because there were only the two," she hissed. But she understood his intent, the carno's only seem to prefer to be in pairs, mostly mated in the case of Isla Sorna's residents. "We need to edge around to the side, and stay together," she said, the last part louder for Wilson and Vilks to hear.

"And if there's more?" Vilks challenged.

"Then use your fancy guns," Eric snapped.

Together, the five of them began inching towards the left, two pairs of eyes on the path ahead of them, the rest on the camouflage carnos that were following their movements. Ripper and Blue followed alongside the group, eyes on the hunting pair. It happened all at once, one minute they were making a good track towards the clearing on the side of the building. The next the carnos let out a bellow as they began to charge, dropping the camouflage and rushing through the parking lot. Ripper and Blue let out their respective roars, charging to meet them halfway even with Maria and Owen calling out after them.

Eric grabbed Maria's hand, who in turn grabbed Owen's, the three made their way out of the area, the sounds of fighting came from behind. The enraged roars, the pained howls of the injured. The unmistakable sounds of large bodies hitting the broken down cars came as the battle ensued.

"We're heading for the trees, we can climb and regroup!" Wilson called back as they broke out of the facilities fences. She supposed the good thing about this was that they were headed the right way. It would suck to have to double back.

Hitting the treeline, Maria risked a glance back behind them and saw nothing. Heard nothing, no more fighting, no thunderous footsteps chasing after them. It was quiet, but she didn't want to risk anything by slowing down. Regroup, replan, and pray to god that Ripper and Blue survived.

A loud roar came when they reached a tree, loud and terrifying. She could hear the thundering footsteps as Eric and Owen began to help her up, getting closer and closer as she ascended the tree. She was barely up in the branches by the time the carno erupted from the treeline to their left. It let out another roar, one that was answered by a raspier roar and a caw. The carno kept running, past their tree as it fled from the raptor and hybrid that erupted from the treeline shortly after it.

Ripper stood below the tree, growling and letting out roars to let anything listening to not mess with him. Blood splattered his golden stripe, a gash on his side that was slowly healing. Blue limped over after she was satisfied that the carnivore had been properly chased off, and leaned against the tree to catch her breath. The two dinosaurs looked up at the humans clutching to the branches like lifelines and cocked their heads in confusion.

"Yes, we know we're in biting range," Maria grumbled as she lowered herself from the branch to the ground, barely flinching this time when Ripper wrapped his arms around her to bring her to the ground himself. "What happened to the other one?" she asked as the others began their own climb down.

Ripper gave her a sinister grin.

"...oh." So he could take down a full grown carnotaurus, lovely.

Wilson brushed off his pant leg as he stood off to the side with Vilks. The pair eyeing the dinosaurs warily as Owen looked over Blue. Eric stood just behind the handlers, eyes scanning in case anything came to meet Ripper's challenge. But none did.

"We should move," Wilson said finally. "How far are we from the facility?"

Eric looked at the map and tried to do a mental layout of where they currently were. "I say about… thirty minutes to the north," he looked in the direction of where he hoped the facility lay. "And then this can all be over."

"So let's get going," Vilks said as he looked over at Maria with a glare. "Your asset is fine, this takes priority."

Maria paused as she pressed a hand against the gash on Ripper's side, a glare on her own face as she stared at the man. "I am nearing my limit with your disrespectful ass," she growled as Ripper turned his crimson gaze upon the man. "Your job is to sit back and arrest Wu, mine is to make sure that Ripper is in good condition to keep us safe." Albeit those he would actually keep safe was her, possibly Owen and possibly Eric. The agents were on very thin ice with Ripper and she could tell that each word they said to her caused that ice to chip away.

Vilks' gaze hardened as he looked from her to Ripper, but was wise enough to shut his mouth this time. He looked to Wilson for backup, but received none as Wilson was looking pointedly at the direction that they were supposed to go in.

"Let us go," he said finally. "We should get this over with."

The sun was hanging high in the sky as they made their trek to the hidden shed. The tensions were high in the group, the agents taking the lead as the rest hung back and glared. The agents had wanted to take the lead on this final stretch, something to prove that they were indeed in charge. Eric didn't put up a fight, he just wanted to get there and see the situation for himself. Owen was eyeing the men warily, not trusting them in the slightest and was wondering if he'd get in trouble for sending Blue after them. And Maria, well, she was anxious to see the hut and wonder what she was going to do in the hybrid was indeed there.

As they reached the crest of a hill, Wilson held up a hand and gave Maria a grin. "Looks like you were right, of course, Miss Brennan," he said with a nod towards the bottom of the hill. Coming up, she was surprised to see a facility nestled in the trees looking back at them. Dull, but unmistakable, roars came from inside. "We're here," he said.

Maria took a deep breath, eyes watching the door as a man walked out to look up the hill at them before slipping back in. She knew who it was immediately, without a doubt she knew that they were indeed at the right place. Just behind those doors were hoards of dinosaurs locked up, abused. And one, one that she had to make a choice on, to risk it all in order to save it.

They were here, and Henry Wu had given them the greeting and invitation to come in.

Next chapter will be the hybrid reveal, and maybe some obligatory angst. what kind of writer would I be if I didn't write something to make y'all cry a few times in this story?