here she iiiiis! also I'm like really surprised how quickly I wrote this chapter, maybe because it's the only one I actually had a plan for lmao. Also, language in here if anyone is squeamish about that

Maria stared down at the facility numbly as she looked at the doors. Just behind there was Ripper's sibling, just behind there were countless dinosaurs in need of rescue. She just had to go down the hill, just had to enter…

"We can't let you go down there alone," Wilson said as she took a breath. "Who knows what is behind those doors, he could have armed men in there."

"Yeah without a doubt but he wouldn't hurt me," Maria said with a shake of her head. "I need to go down there, me and Ripper."

"And me," Eric and Owen said at the same time, determination on their faces as she glanced at them, a soft smile on her face.

"We're a team," Eric added softly as he took a step closer, not looking pleased at the sight of the facility but determined not to let her go about this alone.

"And pack," Owen added with a set jaw. She knew without a doubt that he was probably going to punch the first person he saw in there, and she hoped to god it wasn't Henry. She still loved the man as a friend, for three years he was the only one there for her constantly.

"We still don't know what is behind that door," Wilson snapped. "You go behind that door, we won't know what to do."

"We go behind that door, we convince Henry to give himself up," Maria said as she looked back over to the facility. If she focused hard enough, she could almost hear muffled roars coming from inside.

"And if he doesn't?"

Maria shrugged. "If I know him, he will," she looked at the men. "You can apprehend him when we exit."

"And if you're wrong?" Vilks questioned now.

"Then I'm wrong," Maria shrugged. "But I've been on a lucky streak when it comes to bets like this," she added with a nod towards Ripper.

The two agents looked at each other before sighing heavily as they gazed down at the facility. Finally, Wilson looked at her. "Fine, we'll let you take the lead for this. You'll have fifteen minutes, if you're not out by then we'll come in and take care of it ourselves."

"That's fine," Maria nodded, knowing she'll have to act quickly. "I'll bring Ripper in with me, us," she added when Eric and Owen opened their mouths again.

"And the raptor?"

Maria glanced at Owen who looked at Blue skeptically. "She… might behave better with us," he said finally as the raptor looked hungrily at the agents. Maria nodded in agreement at the two men in front of them, Blue might be a wild card at times, but she'd been surprisingly on her best behavior during this trip. But she supposed that it was a combination of Ripper, Owen and Maria's presence. The raptor was trained hard in pack dynamics, to follow her alpha which was Owen. And if Owen wasn't showing open hostility here, then Blue wouldn't either.

"Fine, we'll be right outside," Wilson said as he thought it over. "We hear anything amiss then we'll bust in before the fifteen minutes."

"Should we have a safeword?" Eric asked dryly as he glanced at them.

"Pineapple is a good one," Maria quipped.

"Teapot is my go to," Owen added with a smirk.

"You're all hilarious," Wilson deadpanned. "Get the hell down there," he pointed to the door at the bottom of the hill.

Snickering, the three gathered their belongings and made their way down the hill with their dinosaurs following behind. The good mood evaporated as they reached the gate, hearing the sounds inside more clearly. Cries, roars, growls… the reason they were here in the first place. Maria took a shaky breath and put her hand on the gate's handle. The door slid open with a low groan, and a greeting from within.

"Hello, Maria."

Ripper followed behind the humans, eyes on Maria as he followed her lead. He would admit that he was slowly warming up to Eric and Owen, the two men were kind enough and respectful to his Maria. He didn't like how close Eric got to her, or how he was constantly looking at her, but it wasn't terrible. She seemed to not mind it, and unless he saw she was uncomfortable like with his second trainer whenever he got too close to her… well. He wouldn't do anything at the moment. And Owen was on slightly thicker ice, Blue speaking up for him has saved his ass many times.

He faltered as he entered the strange building, like the hut by the fliers cage only larger. The smells inside were unlike anything he'd ever come across. None of these animals was familiar to him, all mingled together alongside the fear and desperation. They wanted out, they wanted freedom. He risked a glance down at Maria, taking in the saddened look on her face as she looked around the dimly lit room.

She wasn't happy to be here, even as a familiar figure approached.

"Hello, Maria," Henry Wu spoke softly. Ripper chirped in greeting, he had missed the man since they had escaped from the manor. He paused as he took the doctor in, he had changed a lot. New scars, shorter hair, and tired eyes. The doctor looked at Ripper, and a ghost of a smile appeared on his face. "Hello, Ripper."

"Henry," Maria said softly. "We don't have much time, they want you to come out."

"And I will," Henry said sincerely. "But about the second one," he glanced at Ripper. "What will you do?"

"I want to see it," Maria said. "I need to… I need to see what I can do."

"She's not a lost cause," Henry stressed as he led them further into the building. "I promise you, you can help her," he was saying to her as they rounded the corner.

Ripper was confused as he followed along, not sure what the doctor was talking about but as they rounded into a new room he stopped in horror. Caged dinosaurs filled the room, all letting out calls as they paced in their cells, laid out in resignation. The fear, the desperation, it all came from in here. He looked to Maria for guidance, and paused again at the look on her face.

Horror, sadness, and a… knowing look.

Did she know about all of this? These dinosaurs caged, wanting help and needing to be freed… she knew? No, no she couldn't have. His Maria wouldn't tolerate this, unless… maybe she did know and that's why they were here. It made sense, the more he thought about it. The high levels of anger, hurt and anxiety that she'd been stuck with for the past few months since she first went to the mainland.

She came here to save them all.

"Henry, this is godawful," Maria whispered in horror as she looked around. "I saw the photos… but this?"

"I know," the doctor sounded sincerely apologetic, wincing as she looked at him. "Come, she's down by the window… she likes to look outside."

"So it's a she?" Eric asked as he stood near to Maria, anger on his features as he looked around the cages.

"Yes, she changed her sex a week after her hatching," Henry said softly. "It surprised us, but I suppose based on her raptor donor… it was to be expected."

"Echo always was headstrong," Owen softly. Ripper cocked his head as he focused on the humans in front of him. Echo? He knew that name, it was one of Blue's sisters. But what did she have to do with this?

The last cage caused everyone to stop when a new growl emitted. Low, rapsy, and dangerous. Ripper knew that growl because it was his growl. He peered closer at the cage by the window, the sunlight masking the occupant. But once he adjusted, his eyes widened in shock.

It was… another indoraptor. But surely that was impossible, he was the last of his kind no other like him. And yet here she was, unmistakable. Oh the differences were there, the white scales shining golden in the sunlight, the cracked claws and broken quills. Her sickles were cracked from being scrapped against concrete for years, her teeth were broken down in various places.

She'd been abused, far worse than he'd ever seen. He took a step forward, a greeting warble emitting as he caught her red gaze. Somewhere, deep in his genes, he knew this was his sibling. He didn't know how, didn't know why. But the instinct told him it was true.

She stopped her pacing in her cage and looked up in shock, the anger fading as she took notice of him standing there. Free.

She stood to her full height as she locked eyes with him, a questioning warble in her tone. She wanted to know how he was able to stand out there while she was caged. How was he so put together when she was so broken down.

How could he stand next to them, and not be angry?

Ripper took a step back in shock at the questions she shot at him, each one more angrier than the last. The amount of anger she held… it was overwhelming. He looked at Maria again, and she looked back at him in sorrow… and guilt.

"Ripper… I'm sorry."

Sorry? Sorry? He could accept that she knew about the others… but his sister was here too and she didn't tell him?

Why?

Maria winced at the betrayal in Ripper's eyes as he looked at her. He'd connected the dots, he was smart enough to have done so within the first few seconds of being here. And he was upset, she knew he would be and the guilt crushed her inside. The damage to the trust he had in her was her own fault, from her fear of telling him about his sibling.

She closed her eyes and faced Henry, blinking away the tears that threatened to come up. "We need to figure out how to deal with her, quickly without altering the agents outside."

"Come," Henry held out a hand to her, eyes darting between her, Ripper, and the hybrid. "She's safe."

"I think not," Owen snapped as he held Maria back. "I see that caution tape," he nodded at the yellow tape that bordered the cage.

"She won't hurt Maria," Henry said, tone less sure once he really looked at the angry hybrid.

"She isn't Ripper," Eric snapped. He looked warily at the cage.

"I thought you all wanted me to save her," Maria snapped as she shook out of Owen's grasp. "I need to get closer," her gaze softened at the concerned looks she received. "Look, I won't get too close but if I can help her," she glanced at Ripper and felt relieved at the understanding dawning in his eyes, "if I can help her then I have to try."

Ripper pressed close as she made to move again, her rock despite her betrayal. She placed a hand gently on his neck as she pressed on towards the caution tape. And towards the angry hybrid.

"Hey there," she said softly, hand outstretched with her palm up. She smiled internally at the pause the hybrid gave her, waring with herself to give in to the urge to sniff or to snap at the palm. Her smile graced her face as the hybrid dipped her head slightly towards the palm, delicate nostrils flaring slightly as she struggled to get a sniff of Maria's scent.

A peaceful option. She was capable of being peaceful.

"I won't let them hurt you ever again," she promised softly, Ripper giving his own coo as Blue chirped behind them.

The hybrid cocked her head as she looked at her, then to Ripper with uncertainty in her crimson gaze. Slowly she shuffled backwards, lip curling at them all and her sickles tapping against the concrete.

"I can argue with them, get them to not hurt her," Maria said to the group behind her. "I'm going to save her," she added the last part to Ripper and the hybrid. She wasn't going to fail them.

The yelling surprised them all.

Angry shouts from Wu's men sounded as doors banged open from the entrance. Several dinosaurs let out roars of anger at the sudden onslaught of sound. The gunshots that followed sent them all into a frenzy, hitting their cages in an effort to escape. Wilson and Vilks rounded the corner, eyes scanning until they spotted her standing next to Wu in front of the caged hybrid.

"I knew it!" Vilks shouted as he took aim at her. "I knew you'd turn traitor!" His finger squeezed the trigger just as Ripper surged forward with an enraged roar.

He tackled the agent, sending his shot flying into the wall behind Maria as she ducked. The agent screamed in agony as the dinosaur lived up to his name. Ripper ripped into the man, sending entrails flying through the air as Wilson shot at him all the while demanding Maria call him off.

She sent the man a wild look before freezing as a low growl emitted from behind her. Maria swallowed and glanced down at the ground. The yellow tape stood a few feet in front of her, and the hot breath of an angry hybrid hit the back of her neck. A whimper escaped her as she swallowed thickly, there would be no getting out of this.

The hybrid reeled back to her full height, saliva dripping off her teeth as she looked hungrily down at Maria, she let out a roar, only to be cut off by Ripper bounding forward with another angry roar. As the hybrid made to swipe at Maria as she ducked and ran towards Eric and Owen as they took cover, Ripper snapped at her descending hand. The hybrid let out an enraged shriek at this, and swiped at him. Ripper, not one to back down from challenges, hissed and swiped his deadly claws at the cage…

Snapping the lock.

The room seemed to grow quiet as the hinges creaked open. The door swung slowly out as Ripper took a step backwards. The hybrid stared at the door in stunned silence before looking up at him. She took a step forward, and then another. A low growl came as she finally exited her enclosure, standing tall and unsure about this new development. For a moment her feud with Ripper was forgotten, she was out and she didn't know what that meant.

Wilson threw a wild look at Maria as she cowered behind a crate with Eric and Owen. Henry was somewhere behind them, having taken cover as soon as Vilks went crazy. "DO SOMETHING!" He screeched at Maria. "Kill that fucking thing!"

"NO!" Maria called back, defiance in her voice. She meant it when she said she wasn't going to let anyone hurt her again. "She doesn't have to die!"

Wilson snarled at her as he raised his gun at the two hybrids. "I should have known," he growled as he took aim and shot at them, bullets spraying the both of them.

"NO!" Maria screamed, darting out of cover and avoiding Eric and Owen as they desperately grabbed at her. She rushed at the man, ignoring the shrieks of anger from both Ripper and his sister. In her peripherals, she spotted Blue laying low and stalking from the back, ready to take down anyone in this room who messed with her pack. She tackled the man, sending his gun flying as she leaned over him with anger building up deep inside.

"Get the fuck off of me!" the man snarled, throwing a punch that hit her square in the jaw.

Her head snapped to the side, facing the glaring dinosaurs that were crouched low to jump at them. She looked down at the man in panic, rolling to the side just as the sibling leapt at them. She hit the ground, wincing as Wilson let out a scream as he was dragged backwards. She looked shakily at the hybrids as they tore into the man, his strangled screams soon fading into gurgles before his life finally left him.

She panted as she crawled backwards, trusting Ripper not to turn on her but the sibling had already tried to attack her. And she had been caged that time… her heart leapt to her throat when the pearline dinosaur looked up at her. The crimson orbs met her brown ones, hesitant at first before her hatred won out. With a low growl, she stood and began to approach Maria as Ripper finished Wilson off.

"Hey!" Owen suddenly called, throwing a piece of trash at the hybrid in an attempt to distract her.

"Over here!" Eric tossed a clipboard, causing the sibling to look at them with a growl. But it didn't deter her enough, she glared back at Maria and tensed her muscles to pounce… she sprang only to get tossed to the side as both Ripper and Blue leapt at her.

Maria scrambled over to the panicked men, allowing them to drag her back behind the container as Ripper and Blue forced the hybrid towards the back doors, breaking through them as Ripper tackled his sister. Henry joined them, grabbing at Maria's arm in panic as the dinosaurs continued their fighting outside.

"You have to stop them, the ravinge," he looked wide eyed at the balcony.

"They'll fall off," Maria breathed in realization. She stood, stumbling when Owen and Eric grabbed her again. "Let go, I can't let them fall!"

"They won't," Owen tried to say, watching worriedly as Blue was flung back into the facility. She was slammed into the cage by the nanotyrannus, a small girl who was barely considered a juvenile. "Blue stay down!"

Blue gave a screech in return.

Maria looked at Owen pleadingly, looking back at Ripper and his sister as they rolled closer and closer to the edge. Finally, he and Eric let her go allowing her to rush up and towards the doorway just as their fighting hit the edge. Her heart stopped as the sister went over first, eyes wide as she scrambled to catch hold on anything. Ripper struggled to stand to his feet, looking over at Maria with a soft chirp as he turned to see her.

In one last attempt to save herself, the hybrid sunk her teeth into Ripper's hind leg as her arms failed to seek purchase. Ripper let out a pained yelp as the hybrid slid off of the balcony, his legs giving out and joining her. His arms went wide, grabbing anything he could as Maria raced to the edge. He gave her one last wild look, a scared cry coming from him before he went over.

"RIPPER!"

:)

Did ya'll cry? I told ya'll you'd cry in this chapter, I told ya'll there'd be tension :)

I kid I kid. it all works out in the end, please trust me okay? I'll upload the next chapter either tomorrow or the day after that.