Chapter 8: A Familiar Game
Over the course of the next 7 days, George has the 6 girls that are living with him, something that he thought was impossible, by helping them adjust to life in living together under one roof. On Sunday, George got started with just that, mainly instructing the Fallen how to do the chores he listed out since they have to be completed in a certain fashion, like what dishes go where and sorting laundry.
Once the work did get started, they found out that George liked to listen to music when doing chores or working out. He had quite a diverse taste, ranging from movie soundtracks by John Williams, like the obvious Jurassic Park & Star Wars films, to classical music like the Blue Danube, and from bands like The Beatles & Queen, just to name a few. Akeno also taught George how to use Magic properly... though he wasn't too great at elemental magic. He was able to create portals on his first try though.
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Monday after classes, Rias gave George a contract belonging to a woman in an upper-class neighborhood. When he asked what it was about, Rias only smiled. "Don't worry. It's the perfect job for you." were her exact words. He wondered what she meant by that. Using one of his own portals, he transported himself to the woman's home. She didn't live far, just a mile or two away from the park where George's life changed for good. He was just about to knock and reveal his arrival when...
"Hey! George!"
George turned around to see Raynare coming up behind him. She was in her human form, her Yuuma persona to be exact. It sent a chill up George's spine for a quick second, giving him flashbacks to how she previously acted around him. But she wasn't like that anymore, right?
"Raynare? What are you doing here?" He asked her.
"Oh. I was just in the neighborhood and..." Raynare was saying.
[You followed him.] Owen cut in with a dry tone, calling bullshit. [Don't deny it. I felt your energy a mile away.] he continued.
George, who looked down at his hand when Owen began talking, looked back up at Raynare. "Is... that true?" He asked her.
Raynare blushed a bit. "Well... I wanna make it up to you... ALL of it." she admitted. "Raynare... you don't have to-" George said. It wasn't her fault she was manipulated into trying to kill him.
"I do!... I never should have trusted Kokabiel, or go as far as I did with Asia. I want... I want you to trust me, George!" she said. She really did want to be trusted, for she never wanted to do any of the horrible things she was ordered to do, orders were orders. George just stared at her debating whether or not this was a good idea. It would be nice to have a helping hand, but at the same time, this was a Devil contract and not a Fallen one... actually, did Fallen do contracts?
"... Alright. You can stay." he answered Raynare after a moment of silence. The Fallen one beamed at his answer. This was her chance! Her chance to prove herself! [You do realize what'll happen once Devils Redhead and Ponytail find out, right?] Asked Owen, and it was clear whom he was talking about. Technically though, it was more of Rias being the jealous one of the two. Akeno seemed to enjoy being what she called: 'The Third', and Rias didn't have much of an issue with it either.
Raynare however? Weeeeeeeeeeel...
"We'll... cross that bridge when we get to it." said George, his decision final. [Fine, but there won't be water under it.] said Owen, warning George this may in fact backfire. Keeping that in mind, George turned back to the door of the property and knocked on it. After a moment or so, an upper-class lady answered it, not expecting 2 kids at her front door... unless these were...?
"Good afternoon, ma'am. We're here under your contract with Rias Gremory." George said as professionally as he could, not wanting to screw this up. The lady looked down at the two, as if studying them.
"... You don't look like much, but better than nothing." she said kind of snarky. This got Raynare a bit upset, but she held in her temper. This is why she didn't interact with humans unless necessary. They can be worse than snobbish Devils at times! "Anyway, I have a pest problem in the basement, and some wild boar keep invading my garden. I don't care what you do. Just get rid of them." the older woman continued, allowing them inside her home.
As George and Raynare climbed downstairs to the basement, the Fallen One held onto him tightly, pulling herself closer with each step they took. Once they got all the way down, rats weren't exactly all over the place; but if left alone for 2 weeks, that would change pretty damn quickly. It didn't matter if it wasn't a full blown infestation yet or not, Raynare released a high-pitched yelp, the second one of the rodents zipped across the floor.
Afraid of rats? Who would have thought? Certainly not George, and most definitely not Owen... who kept making fun of her.
Rather than use glue traps or chemical sprays, or burn them alive with magic as Raynare suggested, George decided to go hunting. He turned into a Procompsognathus, a theropod that looked like Coelophysis but much smaller, at only a meter long. The color is a dull green with faded red patches on his upper body and head. The Devil-turned-Dino made short work of the rodents, swallowing many of them whole. Raynare wasn't disgusted by this since it was akin to a cat hunting small rodents, just replacing the cat with a small dinosaur.
After that, it was time to purge the pigs. For this, George turned into Liliensternus, a theropod that looked like the Zupaysaurus but with a thinner body, the skull having a more distinctive notch in the upper jaw and had a small pair of faint red crests on its head. The colors are a dirty white with dark blue on his upper body.
George was able to kill one of the boars with a bite to the throat and slashing at the underbelly. He scared the rest off and feasted on the one he killed for lunch. Once he ate his fill, he & Raynare set up the electric fence on the property facing the forest.
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On Tuesday after school, George does his weekly combat training. Before he began, they discovered his sweet tooth for peanut butter, mainly a peanut butter sandwich, no jelly.
Kalawarner, Mittlet, & Rias watched while Akeno, Asia, & Raynare were upstairs making dinner.
Rather than wearing a traditional martial arts gi, mainly since he didn't have one, instead he wore a pair of khaki-colored workout shorts and a white T-shirt that was very large, with the low neckline exposing part of the hair on his chest. He explained that he had inherited some of his grandfather's clothes when he passed away. As for the training itself, it showed how flexible he was, even able to put one leg behind his head!
Of course, after the workout, George was extremely sore. To help, Rias and Akeno gave him a very... intimate massage that evening before bed. Not only did they use their hands, but also pushed against his back very closely. It was mostly Akeno's fault, with Rias only doing it AFTER the Queen started it.
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On Wednesday, the same lady called Rias again, requesting George & Raynare personally. While she had no problem sending George out, it was the mention of the Fallen that got the Redhead Devil's eye to twitch. "George, sweetie... is there something you're not telling me?" She asked him with a smile, but there was nothing positive about it.
[Bust-teeeeeeeeed!] Owen chimed. The way she flared her aura sent chills up George's spine, and not the good kind. After getting an earful from Rias, he and Raynare were allowed to return to the lady's home. She wanted help with weeds, and getting a large dead tree out of her garden.
[233 million years of evolution; all for it to turn into laziness?] Owen commented. The dead tree, he could understand. Humans weren't the strongest species, so they required machines to do heavy lifting. But seriously? Weeds?... Why had he and the rest of his brethren paved the way for these creatures?
To deal with the weeds, George became a Coloradisaurus, a primitive sauropod that was 4 meters long, walked on two legs, with arms that had 3 claws and two small fingers, with a body that is a mosaic of blues and greens, with red-blotch-like stripes. Before he got started, he first swallowed some small, rounded stones. Raynare was really confused. George explained that Sauropods, like some birds, swallow stones called gastroliths to help grind food up in the stomach since Sauropods can't chew their food.
Once he had enough, he started plucking any weeds out of the garden, his leaf-shaped teeth made for pulling plants out. After that, there was that dead tree in her backyard that needed to be removed. For this, George triggered the Evolution function of his Gear to evolve his Coloradisaurus into a Riojasaurus, a larger relative of Coloradisaurus at 6 meters long and with much more powerful arms. The color is a mix of pale/dark browns, faint black patches on his upper body, and a pale blue underside.
George used his muscular arms to grab the tree and knock it over, using his tail for support & leverage. Next, they constructed a fire pit, placed the tree in the center, and burnt it.
Unfortunately, once George changed back, he immediately upchucked the stones and the partially digested plant material. Owen reminded him that Sauropods aren't made to digest most modern plants, let alone his regular stomach. Raynare helped the sick dino-shifter back home, and all of them took care of George by giving him stomach medicine as well as something easy to eat and digest, like Diet 7-Up and carrots.
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Thursday morning, George had recovered from his stomachache. Good thing too, since some raccoon dogs were trying to get into the trash cans.
He scared them away by turning into a Chindesaurus, a North American relative of Staurikosaurus that was more or less the same size. The main difference was the colors, which are primarily a dull gray with a mix of faint orange-brown & yellow patch running across his back. After some growls & showing off his teeth & claws, the pests were scared off. Thankfully, the pests didn't cause too much of a mess with the trash and they were able to make it to class on time.
Once back home, the Gremory King & Queen, found out about George's academic strengths & weaknesses. Obviously, he was good at anything that was about science and history; math and literature... not so much. In return for helping him with his math and literature homework, he helped them with science & history. Mostly the science part.
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Friday was, as usual, grocery shopping. However, George's minivan could only hold 5, so Kalawarner and Mittlet stayed home while the others went shopping after dinner.
Saturday after class, George went to work at the daycare/orphanage. This time though, Asia went with George to apply to work there and Rias came to observe George. Asia was able to acquire a job there, and she decided that both she & George will split the workload: while George will work with the babies to 4-year old's, Asia will work with the older kids.
Rias saw just how good of a caretaker he was with kids, especially babies. Ranging from wearing a mask over his nose & mouth to change a diaper, getting them to eat baby food, and humming Silent Night to help them fall asleep.
What's funny was, some of the babies gravitated towards her too. She even got to hold one of them as this baby kept reaching up with its hands as if saying: pick me up. She looked over to George as this baby was sucking one of her fingers, and imagined it was they're baby that... she shook her head back and forth. Why was she thinking that? There's no way they're 'relationship' was gonna last that long, seeing once he gets his way. Besides, Devils have EXTREMELY low birth rates anyway.
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Next week was late April. That Monday after school, Rias called George & Asia as she has something important to say to them.
"Congrats, you two. Your days of passing out flyers are over. Now comes the next stage of your growth: acquiring a Familiar." Rias explained. George raised an eyebrow, a bit confused. Rias summons her Familiar which is a cartoony bat. "I believe you have already met my Familiar, George." She said.
"Say what?" He asked.
The Familiar transformed and George recalled when he first received that flyer to summon Rias.
"So it was your Familiar who gave me that flyer." He said, making that realization. The Familiar nodded.
"Here's mine." Akeno summons a tiny green Imp.
George suddenly heard some purring. He looked down and saw a white cat. "Shirou." Koneko said. Said cat starts nuzzling George and he sits down next to Koneko and starts petting him gently. Shirou warms up to George quite well. This was a first for Koneko's Familiar. It NEVER approached anyone, not even other members of the ORC. Koneko was a bit astonished. If her Familiar warmed up to him... 'no way... he's just a perv-a-saurus.' she thought.
"In short, a Familiar is a summon that is at your beck & call and will always be there for you." Rias explained.
"I get it. It's a magical companion, like those fairy tales of witches with a black cat or a crow." George summed up.
"More or less, but with more potential." She added.
"Am I able to have more than one?" The Dino-shifter asked.
"Yes, you can. But why more than one?" Akeno questioned, curious.
"I want to be more unpredictable in combat, give any foes we come up against a surprise." He said, thinking with combat in mind.
Rias just smiled. "Why not get you at least ONE first?" She said. She understood where George was coming from, but most familiars aren't necessarily used for combat. Some are suited for such, but it's rare.
"This sounds fun and all, but where do we go to get one?" Asia asked, interested as well. Before Rias could answer her, there were a few knocks on the oak doors.
"Come in." Rias said. Entering the room was Sona and the Student Council. The Fallen are on guard, with George wondering why.
"Sona is next in line of the Sitri household." Raynare whispered. 'So Sona and the rest of the Student Council are Devils too? How did I not see that?!' George shouted mentally.
'Cause you're an idiot.' Owen piped in. 'I mean, really? Shitori? Not even bothering with her last name? The LEAST she could've done was also change her appearance with magic!' Owen continued.
'You can do that?' Asked George, feeling Owen facepalm. Did he have to teach this kid everything?
Sona looks to see the 3 Fallen. Her eyes widened, "What are they doing here?!" She said, mentioning the Fallen with venom in her voice. She could have just attacked them, but the last thing the human school needed was the ORC to explode at the seams.
"They are... honorary members," Rias began to explain. If it were still up to her, these Fallen would be long gone. "They've been spared thanks to my pawn, George Anderson, the owner of the Mesozoic Mind." Rias explained further, acknowledging him.
"And you're sure they're not going to spear you in the back the first chance they get?" Sona asked. This also felt pretty awkward, being in the same room as Fallen and no fight was breaking out.
"It's under orders of Azazel." Raynare said, keeping things short and sweet. Just because she was living with Devils now didn't mean she was fully used to being around them yet.
Sona eyed Raynare, but if it was true it was Azazel's orders, the council head couldn't argue with it. She then noticed George.
"So we finally met George Anderson. I have to say, you are an odd one. This Mesozoic Mind, dating Rias & Akeno, and how unpredictable you are in terms of your emotions," Sona explained. George wondered how she knew about that but assumed it was due to being head of the Student Council. "I will say this," she continued. "Enjoy this relationship while you can. For as soon as Rias..."
She didn't get to finish cause Rias cut her off. "Don't go there." she said in a tone George rarely hears the redhead use. Her fists were also squeezed tightly to her sides... what was wrong with her, he wondered?
"... I'm sorry. That was out of line." Sona apologized, adjusting her glasses with her index finger.
"Don't worry about it." Rias said, calming down.
They heard a cough, "Sluts." Sona's pawn, Saji said.
George's eyes twitched, "Excuse me? You mind speaking up?" George retorted, his temper rising but he was able to keep his cool, his fists also clenched.
Saji didn't look the least bit intimidated. "You got nothing on me, bro. So you got a unique Gear, big deal. I took up 4 Pawn pieces." he said, holding up 4 fingers.
"Except the fact he took up double your amount." Sona said, unamused at Saji's attitude, also making him look like an idiot.
"What, seriously? How'd a pathetic, mental guy like you need...?" Saji asked, but he didn't get to finish due to George's wings unfurling. He was fighting EVERY bone in his body not to pounce on Saji right now. To say the Sona peerage was surprised was an understatement. They knew about the Gear, but nothing about the wings.
"Insult my family again... you're going to the ICU..." George warned, not having much control left.
[Would this be a bad time to say Mesomorphers are HIGHLY protective of their tribes?... Including mates?] Owen piped in again, only this time so everyone could not only hear him, but see the gem on George's hand appear.
Sona was silent for a few moments before speaking again. "Saji?"
"... yeah, fine; whatever. Sorry." the Sitri Pawn said, not being 100% genuine, just wanted to get this over with.
"Sona? If you're here for a reason, make it quick. I need to take my two newest members to get their Familiars and..." Rias said, but was stopped by Sona.
"Wait, you are going to get your members their Familiars?" Sona realized. "Correct. However, He only takes people once a month." Rias said.
"Well, that poses a problem. We were also planning to go get new Familiars ourselves." Sona admitted.
"Looks like we'll settle this with a contest; the winner gets Familiars." Rias added.
Sona's eyes widened, "Surely you aren't thinking of a Rating Game, Rias." She guessed.
"I wouldn't dare. The stakes aren't high enough for that," Rias replied. "Instead, we'll settle this the High School way: with sports!"
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The first sport is Tennis. Rias & Akeno vs. Sona & Tsubaki. Both sides are wearing tennis attire though said skirts are a little on the short side. The match begins.
While one would assume George was ogling the girls, he was not; instead he was paying attention to the sport itself. He suddenly hears the Perverted Duo nearby taking pictures. He smirks. He approached them from behind and did a knife chop to their necks, knocking them out.
As the match continues, it gets out of control... with girls using magic. Even though they agreed to no magic. Thankfully, the crowd seemed to be too focused on ogling the girls to notice.
"Looks like the match was a draw. Obviously." Koneko deadpans, holding up the shredded tennis rackets.
Next was volleyball, with the same match-up. They didn't use magic this time, but neither side ended up scoring a point. [I KNOW T-REX'S WHO ARE BETTER AT VOLLEYBALL!] Owen commented... which admittedly got them to start using magic again. They ended up making balls go all over the court, through the nets... and through the metal fences. This game also had the same end result, being declared another tie.
That evening, the rest of the Peerage waits in the Clubhouse. "Rias & Akeno are deciding what to do next, since it will be a team match." Kiba said. George wondered what sport it would be, hopefully one he was good at. Both the Gremory King & Queen re-enter the room.
"The game has been decided. Tomorrow night at the gym, we play dodgeball." Rias announced.
George instantly perks up, "Dodgeball?!" He shouts. He smacks his fists together, "Bring it on! I rule dodgeball! No one can touch me! I'm just too quick! In elementary school at only 6 years old, I was number 1!" He boasted.
[Yet, that's also when you got your first set of glasses...] Owen chimed in. George deflated at the memory.
"It's not enough to be a smart-ass around us, ya gotta be one around him?" Rias asked.
[I'm just speaking the truth. One minute, a ball is coming for his face, and then... BOOM! Next thing he knows, he's on the ground crying with the gym teacher, school nurse, and classmates around us. Got knocked the fuck out! Like my first time with a velocirap-] Owen began, then he started telling a story to which Ras covered her ears.
"I DON'T WANNA HEAR, I DON'T WANNA HEAR, I DON'T WANNA HEAR, I DON'T WANNA HEAR!" She shouted, trying to shut out the millennia-old dinosaur spirit and also covering her ears to drown out his voice. Did she mind talking about that stuff? No. But when it came to the scaly, old reptile...
[What? It's the miracle of life. Aren't ya a little curious?] Asked Owen.
"NO!" Shouted everyone.
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That night, before bed, George is down in the training room, placing something wrapped up in his backpack. Later, he is at work making something in his office. He worked so hard, he had fallen asleep on the couch when they wanted to watch a movie, so Rias & Akeno had to carry him back to bed. The movie was a bit boring, they had to admit... maybe that's why he fell asleep?
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The next evening, the entire Peerage is there, with the Fallen substituting in for extra players.
While the others are wearing regular gym clothes, Rias is wearing a bright red & white tracksuit, and George is wearing what he normally wears for combat training. The others who haven't seen George prepare for intense exercise are impressed with how flexible he is. One thing they couldn't figure out was why he was measuring the entire gym with a tape measure after he was done.
"Can anyone explain WHY he's doing that?" Koneko asked.
"He said it was a surprise." Akeno said, having asked him earlier but he wouldn't tell her.
As well as providing Powerade drinks in a cooler, George also has something else: white headbands with their names done in English & Japanese kanji. However, his comes with a T-Rex skull on it, while Rias's & Akeno's have their initials + George's on the back. "I stayed up all night making them; I learned how to sew while in the orphanage." He explained.
"So THAT'S why you fell asleep on movie night." Akeno said, admiring his commitment to the team.
"I find this to be cute but let's hope pulling the all-nighter won't affect your performance." Rias added.
Koneko gave a smile, the first smile she's ever given him. "You're a perv-o-saurus, but you can be sweet." She said, complimenting him. Did she still have some issues with him? Yes, but she was mature enough to know when someone was being genuine. Maybe this kid wasn't TOO bad after all...
"You ladies and boys ready?" They looked and saw that the Sona Peerage had arrived. Once Sona's Bishop, Momo, blows the whistle, the game begins!
The first one out is Koneko, the ball hitting hard enough to shred part of her shirt, though she doesn't seem fazed at all, "Meh. I needed a drink." She said in monotone.
Rias grabs a ball that was thrown by Tsubaki and returns it, magically enhancing it, knocking one of them out. George is almost hit in the back, but he dodges it Matrix-style, grabs it, and throws it at Saji, nailing him right between the legs. The game gets out of control as magic attacks go all over the place. Sona gets revenge on George by sending a magic dodgeball that is able to follow him like a heat-seeking missile no matter wherever he goes... but it soon strikes him between the legs!
However, to everyone's surprise he doesn't fall over or hold himself. He did look in pain still, hands on his knees as he breathed heavily, but he didn't go down. Sona was shocked. She was glad he wasn't hurt as she wasn't exactly aiming there, but boys have certain... baggage in that spot. He smirks,
"I knew this sports cup would come in handy!" He then straightens up, "No more Mr. Nice Dinosaur! You're about to be schooled, Mesozoic Style!" Activating his Gears, George prepares to transform. Seeing as everyone else was using magic so, why cant he? The Boosted Gear boosted him once upon activation.
[Uh, Sire? Are you sure that's a good idea? You just unlocked it yesterday, you haven't trained with it yet, and it's a pretty big one.] said Owen, already predicting what his host was about to do.
"I already measured the gym. We got just enough space to pull it off." said George, making the ORC Devils surprised. He and Owen were obviously talking about taking the form of a Dinosaur, but a BIGGER one? What did he unlock this time?
[But its eyes might not be suited for...] Owen tried to warn him.
"IT'S FINE! We'll deal with it!" George insisted. Although Owen still had concerns, George transforms into the last dinosaur he has unlocked: the Plateosaurus. It was similar to his Riojasaurus form but aside from the color of the body being shades of dark and light blue, there was one major difference...
It was 6 meters long, 2 meters tall... and 1 ton! The entire Sona Peerage is taken by surprise; sure they've heard rumors of George's power, but this was the first time seeing it, and the size of the Dinosaur made it that much more impressive.
Of course, after he transformed, his head shakes and his eyes blink a lot. 'Ok... maybe this wasn't such a good idea.' George said.
"W-What's wrong?" Asia asked, wondering what was wrong with her surrogate big brother.
[Just look at his face,] said Owen, to which George looked back to face his team. They saw his eyes weren't on the front of his head anymore, but on the sides of it. [Sure he's got an expanded sight range... in exchange for losing depth perception.]
Despite this, all the balls were currently on the ORC's side of the court, meaning they could do nothing to counter at the moment. By this time, the Boosted Gear had already doubled George's power twice. Swinging his tail at some balls in front of him, he managed to knock down some of the opposing team, almost like bowling pins.
'Strike!' George telepathically shouted. The Sitri's were about to retaliate, when time had run out. Tallying the score, it was only due to George's sudden tail swipe that granted them the few extra points needed to win. Later, the others get ready to leave, with George having changed back to normal.
"I have to admit, I was impressed with the game and also getting to see George's Prehistoric power." Sona said, commending her friendly rival's victory. "Though if this was a Rating Game, things would be different." She added before she left with the others.
"What's a Rating Game? Is it a Devil's version of the Olympic Sports?" George wondered to himself. [Humph. Something like that.] Owen added with a chuckle.
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They celebrate at the Clubhouse with tea & cookies, having changed to more casual clothing. "I'm proud of our work, especially you George. I'm also proud of you Fallen since none of you cheated by using Holy Magic." Rias congratulated.
"Now comes the time to see Him and get your Familiars since it is a Full Moon." Akeno said creating a portal.
"Er, him who?" George asked, confused.
Rias smiled, "The Familiar Master." She simply stated.
They teleport to a place that is filled with dead trees and a bright crimson red sky. "Ok, this place has me on edge." George said, feeling uneasy. But then Akeno rubs his back to soothe his nerves. While this worked, it also had... other effects. He shook his head back and forth slightly a few times. 'Focus, George. Focus!'
"What ho, Devils!" They looked up to see the Familiar Master standing in a tree. He looked like a Hiker from the Pokémon games, just thinner. George always hated them, as they loved using Rock and Ground-types while George favored Fire-types... ironic, considering he's dating someone who can literally use fire. Owen then chuckled in his head, knowing another ironic reason, which also lived in his left arm.
'What's so funny?' George asked the dinosaur spirit. 'Oh, nothing sire. Nothing at all.' he said while slowly recovering.
However, when the Familiar Master saw George, he leaped down from the tree and approached them. "So you have finally come, wielder of the Mesozoic Mind." He stated. This got the other Devils curious as he was focusing on George.
"What do you mean, sir?" George asked, intrigued.
"Three strange Familiars have arrived. Someone that has Primeval power is what they strive." the Familiar Master answered, speaking in rhymes. This is a total surprise as no Familiars, let alone 3 of them, are all requesting the same person.
'Why's the hell's he talking like that?' Asked Owen, not understanding what the point was with the Familiar Master's speech patterns.
"Where are they and what kind of animals are they?" George asked, feeling excited.
"The first is a giant lizard with features of the crocodile who fights the Devourer of Hearts in a Swamp. The second is a giant flyer with bat wings and a bird's beak & talons that fights the Bird that eats Elephants in the mountains. The third is a saber-toothed beast from before and after the dinosaurs and battles with a monstrous hybrid of lion, goat, snake, & dragon, at the edge of the forest. Safe travels, fellow Devils." He said before he left.
[20 yen says he's gonna catch some Geodude.] Commented Owen.
The others looked at George, who was deep in thought. "No point in standing around." He said, before pulling out his Mesozoic Mind and turning into his Liliensternus form. He lifted his head and sniffed the air in search of any of them. Once he picks up the scent, he takes off running, the others flying overhead after him.
They soon arrive at the edge of the great swamp and stop once they see George's dinosaur form standing still, his gaze fixed on something before he changes back to normal and tells them to move slowly and keep quiet. They landed and looked to see what George was staring at and their eyes widened.
It was a battle between two hybrids. This was not uncommon with Familiars, especially combat oriented ones. Some were territorial, which was why the Familiar Forest was so vast. The first had the head of a crocodile, upper half of a lion, and back half of a hippo. The other was an enormous monitor lizard with a white body, black stripes, and red Aboriginal body paint but with teeth not unlike a crocodile's with three pairs of tusks, legs that are under its body with hoof-like claws, and the last half of the tail is also that of a crocodile.
"An Ammut?!" Asked Rias, surprised to see the Devourer of Hearts here. This thing was much like Hades' precious guard dog, Cerberus. Only difference was, she ate those who were unworthy to enter Hell, while Cerberus just guarded the entrance. In some cases, she was considered worse than the 3-headed beast.
"But then, what's the other thing?" Asked Akeno.
"The other one is a mix of two prehistoric reptilian top predators. The main part is Varanus priscus, commonly known as Megalania priscus," George explained.
"Uh, English?" Asked Raynare.
[Think giant 20 foot long, 500lb Komodo Dragon. Ruled over Queensland, Australia during the Ice Age... vicious lizards. Even I didn't mess with them unless I was desperately starving.] said Owen.
"Sounds… interesting." Mittelt said.
"But, the teeth are different. They are from Kaprosuchus saharicus, a crocodilian relative described in 2009 found in Niger that lived 95 million years ago. What sets apart from modern crocs are the teeth, especially those three pairs of tusk-like teeth. They are made for tearing flesh." George described. He and the others watch the fight go on.
Ammut manages to tear off one of the croc-lizard's limbs, but it manages to regrow in a matter of seconds, allowing it to balance itself almost immediately. Rias' eyes widened, instantly reminded of a certain Devil that regrows limbs in the same way, but shook it off. She can't be thinking of him, not right now.
As payback, the reptilian hybrid bites down hard on Ammut's neck & midsection before backing off quickly... but why, the Devils and Fallen wondered? That made no sense. Suddenly, Ammut starts shaking and coughs up blood before it collapses, dead.
"W-What just happened?" Kalawarner asked, she and the other stunned at what just occurred.
[Just like the Komodo Dragon, Megalania is highly venomous, causing fatal blood poisoning. While evolution made the Komodo's slow & painful, Megalania's can flow throughout the body in a matter of minutes... seconds even. Ideal for tackling big game.] Owen explained.
"Wow. Sounds sadistic." Akeno stated, intrigued. It also made sense now to her and the rest of them why even someone like Owen, who can be any kind of Dinosaur, would hesitate against such a creature. If he wasn't careful, he'd be dead and would have never become a Sacred Gear or meet any of them.
Now that the fight was over, George has a crazy and stupid idea. "Stay here." He tells them before he approaches the victor of the fight, slowly and cautiously. The others silently scream at George to get back, but he doesn't listen.
The reptilian hybrid smells George and turns around facing him. At first, it tries to intimidate him with a loud crocodilian hiss, also warning the Devils & Fallen to back off, but George is unfazed... at least, that's the facade he put up. In truth, he was scared. It was only a theory that the Megalania was venomous, but now Owen just confirmed it. It felt cool to know that piece of history that no paleontologist or college professor knew, but it was still nerve-racking. One wrong move, this 60,000 year old reptile would be on him in seconds.
He continues to approach it. It hisses louder as a final warning, its eyes getting angry... but then its eyes widen a bit, as if sensing something. The Mesozoic Mind, which was still out, had its gem glowing. Owen was flaring his own energy as a counter-intimidation. Once it senses this power, the massive prehistoric beast kneels down at George, bowing to him. He smiled and petted the scaly, rugose head slowly with his right hand. "It's safe now." George said.
The others come out of hiding and approach slowly and cautiously. Of course, the Megalania hisses again at the newcomers, but Owen's gem glowed a bit brighter as if telling it to stand down. It worked, and the Megalania does in fact calm down.
[NOW... it's safe.] Owen corrected, implying he saved the rest of the group from a possible attack. [Honestly; what would you all do without me?] He added a small quip.
"I'm... impressed with how you handled the situation." Rias said, surprised. Her heart was pounding with each step George took towards this monster, and it increased the louder it hissed at her boyfriend. She thought it would stop when the beast then hissed at them, but then Owen intervened. Despite his smart-ass nature, maybe he wasn't so bad...
"You got a name for it?" Mittlet asked.
"Two actually; first is the Genus & species name." He stated. They raised an eyebrow confused. "For example, Tyrannosaurus rex is Greek/Latin for "Tyrant Lizard King." He said. They nodded in understanding.
"For this animal, I'll call you... Varanosuchus australis. Varan from the Varanid group, the monitor lizards, Suchus means crocodile and australis for Australia." He explained. "As for the name of the individual. Let's see here... " He thinks for a bit, "I got it: Krok! The German word for Crocodile." He finished. With that, a symbol of a black theropod footprint appeared on the head. This is George's symbol.
"Very creative." Kiba stated.
Now for the flaw. "How am I going to bring him back home?" George wonders. Just then, Krok glows a vibrant green color before it changes into a card that the Dino-morpher grabbed. On one side was the symbol of the theropod footprint, on the other side was its head. "Kind of like the Dinosaur King game or anime." He said, excited to have one familiar.
"All you have to do to summon it is to call out its name." Rias explained. George nodded before placing it in his wallet.
XXXXXXXXXX
They then travel towards the mountains for the second one. Once they made it to the base of the mountain, they all heard something. It sounded like screeching, but from two different animals.
"Anyone else hear that?" Koneko announced. That's at the exact same time that a large winged form of an animal falling crashed not far from them. Dust blew and the wind from the force of the impact blew at the group, causing them to cover their faces. They then investigate the crash site and see a gigantic eagle that looks like an African Crowned Eagle.
"... A Roc?" Asked Akeno.
"The hell's a Roc doing here?" Asked Kalawarner, both her and Akeno recognized the creature. It was a mythical, giant predatory bird said to live in Madagascar, and strong enough to carry an elephant in just one talon. It basically looked like a Malagasy Crowned eagle. That's when everyone noticed the grounded giant bird had claw marks and holes on its torso and wings, as well blood dripping from its head. It was still alive, as it was still breathing, but it was in obvious pain from whatever happened to it.
"Hmmm... wonder what could be big enough to attack something as large as this," George wondered.
His question was immediately answered when a second, larger flyer landed. Slamming its huge talons into the eagle's chest and pinning it down as the poor eagle screeched out in pain. The assailant is a huge pterosaur: tall as a giraffe, a skull 1.6 meters long, and with broad huge wings that measure 10 meters. The color is like that of the Southern ground hornbill, being mainly a pitch black color on the body and the pycnofibres, with red fleshy skin around the eyes & red throat sac.
How the hell something THAT big was able to fly, no one had an answer.
The giant pterosaur then stabs the Roc with a long red arrowhead tongue right into its neck and then it starts sucking up blood like a mosquito! While most of them were disturbed by this, Asia turned away to upchuck, being thoroughly grossed out. "What, *coughs* is that thing?" Asia asks, recovering a bit.
"This is the giant pterosaur Hatzegopteryx thambema, described in 2002. It was a huge predator that ruled the island of dwarf dinosaurs called Hateg Island. That was at the end of the Age of Dinosaurs, about 66 million years ago, in Transylvania." George began.
"Great! Did it go to the hotel too?!" Asked Raynare, not in the mood for George and his fun facts about giant predators at the moment.
[With its appetite, it'd run the business into the ground.] said Owen. His tone came across as both serious and joking.
Once the giant island ruler is done draining the massive eagle of blood, it spots George & the others. It turns its massive head to them, inspecting a possible new meal with its large eyes. The supernaturals brought out their weapons, spears, glyphs, etc.; ready to defend themselves from this giant flyer if needed.
While this act did nothing to deter the creature, it sensed a strange power coming from George. In response, Owen's gem glowed, making the large bird of prey reel back slightly. Just like Krok earlier, it kneeled down as well. At first, the group didn't understand, but then saw the light of the Mesozoic Mind glowing again, and figured history repeated itself. George approached the Hatzegopteryx, touching the top of its large beak... it didn't attack.
"That's the second Familiar. As for your scientific name, it will be Sanguinopterx draculai. Sanguine means blood, Opterx is wing, and draculai is obviously Dracula. Now for the individual name, I'll call you. . . Toto. That's the Maori word for Blood." George said, snickering. George's symbol appeared on its right wing in a dark green color, before it glowed red, changed into a card, and George sticks it in his wallet.
XXXXXXXXXX
For the last one, they arrived at the edge of the forest... only to find it in trouble.
It looked like a Smilodon with the distinctive saber-teeth, powerful muscled shoulders, and the short tail. But the front part of the snout was missing fur and the front paws ended in sharp claws but weren't the claws of a big cat. The color was like that of a leopard or jaguar but in brown tones.
The opponent is a Chimera. The central head, torso, & back legs are of a lion; the right head, right front leg, and wings of a classic European dragon; the left head & left front leg are of a goat; and the tail is that of a viper.
"The last one is just a Smilodon? Was hoping for something a bit different." Koneko stated.
[That's funny considering what you are.] commented Owen. No one noticed, but Koneko flinched at that.
"Actually... there's something out of place. The skull shape is longer and I'm pretty sure that besides being mostly Saber-tooth, it is part Inostrancevia. That is the largest Gorgonopsid, which were proto-mammals that are known for having saber teeth and lived before the Dinosaurs." George explained. He then took another look at the battle. Despite putting up a good fight, the prehistoric hybrid stood no chance against the supernatural one.
"That saber-toothed hybrid has no chance against the Chimera. I say we help it out," George said, taking charge. "Who's with me?" He asked, holding a hand out.
"We all are, George." Rias said, putting her hand on top of his. Akeno joined in as well, followed by Asia, then Koneko, Kiba, Raynare, Kalawarner, & Mittlet. He smiled,
"Excellent. I've got an idea to kill the Chimera. Kiba, I need you to make a lead sword, that's what killed the original. Think you can do it?" He asked the Knight.
"I can." He said with determination, already on it.
"Perfect. First step, let's make sure we have air superiority; aka, clip its wings." George said.
"Us Fallen can take care of that." Raynare said, confident to prove herself. The other Fallen nodded.
All three of them fly out from their hiding spots. They create their spears of lights and hurl them at the right wing, which was the one in line of shot. It wasn't clipped per se, but had 3 holes burned through it, preventing its use entirely. Enraged, the Chimera roared in pain, then noticed its attackers. It counterattacks with three blasts from each mouth: fire breath from the lion, lighting blast from the dragon, & acid spit from the goat.
They managed to dodge the flames & lighting, but got hit by the acid which starts to melt their clothes, thankfully not enough acid got on them to also dissolve their skin.
"Aw, man!" Mittelt whined.
"I just bought these!" Whined Raynare.
George turns into his Plateosaurus form once more. They all circle the monster, keeping out harm's way from the melee attacks or dodging the ranged attacks.
The saber-toothed hybrid lunges at the Chimera, clamping its jaws around the goat head, before it yanks the head off, decapitating it. The Chimera also appears to get somewhat sluggish as the goat leg freezes up, almost like it was turned to stone.
Akeno gets into a beam clash with the dragon head with their respective lightning attacks; at first both are evenly matched until the Queen pumps more magic into her attack, blowing up the dragon head.
'If she wasn't trying to mask herself, she would have completely overpowered the Chimera's lightning with no issue.' Owen commented, which got George confused. What was his dinosaur partner going on about now?
Rias & Koneko attack the snake head. Actually, the snake tail wrapped around Koneko, but she managed to get out with her Rook attributes. Once she freed herself, she punched the head, disorienting it, and Rias burned the head off with her Power of Destruction as it hissed in pain.
The Chimera fled from the Power of Destruction before it could extend to the rest of its body, then it breathed fire towards George. Time seems to slow down as George is staring at the incoming flames, and he roars out of instinct. . .
Somehow; George blasts a torrent of water from his mouth, putting out the flames before they reach him! The beam of water blasted the monster, pushing it back. This gives Kiba an opening to pull out his lead sword, flying up into the air, and impales the Chimera through the heart with the lead sword, before it slides off the blade and falls to the ground, dead.
Once the battle was, however, the ladies noticed that the acid from the goat head had melted most of their clothes. Nothing a magic glyph raising up from their feet couldn't fix, but they were more surprised with what George just did.
"How'd... you do that?" Asked Rias.
"I... don't know either." answered George as he changed back. George approached the saber-toothed hybrid. Unlike the other two, this one made no moves to attack at all. Must be because of the ORC helping it, or maybe because it was too tired from the injuries it sustained. "Hey Asia, think you could please heal him of any wounds?" He asked her.
She nods, "O-ok." She said nervously, then approached the hybrid and healed it of any wounds using her Twilight Healing. Before Asia could fully heal the prehistoric cat however, Owen chuckled in everyone's head.
[You may wanna double check on that...] was all he said. Knowing what the Dino spirit was implying, George checked in the only way possible: by bending to look underneath at the belly of the beast.
"... Hehe... oops." George said, scratching the back of his head. Didn't take a genius for everyone to figure out the truth. He was actually a She.
"Perv-a-saurus." Koneko muttered, looking annoyed.
[Jealous he's not looking underneath yours?] Owen shyly said. The only response to that was George having to duck from a tree getting thrown at him. The Smilodon and Asia had to duck as well, and the Smilodon growled in Koneko's direction.
"Suck it." said the short-haired girl, leaving no more for further conversation.
Asia healed the Smilodon then. "Now that you are healed, I can finally name you: Gorgonfelis gremoryii. Gorgon after the Gorgonopsids, felis is cat, and gremoryii is after the Gremory family." George stated. Having a prehistoric animal with her last name gave Rias a sense of pride. "As for your individual name it will be... Romanov, a Russian name for girls." He added.
Romanov nodded before nuzzling George, his symbol in blue appeared on its left shoulder, and then glowed blue before turning into a card, with George sticking it in his wallet.
[Must you simp?] Asked Owen.
"For once, we agree." said Koneko.
XXXXXXXXXX
Once they all went home, after Asia got a Familiar known as a Sprite Dragon that she named Rassei, the next thing George knew he was pinned on the couch. His attacker was revealed to have been Akeno.
"You know George, that was really amazing of you: taming three powerful Familiars and the plan for the Chimera. You deserve some kind of reward~" Akeno said, batting her eyes. George was frozen, at a loss for words. She wanted to do 'it'?... Right here? Right now?
"Akeno." Rias said with a hardened voice and arms crossed.
"Aw, I can't play with him? Not even a little?" Akeno asked, playfully.
"What about me?" Raynare said, still wanting to join in.
"DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!" Both Gremory King & Queen glare at Ray, eyes glowing.
[He's not gonna be doing much playing now. . .] Owen stated. They girls didn't know what he meant, but then looked and saw George sound asleep, eyes closed. No snoring sounds but light & soft breathing, his chest rising up & down.
"He must be exhausted from all that has happened tonight, especially the multiple transformations." Rias stated.
"Oh well. A goodnight's sleep should fix that." Akeno added, both girls carrying George up the stairs, leaving a jealous Raynare downstairs.
"Bitch," she said, feeling upset. "What's her damage anyway? It's not like she'll be around long once the wedding comes along." Raynare said aloud, then got a sinister smirk. "Hmmm... I wonder how confident she'll be if George... happens to find out," she said, thinking in her head how mad George would get at Rias, and at Akeno as well for keeping such a dirty little secret from him. That'll leave George all to herself... but at the same time, this same fantasy also showed it would break George's heart.
Raynare couldn't do that to him, no matter how she felt about Rias and Akeno always getting in her way. She went off to her room to get ready for bed. She just hoped when George did in fact find out, the pain that would follow wouldn't be too severe. . .
Paleontology 101- Plateosaurus
The seven ladies entered the classroom and picked up the smell of something baking. It smelled sweet, which Koneko immediately noticed.
George entered the room from a back door, wearing a German WWII officer uniform but instead of the Swastika, he has the Coat of Arms of Bedheim, which has a bright red theropod dinosaur on it.
The girls didn't bother asking why this time. It most likely had to do with today's lesson.
"Since Plateosaurus is primarily a German dinosaur, I dressed for the occasion with the Coat of Arms of Bedheim having the top predator of its environment on it. As for the baking smell, the cookies should be about done." George said.
The dino butler-bot came in with a cooling tray of chocolate chip cookies that were as big as a person's hand. They are allowed to have two per person and quickly discovered that there were finely chopped pecans & coconut sprinkles in them.
"These are German Chocolate chip cookies since they have pecans & coconut in them. And the chocolate chips themselves are a blend of dark chocolate & Nutella, making them healthier than normal." He explained.
"With refreshments taken care of, we can now begin. Plateosaurus is our first herbivorous dinosaur and first prosauropod, to use an antiquated term. Just like how Coelophysis is the stock Triassic theropod, Plateosaurus is the stock Triassic sauropod." He started.
"This is thanks to being one of the oldest Dinosaurs ever described. The first remains, which were some vertebrae & legs bones were discovered at Heroldsberg, Southern Germany by Johann Friedrich Engelhardt and described by Hermann Von Meyer in 1837. That's 5 years before Sir Richard Owen coined the word "Dinosauria." in 1842." He explained when it was discovered. "Also like Coelophysis, it was subject to wastebasket taxon and many Genus & Species names were based on fragmentary remains, with one of the most unoriginal being Dinosaurus. As of 2011, two species are accepted as being valid. The one I have is Plateosaurus engelhardti, which means "Broad Lizard" due to the broad limb bones; this has often been mistranslated to "Flat Lizard" due to its teeth but the teeth were unknown. Species name is after the guy who discovered it." He added, talking about the origin of its name.
"Didn't this Richard guy have very little material to go off of?" Asked Rias.
[Oh please. Plateosaurus were all over the place. They spread all over Europe so thickly, you couldn't help but bump into one every 10 seconds.] Owen stated, having lived through it himself.
"Sounds like they got busy..." Koneko dryly stated.
[You don't know half of it.] Owen groaned.
"Hey, at least you had an abundance of food." Akeno said, being half-serious.
[It got sickening after a while! We needed some variety! Brachiosaurus thighs, maybe some Hatzegopteryx wings; ya know! Something different!] Owen complained.
"Uh... moving to Classification, it was originally part of a group called Prosauropods but re-classification has now broken up that order to Sauropodomorphs. Despite appearances, it is distantly related to the Theropods, as are all Sauropods." He switched to Classification. "How? The answer is the hip." He grabbed a marker from the dry-erase board and started drawing two examples: one was the hip bones of Eoraptor and the other was of Plateosaurus.
"As you can see, both look very similar and evolved from the same common ancestor but diverged very early in their evolution. This hip design would be further modified to allow space for the massive digestive system of later & much larger sauropods." He described.
"Now for the size. Plateosaurus adult sizes vary: the smallest are about 16 feet long & 1,300lbs while the largest are 10 meters long, 2.5 meters tall, & 4.4 tons! Both are of adult sizes so what is the cause for this variability? I'll save that for later." He described the variations in the size of the early Sauropod.
"Moving to biology, Plateosaurus has been reconstructed pretty much in any posture scientifically feasible. Here is a clay model of one of the oldest depictions, dating back to 1912." He pulled out the clay model.
It had a small, dorky head, body was in a retro hunched-back, tail dragging pose, and body had dragon-like scales.
"Here we have a typical example of a Retrosaur: a Mesozoic reptile that is extremely out of date." said George.
"Um, what dinosaur drags it tail around?" Asked Asia, finding that a bit strange. All the Dinos' George had transformed into never did that. Maybe this one was special?
"Don't they use it for balance or something?" Added Raynare.
"Because unfortunately, this model is depicted in a very inaccurate manner. In order to get it into this pose, vertebrae in its tail would have to be broken. Moving a bit forwards from tripod to quadruped." He explained, pointing out the hind end of the model, and then pulled out a scale-down model skeleton.
"This is based on one from the State Museum of Natural History in Stuttgart. The shoulder girdle is in an anatomically infeasible position, the elbow is disarticulated, and the ribcage has the wrong shape, wide instead of high oval." He stated, pointing out each feature.
"So since you've seen it in a horizontal bipedal pose, how did Paleontologists come to that conclusion? Well a study in 2007 showed that the center of mass was over the legs and another is the shape of the lower arm bones." He put away both models and then hefted out a life-size model skeleton of the lower arm along with the lower skeletal arm of a human.
"The second answer is the shape of the radius. Unlike humans, the shape of the radius prevents the palm of the hand being able to face down." He stated. "As for the legs, it was adapted for running but in contrast to running mammals, Plateosaurus probably did not use gaits with aerial, unsupported phases. Instead, Plateosaurus must have increased speed by using higher stride frequencies, created by rapid and powerful limb retraction. Reliance on limb retraction instead of extension is typical for non-avian dinosaurs." He added, regarding the legs.
"So... how fast was it?" Asked Mittelt.
[If it lived in the Cretaceous period, it could outrun a pack of Raptors,] started Owen, making everyone impressed such a large animal could do that... then they grimaced when he added, [For about 2 seconds.]
"Er..." George was a bit thrown off. Why did Owen always drop a bombshell when he was about to go on a dinosaur's diet? "So, the teeth are comparable to herbivorous/omnivorous iguanas. In 2000, Paul Barrett proposed that Plateosaurus could've supplemented their regular plant diet with some animal matter. This doesn't mean it was an omnivore, it only ate animal matter, like small animals or carrion if it was lacking chemicals like calcium, if the opportunity presented itself with some meat, or in times of hardship. The powerful bite, which is due to the low position of the jaw joint gave the chewing muscles great leverage."
"So instead of swallowing rocks, it actually chewed its food?" Asked Raynare, though she believed she was correct already.
"Exactly." praised George, making Raynare smile. She also smiled towards Rias and Akeno, knowing it would piss them off. The Fallen could see the steam coming out of their ears.
"As for life history, it's a bit of a mystery. The individuals we have vary from 12 to 27 years old, with the latter showing signs it was still growing. Due to a lack of individuals that are smaller than 16 feet long, we are unable to produce an ontogenetic growth series for Plateosaurus." George said, describing the lack of evidence for the growth stages. "Like Riojasaurus, it too was cathermal, and most likely avoided the midday heat, feeding during the early parts of the day & at night." He added regarding how active it was during the day.
"Now for the most important part about its biology which relates to variable size ranges. Plateosaurus has a special trick called Developmental Plasticity. In short, it can change its size based on the availability of food. For example, if the dry season hits, there is less food to go around equals decrease in size and the opposite is applied during the wet season, and Plateosaurus can grow bigger." He explained. "Another trait that allowed it to grow bigger is the presence of air sacs & air spaces in the bones. This means it has an avian-style way of breathing, meaning it was endothermic/warm-blooded." He added regarding metabolism.
"So it was basically the alien dinosaur from that American show about a kid with a watch?" Koneko stated.
George didn't answer, having been caught off guard. But Owen did. [More or less.]
"We now move on to the environment and the animals that lived in it. First, Europe during much of Prehistory looked less like an actual continent and more like the world's largest archipelago of islands. Despite that, the part of Southern Germany where Plateosaurus lived was large enough to support an abundance of animals." He began and pulled out a diorama model of the environment. As usual it was a simple floodplain. No surprise there.
"Much like the rest of the environments I've covered, Southern Germany was a floodplain." He stated quickly about the paleoenvironment. "As for the animals, we have about a dozen to go through." He pulled out the first two. The first was a simple freshwater fish. The second was a lungfish.
"The first is Semionotus. Name translates to "Flag-Back" after the shape of the dorsal fin. This was a fish with a wide range across the world during the Late Triassic, mainly in the American West. The ones found in Germany have yet to be given a proper species name. It was about 2 feet long & 10lbs. It ate small crustaceans like crayfish." He described the first animal.
[They had an aftertaste, but it was bearable.] Owen commented. No one had a response for that.
"The second is Ceratodus parvus. "Horned Tooth" after the shape of teeth. This 1.9 foot long lungfish has over a dozen species to its Genus name and is found all over the world and appeared 251 mya and died out 55 mya, meaning it survived for nearly 200 million years. In fact, the modern day Queensland Lungfish is the closest relative." He described the second fish.
[They were...] Owen began, but was cut off.
"Can you just shut up? We're trying to listen!" Said Rias.
[Well, excuuuuuuuuuse me. Just sharing experiences from a time long forgotten.] Owen said in a sassy tone. The group could also imagine him moving his head in a circle like a stereotypical diva.
George groaned and pulled out 3 models of amphibians. The first was the oddest with the head being shaped almost like a boomerang with the rest of the body being like a fat salamander. The second was akin to a giant salamander with small legs & a wide, broad head. And the third was more or less the same as the second but with a large, triangular head & large teeth at the front of the mouth.
"The first is Gerrothorax pulcherrimus, "Wicker Chest", after the shape of the ribs resembling a wicker basket. Named in 1934, the most prominent feature is the wide head. This 1 meter long 10lb Temnospondyl lived like the bottom-dwelling sharks Wobbegong sharks of the Great Barrier Reef: it dwelled on the bottom of water, buried under mud & silt, and waited for prey to swim by... though a 2008 study revealed that its mouth opens like a toilet seat." George said.
...
...
...
They half-expected Owen to make a comment. Like how it tasted (assuming he ate one) or some fact that they didn't need to know.
"Nothing? That's a first." commented Rias, looking at the hand Owen was stored in.
[What do you want me to say; it had a potty mouth?] Owen asked. Rias mentally groaned. The pun was terrible, but she walked right into that one...
"The second is Metoposaurus diagnosticus, "Front Lizard." Named in 1842 by Von Meyer, this 3 meter long ½ ton Temnospondyl is pretty much the German equivalent of Anaschisma from the Chinle Formation, complete with mass burials caused by drought due to having small legs for such a big body, preventing it from traveling over land." George described the German amphibian.
"It kinda looks like that one from that other DvD you showed us... Hynerpeton or something." said Akeno. George had gotten them familiar with the world of Prehistory via his collection of BBC prehistory documentaries, especially the Trilogy of Life.
George then moved on to the final amphibian. "Lastly is Cyclotosaurus posthumus, Rounded-eared Lizard," he started.
"It looks half-crocodile, half-amphibian." said Kalawarner, as this final animal looked like a cross between the two.
"This species was described in 1913 and is the last of a group of Temnospondyls called Mastodonosaurids. Which are known for being really big, having large triangular heads and large teeth, including a pair of tusks that poke out of two holes in the upper jaw. At 4 meters long, this was big enough to tackle any small animal that came near the water's edge, though the teeth are better suited to fish." He finished the last amphibian.
"Moving onto the reptiles. There's four: two herbivores & two carnivores. First are the herbivores." He pulled out the next two models. The first was a turtle but it had extra armor plating with spikes on its neck & tail, not unlike a Stegosaur's. The second was an Aetosaur.
"Now a fusion of a stegosaur and a turtle?" Kalawarner said.
"It's called Proganochelys quenstedti. It was the oldest known turtle for over a century until older turtles were known as recently as 2008. Described by Georg Baur in 1887, it was a 1 meter long & 10lbs, it may look like any semi-aquatic herbivorous turtle you'd see at a pond, but it has extra armor plating." He described the stem-turtle.
[It was a tough shell to crack, even the softer underbelly. Had to cheat by becoming a Borealosuchus a few times.] Owen piped in, not being able to resist.
"Isn't this an Aetosaur? Pretty sure you showed us this already." said Raynare.
"Correct. This one is called a Paratypothorax andressi. Named in 1985, this 2.5 meter long, 220lb reptile is also found in the Chinle Formation and would serve as the main food source for the two top predators of this ecosystem, despite the armor plating offering some protection." He briefly talked about the Aetosaur.
"Now for the carnivores which are familiar." He brings out the next two reptiles. The first was a Phytosaur, but smaller than Redondasaurus. The second was a Rauisuchian that was between the size of Postosuchus & Saurosuchus.
"I swear, sometimes I think you just like crocs." Kalawarner said.
"The first is Nicrosaurus kapffi, "Neckar Lizard", after the Neckar River in SW Germany in 1861. This 4 meter Phytosaur was like today's False Gharial in that while it would've eaten fish, there's evidence of scavenged Plateosaurus remains that have bite marks made by this False Crocodile, an indication it would've eaten far more than just fish." George described the Phytosaur.
[Phfft. Are you kidding? They snapped at anything that moved! Even a modern day dragonfly could casually float above a river, and they'd STILL go after it!] Owen said, though it was obvious he was exaggerating a bit.
"The second is Teratosaurus suevicus, "Swabian Monster Lizard." When Von Meyer originally described it in 1861, he thought it was the remains of the ancestor of the Carnosaurs, and so it was thought to be a Dinosaur. It remained that way for over 100 years until 1985-86, Peter Galton & Michael Benton reanalyzed the remains to belonging instead to a Rauisuchian, a rare occurrence of an equally sized 6 meter long non dinosaur-archosaur coexisting with a similarly-sized theropod, that competed with it for food. What Dinosaurs lived alongside Plateosaurus? Well, Raynare is already familiar with them." George pulled out the last two models.
"Oh! Those are Procompsognathus & a Liliensternus." she said, recognizing the dinosaurs immediately. "Correct!" said George. As he praised her again, she stuck her tongue out at Rias and Akeno, who got annoyed but held in their ire.
"Despite the name Procompsognathus, it was not the ancestor to Compsognathus, or the Compies of Jurassic Park. They make look similar in size, but Procompsognathus is related to Coelophysis while Compsognathus is the type species of its own group. Interestingly enough, the Pro-Compies appear in the original source material, both of Michael Crichton's novels for Jurassic Park & sequel The Lost World: Jurassic Park. It was a small opportunistic carnivore, eating bugs, lizards, fish, & carrion." He described the small theropod.
"The top dinosaur predator was one with a really redundant name: Liliensternus liliensterni, which is after the amateur paleontologist & medical doctor, Hugo Rühle von Lilienstern, after his contributions to the field of paleontology by founding a museum in Bedheim, which is where this Coat of Arms comes from." George described the origin of the theropod's name. "Like Zupaysaurus, it too was a Neotheropod and around the same size: 5.2 meters long & 300lbs, though some say over 400. Most reconstructions, including the one from Dinosaur King, give it a pair of semi-circle shaped crests since it's closest relative is Dilophosaurus but the skull and Coat of Arms depict it without a crest. So this begs the question: did it have one, or did it not?" George described the theropod dinosaur, leaving them with a question before the final part of the lesson.
"As for Pop Culture, aside from being in countless books, Plateosaurus has two that are worth talking about. The first is a YouTube Show called Your Dinosaurs are Wrong. It's more or less what these 101 lessons are but with a twist: the host is given a toy Dinosaur and makes it accurate using what I can best describe as digitized arts & crafts coloring paper. The surprising part is that the host, Steven Bellettini, looks & acts like me but in late 30s or 40s, I assume based on appearance, and a lot more professional. His Plateosaurus episode first aired on August 14, 2013." George stated. He started the 13 minute video up, and sat between Rias & Akeno.
When it started, their eyes widened in surprise: George wasn't kidding! Steven did look like George. Tan skin, blackish-brown hair with some scant white on the scalp, dark green-brown eyes behind a set of rectangular glasses, though his beard was a lot more tamed down and he had no mustache. Only article of clothing they could see, since he was seated at a teacher's desk, was a sky blue button-down shirt with sleeves rolled up, revealing hairy arms. Even the setting was in a classroom.
Out of nowhere, an orange blur came flying which Steven caught and placed on the table, revealing it to be a crudely made bright yellow Sauropod toy standing up on its hind legs with painted on white eyes. Rias & Asia swore they saw some of the kids at the daycare/orphanage playing with a toy that looked like it, albeit a different color.
While the information about Plateosaurus was more or less the same as what George said, but more in-depth like Von Meyer calling Dinosaurs "pachypoda" for example, the parts they payed attention to are the quirks Steven has like how his mouth seems to be faster than his brain/stuttering a bit, the quick pop-ups providing extra info, and the digitized colored paper segment.
The front arms are why Steven wanted to talk about Plateosaurus. As he says: "You go up to someone and say 'Dinosaur' only two, three if you count Velociraptor, but two dinosaurs come to mind: with its tiny arms which are the butt of so many jokes & Brontosaurus as the big sauropod with long neck & tail stomping along. Here comes the Prosauropods, which look like a small sauropod and stuck giant Theropod arms on them and sort of a 'Which way to the Gun Show?' going on."
The part where he says "go up to a Liliensternus and smack it, cleaving its skull open" did make Akeno intrigued and wanting to see that. The part about the claws being used to manipulate plant matter sounding boring to him did get a chuckle from Asia & Mittlett.
The 'off-hand' pun did make them roll their eyes.
"Now for the other and more grand version. Now I've already brought up the Walking with Dinosaurs TV show & accompanying book. However, there is also more. Enter Walking with Dinosaurs- The Arena Spectacular or WWD: The Live Experience. It was a live adaptation of the show, using puppetry, suits, and animatronics of the Dinosaurs. It started touring in Australia in January 2007 and the rest of the world up until December 22, 2019 at the Taipei Arena. As time went on, it became a lot better in terms of accuracy, including adding feathers to some of the theropods, making the animatronics more responsive to the controllers, making them "eat" food, and even spray water vapor from the mouth to simulate breathing." George described the latter. "Unfortunately, I've never had a chance to view it since it was too expensive," He lamented, feeling down. "So I have the next best thing: our own version of it with myself as the dinosaurs. I can't be in two places at once when I Go Dino so my dino butler-bot will be operating the others and any others will be automated. If you all follow me to the gym, we shall conclude our lesson there for the Plateosaurus segment." George said.
They all cleaned up any cookie crumbs, gathered their gear, & left the classroom. They walked to the gym and the girls are provided refreshments with drinks & popcorn. Once they got the food, Koneko even getting a chocolate candy bar, they took their seats once the lights dim, though the Devils could still see thanks to their night vision.
The Main Theme that played was beautiful, almost romantic in a way, and just as powerful as the classic Jurassic Park theme. The show lights came on, revealing in the center of the gym a large nest made of artificial dirt & plants with some rounded eggs poking out.
The next track was The Eggs Come Alive which was light-hearted and wouldn't be out of place in Land Before Time with faint bits from the Main Theme. The track was placed due to the fact that they could see some of the eggs starting to shake, cracks forming. Soon, baby dinosaurs came out. They looked like hatchling versions of Plateosaurus from Walking with Dinosaurs, with the classic blackish-green body, white stripes on back, and white color on the ankles. Even though they weren't truly alive, their movements were so life-like and the cute squeaks they made were cute.
The next track, Liliensternus Scavenges, took on a more sinister tone, as did the lights changing from a soft green to a harsh red. The answer was clear as emerging from a set of open doors as a Liliensternus. It wasn't George since the gems of the Sacred Gear aren't on the chest and the colors are different: a sandy brown-yellow, green horizontal stripes that start on the neck to the hips mixed with some red around the eyes that trails from the neck, a yellow crest with red edging, orange-bird like eyes, and a white underside. There was also a coat of feathers matching the colors that cover the body except the head, elbows down on the arms, the underside of the hips, the ankles down the legs, and the tail.
Since it didn't pay any attention to them but on the newly hatched baby dinosaurs, it was the butler bot in there. What happened next nearly made them scream: it started eating the baby dinosaurs! They wanted to intervene but it was all part of the show and this happens in nature; wasn't this unfair? Yes. But nature doesn't care about fairness. They only hoped some would survive. At least a few made it by the time the theropod left.
The next track, Plateosaurus enters, has a slow build-up to something big approaching with slow drum-beats & cymbal clashes before the Plateosaurus, well, entered. This time, it was George as evident by the gems of the Sacred Gear on his chest. However, his color was different, matching the color of the WWD. It appears that George took Owen's remark about changing appearance to heart and went through with it, though it was only a palette swap. Not only that, but he was much bigger: 10 meters long, 2.5 meters tall, & 4 tons! They truly get a sense of scale next to him.
He approached the surviving hatchlings, who all crowded around him, and were so tiny compared to his huge size. He knelt down to their level and picked them up in his jaws and carried them, like crocodile moms do. He placed them back in the nest and laid down next to it, keeping on guard.
The final track was Triassic Encounter and a mix of light-hearted tones with undertones of something sinister at the start before it built up, the red lights were back, and so was the Liliensternus. They all watched as the two dinosaurs clashed: one for hunger, the other defense of the next generation. The theropod tried to get close to the nest while George kept blocking it from getting close. George had enough, and with a bellow, he swiped his right hand, claws ready, across the skull of the animatronic fellow German, the claws slicing through the artificial skin, leaving three large gashes across the left side of the face, artificial blood dripping down the side. Not wanting to sustain more injury, the carnivore backs down, leaving George the victor.
The rest of the stage lights came on, and they all applauded their performance, with both Dinosaurs doing a bow by bending their upper half down and arms to the side horizontally, palms facing down.
George then changed back to normal and approached them,
"To conclude, Plateosaurus is a sign of things to come, as later sauropods will tower over it and is a classic Dinosaur, being so well known for over a century and having appeared in the WWD franchise makes it a stock Triassic Dinosaur. It even survived past the Norian stage of the Triassic, and into the last stage, the Rhaetian. But that's for another time." George concluded.
After disposing of the remains of their snacks, George left with the others after closing up.
54Godamora: Well we apologize for our absence. Bakuganmann was busy with his own stories as well as life. Same here for me; curse you college.
Hareta: Brain…. Melting.
54Godamora: Yeah, my bro here has been in a slump since he believes Amnesiac is cursed. We are slowly fixing that "curse". Now for some behind-the-scenes info regarding the creation/origin of George's three Familiars.
The Varanosuchus australis combines a relative of crocodiles, which are related to Dinosaurs and the ability to regenerate is inspired by Axolotls, a species of salamander found only in a small part of Mexico that can regenerate even parts of brain tissue!
The Sanguinopteryx draculai combines Pterosaurs & a Bird of Prey, both related to Dinosaurs. The vampiric nature stems from Hatzegopteryx being found in Transylvania.
The Gorgonfelis gremoryii combines a Paleozoic saber-tooth & a Cenozoic one, which were considered to have a bigger representation in this story but decided against to save time. The design is inspired by the Gorgonopsid & Smilodon from BBC/ITV's Primeval. Speaking of which, the last Triassic Dinosaur will show up and be from that show as a hint. As for the Dinosaurs in this chapter, designs belong to Cisiopurple & BBC.
Now next chapters will showcase the main antagonist of Season 1 and right from the start, myself & George hate him. Heck, just thinking about him makes me want to- *Devolves into frantic bursts of anger before Akeno knocks him out and carts him away*
Rias: We should conclude & hope to have Season 1 finished if not mostly finished before 2021.
Hareta Kuso: Peace.