INTERLUDE
Shortly after the incident with their counterparts, both sets of Marshalls experienced some major changes. In the Beige Universe, the family discovered a new pylon and they went inside to investigate whether or not it controlled a time doorway that could send them home. After spending quite a bit of time watching their father work, Will and Holly stepped outside to have a snack while Rick continued to experiment. Suddenly, to Rick's surprise and utter joy, he managed to open up a time doorway to Earth. Yet before he could even call to his children, an earthquake struck. As the younger Marshalls watched in horror, Rick lost his balance and he fell through the open portal. Will and Holly did not even have time to react. The quake caused the matrix table inside of the pylon to tip over and fall to the ground. The crystals on the table spilled onto the pylon floor, closing the doorway. With no idea how to repair the damage to the pylon, Will and Holly could not follow their father, and for the first time, they were completely alone.
Rick's accident also had implications on Earth. When Rick fell through the time doorway, the Land of the Lost's balance was interrupted, and it could only be restored if either Rick came back or if another human entered the Land.
Meanwhile, back on Earth, the Marshalls' disappearance had not gone unnoticed. Rick's brother Jack had spent the previous six months searching for his lost relatives, retracing the route that they had traveled on the river. Moments after Rick returned home, Jack's own raft was ravaged by an earthquake, and like his family before him, he plunged over the waterfall, through an open time doorway, and into the Land of the Lost. The two brothers had just missed each other, with Jack taking Rick's place, restoring balance to the Land.
Will and Holly soon found Jack. The quake that sent Rick home also destroyed High Bluff, so the Marshalls took up residence in a temple near the Lost City. Ta and Sa disappeared during the earthquake as well, which resulted in the family inviting Chaka to stay with them. As the years passed, the humans resumed their quest to get back home.
In the Black Universe, at virtually the same moment that Rick returned to Earth, the Marshall family also became victim of a life-altering quake. Holly, Bill and Rich were walking back to High Bluff after gathering some supplies when they heard the familiar roar of Grumpy. The dinosaur saw the humans and started his chase, looking for his next meal. "Bill, Holly, move!" Rich ordered. He directed his children toward some nearby boulders which would provide enough cover to evade Grumpy.
The family ran for their lives as the T-Rex charged. They were a few yards away from safety when Holly fell down. "Daddy!" she cried. In the blink of an eye, in the few seconds between the girl's fall and her family turning around, Grumpy positioned himself so that the humans were divided. Rich and Bill were to the dinosaur's left, and Holly was to his right. Grumpy's eyes locked onto Holly and he let out a ferocious roar as the child froze, terrified.
Rich and Bill immediately came to her aid as they screamed wildly to draw Grumpy's attention away from Holly. Their actions gave the girl a chance to run for her life while Grumpy chased the men. The plan worked as the dinosaur followed Rich and Bill, who took cover under the nearby rocks. Grumpy looked confused, but that confusion quickly turned to anger when he saw Holly out in the open.
Luckily, there was a pylon that was just a short distance away from the 12-year-old. "Run Holly!" Rich shouted. As Grumpy chased, Holly sprinted to the pylon, turned the key, and stepped inside just before the T-Rex could get to her. Grumpy bit the top of the structure and received an electrical shock for his troubles. The beast stumbled away dazed.
With the danger gone for the moment, Holly looked around while Rich and Bill moved to join her. She had never been in this particular pylon before, and she touched a few crystals on the table. Though she had been told not to play with matrix tables, the child's curiosity got the better of her.
What none of the Marshalls could have known was that this pylon was the Black Universe's counterpart to the pylon that sent Rick Marshall home. Perhaps what happened next was connected to Rick's experimenting in the Beige Universe. It may have just been fate or perhaps it was just dumb luck, but to Holly's amazement, she looked up and found herself staring at a doorway to Earth. "Daddy! Bill! Come quick!" she shouted.
Rich and Bill picked up their pace and they entered the open pylon door. As was the case in the Beige Universe, a quake hit, and just like Rick, Holly was thrown into the doorway toward Earth as the table fell and scattered the crystals. "NOOOOO!" Rich shouted in horror.
The two men exited the pylon in complete disbelief. It took Rich a moment to gather his thoughts but when he saw the tears in his son's eyes, he immediately composed himself. As upset as they both were at the loss of Holly, they saw enough to see that she had made it home. It was bittersweet. Rich already missed his daughter, but he reminded a distraught Bill that his sister was not dead and that she was finally out of this place. Holly was back on Earth, where they all belonged.
Rich knew in his heart that his daughter would find her mother and stay with her until they could all reunite. In a way, it was a mixed blessing, since Holly's return would give his wife the precious gift of hope. Rich swore that nothing would stop him from returning home with his son, and he knew in his heart that he would see Holly and his wife again.
With Holly's departure, the Black Universe's Land of the Lost needed a human to replace her. Jack's counterpart, John Marshall, was also searching for his lost loved ones. Like Jack, John fell into the Land of the Lost during the quake. It was not long before he found Rich and Bill, and although they were happy to see each other, they were all sorry about where they were. In a departure from the events in the Beige Universe, the quake that sent Holly home did not also destroy the Marshalls' cave. Thus, the family continued to live at High Bluff, looking for a way to escape the Land of the Lost.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Black Universe, Enik had not accepted just how badly his plan to destroy the Marshalls had backfired. The aftermath of his actions left the time doorway in his chamber irreparably damaged. He didn't know exactly what happened, but the Library of Skulls was able to provide enough information for him to learn that the humans of the Beige Universe somehow saved their counterparts from the black Sleestak's trap.
Enik fumed over the fact that the Marshalls of the Beige Universe had dared, even unknowingly, to meddle in his affairs. With the Lost City's time doorway no longer operational, he decided to focus on the next best thing—revenge. As soon as he could formulate a proper plan, he would find a way to survive in this other dimension long enough to make Rick and his family suffer for what they had done to him.
The black Sleestak never learned that the Marshalls of his universe had actually returned to the Land of the Lost. He just figured that the Rich and his family had somehow ended up on Earth as a result of the interference of their counterparts. He did not care enough to investigate. He was so obsessed with his newfound hate for Rick, Will and Holly that they became his sole focus.
Rich and his family never went to the Lost City and Enik never left it. Only S'Latch knew that the humans were still in the Land of the Lost, and he agreed that in the interest of their safety, their presence needed to remain a secret. Had Enik known that Rich, Bill and Holly had returned, he would have torn the Land apart to destroy them. John's arrival therefore also eluded the black Sleestak. As time passed, Enik was able to steal some of S'Latch's technology, putting him on the path to be able to travel to the Beige Universe. Following Enik's theft, S'Latch went into seclusion to continue his quest for knowledge.
Meanwhile, Enik was patient. Months turned into years while he worked out the intricate details of his plot. He kept tabs on the Beige Universe through the Library of Skulls. The black Sleestak wanted his act of retribution to be clever enough to be worthy of his intelligence, so he formulated a plan that would require some ingenuity, some of S'Latch's special technology, and proper timing. Five years later, the timing was right.