Part 2:

Drew gave out a yell of pain as he felt his leg get stabbed by something sharp. Leon acted quickly in response to this, running to get the first aid equipment at their camp. Drew reached underwater and grabbed the attacker and held it up in the air. It was a bizarre looking creature. The best way to describe it was a cross between a scorpion and a lobster, with the colouration of a horseshoe crab. However it was much larger, approximately four feet long, and unlike either of those two animals, it had no pincers; instead its front "arms" were long and thin, covered with spiky barbs of varying size..

Leon returned to tend to the wound while Drew inspected his attacker, which was now safely interred in a specimen tank. Leon regarded the squirming creature, whilst tending Drew's wound, "If my memory serves correctly, this is Megalograptus, a type of sea scorpion. And they were the first animals to come onto land."

Drew breathed in his air mixture and looked around; it was hard to imagine anything being able to survive in this desolate world, "How can they survive when there's little to no oxygen?"

Leon finished treating Drew's wound, as he breathed into the air mixture, "Oh, they may be able to walk, but they'd rarely leave the sea anyway; only when mating season arrives. Since there's no life on land, it's safer for them to lay their eggs there."

With the Megalograptus safely interred, Drew and Leon continued their hunt for bait, which proved to be more successful than they had hoped; the shallows were littered with corpses. On the table they had a bin full of dead Astraspis. However, most prominent was the corpse of a large grey trilobite. More of those were in a small tank, in which they had pilled up on each other. Leon had identified them as Isotelus, the largest of the trilobites. There was a vague similarity in appearance between them and the Cambrian trilobites back at the park, but its body was more rounded, without their genal spines; it looked more like an enormous woodlouse than a horseshoe crab. They were found a bit further from the shoreline, rooting through the shallows for detritus.

As they prepared the bait, the Megalograptus in the specimen tank was watching them intently as they prepared their bait; due to its general demeanour, they had given it the nickname of Grumpy. Drew took a breath of air and began to speak, "Well, it took some time, but we managed to get the bait we need for our sea monster." Leon smiled, turned his eyes to the specimen tank and chuckled, "Hopefully, Grumpy won't take it."

Drew chuckled in response, "Don't worry, I don't think sea scorpions can climb. Anyway help me move these tanks through the portal. I don't think they like being cramped on top of each other like that."

After activating the portal and sending Grumpy and the trilobites through, Leon turned to Drew and asked, "So what's the need for the air you brought? That type looks like it could be used to dive into an abyss."

Drew gave him a knowing smile, "That's the point. Cameroceras was thought to live rather like a sperm whale; diving into the abyss to hunt prey. We might have to go into deeper waters to find one. However if my theory is correct, then we should be good." Leon looked at him, confused, "So, what's the plan?" Drew smiled in response, "The plan is to get your gear ready. 'Cause we are going on a night dive."

Back at the park, Khatin had come up with a plan to ensure that Squishy's days of being the tank's punching bag would end. He and Linda stood over a holding tank containing two Anomalocaris. The scars on the left individual's exoskeleton marked him as Squishy. His condition had drastically improved from being fed separately from the others; Drew had had the right idea. The Anomalocaris on the other side was the female who had been rescued.

Khatin's plan had been very simple; to introduce Squishy to the female, in hope that they would be better accustomed to each other. If the plan worked, she could be able to protect him from the other one. Khatin gave the signal and the gate dividing the two holding tanks was opened. Almost immediately, the female charged at Squishy. However, unlike before, in which Squishy had passively submitted to being beaten up, he quickly swam away. This went on for several minutes; every time the female charged at Squishy, he would simply move out of the way. Linda began to panic and was about to separate them when Khatin stopped her.

She gave him a look as if he'd gone mad, "Khatin, are you insane?! She'll kill him." Khatin shook his head and said, "No, this is necessary. She needs to know that Squishy isn't going to fight back so all he needs to do is let her win and she'll leave him alone."

After a few minutes the female began to tire out; it seemed she had got the message that Squishy wasn't in the mood for a fight. As she began to slow down, Squishy began to calm down, and both individuals became more relaxed. A keeper watching from above threw some fish guts into the tank, to see how they would react. The female went for the food first, like a dog after a tennis ball, and began to eat. Squishy tentatively moved to feed on the other half; arthropod brains were not what vertebrates' were, but the memories of being attacked were still fresh in his mind. Ultimately his hunger won out; he advanced towards the food and began to ravenously feed, like a starving dog. The female turned to look at him; everyone waited with bated breath, would Khatin's plan work? Time seemed to stop for the crew as they waited as to how she would respond; would she attack him? The female looked at Squishy for a bit, before turning the other way and swimming to the other side of the tank. After Squishy had finished eating, he quickly followed. Everyone breathed out in relief; the plan had been a success.