The two explorers didn't notice the predator charging at them until it was too late; it had moved so fast, it was almost a blur. Veering towards Cynthia, it moved to pounce at her, but she suddenly turned round and noticed the approaching creature. The Dimetrodon, its ambush bungled, stopped in its tracks, and suddenly lunged at her. However, Cynthia's reflexes were fast; she didn't waste anytime in grabbing the reptile like an alligator and holding its mouth shut. As she struggled, she smirked. "I know a lot of guys go all over for me, but I didn't expect a reptile to as well."
Drew rolled his eyes; was she really treating this like a game? He snarkily went, "Well, Dimetrodon are closely related to the ancestors of mammals…" Cynthia gave him a confused look and rolled her eyes, "Was that supposed to be a joke?" "It was wordplay", Drew said looking away from his partner and back to the struggling synapsid.
After the predator had stopped struggling, Cynthia decided to let it go. It immediately raised its hackles, swished its tail and hissed at them, as if it was anticipating them to attack it. When nothing happened, the dimetrodon relaxed; it clearly wasn't in any danger from these new creatures. Drew threw some meat on the ground and the small creature ate voraciously, periodically darting its head from side to side. Cynthia stared at it in shock as it simply finished eating and looked at them curiously, before ignoring them. Drew looked down and noticed the little creature. Deciding to take the risk, after throwing some more meat down, he went down and petted the small synapsid. The creature did not notice him, as it continued to eat. Cynthia threw the juvenile some more meat, while Drew got the remote ready. "I was thinking Spiny for a name", Drew said as he pressed the button and Cynthia left a trail of meat leading to the portal. The newly named Spiny saw the light and immediately followed the meat through the glowing light; hunger outweighed anything else.
The female dimetrodon, meanwhile, was continuing to eat her meal, ignoring the events miles away. Sadly for her, she wasn't the only large predator around. She suddenly heard a growl and saw five large males approaching the carcass. The female would normally have defended her carcass; however, she was pregnant and needed to lay her eggs. While she was going to be hungry, she knew better than to risk a fight. Drew and Cynthia saw the scene play out, Cynthia having a curious look on her face. "Where do you suppose she's heading?", she asked.
"I don't know. But first let's focus on the males; we could use these big guys at the park." They crept towards the males and watched them eat for a bit. One of the large predators grabbed the intestines and shock them around causing dung to fly everywhere.
Cynthia had a brilliant idea in her head. She crept more towards the carcass, the Dimetrodon too preoccupied with their meal to notice. Once she had gotten close enough, she grabbed the tail of the carcass and started to drag it away. A male put his foot and stopped her for a minute, but she fought back; it turned into a demented tug-o-war. Eventually, she'd managed to wrest the carcass from the male and began to drag it along, with the males following. Pausing for breath, she turned back and turned on the portal, tossing the carcass through. The Dimetrodon followed it like dogs to a tennis ball; once they were all through, she turned it off. She turned to Drew, who was standing there in a bit of shock, before smirking and going. "Boosh. I win."
At the park. Spiny was clambering on a pole in his holding pen, surveying his new surroundings. All around him, familiar-looking herbivores were eating, but there seemed to be little else for miles around. More of the strange creatures were walking around; one had picked him up and moved some strange humming thing across him, before another had put him in this holding pen. He clambered down to investigate his surroundings, before something small and green darted into a hole in a log. He backed up, startled, before he moved forward, stalking the small shape; this might be a good meal. Soon a small, green head popped out; it was Lubbock. Spiny looked at the intruder for a minute before he snapped his jaws at it and pounced. Lubbock dodged him and scurried out, Spiny chasing him. The chase continued for a good while before Lubbock darted through a gap in the fence, which Spiny couldn't fit in. After several attempts, Spiny hissed indignantly; what a disappointment it was to find that his prey had gotten away. Suddenly, a large amount of meat landed in the holding pen; Spiny ignored Lubbock and ran towards it. It was, after all, an easier meal.
Lubbock looked as the synapsid began to feed; he had been ignored by the new predator. He was also hungry and exhausted; maybe he could steal a few morsels from the meat pile. Creeping quietly towards the meat pile, he began to eat. Spiny looked at Lubbock, snorted briefly and ignored him; chasing the little scavenger off wasn't worth the trouble. They continued to eat for several minutes, until they noticed a small hole in the pen.
Back at the Permian, the female dimetrodon had just finished laying her eggs into her nest, with Drew and Cynthia waiting for the right moment to lure her away. Soon, the female laid down by the nest, lying motionless. Taking the opportunity, Cynthia went towards the nest to lure the female away with some meat. However, this had little effect; the mother simply snapped at them. They tried the same tactic again. While Cynthia dealt with the dimetrodon, Drew captured any predators trying to steal the eggs. In particular, he noticed several brown amphibians, each about a metre long, which he identified as Seymouria. Putting them in transport cages, he resolved that he would send them through the portal once the mission was done. Eventually, as the sun rose on the next day, it was clear that their plan wasn't going to work; they had no choice but to get the Seymouria back to the park and think of a new plan.
Meanwhile, Lubbock followed Spiny to a small pond. Lubbock had been following him for a while now; if he was attacked, he could seek safety in the company of a more intimidating target. Spiny had climbed over the fence and had begun drinking from the lake, Lubbock keeping a good distance from Spiny. Suddenly, the water churned, as Howler emerged from the water and clambered out onto land. Spiny hissed at Howler, who bellowed in response. They all looked at each other curiously; none of them had ever seen anything like each other before. All suddenly noticed a hole in the fence, big enough for them all to slip out of. The three animals walked out of the hole in the fence, keeping a distance from each other. They continued on their journey until they reached something of interest; a Jeep.
Drew and Cynthia decided to return to the Permian a few months later; by that time, the female's eggs would have hatched. They could save an entire family of Dimetrodon. Once they returned, they got hit by major déjà vu; another herd of edaphosaurs. This herd was almost twice the size of the one they had brought back already; consisting of over sixty animals. Once again taking the remote from Drew, she snuck up behind the herd and managed to turn the portal on. The edaphosaurs paid no attention to the light, until Cynthia pressed an air-horn, scaring the herd and causing them to stampede through the portal. Drew ran after her, carrying the Seymouria in crates. At the park Kyle was watching with Jack, as the herd came through the portal. Both stared at the herd in silence, as the animals milled about in the holding pen, before Jack said "Wow. That's a lot." Kyle facepalmed and rolled his eyes, "I've just moved a herd of giant reptiles; now I have to do it twice. Black rage doesn't even begin to describe what I'm feeling at the moment." He checked the communicator to see what was up with Drew. The response he got? "blame Cynthia". Kyle and Jack looked at each other; maybe the board had made a mistake with this new team member.
