Several graphs and lines of code filled monitors surrounding a silent man and his female assistant.
"Another anomaly has appeared," she announced, "I do not understand how are these signals going to help us. With their research destroyed thanks to our spy, it is all we are left with."
"They aren't by themselves," the man replied, "we're going to need someone with experience with these anomalies." He typed something and a photo of a blonde scientist popped up on one of the screens.
"Her."
"Wait, her?" the woman wondered, "I am not so sure if she is going help us willingly."
"She isn't."
"Then how are we going to do it? You've said yourself that her intellect is comparable to yours; it won't be easy to trick her."
"It sure won't, but even a genius has weaknesses." As another photo of the blonde with someone by her side showed up a devilish smirk crossed his face.
—
In the morning, sunlight shined into a bedroom, waking the blonde scientist up. Reese sat up, rubbing her eyes. She had a wonderful dreamless sleep. She looked around, piecing together her memories from yesterday. She smiled warmly, but then her smile was quickly swiped away by a realization that her hair is messy again.
Her movements woke the man sleeping beside up. He opened one eye and took a peek, sitting up and opening his other eye.
They were staring at each other silently, blushing.
A frown crossed her face and she grabbed a pillow hit him with it. "Don't look at my morning hair!"
"Why...?" he whined as he got knocked down on the bed, "...you don't have to hit me..."
Her face flushed and she turned away from him. "Because I look horrible..."
He pushed the pillow off his view. "Angel..." He sat back up, wrapping his arms around her. "You are beautiful, my angel. So cute."
She pouted. "You really think so."
"Of course! You look beautiful all the time, my angel," Zander told her lovingly, smirking.
Seeing the shape of his lips made her cheeks redder.
"Um...Reese? You okay?"
She smiled. "Yeah." She ran her hand through his hair, which was a little bit longer than two years ago. "I've just realized how handsome you look."
"H-handsome...?!" he screeched in utter surprise. Nobody's ever told him that.
Reese nodded to confirm her claim.
Zander stared at her, groaning quietly with his mouth hanging open. He couldn't believe it.
Her warm smile convinced him that she's telling the truth. She put her fingers to his chin and closed his dry mouth. He swallowed.
A silence was held between them; they didn't need words. He simply leaned in and she already knew. He kissed her softly, wrapping his arms around her waist. The touch of their lips, their embrace, what seemed as impossible acts for them a few days ago, now felt like the most natural things to do.
She pulled away. "I should go get dressed and head to the breakfast, so the others don't get suspicious and I need my morning coffee."
"So, you don't want them to know about us?" he asked her sadly, "you're embarrassed by me..."
"No, not at all," she reassured him, rubbing his arm, "I'm only unsure how the others are going to react."
"Right... We shouldn't tell them right away I guess..." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "But I don't think I can be without you for the rest of the day."
"Okay...that got a creepy turn very quickly..." she murmured.
"Sorry..." He let go of her reluctantly. "I didn't want to creep you out..." He frowned apologetically.
She pecked his cheek. "We could spend time together later today."
"I would love that." He smiled at her.
She got up and headed to her room. He had his eyes on her until she left.
—
They both did their best to avoid contact during breakfast. Reese did great while, Zander, not so much. He was noticeably peaking at her, blushing. Sometimes he even forgot to eat; the spoon was hanging near his opened mouth with his glance just focused on the beauty that was sent from heavens.
She didn't even try, but all her movements were so angelic in his eyes; he couldn't help himself.
Dr. Z and Ed only glared at him suspiciously, Ursula, on the other hand, got annoyed by that very quickly. "Quit being creepy!" she growled and smashed the back of his head, knocking his face into the bowl of cereal with milk.
He straightened up, frowning as his face was soaked with milk.
Reese sighed sympathetically and mouthed "sorry" with a weak smile.
He returned the smile as he stood up and was about to head to the bathroom to wash his face when suddenly Helga slid to the table, scaring him and Ursula.
"I will not tolerate you making a mess here!" the android yelled them and thew wipes to Ursula.
"Why should I clean this?!" the green-haired groaned, getting no response. Zander grinned evilly and left.
Reese finished eating and walked out.
She thought it'd be better if she stayed away from Zander for now. Her presence alone made others annoyed at first, why would those two getting together be any different?
Also, she just went against everything she was convinced was right; she battled herself inside. Her common-sense knew that she shouldn't stay, but part of her couldn't forget about what happened the last night; it called for more of that...She needed that. It wasn't much, but just thinking about it made her heart race and her cheeks heat up.
She didn't even realize she was already at the D-lab.
Her thoughts were focused on the Alpha Gang member, on his song, his kindness, his love...
She stopped, her eyes locked on the ground. A deep sigh escaped her lips. Taken out of her fantasies by a familiar voice, she shot her head up; it came out of the lab building. It must have been just her imagination, it couldn't be...
She heard that voice calling her again; it felt like a dream. She turned to the source of the voice and saw a figure at the entrance of the lab; it was a girl. Reese had to make sure if it's real.
"Sis...?" she breathed, making her way to the building. The figure disappeared inside and Reese sped up to keep up with it. Once she made a step inside, she froze at the spot.
"What are you doing?" the voice in her head asked her. She turned away and was about to walk away—there was no way this could have been real.
But before she could even leave, an arm wrapped around her from behind and a hand covered her mouth. She groaned into the palm as she was dragged inside. As she struggled and almost got away from her kidnapper, a Cryolophosaurus was summoned. Its aggressive roar made her stop and let herself get dragged inside. It wasn't wise to stand against a dinosaur with nothing.
—
It was when Zander came back in the dining room, the Alpha Scanners started to beep. Since Reese was gone, they all decided to look for her—she does make their job a little bit easier after all—their best bet was the Black Pearl, but there...
"She's never here that soon; plus Paris is still here, she'd never go into action with her," Laura told them.
"What now? We can't do much without her..." Ed sighed defeatedly. "She always gets us out of trouble."
"Have you tried calling her?" Rod wondered, raising his eyebrows; he was aware of the simpleness of the team.
"That's genuinely a good idea," Ursula admitted.
The Ancients exchanged irritated looks and Cretacia decided to call Reese herself, but nobody answered. She shook her head. Trias frowned worriedly. She tried again, getting the same result.
Sooner than she could try for the third time, the dinosaur signal disappeared and then Reese was actually the one who called the main computer; with only the output sound turned on.
She uses her bracelet that she's upgraded as a communicator, so only the sound was available.
"What do you want from me?" Reese's voice asked hatefully.
The others wondered if she's actually talking to them until a calm and cold voice replied, "I want you to cooperate."
They all were stunned to hear that voice because he was nowhere to be found for two years. Most of them were still trying to process what was going on, while one of them couldn't hold the anger back.
"Seth?! That snake's still here!" Dr. Z snapped.
"But where's here...?" Rod whispered, "of course..." He got to the other computer, searching for Reese's location.
"You can forget about that," Reese's voice replied.
"Look, I am not trying to be the bad guy here, I only need your help."
"...This is the third, oh sorry, the fourth time I've been kidnapped or held a hostage and three of those instances involved you either directly or indirectly; I don't have a single reason to trust you."
"They're at the D-lab," Rod announced, "that's where the dinosaur signal was. It would explain why the signal's suddenly gone. Seth still has the copies of the stone plates; he must have used a dinosaur to capture Reese."
Knowing where his angel is, Zander made his escape. Since all three of them were in the back, only his siblings noticed the door open and close. Ed turned around confusedly. Ursula did as well, frowning; they knew exactly where their brother headed off too and they decided to follow him.
—
Being kidnapped by the mad scientist, Reese was tied to a chair in the D-lab's main room. She knew what she should do and she managed to use her bracelet to contact the Black Pearl without letting anything be heard from the other end.
"...This is the third, oh sorry, the fourth time I've been kidnapped or held a hostage and three of those instances involved you either directly or indirectly; I don't have a single reason to trust you," she told him, glancing away. She was met with the gaze of a strange woman.
Her long silver hair was covering her left eye, her lavender-pink body had darker spots on in revealed by the short sleeves of her pink overalls, a wide metal-like belt was clenching around her back waist and sides, leaving her abdomen free. Her glowing pink eye was giving her a glance that Reese couldn't quite read.
This woman was who baited her in here in the first place. It wasn't Zoe who was calling her but this woman; her body can shapeshift because she is one of the Gel Jarks.
Reese was still looking at her, but she knew the blue-haired man smirked. The Gel Jark woman glanced at him and then walked over to Reese's back, taking the bracelet from her, turning it off.
"I should have figured you'd be clever enough to call for help," Seth told the blonde.
Reese didn't say anything.
"I don't have any intention of hurting you or any of those idiots; just make this easier for both of us."
She glared at him hatefully. "What makes you think I'll help you with anything after everything you've done?"
Her hostile tone didn't faze him at all; the smirk stayed painted on his face. "I might have made a few mistakes and doublecrossed everyone, but I've never caused anyone's death like you."
Her eyes widened. "How do you know...?"
"I have my ways of getting informed. I'll ask you one last time-"
He didn't even have a chance to continue. "What do you need help with?"
"Our scans revealed that there is a huge amount of power within you that we could use."
"...The Dark Pterosaur's power..." Reese shook her head. "Those scans lie. I've destroyed her...!"
"Liar."
"Do you expect me to provide you with the power of a goddess that almost murdered everyone including you?"
"That power could benefit all of us, not just you and me. With your research and power, we could change history," Seth explained, "we could control time. You could go back home. The Ancients could finally see their son again while being able to travel freely through time without damaging the timeline. This could even solve your heart's dilemma."
Reese closed her eyes, cringing in pain; how does dare he to use her own feelings against her? "How do you know?"
"I've already told you, haven't I?"
She turned away. "You have your ways of getting informed... Let me guess, that Gel Jark spy from the other day had a camera. It sure was clever to make it destroy itself with all the data when it got discovered." She tried her best to hide the disgust she held for such an action.
"All that praise goes to Ms. Jark here, not me." As soon as he said that, the Gel Jark woman blushed.
"Ms. Jark?"
"Yes." The Gel Jark woman bowed. "I apologize for my late introduction, Ms. Reese or Dr. Drake, whichever you prefer, I did not think it would be appropriate in this situation. I am Gelly the Gel Jark, Mr. Seth's assistant."
Reese was amazed by her politeness despite the situation. So, this must be the Gel Jark that was so close to Seth two years ago.
Seth looked to one of the monitors, noticing a movement on the security footage at the entrance to the building. "Oh, look what we have here."
"No...Not them..." Reese mouthed when she looked at the footage.
—
Meanwhile, at the entrance of the D-lab building, Zander finally stopped running, panting like crazy. His body was shaking in exhaustion and fear.
What is he going to find there? Is Reese okay? Is she even alive?
His fear didn't let him continue in.
"Zander!" a furious yell sounded behind him. He knew what was coming. He turned around and ducked to dodge Ursula's kick. Her heel hit the wall instead of his head. He straightened and blinked twice at his siblings.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Ursula yelled at him.
"What does it look like?" he snapped back, "I'm trying to save Reese."
"Confronting Seth is insane," Ed objected, "he fought Helga and Jonathan with his bare hands and won. You have no chance!"
"I can't let him hurt her! She...She means the world to me! If anything happens to her, I don't think I'll survive that..." Tears ran down Zander's cheeks. "Look, I know it's dangerous, but I can't lose her! Not like that...I can't..." He broke into uncontrollable sobs just from thinking what could happen to his angel.
Listening to his brother's despair brought tears into Ed's eyes. He curled his hands into fists determinately. "I'm with you."
"Ed..." Zander grinned at him. "Thanks." Then they looked at Ursula.
She cringed and crossed her arms. "I'll help you guys."
"Really?" the guys gasped.
"Just because I want to punch Seth in the face for doublecrossing us." She glanced away. "And you two wouldn't survive a second without me."
"Ursula, you..."
"Let's just get going!"
—
"How heartwarming," Seth mocked the trio as he watched them go inside, "Ms. Jark, you know what to do."
"Yes." Gelly nodded, taking Seth's black Dino-holder.
"Wait!" Reese stopped her. "Please, don't hurt them. Scare them away, but don't hurt them," she demanded, "please."
"Don't tell me you've grown to care for those imbeciles," Seth spoke up.
"Maybe I have." Reese bit her lip.
She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up. Gelly was smiling at her. "I will attempt not to cause any direct harm to either of them, you have my word, Ms. Reese."
"Gelly..."
The Gel Jark woman left the room.
"She doesn't seem to be the best type for interrogation or holding a hostage," Reese commented.
"She isn't," Seth admitted, "she even insisted on not tying you up, although, let's be honest, you'd try to escape before I'd even speak up."
Reese cocked her head, shrugging as if saying 'you've got a point there'.
—
On the board of the Black Pearl, the rest was still trying to figure out how to confront Seth. They were aware of his abilities. Of course, despite some of them being patient, Dr. Z couldn't wait for the moment he'd get his hands on that traitor.
While the rest was coming up with a strategy, he was quickly losing his temper. "The longer we stand here, the more time he has to escape!" he suddenly snapped.
The others looked at him.
"I won't wait another second! You three, get-!" He turned around to witness that all three of his stooges were gone. "Where are those numbskulls?!" Before he could rush out himself, Helga grabbed his coat, holding him in one place.
The rest noticed as well.
"Oh, boy...those three aren't actually that dumb, are they?" Cretacia hoped.
Rod and Laura looked at each other and sighed. "Yes, they are..."
"I believe Reese is able to take care of herself," Trias said, "however, I doubt those three are capable of that. We should go."
—
The trio was walking through the D-lab's corridor, fearing of any potential ghosts appearing, but being met with something else than a ghost.
"That's you!" Zander gasped when Gelly stepped in their way. "You took that Cryolophosaurus card! ...where is she? Where's Reese?"
Gelly smiled calmly, closing her eye. "She is safe." When the human Gel Jark opened her eyes, she was glaring at them dangerously. "I demand you to leave before you get in harm's way."
"I am not leaving without my angel!"
"Leave," Gelly warned the three and summoned the Cryolophosaurus.
The Alpha Gang backed away in fear, knowing how strong the dinosaur is.
"Zander, go!" Ed commanded.
"What...?"
"Reese needs you, just go! Tank and I can distract them."
"But-"
"Just go already!" Ursula kicked Zander away angrily, encouraging him to go on without them.
—
"You're thinking about accepting my request, are you?" Seth wondered, smirking.
"No, I'm not," Reese growled, trying to glance away.
"Liar."
"So are you."
He leaned over to her and was about to say something when he was suddenly knocked down.
Reese watched as the mad scientist received a punch after a punch from none other than Zander. It was strange, Seth wouldn't let anyone beat him up like that. He didn't seem amused by those attacks. No, he was letting Zander think he has an advantage, waiting for his time to strike.
Seth kicked his attacker in the stomach and pinned him down to the ground.
"Zander, no!"
"Have you really thought I'd be that easy to beat?" he asked almost devilishly before letting go of him, standing up and turning his attention to the monitors.
The Alpha Gang member crawled to his feet and charged at him again. Seth just pushed him away no problem.
Reese couldn't just watch him be pushed around like that, but what could she do...? As Zander collapsed to the floor again, something kicked in. "Seth, don't ever touch my boyfriend again!" she cried.
Hearing those words, Zander's heart leaped and his body gained new strength. He jumped to his feet, ready to strike again when out of nowhere, the whole building started to shake.
"What is the-"
"The lab's collapsing," Reese realized, parts of the already broken ceiling falling around her.
"It must be the dino battle," Seth concluded and his eyes widened, "Gelly!" He pulled a flash disk out of a computer and ran away. "I recommend you to get out of here. Now!"
Zander just stood there, panting, processing what just happened. A boulder falling next to him snapped him back into reality. He got to Reese, untying her. Once she was free, she stood up and hugged him tightly.
"Are you okay, my angel?" he asked worriedly, returning the hug.
"That's what I should be asking you!" she reproached him, "we gotta get out."
"Right!" Zander went ahead while Reese grabbed her bracelet, however, he tripped, hitting the floor once more.
Reese helped him to stand up, but he couldn't walk properly; his fall sprained his ankle. She wrapped her arm around him and helped him out.
—
Ursula and Ed managed to escape, followed by Gelly; they were met with the rest of the Black Pearl's crew. Sooner than they could explain why they headed off without a word, Seth also got out, receiving hateful glares from everyone.
It would be so easy to get him right there and then if it wasn't for one detail; Reese and Zander were still inside and that was a much greater concern than revenge.
—
Reese had a hard time dragging the tall man through the rubble on the ground. The building was becoming more and more unstable the longer they took.
"We're almost there!" Reese reassured him when the made the last turn in the corridor, seeing the light of the outside.
Several parts of the ceiling fell down, blocking space of the entrance; there was still a little bit of space left, but if they take a longer, they could get trapped.
"We have to hurry!"
"Leave me here, my angel... I'm only slowing you down," Zander pleaded her, "go and save yourself."
"And leave you to die? Never."
"Why?"
"Because I can't leave you!" she snapped at him, losing her temper in the stress, "I can't do that. I...I love you, Zander! I can't just leave you behind!"
Her voice echoed through the corridor and he stared at her in utter surprise before...
He shot his head up to see boulders falling right at them. He listened to his instincts and bent over Reese to protect her.
The rubble was about to hit his back but never did. They looked up and saw Helga, Jonathan, and a Gel Jark in its original form holding the rubble.
"Guys..."
"Gelly too...?" Reese gazed in amaze, but then realized what they should do with this given chance. She dragged Zander outside as fast as she could.
Once those two were out of danger, Jonathan looked at Helga. "Go, I'll hold it."
The female android shot a glare at him. "I am much faster. You go."
"But-"
The Gel Jark beeped while her pink eye was blinking. Only the two androids could understand her; she was going to let them escape while she holds the rubble. They both nodded as the Gel Jark's body extended around the rubble, helping them escape.
The couple rushed outside, followed by the androids.
The building collapsed and a lavender-pink slime crawled out of the rubble, leaving immediately with Seth.
That was none of their worries as Reese and Zander stared at each other.
"Did you mean that?" he asked her, "did you mean what you said there?"
She took his hand. "I..." Her cheeks reddened at his tensed gaze. She sighed to relieve her stress. "I did. I meant everything I said."
"Reese..."
"I love you."
He released the breath he didn't realize he was holding. He cupped her cheek, smiling. "I love you too. I always have...since the moment I first saw you I knew that I want to be with you. I'll come with you."
"What?"
"I'll come with you to the present so we can be together. If you want me to of course."
"I do."
They leaned in and their lips met as they held onto one another.
The others watched in shock, seeing that they finally got together.
They pulled away, smiling.
Their moment was interrupted by a cough. They turned to the others awkwardly, blushing.
—
Once they came back to the HQ, they were met with Ellie and Jeremy. It was time.
The freckled blonde was shaking like crazy when she asked to talk to Zander in private. Of course, it wasn't so private because their families listened behind the opened door, forcing Reese to listen as well as both Ursula and Jeremy held her there.
"O-okay, just...don't freak out, please..." Ellie stuttered.
"I'll try," Zander replied, rubbing the back of his head.
"Just tell him already," Jeremy murmured behind the door.
"We don't have the whole day," Dr. Z growled.
"I don't like eavesdropping so just let me go," Reese complained, but Ursula held her in one place.
"No. You two are dating now, so you should know about anything between him and his ex," Ursula explained, receiving a strange glare from the scientist.
"I also think you should know about that," Ed told the blonde.
"This is just rude," Laura commented.
"Leave them be, we can't do anything about that," Rod told her.
"Okay...Fine..." Ellie's pants sounded from the room.
"It's okay, take your time," Zander reassured her.
Ellie took a deep breath and the next thing she knew was that her own voice loudly announced her pregnancy with Zander's child.
"She's what?!" everyone who had no idea gasped.
The one with the biggest trouble taking it in was Zander. After a while of staring, he fainted.
Ursula smirked and glanced at Jeremy. "Looks like I win the bet." He glared at her, giving her 10 yen.
"How was I supposed to know he'd faint?"
Zander got a hold of himself, sitting up with a huge grin painted on his face. "I'm going to be a father... I can't believe that. I'm going to be a father!" he cried in happiness. He jumped to his feet and hugged Ellie tightly. "That's amazing! Is...Is that why-"
"Yes. I was nervous about telling you, so I rather broke up with you. I needed to handle it myself first. And... It didn't really work out between us... I hope you know what I mean."
"I do... We weren't meant to be a couple...but, Ellie, I'll make sure to be the best father our child could ever have."
"I hoped for nothing more. Live your life as you want, just-"
"Be a father, I know."
Despite her boyfriend's indescribable happiness, Reese couldn't help but worry. Not because the pregnancy itself could endanger their relationship, but because of what he said before.
"I'll come with you to the present so we can be together."
In complete silence, she left. The others were talking to her, but she ignored them until-
"Angel!"
She stopped and turned around.
"Where are you going?" Zander asked her, "this doesn't mean that Ellie and I could get together or anything."
"That's not it..."
"Then what-"
"You can't come with me, not now when you're going to be a father. You can't leave your child for me, leaving it to wonder why its father's gone. Or do you want it to ask the same question as you?" she wondered, tears forming in her eyes.
"I...I don't want that, but what about us? Did all of that mean nothing to you?" He took her hand.
"No...This isn't about us anymore! It doesn't matter what we do, we're going to suffer either way. We'll either be separated or one of us will lose a family; I'd rather have only the two of us hurt than hurting more innocents."
"You're so caring and I love that about you, my angel..."
"I love you too..." She whipped her hand from his grip. "I'll have to accept the fact that you could never be mine..."
"Please...don't use my own words against me..." he pleaded, trying to reach her, but she slipped away, walking her own way, "my angel..." Tears were running down his cheeks.
Ellie walked over to him. "I'm so sorry...it's all my fault if I hadn't-"
"No. You aren't to blame for that. Reese is just very responsible," he reassured her, "she doesn't want to hurt people again. ...she's wonderful..." He stumbled away with his head and hair hanging down sadly.
"I'm sorry..." Ellie murmured.
"And we're where we started!" Ursula rolled her eyes, crossing her arms.
"I don't get it!" Jeremy shrieked, "why doesn't she just stay here? It's so obvious she wants that."
"Because she's afraid of her own guilt," Trias said, "Reese doesn't want to risk anything by depending on her emotions. If either of them left their respective time eras, it could corrupt the timeline."
The bartender raised his eyebrows. "And how exactly?"
"Hm...We've accidentally corrupt the timeline once as well," Ed remembered and brought a whiteboard just like the last time.
Rod shook at the reminder of that. "Ugh...I can't view vegetables the same way again after that experience..."
Ed started drawing on the board. "Reese's presence or absence could have an effect on the past and the future, causing what's known as the butterfly effect. And the same would happen if Zander went with her. He could accidentally temper with her relationships with others, avoiding important moments in our history."
"Great, so we're going to have to listen to all Zander's whining again because of her stupid fear," Dr. Z complained, "what's the worst that can happen if she stays here?"
"History would be changed forever and we might be wiped out of existence," Trias opposed.
"Didn't seem a big problem when you left your son in the past," Ursula reminded him.
"That was a completely different situation. He was always meant to stay there. When we came back two years ago, I found evidence of his effect on the past, including a book we've all seen."
"Then let's just check on Reese's presence in the past," Laura suggested.
Cretacia shook her head. "Our future's formed by our own actions affected by our personalities and experiences, not by some script," she quoted one of Rex's friends, "Reese should decide if she stays herself, not based on some timeline."
Trias looked at her with concern. "Do you realize that that puts all of us in danger?"
"I do. And I realized that even when we first decided to travel through time."
He nodded.
—
Reese collapsed on her bed, crying. She rubbed her eyes from beneath her glasses. "I should have known...I have to pay for my sins like that...Although, why does Zander suffer as well...?"
"Because you're the one hurting him," she heard that deep female voice that made her blood freeze. The Dark Pterosaur...
She quickly sat up, seeing an older woman with long gray hair falling into her right eye, both of her eyes were like tiny dark obsidians on her pale face scarred by a devilish grin.
"Zepar...?"
"In all my glory!"
"What are you doing here...?" Reese breathed, shaking her head, "no...you're dead...! You should be gone!"
"First of all, we both know that isn't quite true; how else would you not feel the pain of your wounds? And second of all, who said I'm even real, Creator?"
"What do you want? Why are you here now?!" Reese swiftly stood up.
"Look, Creator, I'm something like your conscious. Or rather a ghost of your past." Zepar started pacing around the room. "You just need someone to talk to and I'm your best bet since I can pretty much turn into anyone."
"I don't understand."
"Alright then." Zepar massaged her temple and shrugged, changing her appearance into a teenage girl with short blonde and brunette hair wrapped around by a purple bandanna.
"Kyra..."
"You need cheering up, Ree?!" She enthusiastically grabbed the scientist's hands.
"Or reassuring?" She hugged her, turning into a chubby brunet man with glasses.
That didn't help Reese at all.
The devil was about to transform again, but she got pushed away, changing into her normal form.
"No! I don't need you to remind me of what I would leave behind if I decided to stay. I can't! As much as I want to, I can't do that..."
"Why not? And don't you dare tell me it's because of what you've done! Sure, you've wanted to make others happy, change the timeline and depended purely on your emotions in your decisions and everything went, excuse my wording, to shit! But does that mean it has to have the same result every time? No! There's a reason why you were sent here! You have a chance to be happy and you're about to throw that off the window! Just tell me...What do you want?!"
"I... I want to be..." Reese murmured.
"Didn't hear that!"
"I want to be with Zander," she said determinately.
"That's right!"
"...why are you the one cheering me up?"
Zepar shrugged. "How am I supposed to know?" She knocked on Reese's forehead. "This is in your head. I'm not even real."
"Well, I am sure having weird dreams..."
"Yeah, you might wanna talk to someone about that."
Reese suddenly opened her eyes, uncovering them. She looked around, making sure it was really a dream. It didn't matter to her if it was real or not, her mind was right.
—
"We gotta do something!"
"Right! We can't let those two break up like that!" Dr. Z and Ursula growled in the living room; the others finally left.
"Why are you so concerned about Zander's relationship with Reese all of a sudden?" Ed wondered.
"We're not concerned!" they snapped at him.
"Oh, sure..." He glared at them both intensely, trying to convince them to confess the truth. He's heard that pressure like that could break some people.
After having Ed staring at them like that for three minutes, they gave up.
"Fine! I do care about you three! Happy?!" Dr. Z snapped.
"Actually, I am." Ed closed his eyes, smiling in delight.
"Yeah, I do care as well," Ursula admitted, "but the fact that Zander wouldn't stop whining plays a bigger role. We gotta get them back together or that idiot's going to kill himself."
"But what?"
At that moment, their Alpha Scanners went off, signaling another dinosaur in downtown. That gave Dr. Z an idea. "You know, you could force them into working together."
"That's it!" Ursula turned to Ed. "Bring me two specific dinosaurs from the ship and then we'll each grab one of those lovebirds."
"Roger!"
—
Not long after being told there was a dinosaur signal, Zander was being forcefully dragged into an Alpha Craft by Ursula. Once at the place, she tossed him his Scanner. He only frowned as a Carcharodontosaurus roamed around the city. He wasn't even bothered by the fact that Ed wasn't with them.
His brother actually joined in soon with Reese following him.
The couple only glanced at each other. Seeing that Zander wasn't in a mood to talk, Reese stayed quiet.
Meanwhile, Ursula and Ed summoned Terry and Tank, quietly reminding them of what they agreed to, meaning, at least pretend to fight for a while and then get defeated so Zander and Reese can fight without getting suspicious of the plan.
It didn't take long for the Carcharodontosaurus to knock the T-Rex and the Saichania down since they didn't even try for the plan.
The couple got yelled at by Ursula; they knew it's up to them now. However, when Reese took the grass card Ed gave her and Zander took a card out of his Alpha Scanner, they found out that those weren't their cards, but the Saurolophus duo instead. As Zander panicked, not knowing what to do, Reese didn't hesitate and summoned the Saurolophus with a green crest.
He looked around, calling for his mate.
Reese stroked his head. "You'll get to be with her again, I promise, but right now I need your help."
He called out again sadly.
Zander felt such sympathy towards the dinosaur. He swiped his card to summon the orange Saurolophus.
The dinosaur couple immediately nuzzled each other.
"That's so sweet," Zander murmured.
"Now's not the time for romance," Reese said strictly, stabbing Zander's heart.
The Carcharodontosaurus proved her point by shooting a Fire Canon at them. The male Saurolophus was the first one to notice. He pushed his mate away, getting a hit for her, although, Reese, who was standing behind him, didn't manage to dodge. He was thrown away by the impact, taking Reese with him.
His back hit a building while she landed on the ground near him, her glasses falling down and cracking.
Zander and the female stared worriedly.
"Well, that didn't go as planned," Ursula commented.
"You think?" Ed glared at her puzzlingly.
"Grr! Zander, catch!" Ursula yelled at her older brother, tossing several grass move cards to him.
He caught them and immediately used one of them, the one he claimed to hate so much. While Metal Wing's Pteranodons distracted the carnivore, he and the Saurolophus rushed to the attacked; it wasn't easy for him since his ankle still hurt.
"My angel!" Zander wrapped his arms around Reese. "Are you hurt?"
"Zander...?" The two amethysts opened. Without her glasses, everything was fuzzy.
"Angel!" He gasped, stroking her cheek. She took his hand as he did. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me..."
"I'm so sorry, I-"
"What are you apologizing for?" Reese wondered, "I'm the one who hurt you." She planted a sweet kiss on his cheek. "What I said wasn't fair towards you... I love-"
He pressed his fingers to her lips before she could continue. "As you said, now's not the time for romance." She smiled at him and nodded.
The Saurolophus nuzzled each other again. The couples got up ready to battle by one another's side.
"Alright, let's stop that 'Caraorthodontosaurus', you two!" Zander told the dinosaurs and they charged at the carnivore.
"Um...Zan... It's called a Carcharodontosaurus," Reese corrected him.
"Oh, really? So, that's how it's pronounced!" He beamed at his angel's knowledge while the dinosaur fight was going on.
She couldn't hold back her smile at his excitement. She then turned her attention to the battle. "We must figure out her weakness if we want to win. Though, I have no clue what could it be."
"That's easy! Its jaws," he replied, grinning.
"How do you know that?"
"When we first encountered it, one of the br—I mean, Rex defeated it by hitting its jaws."
"Of course... We have to immobilize the Carcharodontosaurus and have the Metal Wing attack. ...how do we do that?"
Zander took her hand cautiously. "Together."
Reese reached into the coat for a move card. "Thorn Whip should do the trick-"
"Wait." Zander took her other hand. "Why don't we go for a fusion?" He gave her one of his move cards.
She blinked at him twice. "Okay..."
The couple turned to the battle. "Saurolophus! Emerald Garden!" Zander swiped the card through the Alpha Scanner and Reese put hers to the iron plate pinned to the inside of the coat, activating the move.
Both Saurolophus shot a green ball each at the Carcharodontosaurus and surrounded it by a strange garden that drained its power twice as fast.
"Pteranodons, now!"
As the carnivore was struggling with Emerald Garden, she attempted to shoot another fireball, but then the Pteranodons hit her jaw at their highest speed at once, resulting in the Carcharodontosaurus turning into a card.
"We did it! We did it!" Zander celebrated and hugged Reese. He looked at her with a wide grin. It was wiped away when he was snapped back into reality. Looking at her reminded him of their argument. "Sorry..." He pulled away.
Reese wrapped her arms around him tightly, shaking her head as it was buried in his chest. "I'm sorry for what I said...You were about to sacrifice everything you know just to be with me and I wasn't able to do the same for you..."
"It's alright, Reese." He stroked her hair and rubbed her back. "The important thing is if it makes you happy."
"I've never been very good with relationships, but..." She looked up at him. "Even I know that two lovers shouldn't be separated."
"My angel..."
"I'll stay here."
"What?"
"I'll stay here so we can be together. If you want me to of course."
"I do... I-I do. I do!" he cried in happiness, kissing all over her face, making her chuckle.
"I love you."
"Wait! But what about your family? What about everyone you know?" he wondered.
"They'll manage to pull through without me. The D-lab is in good hands with Dr. Taylor. My assistant Justin can handle all the technology there too. I don't have to worry about anything messing up because Rex manages to solve all problems. My parents would be happy for me; I'd soon move away either way. And as for Zoe, she's never needed me in the first place; she can take care of herself, I'm sure of that. We're still working on getting the time machine fixed, so it doesn't mean I'll never see them again."
"So, that's your final decision...?"
Reese nodded. "Final decision. You're my reason to stay."
He grinned. "I'm more your 'ReeZan'," he joked.
"Silly," she chuckled and kissed him.
Their Saurolophus partners pushed them closer, making them laugh.
"We're all a pretty good team," he admitted.
"We are. What do you think, Amour?" Reese patted the male Saurolophus. He roared in agreement.
"Amour?"
"They need names, don't they?"
"Right..." Zander glanced at the female Saurolophus. They both tilted their heads as they were looking at one another. "Hm...What about Sarah?" The Saurolophus nudged him, roaring happily. "I'll take that as a yes."
Watching from the distance, Ursula and Ed could only grin at their first successful plan.
—
"Okay, try these," Cretacia told Reese on board of the Black Pearl, handing her glasses similar to her own.
Reese put them on, however, her surroundings were still fuzzy for her. "It's nice of you, but I doubt we have the same dioptries."
"Just give it a sec!" The blonde winked at her.
"Providing a biometric scan," a male AI voice said from the glasses, "scanning eye condition. Adjusting." Suddenly, her view was back to normal.
"Wow..."
"J can't only adjust to your eyesight, he's also great as a spy tool or a research assistant," Cretacia explained.
"J..." Reese turned to Zander. "How do I look in these?"
He stared at her breathlessly, his face all red.
"Um, Zan? You okay?"
He grinned stupidly. "I sure have the most gorgeous girlfriend in the world...No matter what you wear."
Reese blushing, smiling back.
"Are you certain you want to stay here?" Trias asked her.
"To be honest, I've never been more sure in my entire life." She walked over to her boyfriend. Zander's face was still red. "We're tied together by the steel chains of love."
He hugged her tightly. "That's the sweetest thing anyone's ever told me!"
"That's what you told me the second time we met." She returned the embrace.
—
Finally, all ReeZan issues are solved! Okay, this time I went with a song from The Greatest Showman for the title because the song resembles the ReeZan situation perfectly; it was also suggested to me a while ago by Raven, so yeah, I've made a video for that song too.
I must admit that I haven't planned it being so long.
But hey, Seth is back, that's cool! Right? Haha...right...?
Yes, J is back, but other being an AI, he has nothing to do with J from the original OoTaS. If you don't know anything about him from the original, then let it be; it isn't important here. He's basically E.D.I.T.H. from MCU.
As for Gelly, she is technically an OC, but not quite an OC since she is based on something that already exists in the anime, just like Zepar or the dinos. Either way, the idea for Gelly came from Raven and me.
Anyways, I'm gonna leave you with ReeZan and Amour and Sarah being a team! Bye for now!