Battle of the Sacred Essences

by Thunderblade

The dinosaur realm will never be the same! A strange creature has invaded the Great Valley that claims to be from the future with a disturbing past. Littlefoot is intrigued by it but he is have some bizarre dreams of his own. [Complete!]

21. Part 19: Fight and Flight

Chapter 66: The Might of Magic

Jill and the Red Phoenix stood at opposite ends of the room staring each other down. Their hand were sparking and crackling deep radiant colours like a magical fireworks display. Sergeant Stone and the dinosaur kids watched from their prisons with baited breath, anxious and nervous to see what was going to happen. The Red Phoenix then chuckled and placed a hand on her hip as she looked Jill over.

"Who would have thought the spiritual stone of soul would have found its way to you. Another under Westwood's jurisdiction. What a fool for wishing such a dream and not knowing that practically everything he needed was right under his nose," she said smirking, "tell me this Ms. Fielding. How did you keep the spiritual stone hidden from Westwood yet managed to rise up through the ranks?"

"If you must know, it was all unintentional. It wasn't until all this happened that I started to realise," Jill said flicking her hair out of her eyes smiling, "you seemed to do a pretty good job of concealing your stone from Westwood."

"And why do you think that?"

"Considering you were the most respected scientist in the energetics department. Head of the expedition to the Andes which, surprisingly enough, I was leading the military group sent out to protect your team. Never a day went by without me hearing your name and it was never on a negative note you'll be pleased to hear."

"So…we have brushed shoulders on a number of occasions then," the Red Phoenix said smiling.

"There was however one occasion that I regretted meeting up with you…" Jill then said seriously.

"Pray tell," the Red Phoenix encouraged.

"That day…seven years ago. When we stormed your lab on the twenty-second floor. Westwood had summoned you and you refused to co-operate. Jason was with you and you grabbed him and fled. I never thought I would see the day when I would have to raise my rifle with the order to kill on sight. I almost couldn't do it but Captain Hunter would have shot me dead for failing to carry out a direct order." The gang all gasped at Jill's story.

"Jill tried to kill Jason and his mother in the past!" Ali whispered in shock. The other looked at her blankly before turning to the two of them again.

"But I heard that there was an outstandingly accurate sharpshooter within the squadron and she easily had the highest intruder neutralisation record of the entire company. I remember looking up that person's profile but I didn't recognise the name. A marksman who had an accuracy percentage of no lower than eighty-two percent during training exercises; that was in all weapon classes."

"Yep, that's right. Only one woman in the entire squad got an average that high. Wiped the floor with everyone, " Stone said astoundingly but Jill through him a dirty look and he silenced immediately.

"Impressive yes but that's what puzzles me…How can someone with such a perfect record be such a lousy shot on two targets who could have easily been mown down in a single shot each?" the Red Phoenix probed. Jill fell silent as her mind replayed the very gunfight from seven years ago.

"Well Jill?" Stone asked greatly intrigued.

"I…I…deliberately missed…I shot everywhere else except directly at you…" she sighed.

"Why?" Stone asked shocked.

"I…I just couldn't do it. Someone who I respected…I couldn't kill you…either of them," Jill replied weakly, "with everything that had happened in the world, with the viral outbreak, the death and destruction back then…I didn't want them to be another statistic…another fatality in the death toll of the human race's darkest hour."

"So you spared us to allow us to escape the complex alive?" the Red Phoenix asked again sounding slightly bewildered. Jill nodded solemnly.

"And I was hoping you would. I didn't account for director Westwood to be waiting for you," she said, "I was also hoping you'd escape for another reason."

"And what was that? You've let out everything until now so you may as well tell me…" the Red Phoenix told her still very intrigued. She seemed very sedated and peaceful as she hung on Jill's every word.

"I was hoping that, with all the chaos happening…I hoped you would be the one to brave all of it and help find a cure for the virus that plagued every living creature on the face of the Earth."

Jill lowered her eyes feeling defeated and forsaken. The gang all looked at each other and up again at Jill, all moved yet shocked by her story. Even Sergeant Stone was unable to utter a single word as he flicked between Jill and the Red Phoenix who sighed and turned her head to one side.

"Jill…despite our reputations preceding us…I…I am sorry that I could not carry out your wishes back then. If Westwood hadn't shot me and killed me that time seven years ago…I probably would have done exactly that…" the Red Phoenix said very apologetically which completely bamboozled the gang, "I honestly believe that what you said was entirely genuine…and I am grateful about you commending me on my work…" Jill looked up at the Red Phoenix and she smiled warmly.

"But, as they say……" she continued," …a dying tongue never lies…"

"What!" Jill gasped flabbergasted as the Red Phoenix's smile turned very devilish.

"What? What did she mean by that?" Cera asked the rest of the group but they all gaped as they watched the Red Phoenix suddenly fire a glowing ball directly at Jill whilst she was off-guard.

"Jill, look out!" Ali screamed fretfully. Jill threw her arms up to shield herself from the surprise attack just as it made contact. The force of the ball knocked her backwards and tossed her into the wall. Jill winced on impact as she peeled off the wall and dropped to her hands and knees gasping from breath. All the while, the Red Phoenix was cackling.

"You stupid fool! Did you really think you could win me over with your sop-story? Thought I was going to 'mend my ways and fight for the better cause'? Don't make me laugh! My path is clear-cut and I will not stray from it. And all those in the way, will be mown down in my progress leaving them to wither away."

"You soulless…" Jill choked still trying to recover her stamina as the Red Phoenix charged up again.

"Reputations can be built and remain implanted in one's thoughts but the person responsible for building that reputation in the first instance can grow, develop and leave that behind to start a new one," she babbled. Jill staggered trying to stand up but she couldn't get her knees to move. She looked up at the Red Phoenix again to see her prime her next attack.

"As you sit pinned there, I'll leave you with your last few thoughts of the destruction your power is about to cause," she said laughing sinisterly. With that, the Red Phoenix swung her hand around and launched another energy ball at her which sparked lividly. In amongst the approaching ball and the terrified cries from Littlefoot and his friends, Jill began to panic still unable to move. Suddenly, she felt her knee joints flicker warm as she pleaded with her body to shift. To her surprise, her knees gave way forcing her head up in perfect line with the glowing ball. Unable to dodge it, Jill swung a free hand at it and struck the energy ball sending it shooting off to the right-hand wall where it fizzled out feebly. Feeling her strength returning, Jill slowly stood up enraged at the Red Phoenix's last words as she stood, fairly gobsmacked, on the opposite side glaring at her.

"Enough talk…" Jill said slowly and powerfully, "it's time for you to return to the hellhole you spawned from…" The Red Phoenix sniggered placing one hand on her hip.

"Fine…I was hoping for a challenge. Let's see if our powers can match up to our reputations shall we?"

Both women eyed each other loathingly, waiting for the other to make a move. The air was a gripping phantom robbing everybody of their voices and wrapping them in an awestruck suspense. Jill's hand felt hot and itchy as she and her opponent stood like two cowboys in a showdown. The Red Phoenix twitched which instantly sparked off Jill. Almost as if someone had shouted the word "DRAW!", both of them shot a beam of light at each other which clashed in the centre of the room. Sparks and glowing stars flew off at all angles as the two beams tussled in the middle like a game of tug-o-war in reverse. Jill struggled and strained as she pushed with all her might, focusing on her beam of emerald green while the Red Phoenix's beam of sparkling silver fought back with equal measure. The gang were amazed at the bright, flickering lights that erupted from the beams. The watched engrossed as the two semi-circles of green and silver inched one way and then the other like a pendulum. The Red Phoenix was pushing harder to force her energy through Jill's but she retaliated and just knocked it back. After a tense few moments, neither Jill nor the Red Phoenix appeared to be weakening. Their energy levels were still extremely high and if it continued, they would burn each out and no one would win.

"Damn…she's stronger than I realised…" the Red Phoenix thought continuing to force her energy forwards, "this is pointless. She's not going to give in…we'll be at this until we've wasted away to nothing. I've gotta do something…"

On the opposite side, Jill was refusing to back down. She could slowly feel her endurance slipping but she could tell that the Red Phoenix was at the same stage as the stalemate between their combating powers waged on.

"I…can't…be…defeated yet…" she told herself, "I can't…allow myself…to lose to…this she-devil…" With her determination driving her on, she tried to push even harder, forcing her beam through the Red Phoenix's. All of a sudden, Jill felt something. It was a jolt, as if something had given way slightly. She was shocked to feel her beam slowly inching further and further away from her. She then heard excited yelps over the roaring of the blazing beams of light. Littlefoot and his friends were cheering as they watched Jill's green energy beam working its way closer to the Red Phoenix as she struggled to keep it back.

"Go on Jill!" Littlefoot called to her eagerly.

"Yeah! Get her Jill!" Petrie yelled taking flight to get an aerial view.

"Go Jill! Go!" Cera an Ali chanted in unison.

"YAY! She is winning! Yep, yep, yep!" Ducky chirped ecstatically.

"I'm winning…I'm winning!" Jill thought excitedly as she heard the Red Phoenix struggling and groaning, trying to fight back.

"Yes! I AM winning!" she then called aloud.

"Correction…you WERE winning," the Red Phoenix then hissed malevolently as Jill's green beam came as close as half a metre away from its target and then froze in its tracks. With an evil smile, the Red Phoenix then forced her energy back and it was regaining the ground it had once lost. The gang gasped in horror as they saw Jill's beam of light start to recede and shorten. Jill panicked and tried bravely to fight back but she couldn't stop it from gaining the advantage over her.

"Dammit!" she cursed as she felt her strength weakening leaving her unable to recover.

"You let your guard down! You let that one brief moment of excitement break your concentration," the Red Phoenix told her haughtily, "you're mine now!" The warring beam of clashing energy was now three-quarters of the way silver and was continuing to lengthen. Despite her valiant efforts, Jill could feel her arms starting to tremble and ache. If she didn't fight back, she'd be finished since she had no room or time to dodge the blast once her beam gave in.

"N-nn…nooo…" she strained feeling her power dwindling, "I can't…lose now…"

"The sad part for you dear is…you already have," the Red Phoenix replied flatly. With that, she gave another vigorous push to get her silver beam to pierce Jill's.

Seeing Jill beginning to buckle under the force, the gang could only watch as she dropped to one knee but still struggled to fight back any way she could.

"Oh no! Jill can't hold out much longer! We have to do something!" Ali cried anxiously.

"But what? We are still trapped behind this funny wall thingy!" Ducky complained.

"Littlefoot! Why don't you try splashing tears on it like you did with the last one?" Cera suggested.

"I tried it, it didn't work," he replied glumly.

"Me no know how she can do that," Petrie said pondering.

"Do what Petrie?" Ducky asked.

"Make that bright, flashy light and still keep glowy wall stay up too," he said.

"I do not know either but…" Ducky started but she stopped in mid-speech. She hummed curiously and then whispered something in Spike's ear. The others looked at her puzzled.

"What're you two whispering about?" Cera muttered but they both ignored her.

"What are you two up to?" Ali asked as she watched Spike back up as far as he could.

"Okay…ready Spike?" Ducky prepped; Spike's face turned serious and he nodded, "Then GO!" Pawing the ground with one foot, Spike then leapt forward and charged only to crash into the magic barrier headfirst.

"That is it Spike! Do it again!" Ducky cheered as he went back to charge again.

"Are you two crazy or something? Why are you ramming yourselves into the wall like a head-basher!" Cera asked shocked and a little embarrassed.

"Do not ask now, just help!" Ducky shouted as she shoulder-barged the wall, "Yay! Way to go Spike! We will be out in no time!" Littlefoot, Ali, Cera and Petrie all looked at each other greatly confused.

"What is she planning?" Petrie mumbled.

"I dunno…" Ali said blankly.

"I think they've lost their minds," Cera snorted indignantly.

"Well, we've got no other plan so we may as well help," Littlefoot suggested backing up to take a run at the barrier. Shrugging, the others stepped in line to assist.

Meanwhile, the Red Phoenix was cackling gleefully as she watched Jill, still barely clinging on to the battle, writhing to keep her stamina going. She was on her knees but her beam remained up and continuing the fight.

"This fight is fruitless," she sniggered at Jill, "why don't you just give up?"

"I'll never admit…defeat…to…the likes of you Phoenix!" Jill snapped exhaustedly.

"You just don't know when to quit do you?" she snarled. As she focused to finish Jill off, the Red Phoenix suddenly heard a squeaky voice holler from one corner of the room.

"What are those troublesome tykes up to now?" she thought trying to listen in. She was alarmed to hear Ducky shouting out that they had nearly broken through her magic prison.

"That is it guys! We are nearly free and then we can go and help Jill!" she heard Ducky call joyfully. Glancing at them quickly, the Red Phoenix saw the six of them ramming and barging the barrier which kept them imprisoned and they seemed excited about escaping.

"One more guys! One more together!" Ducky chanted, "Last one and we are out!"

"No you don't!" the Red Phoenix shouted flinging one hand around to them and firing a pink beam at the barrier as they rampaged forward like an advancing legion. The beam of light beat them to the wall and it flashed lividly re-enforcing the energy holding it up. The gang ploughed into the wall and bounced off it like beach balls, landing in six untidy heaps.

"You're not going anywhere!" the Red Phoenix snorted eyeing them all threateningly.

"You and your big beak Ducky!" Cera barked irritably, "We were nearly out but you had to shout out 'One more! Just one more!'." Ducky, not listening to Cera's mocking remarks, hopped on top of Ali, cupped her hand around her beak and shouted out to Jill.

"Quick Jill! You must do it now!"

"What!" the Red Phoenix gawked turning back to Jill who had leapt up to her feet and was glaring at her.

"Gotcha!" she whispered darkly as she forced her energy through the Red Phoenix's unfocused beam. Gasping, the Red Phoenix swung her second hand back to her silvery beam which was being obliterated by Jill's emerald green energy.

"N-no! How did!" she cried unable to hold it back. Ducky giggled with delight as Jill's attack fought back hungrily.

"YOU TRICKED ME!" the Red Phoenix yelled hotly.

"I did it! It worked!" Ducky chattered happily.

"That was your plan Ducky?" Littlefoot asked still a little lost.

"Oh yes, yes, yes! I knew that we could not break through the glowing wall, so I tricked her into thinking that we were so Jill could rest, if only for a little while," Ducky explained with a wide smile.

"I geddit! You made her magic light weaker so Jill could fight back! Great job Ducky!" Littlefoot exclaimed jovially.

"What! So we were butting our heads against that wall for nothing!" Cera barked angrily but the others glared at her making her curl up and not say a word.

"Damn you…I was manipulated…by a juvenile!" the Red Phoenix growled as she strained with Jill's attack as it gradually overpowered her.

"That's right! She played you and played you good! And I'm gonna finish it…" Jill said smiling rather sinisterly. With one last roar, Jill's entire body lit up and her beam charged forward, ploughing through the remainder of the Red Phoenix's. In a blink of an eye, the Red Phoenix had disappeared in the green stream of glittering, destructive energy which tore through the brick work leaving nothing but a gaping, sizzling hole in the wall next to the shattered stained-glass window. Panting heavily, Jill lowered her hands to marvel at her victory. The Red Phoenix was nowhere to be seen and she didn't even utter a whimper as she was vaporized by Jill's awesome magic power.

"I did it," she said slowly, wiping the pouring sweat from her damp brow, "the Red Phoenix is no more…" Jill stood up and looked over to the sound of excited chatter and melodious cheering. She smiled and made her way over to Littlefoot and the gang.

"Wow Jill! That was amazing!" Littlefoot chirped.

"Yeah Jill! You got her good!" Ali cheered merrily.

"I have Ducky to thank for that," Jill said pointing to the little saurolophus who had become extremely shy, "if Ducky hadn't tricked her into thinking you were breaking out, I would've been reduced to mere smoking embers. Thank you Ducky. That was some sharp thinking."

"It is alright Jill. I just wanted to help you. Everyone helped me as well. Yep, yep, yep!" Ducky replied with an even broader smile than normal.

"I guess I better spring you outta that lousy, pink bowl. Stand back, I'll blast ya out."

The gang all shuffled backwards to get as far away from Jill's side of the barrier as possible. Jill took a deep breath, stepped back and raised her hands to the barrier. Just as her hands started to glow, Jill suddenly winced and toppled forward landing on her hands and knees as if something had struck her in the back. All six of them jetted forward to see if she was all right but they gasped as they saw a cackling figure slowly make its way towards Jill's fallen position.

"I'm afraid I can't allow you to do that Jill. These little darlings are still in a time-out for aggressive and inappropriate behaviour towards their superior."

"The Red Phoenix!" everyone wailed in horror.

"Right the first time!" she replied eyeing them all as she approached steadily.

"B…b-bb-but…how!" Littlefoot stammered open-mouthed.

"'Instant Translocation'. A little thing I picked up from one of my son's many classic cartoon shows. Instant teleportation from one place to another. What a neat, little trick wouldn't you agree? Who says cartoons don't teach you anything? Saved my hide," the Red Phoenix said smiling as she came to a halt over Jill who was still recovering from the energy blast to the back.

"So sorry about the shot to back while you were concentrating Jill. That was rude of me wasn't it?" the Red Phoenix drooled with sarcastic sympathy, "I'm normally all for honourable fighting but I just had to get you back for what you did to me." Jill didn't answer back but she continued to stir, hissing at the pain. The Red Phoenix crouched next to her and rested a hand on her back.

"You nearly had me Jill but…you couldn't finish the task. Such a pity…" she said pathetically, "a pity and a shame you won't get another chance." The gang gasped as they watched the Red Phoenix's hand that lay upon her back start to glow and Jill seemed to still be in pain.

"Farewell, dear lieutenant…"

"Get your hand off me…" Jill suddenly spat before whirling around and upper-cutting the Red Phoenix square in the base of her jaw. The punch connected heavily lifting her off the ground and sending her sailing backwards.

"Back off bitch!" Jill growled threateningly, standing upright. The Red Phoenix, managing to gain control of her flight, elegantly flipped her legs over and landed on her feet. She locked eyes with Jill utterly outraged and furious.

"You mangy, little cow! You'll pay for that!" the Red Phoenix hissed forebodingly wiping the blood from her split lip.

"Bring it on! I don't need magic to take you down! I may be the owner of the Summoner's Soul Emerald, but I am still a trained mercenary and I'll happily kick your arse with or without magic!"

"Fine then. This should be interesting…Come on! I'll take you on!" With that, Jill and the Red Phoenix charged at each other roaring like warriors doing battle in an open field. The gang and Sergeant Stone could only spectate as they tussled, hand-to-hand, in the middle of the office.

Chapter 67 Summoner's Showdown

The fight between Jill and the Red Phoenix raged on. It was like watching a martial arts display as both of them attacked, countered, dodged and reversed each other's blows. Jill roared as she swung a left and a right jab at the Red Phoenix but she ducked them and delivered a low blow to Jill's gut. As she staggered backwards, Jill glanced up to see the Red Phoenix coming in for a follow-up attack. A punch and a kick flew in but Jill blocked them both and caught a second punch thrown at her. With one arm restrained, the Red Phoenix launched the other fist at Jill but she grabbed that one as well and locked her elbows out causing her to yelp in pain. Jill tightened the arm-lock as the Red Phoenix squirmed and shouted for her to let go. Unable to get her arms back, the Red Phoenix brought her left knee up catching Jill in the stomach. Jill flinched but maintained her grip and squeezed even tighter. After another knee-butt failed to hit, the Red Phoenix swung her head forward and smacked Jill right in the forehead. Dazed, Jill let go of one arm to examine her injury giving the Red Phoenix the advantage. Swinging a punch, she aimed at Jill's hanging head. Seeing the attack from out of the corner of her eye, Jill arched backwards and it flew harmlessly in front of her. Having turned the tables, Jill jumped and rolled over the Red Phoenix's back and, still holding her other arm, attempted to shoulder-throw her to the ground. The Red Phoenix flipped over wildly and hit the ground but managed get her free hand to the floor first. As Jill released her at the end of her throw, the Red Phoenix cartwheeled away on one hand. Jill instantly followed her up with a flurry of punches and kicks but as her last roundhouse kick to the head was ducked, Jill was knocked off her feet by a heavy blow to the face. The Red Phoenix had back-flipped and caught her under her chin sending Jill sprawling.

The Red Phoenix continued to flip from hands to feet like an Olympic gymnast as Jill slowly rolled up and wiped a trickle of blood from her mouth. The Red Phoenix came to a stop a good few metres back and folded her arms across her chest.

"Want more?" she asked smiling smugly.

"I'm just getting started…" Jill retorted sitting up.

"Get ready then," the Red Phoenix pre-empted beginning to crouch. Jill watched as she suddenly shot up into the air. The gang gasped from behind Jill as the Red Phoenix flow over them all. As she reached the peak of her flight, the Red Phoenix majestically performed a perfect, half-turning somersault and was now falling directly on top of Jill who remained seated on the floor under her as if to accept the crushing pounce.

"Jill! Watch out!" the gang all cried simultaneously as the Red Phoenix was about to land on her. At the last split second, Jill curled her legs up and rolled on to her back. As she sprung up from the floor and flew backwards, the Red Phoenix's deathly pounce hit the spot where she was a few hundredths of a second ago. Whipping her head around, she saw Jill charging at her from behind. Having followed up so quickly, Jill cupped her hands together and planted them firmly in the centre of her spine. The force of the jackhammer knocked the Red Phoenix to her knees but Jill wasted no time in attacking again. She brought her hefty boot up into her ribcage flicking her up and down again. The Red Phoenix writhed in pain as Jill seized her by the arm and folded it behind her back in a policeman's restraint.

"Get off!" the Red Phoenix screamed in agony as Jill tightened her hold.

"Shut your mouth or I'll break it!" Jill barked threateningly. Behind her, the gang were all cheering jovially at the Red Phoenix's apprehension.

"She got her!" Littlefoot hollered excitedly.

"Yeah! Jill won!" Petrie cawed looping in the air.

"That was amazing! I didn't know humans could do things like that!" Cera gawked with a hanging jaw.

"Yeah, it was pretty impressive wasn't it?" Ali agreed admiring the look on Cera's face.

"I bet I could do that though," Cera then blurted flatly determined not to be outdone.

"Sure you could," Ducky giggled, "like you tried to break they giant rock with your head and it bounced you back." Cera growled as the gang laughed.

"You just HAD to bring THAT up didn't you…" she moaned.

Back out in the office, the Red Phoenix was still trying to throw Jill off but she remained undisturbed by her squirming.

"Looks like you lost Phoenix. Once I free Littlefoot, Stone and the others, we'll put an end to you madness," Jill said to her smiling as she shoved her head to the ground.

"I wouldn't count on it Lieutenant Fielding," the Red Phoenix smirked, "like you said before, 'every good commanding officer has a back-up plan'." Jill twisted her face up with anger and forced her full weight on the Red Phoenix so she wouldn't escape but she continued to smile through her pain.

"Watch the pretty light now…" she grinned. Confused, Jill then saw a white light emanating from the Red Phoenix's locked hand. Without warning, the light exploded and flashed brightly. Jill yelled as her vision was reduced to a blur of colours. As she lurched backwards, she released her hold on the Red Phoenix and she hopped to her feet. Whilst Jill was blinded, the Red Phoenix grabbed her by the shoulders and brought her knee into her stomach forcing her to wince and crumple inwards. With her ducked down, the Red Phoenix clambered on top of her and stood up tall as if she were standing on a pedestal. Everyone looked on in horror as the Red Phoenix began to back somersault over her and stamp Jill to the ground. Unable to get her bearings, Jill couldn't fight back and began to collapse under each somersault. By the fourth flip, Jill could no longer stand and she fell flat on her face as the Red Phoenix gracefully arched her back, placed her hand on the ground and slowly flicked over to her feet leaving Jill flattened and battered.

"Ya like that one? Another one I picked up from my son. 'The Human Trampoline' I call it," the Red Phoenix said smugly.

"That's not fair! You cheated!" Cera shouted enraged.

"I don't remember us agreeing not to use magic. Even if we did, I would have used it anyway," she replied dismissively.

"Okay…if that's the way you wanna play…" she then heard from below her. Glancing down to the floor, the Red Phoenix saw Jill jump to her feet with a glowing, right forearm. Panic-stricken, the Red Phoenix took a quick swipe with one hand but Jill ducked it effortlessly. Tensing her glowing arm, Jill suddenly leapt into the air thrusting her fist upwards.

"SHORYUKEN!" she roared as the powerful uppercut connected. The Red Phoenix flew right up into the air and came crashing down in a heap as Jill floated down to the ground.

"I'm sure every game player in existence will know that move. One of my favourite classic games from about a century and a half ago!" Jill sniggered. The Red Phoenix did not smile as she stood up with burning eyes. Without saying a word, she threw a quick energy shot at Jill but she flicked it away. Enraged, the Red Phoenix charged forward as Jill readied herself. Punches and kicks flew in at blinding speed but Jill effortlessly dodged and blocked them all. Another punch came in but Jill jumped forwards, parrying the attack and knocked her off-balance slightly. With this opening, Jill let fly with a barrage of hits that all landed heavily. As the ninth punch made contact, Jill pulled her hand back and charged up. Her hand snapped and crackled with electricity as she shot her hand at the Red Phoenix's feet causing an explosion like she had thrown a bomb under her. The eruption launched the Red Phoenix into the air uncontrollably and Jill jumped up to meet her in the air.

"Wwwhhhoooooaaaa…Look at Jill go…" Littlefoot gasped in awe as he watched her unleash as set of supersonic strikes whilst they floated in mid-air.

"She is moving so fast I can hardly see her!" Ducky breathed thunderstruck. The gang continued to marvel at Jill's incredible speed as she spun around and kicked the Red Phoenix in the abdomen sending her sailing towards the far wall where she hit it and slid down to the floor.

Battered and bruised, the Red Phoenix coughed and rolled over trying to recover as Jill floated to the ground and strolled over.

"That…was for every creature…for every life you intended to steal in your sick plot to overthrow the planet," Jill said spitefully. The Red Phoenix didn't say anything as Jill stood over her. In desperation, she threw a weak energy ball at Jill's face to subdue her but she reflected it and it hit the wall next to her head.

"Forget it! You've lost!" Jill snapped grabbing her by her hair and yanking her up to standing. The Red Phoenix struggled as Jill slammed her, face-first, into the wall.

"This is not over Jill! Do you hear me!" the Red Phoenix spat furiously.

"For you it is…I'm going to see to it that you never succeed," Jill replied, "Stop struggling!"

"I'm sorry Jill, I just want to cut loose…" she said darkly. Jill eyed her precariously but she suddenly heard a shout from behind.

"Jill! Jill, look out!" Behind you!" Ali cried.

"Huh!" Jill mumbled in shock turning around. She was horrified to see the shards of broken glass from the window charging straight at her. With nowhere to move, Jill felt the sharp pieces plunge into her back. She screamed in pain as they entered her body but managed to hop to one side as the last few pieces hit the wall like arrows to a target. Taking advantage of her injuries, the Red Phoenix grabbed Jill by the arm and whipped her over her back launching the crippled lieutenant into a crazed spin towards the barrier where Littlefoot and the rest of the gang where held. The speed she was travelling at made Jill crash through the magic barrier and slam into the wall.

"Jill!" the gang cried running to her aid. The Red Phoenix got up and walked over to them.

"Jill! Jill! Are you all right?" Littlefoot asked nudging her with his nose. Jill coughed and strained to move as the Red Phoenix stood on the far side of the room with the Heaven's Eternity Crystal floating besides her.

"You've fought bravely until now but there shall be no more of it," the Red Phoenix said seriously, "with the combined power of mine and the Warrior's Heart Ruby, I will now end it. No more delays…"

The gang all huddled around Jill as the Red Phoenix's body began to glow. After charging up for a few seconds, she raised a hand over her head and focused her energy into a massive ball that shimmered a deep black with a red core. Everyone gasped at the size of it as it crackled noisily.

"Farewell my friends…this time, there really is not escape…" the Red Phoenix said malevolently as she threw the gigantic ball at them. The gang all screamed in fear as the ball of destructive energy flew at them and with nowhere to run, all they could do was await their fate.

Chapter 68: A Small Simple Wish

Time seemed to slow to a standstill as the black ball continued to charge at the huddled group like a tumbling boulder. Every second seemed like an hour waiting for it to hit and finish them for good. As it rolled closer, the gang all cuddled tighter to unable to look. Jill was still too injured to move as she felt the dinosaur children dig and bury their faces into her sides. Littlefoot had his eyes clamped firmly shut as he quivered between Cera and Ali.

"I…I can't believe…this is it…" he thought despairingly, "After everything we did…after all the things we went through…this is the end…" Tears began to well in his eyes as he heard the snapping and crackling of the energy ball approaching rapidly. Suddenly, a voice shout out to him.

"No Littlefoot…this is not the end. You have to go on. It's not your time to die yet." Littlefoot snapped his eyes open in awe as the voice rang in his head.

"Wha…J-Jason!" Littlefoot gasped.

"You mustn't be beaten by her Littlefoot! You have to defeat her otherwise the planet is doomed to fall under her reign of perpetual darkness. You've got to stop her!" Jason's voice echoed.

"But how? I can't see how…"

"That ball of focused energy is mainly using my power. I was unable to prevent it because I've been banished so far into her dark realm that I can't control it anymore."

"I…I still don't understand…" Littlefoot stammered.

"The core of that ball is my power. I have no control over it but you can fight back. Use the power of your own Stone of Essence and reflect it," Jason said.

"What? I…I can't…"

"Come on Littlefoot! You must! Use your power bestowed upon you and reflect it back. Stand up, face it and throw it back!"

Littlefoot unfurled from behind Jill and looked towards the ball of energy which was still on the advance.

"Littlefoot?" Jill asked airily as she watched him slowly walk out in front of them.

"Littlefoot! What are you doing!" Ali cried being the first to roll out from her terrified little ball. One by one, they all turned to Littlefoot as he stood ahead of them like a shield as if to sacrifice himself.

"No Littlefoot! Don't!" Cera called out to him. Littlefoot then flinched at Cera's shout and suddenly lost his nerve as the towering ball came closer.

"No! I can't do it…I'm too scared…" he said to himself taking a step backwards. Suddenly, Jason's voice spoke out to him again.

"Littlefoot listen! Just concentrate…focus everything on bouncing that thing away. You can do it…"

"But Jason…I…"

"Littlefoot…the core of that ball is the same energy as yours. It will not harm you if there is no evil in your heart, but the black surrounding matter is highly unstable and will erupt if it gets through to you. Your light can smite the evil barrier around it and reflect it away." Littlefoot looked up at the ball again which was now nearly upon him.

"You can do it Littlefoot! You just have to believe in yourself. Now……BOUNCE IT BACK!"

Nervously, Littlefoot stepped forward again and stared deep into the ball focusing on the glowing, red core. The Red Phoenix stood laughing as he stood unmoving right in the ball's path.

"Willing to sacrifice yourself again Littlefoot? Go ahead! There's no saving you this time!" she cackled. Littlefoot ignored her words and continued to glare, completely entranced, at the ball. His mind quickly flashed all of his best memories and his worst fears making him very emotionally unstable. The energy ball was about to pass over him when he heard his friends scream out in his vision.

"LITTLEFOOT!" the voices echoed in unison but he quickly realised that it was his friends behind him calling his name. In response, his life ceased to flicker in front of his eyes and he found the ball directly over him. Slamming his eyes shut, Littlefoot roared terrified and his body instantly ignited in a deep, blue flame. A fierce wind erupted blowing everything away and throwing his friends flat against the back wall. The ball of energy rolled over him smothering him in a thick, black matter as his flame licked and flickered excitedly. Looking up bewildered, Littlefoot saw the deep, red core about to fall on him. Shutting his eyes again, Littlefoot stood up on his hind legs and held his front feet as high as he could. He felt a hot surface hit his feet for a brief second before a bright flash exploded before his eyes and something catapulted him backwards. Flying out of the ball, Littlefoot crashed into the wall above everyone else and slid down to the side of them. Exhausted, Littlefoot rolled onto one side and found his friends congregating over him.

"Littlefoot! Are you alright?" Ducky asked worryingly.

"Yeah…I'm okay…" he said slowly finding his feet.

"What did you do?" Ali gasped open-mouthed.

"Well…I…" Littlefoot began but he was interrupted by mad shouts at the opposite end of the room.

"No! Get back! Stay away!" the Red Phoenix shouted at her energy ball, trying to reclaim control of it but it wasn't complying. The ball slammed into the Red Phoenix and engulfed her. She screamed as the ball encased her and held her within its dark barrier. Jill, Stone and the gang all watched thunderstruck as the ball glowed a dangerous red and flickered unstably. Littlefoot then jumped as Jason's voice shouted to him.

"Littlefoot! The crystal! Do it now!" he ordered hastily, Littlefoot shot forward and headed for the Heaven's Eternity Crystal which hovered a few metres away from the ball which was flashing bizarre colours.

"N…noo!" the Red Phoenix choked from her prison as Littlefoot placed his foot on the golden triangle that flickered blue as he approached. Remembering what Jason's ghost had said before, Littlefoot closed his eyes and searched his mind for what he wanted most.

"I know what I want…but…I know what I must do…" he whispered to himself. Littlefoot, deep in thought, made his wish and he then slowly opened his eyes. A few tense moments past but nothing happened. Panicking slightly, he began to think that maybe he hadn't been sincere in his wish and perhaps it wasn't going to be granted. All of a sudden, the three triangles glowed and shimmered their respectful colours before a bright, white flash erupted before Littlefoot's eyes. As the glare slowly disintegrated from view, Littlefoot uncurled from his defensive ball and looked to where the Heaven's Eternity Crystal had been.

"What!" Littlefoot gasped, "Oh no! I destroyed it!" As he searched around for the remnants of the crystal, Littlefoot suddenly saw something fall passed his face. Surprised, he looked at the floor and found three glistening stones at his feet. One blue sapphire, a red ruby encased in a gold-framed pendent with a chain and a green emerald firmly fitted on the crest of a ring. All of them were shaped as perfect equilateral triangles.

"Nooooo!…The…the crystal…my plans!" the Red Phoenix cried as the rest of the gang hurried over with Jill. Bending down, Jill picked up her ring and placed it back on her finger.

"You're not going to harm anyone else. You are finished and you will perish here in the hell that you and your twisted director created out of greed and hatred," Jill said sternly as she scooped up the other two stones and paced them in a pouch on her waist. The Red Phoenix screamed as the ball of energy crackled and snapped and began to draw in on itself. With one final screech, the ball shrunk until it completely vanished from view.

The gang all huddled around Littlefoot and chattered excitedly.

"Wow Littlefoot! That was amazing!" Ali said smiling.

"Yeah! You great! You beated her!" Petrie congratulated perching on his head.

"You did very good! Yep, yep, yep!" Ducky chirped merrily as Spike licked his face.

"Thanks you guys but I couldn't have done it without you…" Littlefoot beamed.

"That was incredibly brave Littlefoot. You really do have an unmatched courage. Now I can see why you were destined to find the Guardian's Tear Sapphire. You stood tall and protected all of us from the Red Phoenix's evil. Well done," Jill said removing her beret respectfully. Littlefoot smiled but a blunt voice shouted down on them.

"Erm…as impressive as that show was, a little help would be appreciated if it's not too much trouble!"

"Oh! Sorry serge," Jill sniggered turning to Stone who was still hanging from the giant Red Phoenix logo. Having freed Stone, who clumsily fell onto the desk with a thud, the gang all turned to Jill.

"So what now?" Cera asked.

"I guess we should get you guys home to your folks. They must be worried sick about you," Jill said to all six of them, "come on. The Chronos Doorway is this way. Let's go."

"Erm…forgetting something?" Stone called from behind the large, oak desk massaging the base of his spine.

"Oops! Sorry again serge!" Jill chuckled walking over to him and offering a hand.

"Thanks…" Stone said as he clambered to his feet.

"Any time," Jill replied beaming. For a few moments, the two of them stared deep into each other's eyes not saying a word. They seemed spellbound by each other's presence unable to break away from each one another. Suddenly, Jill flinched on hearing a lowly grunt to her right.

"When you two are quite ready…" Cera grumbled eyeing them peculiarly. Having had their concentration shattered, Jill looked back at Sergeant Stone and then down to her hand which was firmly clasped in his. Once the thought processed for a second, Jill gasped and promptly snatched her hand out of his grasp.

"C…come on…we should get going," Jill said feeling very uncomfortable.

"Yeah…let's go," Stone agreed turning to leave.

"What's with those two?" Cera mumbled to the rest of the gang but they just giggled, "What's so funny?"

"Ohhh…nothing," Ducky hummed sweetly.

Suddenly, the room started to shake violently as if a giant was ramming the entire building. The walls and floor trembled and quaked as the eight of them struggled to remain on their feet.

"An earthshake!" Ali asked nervously. Before she got an answer, there was a deafening explosion from somewhere below them and the whole room shuddered and jolted.

"What was that!" Cera called urgently.

"The building sounds like it's collapsing! Probably the Red Phoenix's last-ditch attempt to finish us off. She's trying to take us down with her! Come on! Let's get outta here!" Jill yelled waving over to the double doors and kicking them open.

"Come on kids! Run for it!" Stone called herding them to the door. Without having to be told twice, Littlefoot and his friends sprinted for the doorway as great chunks of the ceiling began to fall to the floor from above.

Chapter 69: Run Like Hell!

Thunder crashed and rumbled haphazardly adding to the panic and pandemonium of the gang's desperate escape down the dark corridor that connected the executive office to the rest of the cubicles. The trembling of the building continued, throwing massive chunks of the crumbling ceiling down on them like a meteor shower.

"WHOA! That was a close one!" Cera wailed as another concrete slab came crashing down beside her.

"What's going on? Why did all this start happening all of a sudden?" Ducky exclaimed as a tiny fragment bounced off Spike's head and hit her on the nose.

"The Red Phoenix's magic must have been linked to the entire building," Jill said looking over her shoulder, "that also probably explains why she could manipulate everything and throw her illusions all over the shop."

"Me geddit! Now she gone, all her magic things go too," Petrie verified banking hard to one side as more slabs dropped in his path. Littlefoot glanced back on hearing a series of deafening crashes from behind them. He gaped as he watched windows that gave a perfect view of the chaos that was now London, begin to shatter one after the other as if to chase after them.

"What in blazes!" Stone spluttered following Littlefoot's gaze, "It's like the whole place's possessed or something!"

"It's catching us up!" Ali gasped as the exploding panes of glass crept closer.

"Look! The exit's just up ahead!" Jill hollered to the group with splintering wooden frames and flying shrapnel shot dangerously close behind them.

"Faster kids! Come on! Hurry!" Stone ordered shoving them all forward. With fewer windows between the back of the line and being in the firing range, Stone knocked Spike ahead an extra few inches to distance them. Another self-destructing window erupted throwing slivers of glass everywhere catching the sergeant in the arm. Stone roared in agony and began to slow as the pain coursed through him.

"Mr. Stone!" Littlefoot called but Stone waved him on.

"Keep going Littlefoot! I'm right behind you!" he barked clutching his wound. Nodding, Littlefoot sprinted onwards, down the shaky gauntlet of raining concrete and shooting, razor-sharp shards of glass and wood.

"The next room! It's just there!" Jill announced putting on an extra burst of speed. The dark corridor shook harder as they approached the great double doors that looked worn and battered but the building's increasing shudders. Suddenly, a mighty crash rang out and the tunnel jumped like a frightened child.

"Me no like the sound of that!" Petrie hissed nervously, "Me wonder what it was?" Answering his query, the corridor rumbled and trembled even more.

"Oh no! he cawed taking a glance back," the path chasing us!"

"You what!" Cera shouted up to him as he zipped overhead.

"Oh crap! It IS in all!" Stone gasped alarmed. The corridor's floor was starting to collapse behind them leaving a deathly plummet to the pavement below.

"Erm…not meaning to cause a panic but……LEG IT!" Stone yelled at the top of his lungs, "The connecting bridge is dropping!"

"You ARE kidding right?" Jill called back but a third crash erupted in front of them. With the crash and jolt that followed it, the gigantic oak doors shuddered on their broken hinges and slowly began to creak and fall towards each other.

"The doors!" Jill wailed as they leaned into the archway threatening to block them off from the next room.

"They're gonna shut us out!" Ali squeaked helplessly, "We're not gonna make it!"

"We'll have to make it!" Jill said narrowing her eyes, "C'mon kids! Just keep going!"

Panting, everyone tried their hardest to push themselves to go faster. The gaping hole was yawning at their heels along with the sniping slivers of glass from the windows and rainstorm of concrete hail from above; all the while, the oak doors were still toppling inwards. In the closing few metres, Jill, Stone and the gang held their breath as the doors slammed into each other forming an unstable arch.

"Quick! Go" Jill screamed shooting under them first. The doors creaked and groaned threatening to slip at any moment.

"Come on guys!" Littlefoot urged as he passed through the narrowing gap. Ali, Cera and Spike (with his passenger) all cleared the doors safely and turned back to see who was left.

"Mr. Stone! Hurry!" Ducky called to him bringing up the rear.

"Daniel! Quickly!" Jill shouted. Sergeant Stone dodged the obstacles and missiles, looked up at the doors as they finally slipped and began to fall. As the rocks fell, the final window broke and the bridge closed in behind him, Sergeant Stone took a dive at the doors. The first door hit the ground just as Stone rolled underneath it and into the room. The oak doors crashed heavily on top of one another like a tomb wall sealing them in, throwing dust and dirt in their eyes.

Exhausted, everyone flopped to the floor gasping for air.

"That was crazy!" The human world is worse than living out in the Mysterious Beyond!" Cera muttered breathlessly.

"It wasn't always like this…" Stone said flinching as he yanked the splinter of glass out of his bicep and throwing the bloody shard on the floor.

"The Red Phoenix must be completely wired to the whole building. We can't rest for too long," Jill said standing up. No sooner had she spoken, the room, filled with office cubicles, began to shake and a sickening cracking noise flooded into the earshot.

"What that sound?" Petrie squawked.

"It sounds like something's breaking…" Ali said listening closely to the splitting sound as it got louder. Glancing around for the source, Littlefoot suddenly felt something worm its way under his foot. Bewildered, he lifted his foot and saw a thick, zigzagging crack slither along the marble floor and across the room towards the wall. Still a little perplexed, he followed the path up to where it looked like it was heading and about halfway up the approaching wall was the start of another one etched into it. Littlefoot traced the length of the snaking crack all the way along the ceiling, down the opposite wall and along the floor in front of him. Then, it struck him.

"Uh oh!" Littlefoot breathed unnervingly watching the crack travel up the wall and join up with its origin.

"'Uh oh' what? I don't like the sound of that Littlefoot…" Jill told him a little disturbed. Littlefoot turned to her but didn't have to speak when the room began to tremble and shake. Pebbles from the cracked ceiling rained down on them like hailstones.

"What is happening!" Ducky cried folding her arms over her head to shield herself from the falling rocks.

"It feels like another earthshake!" Cera wailed.

"Hey! I'm slipping!" Ali announced alarmed.

"Yeah…me too!" Littlefoot added finding it increasingly difficult to remain in the same place without having to adjust himself.

"Feels like we're falling backwards," Stone said stumbling slightly. The room gave a horrible jerk and dropped forcing everyone to let out a frightened yelp.

"What was that!" Cera shrieked anxiously getting to her feet again. Before she could get a reply, the entire room seemed to roll backwards throwing them against the wall.

"Everything it tipping back!" Ducky squeaked horrified as she popped out from between the wall and Spike.

"What the hell is going on?" Jill said as she leant up against the oak doors rubbing the base of her spine. All of a sudden, the room lurched again and Jill felt her support suddenly give way. Tumbling backwards, the oak doors slipped down and out of the great archway which had now become a gaping hole leading down to the pavement below. Following suit, Jill rolled back towards the archway.

"Jill!" Stone yelped watching the lieutenant fly out over the edge in a mad somersault. Jill, kicked out of her roll and, discovering that there was no solid ground beneath her, screamed fearfully. The gang gasped as the sergeant dove to grab Jill's floundering hand that was desperately trying to find something to grip onto. Pulling her in, Stone gripped tighter as Jill swung down and collided with the outside wall.

"Hang on Jill!" Stone groaned clasping his second hand on her wrist.

"Not that I've got anything else planned!" Jill yelled up to him.

"Stop kidding around!" Stone snapped irritably trying to haul her up but the tremors were worsening. Then, one of the group let out a fearful scream.

"Whoa! Look out!" Littlefoot cried from behind. Glancing over his shoulder, Stone saw the office cubicles at the far end sliding towards them. The gang screeched panic-stricken as they awkwardly ducked and dove through doorways and over furniture. Stone turned back to Jill to yank her up as quickly as possible. Jill flopped her top half back into the room and sighed breathlessly. She stared up at the sergeant who beamed down on her instantly understanding the look of thankfulness on her face. Pushing herself up to her waist, Jill looked past Sergeant Stone and gasped in horror. Following her gaze, Stone saw a number of cubicles heading directly for them.

"Jill! Stone! Watch out!" Ali cried. Hopping back up into the office, Jill and Stone stared at the slipping cubicles as they approached rapidly. With nowhere to run, the two of them ducked down as the massive structures slid into them. The gang watched in terror as they ran right over them and out of the open archway down to the streets below.

"Jill…Stone…nooo…" Littlefoot sighed.

The express train of wood finally passed and tumbled away. To their amazement, once the last cubicle toppled out of the gaping hole, the group found both Stone and Jill huddled together like two frightened infants tucked in a tight ball.

"Jill! Stone! You're all right!" Ali chirped merrily. Jill and Stone slowly unfurled from each other and looked up nervously.

"Oh my God! We survived!" Stone cried flabbergasted.

"They…they passed right over us…it's a miracle!" Jill yelped overjoyed but she suddenly felt something on her hips. Looking down, she was alarmed to see the young sergeant's hands wrapped around them. She was even more shocked to see that her hands were in exactly the same place on Stone's waist. Jill looked up sharply at Stone who appeared just as amazed as she was. The sound of giggling emanated from the gang and Jill felt something click in her head forcing her to snatch her hands away from Stone. Bewildered, Stone was surprised to see Jill rip his hands off her hips and jump up to standing. Still kneeling on the floor, he looked up at Jill who looked infuriated.

"Jill…I…" he began but he was promptly knocked over by a mighty slap that connected with the side of his face.

"You dirty, little…" Jill snapped hotly glaring at him, "You were trying to touch my arse weren't you!"

"N…no! I wasn't! I swear!" Stone babbled massaging his smarting cheek. Jill snorted and turned away.

"Hurry up and let's get outta here!" she barked. Stone, feeling incredibly embarrassed, slowly stood up still rubbing his face which now had a bright, red handprint on his right cheek.

"Man! She hits like a bloke! Sheessh! What a hot-head," Stone mumbled as he caught the young dinosaurs' eyes all fixed on him.

"What are you lot all gawkin' at? Get lost!" he growled miserably.

Before the mood could settle back down, the room gave another sickening jolt like a lift bouncing on its cables before they snapped. The area dropped again and a bone-grinding crunch began echoing out.

"This place is very shaky!" Ducky said sheepishly.

"Look! The floor on that side coming up!" Petrie announced pointing to the ground which was split and uneven.

"Either that or our side is falling!" Cera shrieked as the room dropped again and began to break away from the rest of the building.

"This whole section's heading for the city streets!" Jill called urgently, "Quick! Everyone to the other side!" Without needing a second instruction, everyone tried their hardest to scramble up the increasing incline.

"Hurry! Hurry!" Petrie hollered watching Jill, Spike and Ali hop the growing gap and onto steadier ground.

"Cera! Littlefoot! Mr. Stone! Quick, it about to fall!" Petrie cawed.

"You first," Cera said to Littlefoot stepping to one side. Rolling his eyes, Littlefoot put on an extra spurt of speed and leapt from the top of the crumbling edge landing awkwardly, but safely, on the other side.

"Go on Cera! Go for it! I'm right behind you!" Stone shouted to her. Cera narrowed her eyes and pumped her legs to build up speed. With one last bound, Cera leapt up and stretched out for the ground on the opposite side. Having jumped a little too hastily, she crashed, half on half off, on the ledge. Scrambling frantically to get up, Cera looked up to the gang for help but they were focused on something beyond her. They watched the piece of building falling away fearfully; with Stone still on it.

"Daniel! Come on, jump!" Jill beckoned to him desperately. Clambering to the top of the broken piece, Sergeant Stone took a great leap towards the floor but he was too far to grip the edge.

"Mr. Stone!" Ali, Ducky, Petrie and Littlefoot all wailed in unison as his outstretched hand missed the crumbling brickwork. They all gasped as the sergeant plummeted out of sight, all except Cera who, still clinging to the ledge, screamed in shock and pain.

"Oww…hey!" she winced glaring down.

Puzzled by her anger, the gang all herded cautiously to the edge. Down past Cera, grip anchored on her tail, was Sergeant Stone wavering about as the section of he building crashed to the pavement erupting in a cloud of dust.

"Phew! That was close!" Stone breathed tensely watching his feet swinging in the roaring wind that whistled around them.

"Hey…OUCH! That hurts!" Cera yelled as Stone attempted to clamber up, "Get offa my tail!"

"Sorry Cera…I…" Stone apologized but the wind cut him in mid-speech. It roared stridently and whipped around them like a rope trying to bind them up.

"H-hey! Quit…squirming down there!" Cera moaned, "I'm…I'm losing my grip…"

"I can't help it…the wind's so strong, it's pushing me," Stone argued.

"C'mon Cera! Get up! Let's go!" Littlefoot told her.

"I can't! He's…too heavy…" she complained.

"Quick, let's help them up," Ali said taking one of Cera's forelegs in her mouth. The rest of the gang promptly copied her. The winds howled and became more blustery as they began hauling her up and Stone was finding it increasingly difficult to prevent himself from swaying in the breeze like a limp, palm-tree leaf. Cera could feel her hind-quarters being dragged down despite everyone's brave efforts to pull her up.

"Yeeoww! You're gonna pull my tail off! Knock it off!" Cera squealed wiggling her tail to revive the feeling in it.

"Hey! You knock it off! You trying to shake me off or something!" Stone barked. The momentum of his swings were gradually building all the while.

"I can't…hold on…" Cera strained battling with Stone on her back end.

"We've got you Cera! You're nearly up," Ali mumbled still with her mouth firmly clamped on Cera's leg. The winds bawled menacingly around the open face of the building tugging at Sergeant Stone like a spiteful spirit edging for him to fall. Everyone above him were inching Cera up, trying with all their might to counteract Stone's swinging.

"Almost…there…" Littlefoot strained digging his heels in deep. Cera, still struggling with Stone on her tail, hooked her top half up onto the ledge. Suddenly, a booming thunderclap cracked aloud over them all. Stone felt Cera's tail give a horrible twitch as she screamed at the lightning flash. With the wind pounding against him, he reinforced his grip as much as he could with his icy fingers. He could feel the muscles in Cera's tail tensing as she wailed and his eyes widened on her tail lifting sharply.

"No Cera! Don't!" he shouted fearfully beating backwards with her movement. Reaching a peak, Cera then, instinctively, snapped her tail back in pulling the sergeant with it. Unable to keep up with the sharp flick, Stone felt his hands slip off her tail and he screamed as he was propelled forward. With her additional load suddenly lifted and the force of the gang pulling her up, Cera flew up and into the room forcing everyone to tumble backwards.

Grumbles and groans sounded as everyone regained their senses and untangled from one another. Cera, who had collided head first with one of the fallen cubicles, stumbled over and shook the stars from in front of her eyes.

"Whew! Thanks guys," she sighed once her vision came back into focus.

"Where's Stone!" Jill called anxiously but no one answered her. Gasping fretfully, Jill sprinted to the edge and peered over but she saw nothing but the demolished section of building that had fallen away from the main structure. Jill dropped her eyes and punched the ground in a rage. The gang watched her warily as Jill rose to her feet and walked over to them. Ali cautiously stepped up to meet her half-way.

"Jill?" she asked uncomfortably, "Are you…" Before she could finish her question, Jill roared and swung a punch dangerously close to Ali's face. Ali lurched back as Jill's attack passed in front of her nose and slammed into a panel on unbroken glass in one of the cubicles shattering it. Littlefoot and the others gasped and Ali hopped back nervously. Jill slowly lowered her hand, still clenched in a fist and turned towards them.

"I'm fine…" she mumbled bitterly. No one said a word as she marched towards the door without even glancing at them. They all shuffled away from her uncertain how she would react as Jill stared at the door.

"We've wasted enough time…let's go!" she barked kicking the door open and disappearing down the staircase.

Ali strolled up to the rest of the gang who all exchanged woeful looks. In silence, one by one, they filed out of the room. As Spike followed Cera out, Ali pulled up alongside Littlefoot's stationary position and looked at him with large, sorrowful eyes. They looked back to where Jill had been standing and traced a flickered trail of blood drips right up to the exit. Both longnecks took another mournful look at each other before soundlessly heading for the door.

Chapter 70: Short Circuit

The labyrinth of marble corridors that lay ahead of Jill, Littlefoot and his friends twisted and turned before them as they reached the bottom of the long flight of stairs that led from the executive offices. Having lost Sergeant Stone, no one said a word as they pulled up to a T-junction at the end of the stairway. The gang all looked left, the right, and then at each other but reading the perplexed expressions on every other face, none of them had the slightest idea where to go.

"Ugh…great! Which way now? All these tunnels look identical," Cera whined.

"I don't know. They all look the same to me," Littlefoot said blankly.

"This way," Jill bellowed minimally turning to the left.

"How'd you know?" Ali asked innocently.

"I used to work here don't forget. We need to get to the Energetics department and activate the main console for the Chronos Doorway so you kids can get home and I can accomplish my mission," Jill said flatly not stopping to face them. An uneasy silence lingered in the air in response to Jill's emotionless words. It seemed as though she had instantly flicked back into "soldier" mode and her human side had completely disintegrated. Jill stopped still when she realised that none of the other had moved from their static positions.

"Well? What the hell are the lot of you waiting for; death on swift wings! Coz I can assure you if you stand here for long enough I'm sure it will find you!" Jill snapped cold-heartedly as she turned to face them, "So you wanna get back to your families or not?" Littlefoot was the first to take an uncertain step forward but once he had, the rest of the gang slowly followed suit.

For the first few minutes, the gang soundlessly trailed behind Jill as she marched on ahead without so much as a glance over her shoulder. After a while, Ali quickened her pace and pulled up alongside Jill who had failed to notice her with her head rusted and locked on the path ahead.

"Erm…Jill?" she asked slightly nervously.

"What? What's the problem now?" Jill barked. Nervous but determined not to be thrown off, Ali looked up to try and catch Jill's eye.

"Are…are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I told you before. Why?"

"Erm…well. You just don't seem yourself, that's all."

"Everything's fine Ali. Let's just get to the Doorway so I can sort you lot out." Ali shied away knowing that she wasn't going to get eye contact or a constructive answer from the lieutenant whose head was high and vision unbroken.

"I'm…I'm sorry about Mr. Stone…" Ali then said looking back up at her.

"Me too…" Jill said sharply and dismissively, "but hey! Who gives a damn! No one cares about what lives are robbed in this greedy game of command and conquer. Stone was just one person of many who had to suffer the consequences of the actions of selfish prats like Westwood and the Red Phoenix."

"…Jill…" Ali gasped in dismay.

"Who gives a crap! Stone knew what he was letting himself in for. It's his own damn fault he didn't make it! He knew the dangers! He knew that death was waiting around every corner we turned yet still he accepted the mission. His decision…his problem…his fault! Who cares!" Jill erupted.

"You do…" Ali replied softly. Jill suddenly fell silent and gazed at her amazed yet perplexed.

"Wh-what?" she stammered breathlessly.

"You care about Mr. Stone. I could see it; everyone could see it. The way you look at each other and the way you always look out for each other. It isn't hard to see that you two DO care about one another," Ali explained. Jill was speechless. She wanted to argue her point but nothing sprang to mind. Ali had caught her completely off-guard and was staring at her with a hypnotising gaze that was impossible to resist.

"You…you don't know what you're saying!" Jill said finally turning away, "You're just a kid so how would you know?"

"I maybe a kid, but I know love when I see it," Ali said potently.

"Tsk! Whatever! Let's just get the hell out of here!" Jill said dismissively. Ali stopped and watched her march onwards. The gang were quick to pull parallel with her eager to know what had just happened, but Ali just solemnly shook her head.

After a few more minutes of walking down the brightly lit corridors, the group came to a stop in front of a silvery metal door that blocked the entire way.

"Oh great! A dead end," Cera sighed irritably. Jill, still slightly ahead of the pack, looked to her right and walked over to a small console on the wall which looked no bigger than a calculator with a plastic, hinged lid covering three-quarters of it leaving the remaining quarter for a screen. Looking at the tiny computer screen, she cleared her throat and said,

"Lieutenant Jill Fielding; Red Phoenix Incident Response Squadron. Level five security. Code: 2417. Command: Open fire shutters." The tiny console remained unresponsive as the gang all huddled around Jill in a wide semi-circle. Having still not received a reply from the console, Jill tried again with more depth to her voice.

"Lieutenant Jill Fielding; Red Phoenix Incident Response Squadron. Level five security. Code: 2417. Command: Open fire shutters!" The console hung silently on the wall like a disobedient child refusing to do as it was told. Losing her temper, Jill flicked open the covering panel below the screen and began typing in her code on the keypad.

"Stupid piece of crap! Damn database must be out of order," she muttered. As she pushed the final key, she stood back to await a response. To her frustration, the console buzzed defiantly and a message flashed on the screen.

"What! What do you mean 'ERROR'!" Jill yelled. The gang hopped backwards in fright as she viciously hammered the code into the console again. With the same, mocking buzzing sound, the screen flickered the same error message. Infuriated, Jill roared and, whipping her Laser Blade from off her belt, she plunged the butt of the handle into the unco-operative machine which sparked and crackled feebly before dying out. Flames of rage continued to burn fiercely as Jill turned to the fire shutter and flicked the energy blade on. With her weapon primed, Jill began slashing violently at the shutter door as it stood blocking the way. Littlefoot and the others backed away from Jill suddenly feeling incredibly fearful of her as she swung wildly with the Laser Blade that snapped on the metal of the door but left mere scorch marks on its polished surface.

"Dammit! Damn them all! All of them!" Jill hollered uncontrollably unable to stop. The battery on the Laser Blade began to dwindle and the weak, pale red energy of the weapon flickered unhealthily. After one last anger-ridden swipe, the blade fizzled and disappeared. Jill looked at the handle in her hand and thumped it against the metal fire shutter repeatedly trying to break through but the door merely clanked and echoed down the claustrophobic corridors. Hitting the door time and time again, Jill finally came to a rest pressed up against the cold, metallic surface and slid down to her hands and knees exhausted and defeated.

The six dinosaurs all looked on Jill pitifully feeling her frustration. Littlefoot broke away from the woeful bunch and stood next to Jill.

"Jill…are you all right?" he asked craning his neck down to try and catch her eye.

"I…I'm sorry Littlefoot," Jill said weakly, "I failed. I failed to protect Stone…I failed my mission…and I failed to get you all home to your parents. I'm so sorry but…there's nothing more I can do."

"Don't say that Jill. You didn't fail," Ali said walking alongside Littlefoot.

"No…I did. I said I'd get you back. I swore that once this was over and the Red Phoenix was history, I'd return you back to your own time. But I couldn't do it."

"At least you tried," Ducky said sweetly.

"But that's not good enough. Too many casualties have been inflicted on account of all this and now, right at the very end of all we've managed to overcome, we're gonna be victims of it too." Littlefoot walked around in front of Jill's position as she balanced on her hands and knees and poked his face under her hanging head.

"Jill…you mustn't give up hope," he said blissfully. Jill slowly looked up at him with a downfallen expression, "That's what Grandma and Grandpa always say to me when I feel like all is lost. They tell me to never lose hope and that there is always a way out of trouble."

"But…but Littlefoot…" Jill stuttered.

"Littlefoot's right Jill. You can't give up now," Cera agreed.

"Oh no, no, no! We have come this far," Ducky added.

"It no your fault what happen happen, but that behind us now. We must look for new way if first way no work," Petrie cawed landing next to her. Jill rolled back and sat on her heels slightly bemused by the wise and courageous words of the dinosaur kids.

"I…I don't know what to say. You guys have so much faith in us escaping…it's unreal…" she gasped.

"Well, you did tell us that if we came with you that it would be very dangerous and that we may never see our parents again, but we came along anyway. We decided on our own, that we were going to help you," Ali said nobly and the others promptly agreed wholeheartedly. Jill gaped at them open-mouthed unable to speak a word.

"We are sorry that Mr. Stone is gone; we lost Jason too. Even though we beat the Red Phoenix, it would all be for nothing if we didn't make it," Littlefoot said valiantly. With that, Jill stood up and looked at each of them in turn.

"You're right. We can't allow Jason and Stone's deaths be in vain. This mission isn't over yet and it won't be until we escape from this place," Jill said smiling which quickly spread to the faces of the others, "right then. We've still got to get to the Energetics department but we can't get through the fire shutters."

"So what then? Is there another way?" Ducky asked.

Suddenly, the fluorescent lights flickered and died plunging the morale-boosted group into darkness.

"Ahhh! What happened!" Ali yelped in fear.

"Power's out. The back-up generators must have finally burned out," Jill suggested. No sooner had she spoken, the lights flickered back on and a heavy cranking sound of metal gears rang out.

"What's happening?" Littlefoot asked nervously.

"Look! The shiny blocker is moving!" Ducky exclaimed pointing at the hefty steel door which was slowly edging upwards.

"It's opening now but what made it work?" Cera asked slightly bewildered.

"The building's control mainframe must have crashed and restarted. All security locks are released upon a major system reboot but…what would have caused it?" Jill puzzled, "Oh well, they're open now so let's go." Taking the lead, Jill started to press on as the door once was high enough to pass under and the dinosaurs were close behind. As she walked under the huge shutter, a loud click sounded followed by the snapping of gears freewheeling. Ducky gasped in horror.

"Jill! Look out!" she wailed urgently. Jill whirled around to look at her and traced her gaze up to the ceiling. She gasped terrified as she saw the fire shutter dropping down on her. Stunned, Jill leapt forward just as the shutter slammed to the ground.

"Whew! That was a little too close!" Jill sighed wiping her forehead.

"You nearly go squished!" Petrie yapped awestruck as the lights began to flash on and off randomly like a disco.

"What in the world is going on!" Ali gawked in confusion.

"In light of what we've had to escape earlier, I'd say this is more of the Red Phoenix's doing. Her magic, integrated with the building, must have corrupted the supercomputer that runs the place. The electrics are going AWOL!" Jill proclaimed as the fire door suddenly clicked into life and shot up and then back down repeatedly.

"What do we do now?" Ducky asked.

"We have to go on. Down the corridor to Energetics and the Chronos Doorway," Jill replied blandly.

"What? Through that big, shiny, crushing thing! Are you crazy?" Cera bellowed outraged. Jill nodded but Cera took a defiant step backwards.

"Nuh uh! There's no way you're getting to pass under that!"

"There's no other way Cera. Energetics is on the South Wing and this is the quickest way," Jill said.

"But by no means the SAFEST! I'm not going!" she snapped back.

"Cera! This is no time to…" Littlefoot started but his voice became lodged in his throat as a low, groaning slowly emanated fro the far end of the corridor making them all cringe.

"Tell me that was someone's stomach," Jill said warily eyeing the group but they all silently replied with large, fearful eyes and nervous head shakes. The moaning grew louder and echoed down the strobe-lit halls. At the far end, Jill saw flickering shadows of erratic arms and hands on the wall accompanied by the sound of shuffling feet.

"Uh oh…we've got some unexpected guests heading our way," Jill warned watching outstretched arms starting to appear from around the corner.

"Ahhhhhh! Monsters!" Ali screamed as a hoard of zombies trudged and twitched their way down the corridor.

"Quick! Run for it!" Jill shouted turning to face the approaching fleet," Go on! Under the shutter! GO!"

"But what about you!" Littlefoot called rather concerned about what Jill was planning to do.

"I'm gonna distract 'em! But you some time to escape!" Jill announced, "Don't worry! I'm not planning to die just yet…I'll be right behind you! Get on the other side and I'll follow. Now…GO!"

With that, Jill tool off towards the advancing zombies leaving the gang dumbstruck and panic-stricken.

"What we do now?" Petrie squawked.

"Let's do as Jill said. We have to get passed this shutter thing," Littlefoot said but Cera quickly hopped back a few feet.

"Ooooooohhh no! You're not getting me to do it!" she barked ignorantly.

"But Cera!" Ducky protested.

"But nothing! There is nothing in the world that's gonna make me change my mind!" she snorted. Just then, Cera felt something hit her back leg. Turning around, she suddenly found herself face-to-face with a decaying, deathly-looking severed head that had rolled from the far end of the hall. Shrieking with terror, Cera blindly shot off in the opposite direction. She didn't care where she was running but she just wanted to get as far away from the sickly head as possible. She came to a panicked, skidding halt and breathlessly turned to face the others. To her amazement, she saw the slamming, steel fire shutter springing up and down in front of her with the rest of the gang on the other side. The gang all looked at Cera's horrified mien and then at each other.

"What was that about?" Littlefoot asked airily.

"Wonder what scare her?" Petrie cawed. Suddenly, a low groaning came from behind them that send a shiver up their spines. Whipping around, the gang looked to the ground and saw the same hideous head glaring at them. All five of them screamed, pawed the polished floor to turn and sped off under the dropping shutter before sliding to a stop on the other side. Panting and shaken, the gang all exchanged glances before looking back to the head that lay on the floor but nothing was left but a pile of black ash which evaporated into the air.

"Phew! Well…that was easy…" Littlefoot sighed dismissively but the gang all threw him dirty gazes, "What! What'd I say?"

Up at the opposite end of the corridor, Jill was battling furiously with the onslaught of undead humans. One attempted to pounce on her back but Jill quickly elbowed it in the face knocking it off-balance and swiftly followed-up with a high, whirlwind kick which swiped the foul creature's head clean off its body. Smiling at her defeated enemy, Jill was grabbed on both shoulders by two more zombies as another in front attempted to sink its teeth into her neck. Jill promptly wrapped her arms around the heads of her undead restraints, jumped and tucked her legs up. Rolling over, her feet slammed forcefully into the lunging creature's face knocking it backwards into the rest of the advancing zombies bowling them over. Somersaulting to her feet, Jill smirked at her former captors and took the back of their heads as they clumsily turned to her. With a sharp pull, Jill rammed them full-force into each other cracking their skulls in a sickening cloud of bone and decaying flesh.

"Yuck! A messy business this," Jill muttered watching the decapitated bodies disintegrate into black dust and evaporate into thin air. She flicked the sick, coagulated blood from her gloves and looked up at the remaining lumbering undead heading towards her.

"Jeez! There's no end to this things!" she sighed as more of them trudged around the corner. Kicking and thumping one zombie after another dispatching them, Jill was surprised to hear a new sound echo down the hall. Peculiarly, it sounded like metal being dragged along the hard ground. Having twisted another creature's head from off its shoulders, Jill swivelled around just in time to see a shimmer of a fire axe slash dangerously close to her head. Dodging to one side, Jill watched a manky looking human dressed in a scientist's lab coat swinging the axe at her madly.

"Whoa! This one's gotta toy!" she yelped dodging an overhead swing that ploughed through another zombie's cranium having missed its primary target. As the axe-wielding zombie continued its frantic swiping, cutting down several others in the process, it took a horizontal swing at Jill's head as she threw another zombie hanging on her back. Catching a glimmer of the axe flying straight for her, Jill dropped to the floor allowing the weapon to dig into the marble-tiled wall. With the axe firmly planted in the wall, Jill hopped up to standing and eyed the zombie scientist peculiarly as it attempted to free its weapon from its vertical pedestal. With a little, cocky smirk, she side-kicked the struggling monster in the stomach sending it reeling backwards. Turning to the now unmanned fire axe, Jill promptly removed the amputated limbs still holding onto the handle and pulled it loose.

"Ahh, this will come in handy!" Jill beamed spinning the axe over her arm a few times before clasping it firmly in two hands. Now armed, Jill turned to face the remaining few of the undead legion in front of her.

In a matter of moments, Jill hacked and sliced through her death-ridden adversaries and they all crumpled into piles of blackened ash before disappearing completely.

"Hah! That was easy," she smiled twirling the axe in her hand like a baton," better get back to Littlefoot and the others; they'll be waiting on me." Jill turned to head off in the opposite direction when she suddenly heard a set of shuffling footsteps approaching from around the corner.

"Humph! Sounds like a late-comer," she grinned turning back to face the approaching zombie, "Oh well…just one more. I'll make this quick." As the zombie made its way to turn the corner, there was sudden, low, hissing swiftly followed by an airy slash and the sickening sound of ripping flesh. Just as the zombie was due to appear around the bend, it suddenly fell to its knees and laid mangled on the floor with a great bloody set of slash marks across its back. Slightly confused, Jill eyed the twitching corpse as it was slowly dragged back out of view. Jill stealthily crept towards the corner but as she came within four feet of the bend, the decimated body of the zombie shot out and collided with the right-hand wall. Jill leapt back alarmed as the headless carcass slid down the dirty tiles and onto the floor leaving a trail of viscous blood on the wall.

"What the hell happened to him?" Jill thought watching the body pixelate into black ash. The hall then echoed with a low, blood-chilling hiss as a long, human-looking, gecko-like creature clambered its way into view. Jill gasped as the repulsive creature's tongue licked its hanging jaws.

"Oh God! Not one of these acid-spitting tree frogs again," Jill thought panic-stricken but she quickly recomposed herself, "I know how to handle this freak!" Picking up a broken piece of tile, Jill slowly and carefully threw it behind the beast making it clatter noisily n the walls and floor. To her amazement, the freakish human-looking lizard glanced to where the piece had fallen but didn't move.

"Hmm…odd. It's didn't go for it," Jill mumbled to herself, "I'll try again." So she did. Carefully taking another shard, Jill threw it hard against the back wall making it crash loudly on the marble surfaces but again, the monster failed to respond to it.

"What the?" Jill thought perplexed and frustrated, "Why'd it not attack the source of he noise? Is this thing deaf?" Jill then gasped as she saw two large, beady eyes open on either side of its head quickly followed by another pair of beady eyes on the front of its sun-scorched red head.

"Oh crap! This thing can SEE!" Jill squeaked. The beast roared deafeningly forcing Jill to take flight.

On the other side of the malfunctioning fire shutter, Littlefoot, Cera, Petrie, Ali, Ducky and Spike glared edgily through the slamming door at Jill sprinting towards them closely followed by the creepy lizard.

"Oh no! It's another one of those long-tongued things!" Littlefoot announced forebodingly.

"I think we can all see that Littlefoot," Cera muttered.

"It's catching her up!" Ali cried.

"Come on Jill! Hurry!" Ducky chanted flapping madly. Jill glanced back at the monster as it clambered up the wall and along the ceiling gouging great clumps of concrete out of the walls and destroying the lights in its frantic scramble as they approached the metal shutter. The creature lashed out with its frog-like tongue with lightening speed striking Jill in the back. She stumbled but managed to keep on her feet but being forced to slow down to recover, Jill hopped to one side as the beast dropped from the ceiling and tried to pounce on her. Colliding heavily against the wall, Jill ducked as the creature slashed at her head quickly followed by a low sweep to her ankles. With a swift leap, Jill stood the flat head of the axe on the creature's back and vaulted over it. The beast roared and gave chase once it rediscovered Jill's location.

The gang cheered and hollered as Jill drew closer to the shutter. She eyed it cautiously as it flew open and quickly slammed shut like an ancient tomb door.

"Gotta get under that door…gotta time this right…" Jill mumbled to herself as her pursuer bounded close behind like a rabid mongrel. She watched the door slam shut as she approached. It then clicked and began to fly up and open.

"NOW!" she cried kicking off to speed towards the door but it only got half-way up when suddenly, the gears stopped and the fire shutter began to drop.

"No!" Jill snapped determined not to get shut out. Winding up, she threw the axe at the base of the door where it stuck, blade down, into the floor. The shutter clanged deafeningly on the axe as it dropped onto it and became stuck fast. With her doorstop firmly in place, and the beast hot on her heels, Jill fell to the ground ad slid under the shutter. As she passed underneath, Jill snatched onto the axe in her slide and yanked it from under the door. With the monster directly on her tail, the fire shutter dropped its final few inches to the ground pinning the hideous creation. Scrambling to her feet, Jill immediately swung the axe into the exposed gear panel on the left-hand side of the door destroying the mechanism. The beast squealed in pain as it writhed under its massive restraint.

"Whew! That was a little too close for comfort…" Jill wheezed sliding down the cold wall to a bumpy seat on the floor. She looked at the gang who all crowded around her beaming excitedly.

"Wow! That was a nice move," Ali congratulated merrily.

"Necessity is the mother of all invention," Jill replied gleaming back.

"What now?" Cera babbled confused eyeing Ducky who merely shrugged in reply. As Jill was about to explain their course of action, Ali let out a fearful scream. Turning to her, the gang gasped as they saw the monster pulling Ali towards itself with its tongue wrapped around her back leg.

"Help me!" Ali screeched unable to fight to get away. Littlefoot was about to spring to her rescue but Jill threw her arm out in front of him. He looked at her anxiously but Jill herded him back and slowly stepped forwards. With Ali still being inched in, Jill stood in front of the creature and looked down on it.

"Hmm…a real ugly mug arent'cha?" Jill snorted indignantly. The beast's black, beady eyes flicked to her and it growled lowly and threateningly as she continued to insult it.

"Pitiful to think YOU are supposed to be one of this firm's greatest achievement. Peh! I've seen frogs in the park pond more interesting that you." The beast roared and spat at her who dodged the acidic saliva allowing it to hit the wall where it bubbled and fizzed.

"Now THAT…was rude," Jill said coolly looking at the creature dangerously. Taking her axe in two hands, Jill swung it high over her head and brought it down heavily in the centre of its face. The monster screeched horribly and instantly released Ali from its grasp. As Ali clambered to safety, Jill watched the creature squeal and squirm in excruciating pain before collapsing and dying with a long hissing sigh.

"Get down and STAY down!" Jill barked finally yanking her weapon out of the creature's skull.

Once the monster was safely disposed of, the gang nervously crowded around Jill as she wiped her forehead with the back of her free hand.

"Uck…what was that thing!" Ali cringed scanning her captor with disgust.

"A bioweapon I'd say…one of the poor fools who got caught up in the Red Phoenix's twisted reality hidden from the public eye with lies and pre-planned cover stories. As long as they put on a pretty face for the media…nothing else mattered," Jill replied gravely, "so many innocent lives lost…all for petty gain and greedy ambitions."

"How horrible…" Ali sighed sorrowfully.

"Yeah. Anyway, with that dealt with, let's get to the Chronos Door…" Jill began but her voice was frozen as a faint sizzling noise sounded in the corridor.

"What that sound?" Petrie gulped picking up on it.

"Don't look at me!" Cera immediately snapped. Jill slowly turned and glanced down to the creature she had just slain. It was still there, unmoving, but the noise was strangely emanating from its corpse.

"What is it Jill?" Littlefoot asked cautiously as she knelt down beside the monster.

"I…I think the sound's coming from this thing," she replied examining it closely. The hissing gradually got louder and became a bubbling sound. Jill, analysing it further, watched the creature's sunburn-red skin as it began to bubble and blister grotesquely.

"What the hell?" Jill mumbled as the lumps forming on its epidermis continued to pop up at an increasing rate. Jill leaned in closer just as one of the blisters burst spraying a sizzling fluid on her hand which instantaneously erupted into flames. Jill jumped to her feet shaking the burning chemical off her glove.

"What in the world!" she breathed awestruck holding her hand in alarm.

"What's wrong?" Ducky asked standing beside her.

"Something's screwy with this monster," Jill slurred forebodingly rubbing her singed glove nervously.

"Whad'dya mean?" Cera asked taking a step forwards to read the bewildered expression on Jill's face. The bubbling became more furious as more blisters popped throwing combusted chemicals everywhere narrowly missing Jill, Littlefoot and the others who were spectating in awe. Suddenly, one large bubble rose from the creature's back and exploded drenching its body in the strange, colourless liquid.

"Eeewww! Disgusting!" Cera cringed.

"What happing to it?" Petrie cawed horrified.

"It looks like some sort of decomposition. The chemicals in its body are breaking down its living tissue; quite violently too," Jill guessed.

"What's that mean?" Littlefoot asked naively. Before he could get a reply, the dampened body of the monster suddenly burst into flames and crackled threateningly.

"Uh oh…it's gonna explode!" Jill shouted urgently, "Quick! Get away from it!"

Turning tail, Jill and the six dinosaurs sprinted up the corridor as the living bonfire continued to pop, crackle and hiss lividly. Within a brief few seconds of running, the monster self-destructed in a massive eruption that launched flesh and flaming acid everywhere as a large wave of fire charged down the hall after them.

"Aaaarrgggghhhh! Fire coming! FIRE COMING!" Petrie screeched in alarm.

"Everyone, GET DOWN!" Jill bellowed diving to the ground. Following her example, the rest of them dropped to the floor and Petrie plunged to the floor as the wall of fire sot over them dangerously close to their heads.

"Phew! That was a little too close," Ali sighed relieved once the danger had passed.

"Well, at least we're all okay," Littlefoot said, slowly standing upright.

"Whew! Made it," Jill breathed, "Musta been an upgraded creature to the one we first fought. A flipping living Molotov cocktail…sheesh!"

"Well, we are okay now," Ducky smiled but before her smile could spread, the corridor began to shake. The gang panicked and squealed in fear as their surroundings quivered and quaked.

"What's going on now!" Ali shrieked feeling the floor beneath her feet giving slightly.

"The ground! The ground is breaking!" Littlefoot yelled frightfully. Sure enough, the marble flooring was beginning to crack and split.

"What should we do!" Ducky squeaked clamping onto Spike's neck as he trembled fretfully with the shaky hall.

"Run for it!" Jill ordered trying to stand but she fell back to the ground as the tremors worsened.

"I can't! I can't stand up!" Littlefoot whined unable to keep his balance long enough to move.

"Me neither!" Cera wailed tumbling over a third time. The snaky cracks branched and fanned out causing the floor to drop an inch or two.

"We're gonna fall!" Ali cried anxiously as the ground began to segment and crumble.

"Brace yourselves!" Jill yelled gritting her teeth. With one last rumble, the marble paving disintegrated leaving the wailing gang to plummet down into the building followed by large chunks of rocky debris.