The Fires of Redemption
Disclaimer: Dinosaur King is owned by Sunrise, Shout Factory, 4kidsTV, and any other company I missed. I own nothing
"Talking"
"Thinking"
"Flashback"
Warning: The following episode contains scenes that might be intense for some readers. Reader discretion is advised.
DK
Even at night, Death Valley's temperatures were still very hot. Thankfully for two researchers, they had the air conditioning of their trailer to keep them cool. However, they are about to discover that the heat is the least of their problems.
Despite being researchers, both of them made two very stupid mistakes. One of which was leaving the campfire they used to cook their food burning. The other was that one of the rocks they used to keep the fire contained was actually a capsule. And they were about to learn from their mistakes the hard way when the capsule opened up and two cards fell into the fire, causing a red glow to appear.
Out of the red glow appeared a large theropod that was black with many red-orange stripes going along its body that resembled flames if you saw them from far away. This dinosaur was a Torvosaurus.
Once he appeared, the Torvosaurus looked around at his surroundings, nothing but desert. Believing this to be his homeland of the Jurassic, the Torvosaurus knew what was awaiting him ahead in his journey back north, and he would need all the food and water he could to survive such a long trip. He sniffed the air for the nearest source of nutrients and found himself in luck when he smelt some meat in the trailer to two researchers were sleeping in, and also smelt the researchers.
Moving closer to the trailer, the Torvosaurus looked inside and saw the two researchers sleeping. He recognized the creatures as humans and remembered about the ones that not only found him and his friends, but also became their new king. He now realized that he was also most likely not in the Jurassic, but instead in some human time period.
Nevertheless, the law of hunting other dinosaurs, and by extension humans, meant little when his life was on the line. If Seikatsu has forgiven him before, she should still now as long as he followed his code of honor that all carnivores carried: only kill what you need. He still had no idea where he was, and no reason to believe the world was any less barren.
Shifting his focus back to food, the Torvosaurus gave the trailer a slight nudge with his snout, causing the van to shake slightly. A second nudge with more force caused both of the researchers to fall out of their beds.
Getting onto their feet, the two of the saw the Torvosaurus looking straight at them through the window. They hugged each other and screamed just as the Torvosaurus smashed the window with his mouth, snapping at the two of them. Getting nothing but a mouthful of air, the Torvosaurus pulled his mouth out the window and decided to make another way in. He rested his arms on the roof of the trailer and immediately went to work biting and clawing the top off. Seeing their attacker was distracted, the two researchers wasted no time in running out the door of the trailer and getting as far as possible from the hungry dinosaur.
The Torvosaurus, too busy with the roof to notice his prey escaping, pulled a large chunk of it off with his teeth and had a better look inside. Sure enough, his prey was gone. The price for his ignorance. But the smell of food was still there. Taking what he could get, the Torvosaurus knocked the trailer onto its side before ripping it apart, eating whatever edible material was in there.
(Intro Theme)
It was just after breakfast that Bali and Nessie were washing their food down with a drink from the waterhole at the D-Lab. "So, you have any plans this afternoon?" Bali asked Nessie. "Because I was thinking we could go see a movie together."
"The only plans I have are staring at my reflection in a mirror all day." Nessie replied.
"So is that a yes to the movie?" Bali asked, not sure where she was going with this.
"As long as you understand that I don't like you." Nessie answered.
"Oh, no. You're not my type when it comes to romance. Toooooooooooooo-"
"Emo?" Nessie guessed.
"Monotone." Bali interjected. "Too monotone."
"That's not even a trait." Nessie pointed out, but knew it was worthless to argue.
"Hey, guys!" The two of them turned around and saw Torch approaching them. "I heard you were going to see a movie. Mind if I come along?"
"Oh, Torch." Bali said nervously. "Yeah, we'd love for you to come with us. It's just that...we...this outing is for members of a specific movie goers club, and only members are allowed."
"Oh." Torch said, not catching onto the obvious lie. "Well, do you have any openings?"
"Uh..." Bali pawed his foot on the ground in fear. "It's not that we wouldn't like you to join us, it's just that-"
"Putting it frank, we hate you and don't want you near us." Nessie said bluntly.
If he could snap his claws, which he was currently unable to do, Bali would've at Nessie's wording. "That's what I meant." He said before they both turned their backs on the Saurophaganax.
Sighing in disappointment at another failed socialization attempt, Torch left them to their business. As he walked across the sanctuary, he was meet with hostility. Sweet Tooth growled at him as she carried her breakfast away, Futaba squirted him with one of his Super Canons on a low setting, Mia hid Shep under her legs and looked like she would kill him if he came a step closer, and some like Diamond and Coal straight up attacked him if they felt he got too close. He didn't bother defending himself.
It seemed that even though the main members of the D-Team forgave him, majority of the rest of the herd still held him accountable for his actions and did not trust him in the slightest. Not that he could blame them. He did try to kill many innocent people and burned down a large portion of the city with his Fire Scorcher, which many of them were also on the receiving end of. And he couldn't use the excuse that he was brainwashed since it was clear that he wasn't. It seemed the only other ones that welcomed him were the Velociraptors and Deinonychus.
As he walked back to his cave, Pawpaw watched the Saurophaganax from afar before being joined by Guru. "I don't get it, Mr. Guru. Why is everyone so mad at Torch?" He asked his now legal guardian.
Guru sighed before responding. "Oh, they're just still angry with him for what he did all those months ago."
"Why? Torch said he was sorry." Pawpaw said, not understanding why everyone would choose hatred over friendship.
"Sometimes just saying sorry isn't enough for someone to forgive the other for their wrongdoing. They'll have to do something more to gain that forgiveness."
"But what does he have to do?" The young Pawpawsaurus wondered, expecting Mr. Guru to have the answer.
"...I don't know, Pawpaw." Guru admitted after a long pause as they saw Torch disappear info the darkness of the cave. "I don't know."
DK
Dr.Z's day started out as miserable as ever. He got out of bed, took his pills, brushed his teeth, curled his eyebrows, and just stared at his reflection in the mirror for what seemed like hours. Things just hadn't been the same since the news of their failed invasion reached his ears. And that was mainly due to one particular bit of news.
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!" Dr.Z screamed so loudly that the entire island shook. "You failed?! How could you have failed?!"
The A-Team cowered from their angry boss, Gigas, Maximus, and Armatus looked down in shame, Brontikens and Pyro remained emotionless, and the rest of the clones were slightly growling or glaring at the doctor, only not attacking due to Pyro's orders.
"I, uh, don't know what went wrong." Ursula spoke up shamefully. "Things were going exactly as Seth had planned."
"But then we suddenly found ourselves getting our buts kicked." Ed added.
"I personally blame those pirates." Zander said.
"Pirates?" Dr.Z repeated. "What pirates?"
"You know, Spectre and his lackeys. They were there helping the brats."
"Are you kidding me!?" Dr.Z shrieked. "Now, I not only have those damn kids to worry about, but also that bald-headed buffoon!" The old man grabbed the nearest item he could, in this case a wrench, and threw it at his minions, landing on Maximus' horns like a ring. "Is there anything else I need to know?! Anything else!"
"Well, we lost Torch and the Velociraptors." Gigas quietly said. "As well as Torch's Move Cards."
"Oh, well that's just fucking fantastic! Isn't that just a ray of sunshine?!" Dr.Z pulled his eyebrows with so much force that they were ripped from his head. "Oh, shoot. That'll need fixing." He said, slightly loosing the rage before regaining it and storming off. "I need to speak with Seth. We have to decide what to do next."
"Seth's not here." Pyro told him.
Dr.Z froze before turning around slowly. "You mean to tell me you left him behind!"
"We thought he was with us when we pulled out." Ursula said. "But once we were in the air, we saw no sign of him."
Before Dr.Z could further yell and scream at them, D.R.O.I.D came rushing in. "Doctor! Doctor!"
"What'd you want, D.R.O.I.D? I'm busy!"
"One of my Spy Droids just shared with me some footage he recorded. And you might want to see it." The android's eyes proceeded to glow before projecting a hologram of Rex's battle with Seth. It was too far away to hear what they were saying, but the Alpha Gang were able to see their tussle and Rex throwing Seth off the building. The video ended with Seth getting surrounded by the Velociraptors before getting cut off by too much fire.
When the video ended, everyone was expecting Dr.Z to be completely furious. But instead, the doctor had fallen to the ground in shock. "Seth's dead?"
D.R.O.I.D slowly nodded in confirmation. The A-Team and dinosaurs all shared Dr.Z's silent shock at the news. Everyone except Brontikens. "D.R.O.I.D, zoom in on the boy."
Confused by the Apatosaur's request, D.R.O.I.D complied and zoomed in on Rex. It was then that everyone else was able to see what made Brontikens so curious. Around the blonde's head was the crown that Dr. Ancient wore. The shock the humans had only grew. "Is-is that?" Ursula started.
"Dr. Ancients crown?!" All three of them finished.
"It's been a while, but it's impossible to mistake." Brontikens confirmed. "I hope you idiots understand what that means."
Dr.Z grit his teeth in so much rage that it was a surprise they didn't crack. "So that kid was the baby lost that day. Which means that not only is he Ancient's son, but also that his stupid plan worked and the brat is Dinosaur King!" He yelled in anger, scaring his minions. "Well, I sure do hope those kids enjoyed their time with those cards! Because now this is personal! And when I'm done with those brats, all the cards will be mine! And I will be the one true Dinosaur King!"
The bad news only grew when he found out Rod and Laura had abandoned him and joined the D-Team, meaning he'd have to also fight his own grandchildren. If anything good came out of all this, it's that Helga was back to normal. Although she had no memory of how she got injured in the first place, just that she was going to Chinatown to fetch Rod and Laura. Finding who damaged her would be another thing on the doctor's to do list.
But that didn't stop the constant misery from striking the doctor. With no new dinosaur for months, all he could do to obtain new cards was attack the D-Team again and again, and lose again and again. He also had to keep his eyes peeled for any government helicopters and planes that were seeking to find his island home. Thanks to the D-Team, everyone knew about the Alpha Gang and their evil deeds, putting a bounty on all their heads.
Why no one had invaded yet was anyone's guess, but Dr.Z just took it as the world leaders being idiots and chose not to complain about his luck. In reality, unbeknownst to anyone on the island, the Alpha Gang weren't deemed and international threat and the war was seen as Dinosaur Kingdom afairs. That and they were scared of what was on that island based on the D-Team's stories.
Just as the doctor finished up and went to have his breakfast, he heard a beeping noise, indicating that his island was being invaded. But instead of freaking out, he simply pulled a contently placed chain.
There was a flushing sound before the Alpha Gang dropped from the ceiling, completely soaked. "I see you're back." Dr.Z said, clearing uncaring.
"Do you even realize how long it took to swim all the way back here?" Ursula groaned and she removed starfish from her face.
"You survived, didn't you?"
"Yeah. And I learned how to swim." Ed said proudly, being the least messed up out of all of them.
"That was not swimming. That was floating." Zander said, straightening his back after pushing Ed all the way back.
"Oh, shut up." Dr.Z told them. "You failed so that's on you."
"Doctor, how much longer are we gonna keep these attacks coming?" Ursula asked. "I've lost count of how many times that Tyrannosaurus fried us."
"Pretty sure we're close to the triple digits by now." Ed answered.
"Until it stops being entertaining." Dr.Z said as he sat down at the table and face planted. "Oh, who am I kidding? Those stupid brats have probably found the rest of the cards. Why else hasn't there been a new dinosaur in forever?"
Right when he said that, the map appeared with a blinking dot. "Zander, turn off your phone." Dr.Z groaned.
"Uh, that's not Zander, sir." Ursula said as they looked behind themselves and at the map. "You might want to see this."
"What is it?" Dr.Z looked up and saw the glowing dot on the map. The doctor's eyes widened in surprise. "Where is that signal coming from?"
"Looks like Death Valley." Ed answered.
"So, it's actually a new dinosaur!" Dr.Z realized, growing a very creepy smile.
"Uh, Dr.Z?" The trio said nervously at the doctor's change in attitude.
"Well, don't just stand there!" He yelled at his minions. "Go and get that dinosaur before those brats do!" With the pull of a chain, the pipe that brought the trio into the room sucked them back in.
"Waaaah!" The trio screamed as they were sucked in.
"Helga, I hope you have something tasty for breakfast! Because today's gonna be a good day!" Dr.Z said gleefully.
DK
At the D-Lab; Max, Foolscap, Gavro, Chomp, and Terry were rewatching some of Max's battles form the past year, currently watching Terry's battle against Lola. "Get her, Terry!" Max cheered as he pumped his fists.
"Max, you already know what happens. We lived it." Terry reminded his partner.
"I know. But it's still exciting." Max explained.
"Eh, you got a point there." Terry shrugged as they continued watching.
A little bit later, Rex walked into the lab with his team. "Hey, guys. What are you doing?" The blonde asked before looking at the screen. "Is that our fight with Lola?"
"You mean my fight?" Terry asked, somewhat offended.
"Terry, don't start." Ace said with a small glare.
"Oh, Foolscap and Gavro decided to watch some of our old battles with us." Chomp answered.
"Wha-how?" Rex asked in confusion, a little creeped out by this information. "Do I even want to know how you got this?"
"Relax, kid." Foolscap assured him. "It's not like we spy on you or anything."
"Yeah. We've just been watching you without you knowing." Gavro added, earning a glare from his brother.
"I'm pretty sure that is spying." Rex deadpanned.
"...It was only for your adventures!" Foolscap defended.
Rex's team just rolled their eyes, knowing that this would go nowhere. "Okay, why are you watching our old fights?" Rex asked Max.
"Besides the fun of reliving our best, and worst-" He muttered the last part under his breath. "-Moments on the battlefield. I'm thinking we could make some sort of playlist and sell it to our fans."
"You want to make a playlist of our lives?" Tank repeated.
"We're still in the development stages." Max told her as the next battle started.
"Max, you do realize that this isn't a game, right? People can actually die." Rex reminded him with emphasis on death.
"Name one time someone's life was at stake." Max said.
"The time at the Great Wall where Zoe could've been either crushed by rubble or suffocated to death because you and I were too busy fighting each other." Rex answered in a second.
Max paused as he realized his friend had a point. Zoe could've died that day. "Well, to be fair, that was only our fourth mission." Chomp reminded them. "And we have gotten better."
"Y-yeah! Exactly!" Max quickly agreed. "Why're you even so worried?"
"Remember what Guru said? Our opponents are only going to get stronger." Rex told them.
"I respect Guru as much as everyone else. But I'm pretty sure that was just something he said to intimidate us." Terry shrugged it off.
Before the discussion could continue, Zoe came running through the doors with her team. "Did you guys see the news?!" She asked as she came to a stop.
"No. Why? What's on?" Foolscap asked.
Zoe pulled out her phone and showed them the report she recorded. The video showed images of a trailer that was torn to bits. "We bring you these images live from the deserts of Death Valley." The Anchorwoman said. "Where two researchers claim their trailer was the victim of a dinosaur attack."
"Dinosaur attack?" Everyone else repeated. Just when they said that, the Dino Holders started blinking. "Haven't heard that sound in a while." Max said with a smile.
"Then it's time we get moving." Rex said. "Where's Reese?"
"Right here." The blonde woman answered immediately, causing the king to jump in his skin.
"How long were you standing there?" Spiny asked.
"Long enough." Reese said as she typed in the coordinates. "Ready for transport?"
"You bet!" Max replied with a thumbs up.
"Just so you know, you might get a bit motion sick since it's been a while." Reese warned them as the D-Team pressed the transport buttons on their Dino Holders.
"Wait, what?" Zoe asked as they vanished.
"I'm pretty sure you don't get motion sickness from teleporting." Foolscap spoke up after they were gone.
"I know." Reese answered. "That was just-"
"A joke?" Gavro guessed.
"...Word play."
DK
After magically surviving getting shot from a canon all the way to Death Valley, the Alpha Gang found themselves struggling to stay on their feet. Well, Zander and Ed were struggling to stand. Ursula was just lying on a palanquin they were carrying, getting a tan while also staying cool with a fan. Eventually, the two men had been walking for so long that their legs gave out and the collapsed in the sand, dropping Ursula in the process. "Hey, I didn't tell you two to stop!" Ursula yelled at them before kicking the back of Ed's head.
"But it's so hot!" Ed cried as he pulled out a bottle of water he had and gulped it down in less than a second. "Why do we even have to carry you?"
"Yeah, Ursula! This is the hottest place on Earth! Would it kill you to do some work for once?" Zander yelled.
"Actually, yes it would!" The greenette responded by slapping Zander with her fan. "There's no way I'm having my skin get wrinkled thanks to this heat. I already have the brats calling me old lady enough times, and I don't need them to actually have a reason to say it."
"But what happens if we run into the dinosaur?" Ed brought up. "We'd be too tired to even fight it."
"That's why I'm keeping myself cool." Ursula responded in an 'uh-duh' tone. "So stop being such drama queens and get on your feet."
"Can't we just rest for a few minutes?" Zander requested, feeling like his legs were made of jelly and melting.
Ursula's eye twitched as she grew a tick-mark on her head. In the blink of an eye, she bashed Zander's face in the sand and was towering over the two men. "This is our first chance in months to get back on Dr.Z's good side, and you think that we should be resting!? Do you two have any idea what failure would mean!?" As she was yelling, she didn't notice the Torvosaurus appear behind her.
But the two men she was scolding did and they hugged each other in fear. "Uh, Ursula-" Zander quietly said.
"Shut up while I'm threatening you!" Their leader yelled at them before hearing a growling sound and noticing a drop of water land next to her. It was then she also noticed that it was suddenly darker. At first she thought it was rain, but Zander and Ed's expressions gave her a good idea of what it was. "The dinosaur's right behind me, isn't it?"
"Yep." The two men squeaked.
"Large carnivore?"
"Mm-hmm!" They both nodded.
Ursula turned around and saw the Torvosaurus looking right at them, ready to go in for the kill. "Run!" Ursula screamed as the three of them made quick tracks just as the Torvosaurus lowered his head down, getting a mouthful on sand instead of humans. Spitting the sand out, the carnivore, saw his prey running away and went after them. "Zander, you're so smart! Find a way for us to escape that thing!" Ursula ordered.
"Why can't Ed be the one who comes up with the idea!?" Zander asked.
"I say we- wait a minute." Ed paused as the world around the three froze. "Didn't we have this exact same conversation before in Africa?"
"Oh, yeah." Zander and Ursula remembered before time resumed itself.
"Wait! I see some bushes up ahead!" Ursula noticed. "We can hide in those!"
"Do you really think some bushes can stop a dinosaur?!" Zander asked sarcastically.
"Unless you have a better idea it's our only chance!" Ursula answered, forgetting the obvious solution to the problem. Agreeing with their leader, the three of them leapt straight into the bushes. Only to realize on impact that they were actually cactuses. "Yeoooow!"
The Torvosaurus eventually caught up with them and started ripping apart the cactuses to reach his prey. But eventually, the constant feeling of his snout getting poked was enough to make the Torvosaurus give up and leave the trio alone. He decided to go back to the trailer to see if there was anything left to eat that he missed.
From within the cactuses, the Alpha Gang sighed in relief from their near death experience. "What a prick." They all said.
DK
Shortly after the D-Team arrived, they found the trailer that was shown in the news. "So, this is the attack site?" Max asked as they looked at the trailer.
"Seems like it." Ace answered as he did some closer observations, noticing the claw and bite marks all over the trailer. "Judging from these markings and the size of them, I would believe that we're dealing with a Fire Element."
"Can you make out the scent?" Tank asked.
Ace sniffed the air briefly. His nose wasn't as strong as Terry's, but he was able to pick up the faint smell left over from the last time the dinosaur was there. "Barely." The Carnotaurus replied. "But I have no idea what it is."
Out of curiosity, Terry gave the air a sniff as well. He was able to pick up the scent that he assumed Ace said was the dinosaur, but something was off. "I can smell it just fine." Terry told Ace.
"Your nose is a lot stronger than mine." Ace reminded him.
"No, I can smell it too well for something that's long gone." Terry said as he continued sniffing. "In fact, the smell's getting stronger."
This was starting to get the others nervous. "What're you getting at?" Chomp asked.
"What I'm trying to say is that- WATCH OUT!" Terry suddenly screamed as the Torvosaurus appeared right behind the others and snapped his jaw at them. Everyone quickly moved out of the way and just barely managed to avoid getting caught.
The teeth scrapped Zoe's hair in the process, causing the young girl to fall into Max's arms. "You okay, Zoe?!" Max asked, worried for his friend's safety.
"I'm fine." Zoe said as she felt her hair. "He just cut my hair a little is all."
"Move!" Rex yelled as he pushed them out of the way of the Torvosaur's foot.
The team ran until they found a large rock for them to hide under. This proved to save their lives as the snapping jaws of the Torvosaurus couldn't squeeze in deep enough to grab them. "What is that?!" Terry asked, his heart racing from the near death experience as the Jurassic theropod continued his attack.
"A Torvosaurus!" Rex identified.
"What does he want?!" Paris cried as Chomp stood protectively in front of her. Spiny would've done the same, if he wasn't hiding behind Tank.
"Judging by the drool coming from his mouth, I'd say lunch!" Zoe answered as she and the boys crept back as far as they could.
"But why is he attacking us?! Doesn't he know the law?!" Tank brought up that fact that all dinosaurs should know.
"I don't think he cares!" Max replied as the Torvosaurus switched from trying to get them from under the rock to removing the rock and getting them from above.
"Wait a minute." Paris suddenly remembered. "Brontikens told me about a Torvosaurus that attacked his herd and killed his mother for food." She looked at the Torvosaurus, who had his head underneath the rock, slowly lifting it up, and started to fear the worse. "Please don't tell me he's who I think he is!" She pleaded.
The Torvosaurus was eventually able to flip the rock over and expose the D-Team. "Whether he is or not, I'd rather not wait to find out!" Zoe said as she recalled Spiny.
"DINO SLASH! GUSH OUT, SPINOSAURUS!"
Max quickly followed suit with Terry.
"DINO SLASH! FLAME UP, TYRANNOSAURUS!"
Once the two carnivores appeared, the Torvosaurus calculated them carefully. At least one of them should be enough to last him a couple weeks.
DK
"Oooooh. It's starting!" Foolscap squealed with excitement as he and Gavro watched the fight from the D-Lab, this time joined by a few dinosaurs.
"I've got the jumbo so we can share!" Gavro said as he pulled out a huge bag of popcorn.
"So all this time it wasn't Utah spying on us, but you two." Salty said with a glare at all parties.
"For the last time, I don't use the cameras to spy!" Utah yelled at the Saltasaurus.
"Yeah, that's more Reese's thing." Meg said while scratching her head with her foot. "Why else would she have made them? She clearly didn't trust us unsupervised."
"Ohhh." The others said in understanding. Utah sent the Megaraptor a glare but didn't say anything. It would keep them from accusing her of spying.
"Besides, no one would have a problem unless they had something to hide." Meg said, mentally smirking as she noticing some of them, particularly Diamond, looked around nervously, like they were being interrogated.
"They must never know." Diamond thought to herself, figuring she had to move her private hobby elsewhere. "They can never know I'm a brony."
"Excuse me." Delta spoke up. "But is there butter in this popcorn? 'Cause I'm lactose intolerant."
"Don't worry." Gavro assured the Deltadromeus. "I used a different yellow liquid for this popcorn." Foolscap immediately stopped chewing the popcorn he had in his mouth when he heard this, eyes widening at the implication. "And it's non-dairy." And cue the barfing.
It seemed Foolscap wasn't the only one disgusted. "Oh my god! You didn't!" Utah gasped, backing away in terror.
"I did." Gavro answered. "I used lemonade."
"Oh." This calmed everyone down.
All except for Foolscap. "Why?! You know I hate lemons!" The space pirate yelled at his brother before resuming regurgitation.
In the very back, Torch watched them quietly. He would've loved to join the others in watching the fight and having snacks, but he knew that if he went up there they would've just kicked him out. And he didn't want any of his friends to get ostracized as well, so he made sure that the Velociraptors couldn't find him.
DK
Back with the fight, the Torvosaurus continung carefully observing his two opponents. The red one may have been the smaller of the two, but he definitely seemed to have more meat on him. But the larger blue one was weaker and easier to kill. Of course, he had to account for if the other would leave once his friend is dead or try to avenge him.
With the Torvosaurus still calculating the risks, Terry and Spiny took this time to attack. Terry went first and headbutted the Torvosaurus in the stomach, causing the Jurassic carnivore to be knocked back slightly. With this opening, Spiny leapt into the air and landed right on the Torvosaurus. When the Spinosaurus got off, the Torvosaurus was lying in the middle of a small crater. "Great job!" Max cheered. "This has to be our easiest fight yet!"
"Max, don't say that!" Rex warned the brunette, knowing what that phrase leads to.
But Max ignored him and got out a Move Card to finish the fight. "Volcano Burst!" Fire gathered in Terry's mouth as he swung his head around before lowering it and sending a column of flames at the Torvosaurus, completely engulfing him. "Oh, yeah!" Max cheered.
Unfortunately, the celebration didn't last as the Torvosaurus got back onto his feet, unfazed by the attack. "W-w-wha?" Terry gasped.
"Did he take any damage?" Rex wondered, surprised by the Torvosaur's durability.
"This'll definitely hurt him!" Spiny said as Zoe activated the Move Card. "Shockwave!" A whirlpool formed around Spiny before it went straight for the Torvosaurus. The attack knocked the predator onto his back, but did nothing more.
"It's not working!" Chomp said as the Torvosaurus got back up.
"Thank you, Mr. Obvious." Zoe replied sarcastically before turning to Max. "Single attacks aren't working! We should try attacking together!"
"Great idea, Zoe!" Max agreed before both of them got out Move Cards. "Neck Crusher!"
"Tail Smash!"
Spiny began spinning around while also swinging his tail. The Torvosaurus, not realizing this was a Move Card, took the bait and went straight for Spiny's tail in an attempt to drag him down. What he didn't expect was for Spiny's tail to hit his face repeatedly before Terry tossed him into the air with his head. As he came back down, Spiny and Terry both hit him on the neck with their tails. "Yay! We broke his neck!" Spiny cheered as the Torvosaurus landed.
"Spiny, that's not a good thing!" Tank told him. "We don't want to kill him, just turn him back into a card!"
"Doesn't look like either of those are happening." Ace pointed out as the Torvosaurus got back up.
"Even that attack didn't work." Rex said grimly. "We need a new plan."
While the D-Team were distracted, it was the Torvosaur's turn to attack. Giving Spiny a taste of his own medicine, the Torvosaurus began hitting him repeatedly with his tail. "Ow, my face! Ow, my face again!" Spiny exclaimed before the Torvosaurus knocked him down with a swing from his head.
"Hang on, Spiny!" Terry called out to his friend as he rushed over to help. The Torvosaurus saw this and met him in a headlock.
Not too far away, the Alpha Gang emerged from the cactuses, completely covered in smaller ones. "I think we all got the point." Ursula said as she pulled a cactus from her back. "Aieeee!"
"What exactly was being made?" Ed asked as he pulled a larger cactus from his stomach. "Ouchie!"
"That Torvosaur's are complete-GAH!" Ursula yelped as Zander pulled a cactus from her butt. "Warn me before you do that!" She yelled at the tall man.
"Just be grateful that it was just the cactus that came off!" Zander retorted.
After pulling a cactus from his hair, Ed heard the unmistakable roar of Terry. "Hey, I know that roar." Crawling over to a small ledge, Ed was able to see Terry and the Torvosaurus still in their headlock. "Hey, guys, I found the dinosaur! And it's battling the brat's T-Rex!"
Zander and Ursula looked at where Ed was pointing and saw that there was in-fact a battle going on. Seeing the D-Team was ahead of them made Ursula grit her teeth in frustration. "Grr! If those brats think they can take another dinosaur just after Dr.Z's mood turned around they have another thing coming!" She declared as she pulled out her Alpha Scanner.
"I'm pretty sure we'd get abused regardless of the outcome." Ed muttered.
"ALPHA SLASH! DESTROY, APATOSAURUS!"
Brontikens appeared in a rainbow glow and landed right next to the trio, knocking all of them off their feet. The land around them turned to that of a Volcanic Time Warp. "Cutting it a little close there, eh, Brontikens?" Ursula grumbled as she got back onto her feet.
"Not my fault you chose to summon me right next to you." Brontikens retorted, not really caring about this argument.
"Just get them!" Ursula yelled at the Apatosaurus, who was already heading for the battle.
It started out as a simple trot, not wasting too much energy. He had a large amount of ground to cover before he reached the fight. He was able to see Terry fighting another theropod. Upon closer inspection, he recognized it as a Torvosaurus. And that's when it started.
The more he looked at the Torvosaurus, the more he started to look familiar. Not because he was among those that were turned into cards. No, something before that. But what? Possibly from his old herd? No, there weren't any Torvosaurs in the herd. The only time he recalled seeing a Torvosaurus before being found by Dr.Z was during the sandstorm. The Torvosaurus that killed his mother. Could this be the same one?
Unbeknownst to the Apatosaurus, the thought of the Torvosaurus and his mother's death were causing him to pick up speed. The closer he got, the better view of the Torvosaur's eyes he got. There was no mistaking it at this point. He remembered those eyes were something that haunted him for years as a child. They were the eyes of a killer. His speed started to pick up even more. That thing was a monster, a traitor. And, just like what Guru said, there was no room for traitors amongst the survivors. Especially in his herd. Just then, the memories of his mother's death came flooding back like a flash flood. Every horrific detail of that event he could remember, and that was the last straw.
He gave out a loud roar that could be heard for miles. Down below, Terry and the Torvosaurus stopped their fight and separated. "Brontikens?" Terry said as he looked around.
Like living TNT, Brontikens smashed through boulders 10 times larger than him like they were just bushes. He was now charging as fast as he could towards the Torvosaurus, eyes filled with red hot fury. "I'll kill you!" He roared at the Torvosaurus so loud that even the two dueling carnivores were slightly spooked.
The rest of the D-Team backed away slowly as the angry Apatosaurus got closer and closer. "Uh, Paris, to answer your question earlier, I think he is the same Torvosaurus." Max whispered.
"All this time!" Brontikens yelled at the Torvosaurus as he got closer. "All this time you were living right under my nose like a coward! You took away my family's lives! You broke the most important law to all dinosaurs! The punishment for such treason is DEATH!" He screamed as it looked like he was getting even faster.
Not knowing what Brontikens was talking about, the Torvosaurus decided to get rid of this new threat here and now. Magma began filling up in his mouth before he fired a Magma Blaster at the Apatosaurus. The attack struck Brontikens dead center, but it did not push him back. In fact, Brontikens was charging straight through it with no problem. When the attack stopped, there was a large burn mark on the Apatosaur's chest, but this did not slow him down at all. "We need to do something before he reaches the Torvosaurus!" Paris exclaimed, knowing that there'd be no stopping Brontikens from getting his revenge if they let him continue.
"Then we'd better act fast, Chomp!" Max said as he recalled the Triceratops.
"Same with us, Paris!" Zoe agreed as she copied Max.
"DINO SLASH! GO, TRICERATOPS! ROAR!"
"DINO SLASH! PARASAUROLOPHUS, BLOOM!"
Once the two of them landed, Max pulled out a Move Card. "Lightning Strike!"
Chomp fired the attack and once again it hit Brontikens without any problem. "Augh!" The Apatosaurus hissed, slowing down for a second before resuming his charge. "I cannot lose this fight! He must not live!" He told himself as he continued, rage clouding his vision until all he could see was blood red.
Seeing that Brontikens was taking damage, Zoe decided to end this now. "Emerald Garden!"
As the energy ball formed in Paris' mouth, Terry looked at the advancing Apatosaurus with pity before turning away. "I'm sorry." Was all he could say.
Paris released the attack and it made contact with the Apatosaurus. Immediately a small garden started forming around Brontikens as his energy was zapped away, causing him to stop in his tracks. Once the process was finished, Brontikens was barely able to stand on his feet. As his vision started to return to normal and his strength fading, he looked once more at the Torvosaurus. He looked into the beast's eyes and saw not the eyes of a heartless monster, but instead of a dinosaur like himself. One that had made very many hard decisions.
Eventually, he could no longer stand and collapsed before returning to his card. "That was a close one." Paris sighed in relief before noticing something wrong. "Where's the Torvosaurus?"
Terry sniffed the air again, but didn't pick up his scent. "He must've moved downwind. We'll have to move fast before the Alpha Gang- Chomp, look out!"
Quickly turning his head around, Chomp saw the Torvosaurus had leapt out of nowhere before landing right on top of his back. Chomp screamed in pain as the Torvosaurus started tearing the flesh off his back, trying to access the more vulnerable parts. Small chunks of flesh were scene getting torn off while blood started slowly dripping from his sides.
"Chomp!" Max cried. Not able to see his friend in so much pain, Max recalled him so he was able to recover in the card. The card appeared in Max's hand, his face completely pale after just witnessing one of his best friends get attacked so viciously.
Seeing the Triceratops having vanished from his grasp, the Torvosaurus looked around in confusion for his target before he turned his attention to a new victim. While Paris was the weakest, Spiny and Terry would most likely step in if he attacked her. So he decided to keep with his original plan and attacked Spiny.
The Spinosaurus saw the Torvosaurus approaching him and began to retreat. "Oh shit!" He exclaimed as the Torvosaurus bit his tail and lifted Spiny off the ground before slamming him right behind himself. With his opponent on the ground and his vulnerable parts exposed, the Torvosaurus grabbed his throat and started shaking his neck like a rag doll as his teeth sank in deeper and deeper. "Aaah!" Spiny cried out in pain.
Spiny swung his foot at the Torvosaurus in an attempt to get him to back off. At first it seemed to work, and Spiny was able to get back onto his feet. But this was actually a trick move by the Torvosaurus as he grabbed onto Spiny's arm. "AAAAH!" Spiny screamed as the pain massively increased when the Torvosaurus grabbed onto his arm and started to pull. After a few painful seconds, Spiny felt the bones in his arm snap after they were presumably ripped from their structure. An even louder blood curtailing scream filled the air, but the Torvosaurus kept pulling. The others could only watch in shock. Frozen in fear and unable to do anything.
Suddenly, Terry appeared out of nowhere and bit the Torvosaurus hard on the neck. All he was able to do was bite down harder and harder. The slightest movement could result in Spiny's arm getting torn off permanently. He remembered the pirates ability to heal all wounds, but he did not want to test the limitations of their technology, especially on a friend. "Zoe!" He called out to the human girl. "Call back Spiny and Paris, now!"
Terry's words snapped Zoe out of her trance. "Right!" She quickly complied and recalled her two dinosaurs before they could be further harmed.
"Hang on, Terry!" Rex called out to the Tyrannosaurus as he got his Dino Holder ready. "I'm sending in Ace and Tank!"
"No!" Terry replied as he let go of the Torvosaurus. "He's too strong for those two! Leave it to me! I can finish this now!" The two carnivores started circling each other, daring the other to make a move. "Max, the secret weapon!"
"Secret weapon?" Rex repeated as he looked at Max.
"He means this." Max said as he pulled out a familiar Move Card.
Rex took a closer look at the card. "Fire Scorcher." He whispered before looking back at Max with concern in his eyes. "You sure it will work?"
"There's nobody else there to get caught." Max assured his blonde friend before getting ready to attack. "Fire Scorcher!"
As the meteor began to form in Terry's mouth, a wall of fire surrounded the Torvosaurus. Normally this plush the blinding heat of the meteor would've prevented him from escaping, but years of being in the Jurassic desert had seemed to given the theropod some resistance to the heat. Looking around the wall of fire, the Torvosaurus was able to notice a small gap in the flames that he could leap through. Wasting no time, he dashed for the flames before leaping through them without any injuries just as Terry finished charging the meteor, though he did land on his side. "What?!" Everyone gasped at the Torvosaur's escape. "Terry, stop the attack!" Max quickly called out to the Tyrannosaurus.
"I can't stop it!" Terry responded as he let go of the meteor and it crashed right where the Torvosaurus was previously standing. "Augh!" Terry roared in pain before he returned from his card, too exhausted to continue.
As the Time Warp returned to Death Valley, the remaining members were speechless as they watched Terry's card float to the ground. "W-what happened?" Max said, not understanding both why the attack failed and why Terry returned to his card.
"The Torvosaurus must've found a way to escape." Ace said, just as shocked as everyone else. "As for Terry, that move apparently drains a lot of energy and can only be used by certain dinosaurs."
With their strongest dinosaur down and the Torvosaurus getting back up from his escape, the D-Team knew they were in serious trouble. "Now what?" Tank asked, showing a surprisingly large amount of fear.
"I don't know." Rex replied. "But we'd better think fast." He said as the Torvosaurus was now heading for them. With all the dinosaurs gone, he'd have to go with the next best thing if he was going to get any food to recover from that battle.
DK
Back at the D-Lab, everyone else was still watching the battle going on between the D-Team and Torvosaurus. Needless to say, they were all just as surprised as the kids and remaining dinos were at the power in this Torvosaurus. "That thing's a monster!" Iguano exclaimed.
"He's gonna kill them!" Teddy added in an equal tone, covering his eyes with his claws.
"Quick! Change the channel!" Gavro said as he looked for the remote.
"Gavro, you nitwit! This isn't fiction, this is real life!" Foolscap scolded his brother and hit him on the head.
"If you two are done arguing like idiots, we have bigger problems to deal with!" Ally screamed at the two guardians, clearly shaken up after what just happened with her boyfriend. "We need a plan!"
With their leaders out in the field, the rest of the dinosaurs turned to Guru for advise. "Mr. Guru, what should we do?" Pawpaw asked.
Guru closed his eyes as he tried to think of a solution. Sending everyone out there was too risky of a plan, especially since they couldn't be recalled if the Torvosaurus did something lethal. But if they didn't send someone then the kids, including their king, and fellow herd-mates would surely die.
From his hiding place, Torch watched the whole thing in silence. Ever since he had joined the herd, he saw the D-Team as an unbeatable team that couldn't be stopped by anything. They had managed to defeat someone like Seth for goodness sake. But now, here they were at the very mercy of a tiny Jurassic carnivore, at least compared to him, that would've been easy pickings if he were there. Although, maybe that was his villainous side telling him that.
"Now would be a good time for a plan, Guru." Kui urged the Ampelosaurus, breaking Torch out of his thoughts.
"Oh, shut up!" Guru hissed in frustration before opening his eyes. "We need to send one or more of us to that place. But I don't know who we should send."
That was the cue for volunteers, but there was a silence. Even the braver ones like Toro and Coal were hesitant after witnessing such brutality. Just when it seemed that he would have to go himself, someone spoke up. "I'll do it." Everyone turned to see Torch emerge from his hiding place.
While his friends looked at him with concern, the rest of the herd showed disdain. "Oh, great! Who let him in?!"
"Nobody asked for your opinion!"
"Go back to the Alpha Gang!"
Guru ignored the protests and looked at Torch worryingly. "Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked the Saurophaganax. "It would do you no good to go on this mission just to play for sympathy."
"It's not about sympathy." Torch retorted.
"It's about helping that Torvosaurus rip them to shreds!" Someone else butted in, most likely Diamond, earning a glare from Guru that shut them up.
"Guru, I can handle that Torvosaurus. I'm arguably the strongest here." Torch walked over to the platform used for teleporting and stepped on it, careful to avoid hitting the large lamp above. "I'm going no matter what any of you say about me."
He looked at Reese, silently telling her to teleport him. The older woman was hesitant of sending Torch to where the Torvosaurus was, under the impression that they may team up and kill her sister and friends. But she knew that doing absolutely nothing would end in the same result without question. Sighing to herself, she sent Torch a warning glare and pressed the button for teleport. A bright light engulfed the Saurophaganax before he completely vanished.
Immediately, there was a small gasp rising from the herd before several of the dinosaurs went for the platform to have themselves teleported in an attempt to stop Torch. "Hurry!"
"We can't let him get away!" Were some of the things said in the panic.
However, Guru immediately stepped in front of them and blocked their path, with help from Pawpaw and the Velociraptors. "I know you're all worried. But rushing in won't do us any good." Guru tried to calm them all down.
"You just let Torch-"
"Maybe if you all would stop being a bunch of jerks you'd realize that he's been trying to change and become our friend!" Pawpaw yelled at them all. "You're all the grownups here! Start acting like grownups!"
No one had anything to say after that little tirade, some even looked down in guilt after thinking about how they've been treating Torch. "Couldn't have said it better myself." Victor told Pawpaw. "Guru's taught you well."
"To be fair, I don't do all the teaching." Guru replied, making Pawpaw blush.
DK
Back in Death Valley, the Torvosaurus was now charging straight for the D-Team. The kids could do nothing but slowly back away. If they ran, he would catch them. If they tried to hide, he'd destroy it. One could say they were trapped between a rock and a hard place, but one side was closing in on them fast. Knowing it was either fight or die, Rex turned to Ace and Tank. "Do you guys think you can take him?"
"Unlikely." Ace replied. "But we should be able to stall to give you guys enough time to escape."
"That's awfully optimistic." Tank told the Carnotaurus.
"No." Max quietly said, catching onto what Tank and Ace were talking about. "No, there has to be another way!"
"Unless you think a bleeding Triceratops and half dead T-Rex can handle him, stop whining and get out of here!" Tank yelled at the brunette.
Max was about to retort, but Zoe stopped him. "Max, they'll have a better chance of surviving if we get out of here now and cover more ground so we can recall them sooner."
"That's exactly my plan." Rex said as he got out his Dino Holder. "Once I give the signal, run for your life."
Just as the Torvosaurus was about to lunge, and Rex summon his dinosaurs, a bright light appeared in front of the Torvosaurus, temporarily blinding him and forcing him to back off. Right when his vision returned, he was met with a headbutt to the chest that knocked him to the ground. Snarling as he got back up, the Torvosaurus saw that it was a Saurophaganax that attacked him. "Torch!" The D-Team exclaimed with delight.
"What're you doing?!" Max asked him, more frightened than relieved. "He'll kill you!"
"I'll be fine!" Torch replied as the Torvosaurus started getting back onto his feet. "Get out of here! I've got this one!"
"Are you cra-" Max was cut off by both a shove from Rex and Zoe dragging him away by the shoulders.
"I hope you know what you're doing." Ace said before he and Tank joined their partner in retreat.
"So do I, Ace. So do I." Torch agreed before he charged at the Torvosaurus, who responded by doing the same. The two met each other in a headlock, trying to push the other down.
After a few minutes, the two of them separated and started snapping their jaws at each other. This went on until the Torvosaurus had managed to grab onto Torch's neck from above. The Saurophaganax winched in pain from the bite, but held on, even as the Torvosaur's teeth sank in deeper and deeper, causing blood to start seeping out. Torch responded quickly by bitting the Torvosaur's neck from below with all his might, as well as clawing him the best he could. Eventually, a bump from Torch's neck was enough to get the Torvosaurus to let go. "That's the way, Torch! Show that jerk who's top predator!" Zoe cheered.
"You can do it!" Rex added.
Max just stayed quiet, instead looking at Chomp and Terry's cards. "I'm sorry, guys. If only I'd listened." He told them while nearly quivering.
Immediately after they separated, Torch rammed the Torvosaurus in the gut. The black theropod rolled across the ground before crashing into a small bolder. Getting back onto his feet, a red glow started to appear from the Torvosaurus. "Watch out, Torch!" Ace warned him. "He's going to use Magma Blaster!"
"Copying my style, huh?" Torch said as he started glowing the same red color. "Well, why don't we find out which of us uses the move better?"
Both of them started gathering magma in their mouths, raising themselves slightly, slamming a foot into the ground, and firing at the other. The two attacks made contact with each other, leading to a struggle between the two magma-spewing theropods. Both of them were pushed back, their feet sinking into the ground. Neither of them were willing to let the other get even the slightest bit of edge. They both had too much on the line. Torch needed to save his friends, and the Torvosaurus needed food.
After what seemed like hours, one of the beams of magma started to push the other back. Fearing the worst, the team looked at Torch to find that he was the one gaining the upper hand. "Yay, Torch!" "You got this, Torch!" They cheered for the Saurophaganax.
With the encouragement from his friends, Torch gave everything he had into the attack. The beam kept getting closer and closer to the Torvosaurus until it made contact with his face and started pushing him back until the beam faded and the Torvosaurus was defeated. The Saurophaganax gave a loud roar of victory while the D-Team ran over to congratulate him.
"Torch, that was amazing!" Zoe congratulated.
"You definitely showed that Torvosaurus a thing or two. Good job." Ace added.
"That was awesome." Rex said.
"Man, am I glad you're on our side." Tank said.
They all looked to Max, who seemed distracted. "Huh? Oh! Yeah, you did a good job, I guess."
This immediately killed the mood. "What's your problem?" Tank asked.
Max's expression changes from depressed to annoyed at the question. "Do I have to remind you guys that three of us almost died?! They could've died! Forever!"
"I know what death means." Rex growled, sending the message to Max to shut up as it was reminding him of his father.
"My point still stands. Those three are probably suffering in their cards. And that's not even the biggest problem."
"What is?" Zoe asked.
Max picked up the Torvosaurus card and held it in front of them. "What do we do with him? He's the reason our dinos were nearly bleeding to death or eaten!"
"The answer's simple, we rip up the card and through it in the nearest lake." Tank replied.
"Tank!" The rest yelled at her.
"We can't just kill him!" Torch objected.
"Last time I checked, he betrayed the law! So, yes we can!" Tank retorted.
"Guys, you can't be seriously taking his side?" Max told the others. Ace and Zoe looked unsure while Rex seemed to agree with Torch. "But...he tried to kill us all!"
"So did I, and you all forgave me." Torch reminded Max. "We know nothing about him. There has to be more to his story."
"And, according to the law, anyone accused of treason is allowed a trial." Rex remembered his lessons from Guru. "And as King, I say that he will have that trial before judgement is passed."
DK
The first thing they did after they returned to the D-Lab was check on Chomp, Spiny, and Terry. Surprisingly, Chomp and Spiny's wounds seemed to have healed while they were cards. Something that has been seen before and was expected, but not to this extent. However, Terry still was a bit tired while Spiny's arm was very sore and needed to be in a sling for a few days, though the bones had mostly fixed themselves.
After making sure their friends were okay, next came the Torvosaur's trial. They all stood in front of the cell that the Torvosaurus was in, they couldn't find anything to restrain him for a more proper trial, and looked at the carnivore, who looked unfazed from the hostility he was receiving by the kids and chibi dinosaurs. "So, are you going to say something or just continue glaring at me?" The Torvosaurus asked.
"Shut up, killer!" Spiny yelled at the Torvosaurus. "You almost ripped off my arm!" He exclaimed as he showed his sling for effect.
"And I'm only happy to do the same to you." Tank added, wanting justice for her boyfriend.
But the Torvosaurus seemed more interested in the insult than the threats. "Killer? Is that supposed to be my name?"
"Might as well be." Tank growled.
"I like it. Gives me an air of menace." If he could smile, Killer definitely would.
"Enough stalling!" Rex yelled, slamming a gavel he conveniently had against the bars. "Killer, if that's what you wish to be called, you stand accused of both attempted murder and actual murder of innocent dinosaurs. How do you plead?"
"Are you asking if I did those actions, or do I find myself guilty?" Killer asked, clearly knowing the answer but choosing to humor them. Rex sent him a glare that gave the Torvosaurus the message. "Very well. To answer your question, yes, I did kill many dinosaurs."
"He admits it! Kill him!" Spiny exclaimed before rushing towards the bars, only to get pulled back by Rex.
"I'm assuming you have a good reason for such actions." Rex said to Killer. If he didn't know about his father, he would've not given the Torvosaurus a chance. But if his father chose to save and keep him in the herd, there had to be an explanation.
"You seem to be quite patient with a murderer." Killer told Rex. "And if the crown says anything, you must be Ancient's kid." Rex gave a nod of confirmation. "Then I don't see much reason to worry."
"I think you should." Chomp warned him. "You should know the consequences for murder."
"What you call murder, I call surviving." Killer calmly retorted. "I don't ever recall seeing your kinds in the desert, so I assume you're all Cretaceous dinosaurs. Well, let me inform you of something that might surprise you."
"We already know about how the Jurassic was." Paris interrupted. "How only the lands north were safe."
"Good to know that I don't have to explain everything. Anyway, I myself, along with some friends, were on our way to the north to escape the desert. But, we obviously needed food to continue, and game was near impossible to find. So, we had two choices: hunt any herds we came across for food, or starve to death."
"So you chose murder." Tank said dryly.
This time, Killer responded by snapping the bars right in front of her. "Were you there?! No, you had it easy! I found myself in a constant struggle of morals every darn time we had to eat! We only ate what we needed and nothing more! So don't you dare go judging us! Especially if you're a vegetarian!"
Tank was about to retort, but Rex stopped her. "Do you really have regret for your actions?" He asked Killer.
"It kept me alive, so not quite. But I didn't enjoy it if that's what you're thinking."
"And do you respect the law?"
"I respect both the crown and law. But I also believe that if I'm forced to, I do have the right to kill to survive." Killer responded.
"Then you'll be happy to know that you won't have to do that ever again." Rex said as he unlocked the cage and started opening the door.
"Rex, are you-"
"Yes." He cut Zoe off. "I pardon all past crimes that he is accused of now and forever."
Once the door was open, Killer stepped out and bowed his head. "Thank you, Your Majesty. I promise you can trust me."
"I hope so." Terry said before noticing Max leaving the room. Motioning for Chomp to follow him, the two of them went after the brunette. "Max, wait up!" Terry called out.
Max stopped but didn't look back. "Are you okay? You seem rather distant." Chomp asked.
"I-I-I-" Max croaked out. "I'm sorry!" He finely said before quietly weeping. "It's all my fault! If I hadn't been so careless you two wouldn't have been hurt!"
Chomp and Terry looked at each other before sighing. "Max, that wasn't your fault." Chomp assured his partner. "You couldn't have done anything to stop Killer's sneak attack."
"And I was the one that told you to use Fire Scorcher without practicing it ever." Terry added.
"But-"
"Not buts." Chomp said. "Like I said before, we're a team."
"Yeah, but I apparently didn't understand how serious this all was until my friends were getting torn to pieces." Max said grimly. "I just thought it was all a game."
"If it's about what I said earlier, you might want to hear what I have to say first." Rex said as he walked over to them, making Max and the others turn around.
"Rex, you were right. This job isn't a game. There's actual risks involved. I should've have realized that immediately instead of thinking about marketing."
"I was actually going to tell you that I'm okay with your little plan." Rex said.
"Wh-what?" Max said in surprise.
"If it hadn't been for your, Foolscap's, and Gavro's obsession, we might have been done for. And, if I'm being honest." He looked down with a blush. "I really only objected due to the consequences of your plan."
"What consequences?" Max asked.
Rex's blush became so red that he looked like a tomato. "The fans." He whispered, earning a laugh from Max and his partners.
Meanwhile, Torch was drinking from the waterhole. Ever since he came back from Death Valley, he was flooded with apologies from the rest of the herd. It almost made him wish they still hated him, almost. "Hey, Torch." Looking up from his drink, he saw Bali and Nessie approaching him. "The club as been speaking and we found ourselves an opening and we were wondering-"
"We're going to see another movie, and he wants you to join us." Nessie interrupted Bali.
"...What she said."
"Really?" Torch said. "What movie?"
"Weeeeeeeell." Bali stretched the word. "We don't exactly know yet since-"
"He got us banned from the theater after an incident that's best left to the past, so we're going to the video store to rent one." Nessie interrupted him again.
"Why are you always interrupting me?" Bali asked as he and Nessie starting walking off to the store, slightly embarrassed.
"You're always stalling. I just get to the point quicker." The Amargasaurus explained.
Torch rolled his eyes as he followed them. It sure felt good to be both respected and accepted.
DK
Meanwhile, the mood at Zeta Point was bittersweet. Dr.Z was in quite the happy mood, watching his henchmen getting trampled by Brontikens while eating some of Helga's Liverwurst. The Apatosaurus gave the trio a powerful kick that sent them crashing right at Dr.Z's feet before leaving to train. "Thank you, Brontikens. That was pretty entertaining." Dr.Z said.
"Why exactly were we being trampled?" Zander asked.
"Better question, why are you so happy?" Ursula asked.
"Why? Because dinosaur cards are showing up again! There's still hope for me! I will get all the rest of the cards! Then I will take out Ancient and his followers and become Dinosaur King!" Dr.Z exclaimed before laughing evilly. "Ahahahahaha- urk! Gack!" Until he found himself choking on some Liverwurst, promoting Helga to smack his back to force him to cough it up.
"No laughing with your mouth full." Helga reminded the doctor as she left.
"Yes. Helga."
Next Time on Dinosaur King:
Max: So, we're dealing with a long necked, theropod quadruped with a club tail?
(Max draws depiction of dinosaur in the snow)
Max: Does this look familiar?
(The dinosaurs look at Max's drawing)
Tank: I can tell you what that is. The 'Kill-Me-asaurus'
A/N: Over 100 favorites and 90 followers. You guys rock!
As for this chapter, definitely had more worried at first. But now I'm a lot more confident in its reception.
The bit with Max and the pirates watching their past battles came with the idea that I would help grow their fan clubs. Now fans can see their adventures. Almost like one of those watching yourselves fics. Please do not ask how far this power can go, it'll hurt your brain and mine. But while writing that bit, I did realize I would help me grow Max's character, seeing as he is the most immature of the team and probably doesn't take things as seriously as Rex without experience, the cruelest way to gain wisdom.
As for Killer, he is not evil. He did what he did because he had to survive. He is not a villain, and will not be getting the same thing we just got with Torch. Now you can probably tell where the title came from. And this is pretty much, I'd say, the conclusion of Torch's redemption arc.
One last thing, guests have been asking to write spin off stories, and I've been ignoring till now since they don't have accounts. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to see some more from people other than Harold. I'll rephrase my rules so people can understand.
-Permission is not a requirement.
-However, crediting the source is. Failure to do so will result in me reporting your story. I already have someone on Wattpad doing that, I refuse to have it here.
-Tell me about it so I can read it. I can tell you it would be pretty hard to get me to hate a spin-off of my own story.
Hopefully that answers all questions.