The Dino Patrol
Disclaimer: Dinosaur King is owned by Sunrise, Shout Factory, 4kidsTV, and any other company I missed. I own nothing
"Talking"
"Thinking"
"Flashback"
DK
It was a quiet night in a neighborhood in Sanjo City, and all the residents were sound asleep. In one particular house, a young couple were sleeping when it happened. A noise from the backyard woke them both up. It was hard to tell exactly what it was, but it sounded like something digging in their garden. "What's what?" The girlfriend asked her boyfriend.
"Probably a stray dog or something." The boyfriend answered as he got out of the bed. "I'll take care of it." Walking down the stairs, he grabbed a flashlight and a hammer before stepping outside into the backyard. "Hey! Get out of there!" He yelled at the dog.
However, the dog didn't seem to respond to his demand. Just as he was about to repeat himself, he realized that this dog sounded a lot bigger than any dog he's ever seen before. In fact, it didn't sound like a dog at all. Now he was starting to get worried. He slowly shinned the flashlight over to the culprit and was able to see on of its legs, which were a tan color. Yet, there was no fur on those legs, only scales. Slowly moving the flashlight up, the man was able to get a look at its face. It was a ankylosaur with an orange back and many yellow spikes all over it: small ones from the tail to the midsection, a large set near the shoulders, finishing with a slightly smaller set on the neck. There were also many coming off the sides, two of which were super long near the shoulders. What he wasn't able to see was that this species of ankylosaur lacked the club tail found on most other species. This dinosaur was an Edmontonia.
Realizing there was a dinosaur in his backyard, the man screamed in terror and ran back inside to call for help, dropping his flashlight in the process. Altered by the man's screams and flashlight hitting the ground, the Edmontonia dropped the flowers he was chewing and quickly made a run for it.
It wasn't long afterwards that the police arrived, with Toro and Lola in case a fight broke out, and followed the man into the backyard. ""I-i-i-i-i-" The man tried to say but was too terrified to tell them.
"Spit it out!" Lola stomped her foot in an attempt to get the man to blurt out the dinosaur's location.
"It-it was right over there!" He pointed directly in front of where they were standing.
The police shinned their flashlights over the area the man claimed to see the dinosaur, but saw no sign of it at all. "I don't see any dinosaur." One of the officers said.
This got the neighbors that were woken up by the man's freak out pretty pissed. "Are you kidding me?!"
"You woke us up at four in the morning for this?!"
Despite the lack of dinosaur in the yard, the police still investigated the crime scene. Something clearly was there judging by the chewed up flowers, and the foot prints they saw nearby were too large and deep to be anything else. "Hang on." A detective told the angry crowd. "Something tells me this man was telling the truth about a dinosaur in the backyard."
"If that's the case then why didn't any of us see it when it was running away?" Someone asked, prompting many to agree with him.
"If I had to guess, it's because it didn't escape on ground, but instead under." Toro told them before showing them all a large hole near the fence that the no doubt the as yet unknown dinosaur used to escape. "Seems we have a tunneler on our hands."
(Intro Theme)
"As we enter day five of the dinosaur hunt, over forty houses have found themselves victims of this mysterious garden feeder." The Anchorwoman said to the camera as the screen changed to show many damaged gardens as a result of the Edmontonia's visits, though the public was not aware of the dinosaur's identity yet.
The screen then went full as it cut to an interview with Spiny. "Weelll, obviously we have a wild dinosaur in Sanjo City. He's digging into your gardens, eating your flowers up. So you need to hide your kids, hide your wives, and hide your husbands 'cause he's chomping on all your stuff." The Spinosaurus said to the camera before it cut to various officers and the D-Team investigating crime scenes.
"Despite efforts from both the officers and the D-Team, authorities have been unsuccessful in apprehending the suspect, escaping through tunnels it made that possibly go all through the neighborhood it was discovered in and covering its trails with large piles of dirt." The Anchorwoman narrated over the footage. "In response to this ongoing crime spree, authorities have began to set up night watches around the neighborhood in order to catch the dinosaur before it can strike again. However, the mystery surrounding the dinosaur's identity has left many officers actually leaving the case out of fear, leaving only the D-Team able to keep watch. However, it seems that the area of the attacks is too large for just one group. And now onto the weather."
DK
In the city's police academy, many new recruits stood at attention as Toro paced in front of them. Since the Battle of Sanjo City, Toro's experience as a dinosaur military leader had earned him and Lola, who had a similar background of a different division, the responsibility of training recruits to deal with dinosaur attacks in case they needed to defend themselves.
"All right, maggots!" Toro said to the rookies. "I am Master Sergeant Toro Torosaurus! But you will just call me Master! Is that understood?!"
"Yes, Master." One of the rookies replied.
Toro looked at the rookie and realized that he was black. "Oh. Uh..." The Torosaurus started to look uneasy at the implications. "Well, not you. That's... kinda racist. I don't really feel comfortable... how about everyone just call me Sergeant! Yeah! That'll work! Anyway, you are here because you all are weak! Because you are pathetic! Because if you saw a dinosaur about to attack you, you would wet your pants and scream for your mommies!" The Torosaurus yelled at them as he continued pacing the front of the line.
It wasn't long after that Lola approached from behind him. "Dear?"
"Honey, I'm in the middle of prepping the rookies for training." Toro said to his mate, dropping the drill sergeant tone.
"I know, but King Rex is here and wishes to speak with out about the growing garden theft." The Stegosaurus explained.
"What on earth would he want me for?" Toro thought before turning back to the rookies. "I have to take this call. Lola will run you through your basic exercises while I'm gone." He told them as he left.
Once he was gone, Lola swung her tail, daring for someone to ask her what she was doing. "Tell me, how good are you all at jump rope?"
As Lola no doubt lowered the amount of rookies, Toro went to the academy entrance where he saw the Dinosaur King waiting for him, the backpack on his shoulders suggesting he was heading to school. His injury had completely healed by now so he no longer needed the crutches. "Greetings, Your-
"Let's skip the formalities, Toro, I'm on a tight schedule." Rex stopped the Torosaurus, looking like he was about to sprint at any moment.
"Is something wrong?" Toro asked. "Besides the dinosaur constantly escaping and feasting on gardens?"
"Look, since we know nothing about this dinosaur other than a few details, the police force is too afraid to search for it. That leaves my friends and I to have to search the whole neighborhood for it before the Alpha Gang take it." Rex explained. "Problem is, it only appears at night and the neighborhood it attacks is large. We can't stay up that late since we have school to worry about. That's why I'm asking you a favor."
"A favor?" Toro repeated.
"I want to you train some volunteers for a night watch of dinosaurs." The blonde told the horned dinosaur. "I feel that if you can all work together as a team, you should be able to catch the culprit."
"My own team?" Toro said to himself as he began to imagine himself standing proudly in front of a team of ferocious looking dinosaurs, his skin covered with medals of honor as a crowd cheered for him. It would be just like the old days, but even better. Realizing what this meant, Toro stood proudly in front of the king. "I promise to not let you down, sir!"
"Thank you, Toro. I can always count on you." Rex said before turning around and sprinting to school before he was late.
As the king left, Toro immediately put his brain to work. He'd need a good team for this mission. A diverse team that could cover each other's weaknesses. Thankfully he had many to pick from. Including his beloved mate; Lola.
"OWW! MY LEG!" Someone yelled from inside the academy.
"Walk it off!" Lola told them in reply.
DK
At the same time, Cretacia was in the guest room room at the Taylor's house looking at herself in a mirror. She wanted to look her best before her meeting with Dr. Owen, the man who took in her son after her family was separated twelve years ago. This wasn't supposed to be a romantic date, just simply them meeting each other over some lunch at a casual restaurant.
She was just about finished when she heard a knock at the door. "Come in." She told whoever was on the other side.
The door opened up and Spike walked into the room. "Hey, Cretacia." Spike greeted her. "Looking lovely today."
"Thanks, Mr. Taylor." Cretacia thanked her host.
"Please, Mr. Taylor was my father. Call me Spike." Spike told her. "I was just checking to see if you needed anything before you went out."
"I should be just fine with a lift, thank you very much." Cretacia replied before turning her attention back to her reflection in the mirror, making sure her eyebrows weren't too thick.
Spike could tell that despite her optimistic appearance, there was something troubling her. "Something wrong?"
Cretacia gave a long sigh in response. "It's just... things haven't been the same since Ancient died. I know everyone's been trying their hardest, and I appreciate their efforts, I really do, but it still hurts knowing our family won't be complete again." She sniffed as she wiped a tear from her eye. "I used to be much more excitable and happy, always having a smile on my face. Now I've been reduced to a sobbing widow."
Seeing that she was about to cry, Spike placed a hand on her shoulder. Cretacia looked up from her hands and looked into Spike's eyes. "Look, Cretacia, I cant say I know what you're going through without lying. When Rex first found out what happened to his father, poor kid was devastated. However, you have to understand that life goes on. You can't mourn forever." He gave Cretacia a reassuring smile. "Come on, let's go to the car. I'm sure that your mood will improve once you meet Dr. Owen in person."
Sniffing again, Cretacia nodded and followed Spike. "Thanks, Spike."
"Hey, I'm supposed to make sure everyone in this house stays happy!" Was Spike's reply. What neither of them noticed was that Aki heard them from the kitchen, placing a hand on her heart.
DK
At the middle school, it was lunchtime for the students as they gathered in the schoolyard to chat with friends and have some well deserved lunch. Like always, the D-Team ate their meals together on a bench under a tree. "So, how was class today?" Rex asked as he took a bite out of his sandwich.
"Oh, the usual." Zoe replied.
"Blah, blah, English. Blah, blah, science. Blah, blah, math homework." Was Max's reply. Rex simply shook his head and rolled his eyes while smiling.
Things went about as they normally do until someone approached them. He was a kid with strawberry blonde hair and a yellow scarf around his neck. As he strutted over to the D-Team, it was evident very quickly that he was trying way too hard to look cool. He looked over at a couple of girls eating together and flashed a smile at them while pointing in their direction. The girls responded by giggling and blushing.
Zoe rolled her eyes at the girl's' reaction and went back to her lunch, trying to ignore him as best as she could. However, this wasn't possible as the boy leaned against the tree they were sitting under. "Hey, Zoe." The boy greeted her.
Zoe repressed a sigh as best she could before addressing him. "Hello, Jim. How are you today?"
"Oh, it was going fine." He replied before moving uncomfortably close to Zoe. "Until I saw a beautiful face that made it amazing."
As Jim leaned in closer, Zoe moved back further, giving a creeped out smile. "That's wonderful, Jim." Zoe replied as her eyes slowly looked at her friends. "Help me." She said through her teeth.
Max, who never really liked Jim, inhaled deeply. "So, Jim, got any other girls you could flirt with?" He glared at the other boy. Rex responded to this with a facepalm.
Jim didn't seem at all fazed by Max's comment. "What'd you take me for, a player? It's not like I flirt with every girl in school. I'd never finish. I just give the ladies what they want and focus on what I want."
"I fail to see how that doesn't make you a player." Max retorted, sharpening his glare.
Before Jim could say anything else, Rex stepped in. "So, is there something else you wanted to talk about, Jim?" The blonde asked.
"Hmmm?" Jim was dreaming about Zoe as his girlfriend before he remembered something his father wanted him to ask the Dinosaur King. "Oh, that's right! Dad wants to know what's taking so long with catching the Garden Thief."
"There's been slight complications in getting a team set for night watches." Zoe explained. "Many officers don't like the idea of going against a dinosaur they don't even know the species of." Jim was only half listening when Zoe was talking, imagining her saying things like 'Oh, Jim, you're so amazing!' or 'Please date me!'
"Thankfully, I've gotten my best man for the job already setting up a team of his own. So the attacks should be done soon." Rex assured him.
Jim snapped out of his fantasies once Rex started talking and nodded. "Good. My dad would hate to see our vegetables ruined by whatever this dinosaur is." Saying all he wanted, he left the team to their business, but not before flashing another wink at Zoe, which the pinkette covered her face from.
Once he was gone, Max took a big bite out of his sandwich. "Good riddance." He said as he chewed.
"He doesn't mean any harm, Max. He just isn't able to take hints that I'm not interested very well." Zoe assured her brunette friend.
"Whatever." Max grumbled as he took a long sip of his drink before addressing Rex. "So, Toro said he'd take the job of night patrol?"
Rex nodded in confirmation. "Well, that's a load off my shoulders." Zoe sighed in relief as she laid against the tree. "I can actually get some beauty sleep now."
"Hopefully, so can I." Rex agreed.
DK
At the police academy, Toro paced in front of a line of his new recruits. They consisted of Lola (obviously), Sushi, Aqua, Swift, Sweet Tooth, Grumpy, and Kui. The new recruits all stood at attention as their leader inspected them like a hawk searching for a mouse in a field. While Lola, Kui, and Swift was flawless in their inspection, Sushi, Grumpy, and Sweet Tooth all seemed to be more relaxed and Aqua's legs were possibly shaking as she silently told herself that she shouldn't have ate before she came there.
After what seemed to be hours of Toro pacing, the Torosaurus came to a stop at the head of the line. "All right, troops! I don't think I need to explain why you're here today!"
"Not really. You just dragged us here by the tail when we said yes to helping you with whatever." Sweet Tooth responded. "I was in the middle of an order."
"You wouldn't have been able to finish it all, anyway." Swift muttered loud enough for the Mapusaurus to hear, earning a growl from the larger theropod.
"Silence in the ranks!" Toro ordered them.
"But you just-"
"I will tell you directly if you're allowed to speak, Croc-Head!" He told Sushi.
"Croc-Head?" Sushi said to herself quietly.
Seeing two of his recruits weren't worth having a conversation with, Toro turned his attention to Aqua. "Club-Neck! Care to fill the rest of them in on the situation we're facing?"
"Uuuuuh." The Shunosaurus slightly backed away from the angry Torosaurus before answering. "Doesn't it have something to do with the dinosaur that's been attacking several backyards?" She closed her eyes, expecting Toro to scold her for her response.
Thankfully, all Toro did was nod in reply. "Correct, solider. Whoever the Garden Thief is has been on the run for five days now."
"Makes you wonder how that is possible." Sushi joked, earning a jab from one of Toro's horns. "Ouch!"
"Did I ask you to speak?! No, I did not!"
"Uh, permission to speak, sir?" Swift asked as stuck his head out of the ranks, careful not to anger the Torosaurus further.
"Permission granted."
"What does the garden wrecker play into how you're talking?" The Majungasaurus asked before his eyes widened at the realization of his word choice. "No, wait! I didn't mean-"
Toro stomped the ground, getting Swift to quiet down and resume his position amongst the others. "I was getting to that before I was rudely interrupted." He glared in Sushi and Sweet Tooth's direction. "Now where was I? Ah, yes! You have all been gathered here today because you are the best in your fields."
"Really?" Everyone but Lola said in response; all gaining happy puppy dog eyes.
"That were available." Toro finished, causing them all to slump over in defeat. "However, while you may not have done much for society at the moment, King Rex's proposition of a night watch for the Garden Thief will give each and every one of you a chance to prove you aren't just bystanders and actual fighters, able to be relied on in the call of duty."
As he was talking, the Torosaur's back was turned, allowing Lola to leave her position and look at the rest of the team. "Listen, this whole patrol thing is very important to him. If any of you screw this up, I will gouge both your eyes out with my tail." She whispered. The others all paled at the threat as she went back to her position unnoticed.
Toro had just finished his speech and turned around to see his new battalion. "Any questions before we start your training?" He asked them. The sound of the wind was his only response, namely due to fear of offending him it his lover. "Good. Then we can begin with the most basic of military exercises since majority of you don't have the experience to start with a higher set; marching in formation. Now, left face!" Following what Lola did, or just going off assumptions, the newly formed Dino Patrol all changed direction so that they were facing left. Unfortunately, they were all standing so close to each other that they were smushed together, aside from Kui since he was the smallest and in the back. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Shameful formation." Toro 'gently' scolded them as he took his position at the front, making sure to give Lola enough head room. "Forward march!"
DK
"One, two, three, four! Keep it up, two, three, four!" Toro chanted as the Dino Patrol all marched through the city, having figured out how much space to give each other. As they stomped through the streets, the ground shook so much that it felt like buildings were bouncing up and down. "One, two, three four! Keep it up, two, three, four!"
"How much longer do we have to keep doing this?" Aqua whispered to Swift.
"I'm guessing until we cover the whole city." Swift assumed. "I think that's what the purpose of this exercise is."
"I hope that's not it." Grumpy replied. "My feet are killing me."
"I told you not to skip leg day." Kui said.
"You've never mentioned anything about a leg day, ever." Grumpy told the Fukuisaurus.
"Sssh!" Lola quieted those in the back. "No talking in ranks. It's against regulations." Knowing one of them was about to say something about how she just broke her own rule, she swung her tail from side to side to keep them quiet.
Up in front, Toro paid no attention to what was going on behind him and instead was marching proudly. "Ah, feels good to be in command of a unit again." The Torosaurus thought to himself. "Why, it seems like only yesterday I was leading the Southern King's fifth brigade into battle against the Western Raiders." He recalled that battle against an army that planned to overthrow the king that ruled over the southern continent. "That battle was the height of my military career. Over a thousand against my team of less than a hundred, and we won without losing a single solider. If that's how well my troops can do at a disadvantage, I can only imagine how we'd do with the numbers on our side this time." Thinking that his team was about ready to start the next point of their training, Toro called out to them. "Company, halt!" He ordered before coming to a stop himself.
Lola stopped behind her mate, but the others didn't understand what Toro had said until it was too late. Sushi crashed into Lola, pushing her towards Toro. Then Aqua crashed into Sushi, followed by Sweet Tooth crashing into her, Swift crashing into her, and Grumpy crashing into him, creating a large pile of dinosaurs. Kui didn't end up in this pile and instead only bumped his nose on Grumpy's rear. "I don't think that's how we're supposed to stop." He muttered.
Toro found himself pinned to the ground, his mate laying on top of him. His happy mood now replaced by one of frustration. "Clearly we have a longer way to go then I originally thought." Sliding Lola off his back, the Torosaurus got onto his feet and glared at his squadron. "What was that?!" He yelled at them. "Do your ears work?!"
"Y-yes, sir !" Sushi replied, feeling she was the one Toro was directing most of his anger at.
"Then someone tell me why none of you stopped when I told you to!" Toro yelled furiously.
"You didn't say stop!" Was Grumpy's reply.
Bad choice on his end as Toro put a horn right at his throat. "I don't think you need to have been serving for a day to know what the heck halt means, Home-Wrecker." The Megalosaur's eye's widened as his life flashed before his eyes. Thankfully, Toro didn't seem to be out for blood and left the Megalosaurus alone.
The team got back onto their feet and stood at attention for their disappointed and ashamed leader. "Honestly, in my five years of serving under the crown, I have never witnessed such a pathetic display then what I have just witness!"
The inexperienced dinosaurs all lowered their heads in shame like scolded dogs. "Forgive me, Toro, I mean, Sergeant." Sushi apologized. "I swear it won't happen again. Please don't punish them for my mistake."
"That's not how we do things in the army." Toro told her.
"What?" Lola asked in confusion, remembering things to have been different when she served.
"If one member fails, everyone fails." Toro explained. "That's how it was back in my days."
Aqua swallowed so heavily it could've been mistaken for a stone in her neck. "W-what are you going to do to us?" She asked nervously.
"Please don't be a diet!" Sweet Tooth pleaded. "I'm already on one and it's painful!" She cried.
"Considering we need to be prepared for tonight, I'll hold back on the punishment." Toro told them, earning a sigh of relief. "However." Now they all got tense with fear, including Lola. "Since you can't understand instructions verbally, maybe I need to tap into your survival instincts to get things progressing. Everyone back to the academy. I have another exercise in mind." The others all obeyed without saying a word, keeping their heads low as to not anger Toro further. Lola looked back at her boyfriend. Worry on her eyes as she could tell something was wrong with him.
DK
As the Dino Patrol continued their work, Cretacia had just been dropped off at the location for her meeting with Dr. Owen; a Burger King restaurant. She walked through the door and immediately looked around for the doctor, pulling out a picture Spike had given her to make sure she knew what he looked like.
"What'd you mean there's no Big Macs?!" Someone yelled at the front counter. Cretacia looked to see who the angry customer was and saw Dr. Owen with his hands on the counter, back hunched, yelling at the cashier. She also noticed a shorter man who fit the description of his assistant Patrick trying to hold the doctor back.
"Sir, this isn't McDonalds, this is Burger King." The cashier replied.
"Exactly! Burger King! King of burgers! How do you not have the most famous burgers as an option! This is false advertising!"
"Sir, I only work here, I don't make the menu."
"Then tell your boss to come out and face me like a man or I will use my sidekick on you."
"Señor, I've told you before that the race card only works in America." Patrick reminded him.
"Oh, right." Dr. Owen remembered.
Seeing that he was slightly distracted, and probably wouldn't notice her if she called out to him, Cretacia walked up and gently tapped his shoulder. "Um, excuse me?"
"In a moment, ma'am, I'm dealing with some cheapskates here." Dr. Owen told her without looking back.
Patrick saw who tapped his boss's shoulder, eyes widening at the realization, and pulled the doctor's shirt. "Uh, señor?"
"Patrick, I'm in the middle of something."
"But, señor, I think you want to see this."
Dr. Owen groaned in defeat before turning around. "Ugh. What is it that is so important that it-" He turned around and found himself face-to-face with Cretacia.
"Dr. Owen?" Cretacia asked, hoping she got the right person.
"Yes." The doctor answered. "Do I know you from somewhere? Are you a fan of my work? If you are, I do autographs." He said proudly before frowning. "Unless It has anything to do with that Spinoberg jerk! His credits are nothing but lies!"
"Uh, Dr. Owen, I think that's the lady you're waiting for." Patrick said.
Hearing this, Dr. Owen looked closer at the woman in front of him. "Hmm. Blonde hair, glasses, pink suit, blue vest." He checked off all the descriptions before coming to a conclusion. "Dr. Cretacia?"
"Yes, that's me." Cretacia said with a smile.
Immediately, it felt like Dr. Owen's entire world shattered when he realized that arguing with a cashier was his first impression on his son's birth mother. "Patrick, look what you mad me do." He hissed as his assistant, only slightly moving his eyes to look at the short Mexican.
Patrick rolled his eyes, at least he would if they were visible. He wasn't going to bother correcting him. "So, Cretacia,... how ya doing?" Dr. Owen tried to sound cool, but all it did was make him look even weirder. "Aaaaah!" He screamed internally.
Cretacia quietly giggled at his quirkiness. Reminded her a lot of herself before... that day. "I'm doing fine. Though, you look like you might be occupied with something."
"Huh? Oh, that? That's just me having a little disagreement with the cashier about false advertising." He turned his head around and said the last part with clear bitterness to the cashier behind him. "Who would've thought a place called Burger King doesn't have Big Macs?"
"I know what you mean." Cretacia agreed. "I heard that in order to compete some joints are making their own knockoff Big Macs."
"No!" Dr. Owen gasped before the two of them shared a laugh. "Perhaps a trip to the arcade might be more enjoyable?" He suggested.
"I'd like that very much." Cretacia said as the two them left.
Patrick stayed behind for a moment a handed a dollar bill to the cashier. "Sorry about that. He's normally much more well behaved." He said before joining them.
DK
Back at the academy, Toro was explaining to his troops about their next exercise. "All right, maggots, since you botched simple drilling we are going to-"
"Try again until we get it right?" Kui suggested, remembering how Shino improved on her Geisha skills.
Toro responded by slapping his face with his tail. "No! By tapping into your survival instincts to make sure that you know what's going on around yourselves and aren't oblivious to everything!"
"But, sir, is this really necessary for just one mistake?" Aqua asked.
Toro pointed his horns right at her neck. "What you call mistake, I call failure! You should be lucky that I only have so many resources for this obstacle course."
The wave of relief swept over the other dinosaurs. "Oh, thank goodness. For a minute there I thought you were gonna make us do exercises until we dropped dead." Sweet Tooth said before realizing her mistake. "Aw, crud."
"If you don't understand basic English, how can I expect you do follow exercise commands?" Toro asked them rhetorically. "I believe what I could have put together will get some results." He pulled on a rope that was attached to a curtain behind him and revealed the obstacle course to his troops. And it was anything but easy.
There was a large electric fence, pool of what could be assumed to be acid, a really large and steep rock wall, and tons of machine guns pointing at a large field. "Oh, Jesus." Sushi gasped.
"Can we please do the exercises instead?" Sweet Tooth asked. This was answered by a smack in the face by Toro's tail.
"I thought you said this wasn't going to be difficult?" Lola asked her mate.
"If this was like the training I went though, there'd be lava, poisonous carnivores, and a much bigger cliff." Toro replied. "Now, I want everyone to run this obstacle course ten times without any breaks."
"Ten times?!" Everyone screamed in response. "I doubt most of us would make it through one time!" Swift objected.
"If I could make it through worse, you all can do the same through this." Toro 'encouraged' them. "Now get going!" He roared, which was the signal for them to begin.
Immediately, the participants ran as fast as they could before they reached their first obstacle: the electric fence. Upon closer inspection, they noticed a small hole in the center of it. "What're we supposed to do?" Sushi asked.
"You crawl through it like a thorn bush!" Toro answered.
"How can we do that if none of us can fit though the hole?" Swift asked.
"Don't worry, guys." Sweet Tooth assured them as she prepared to launch a Fire Canon. "I can just make a bigger one."
Before she could fire her attack, a strike of lightning made her dodge and cancel the attack. Looking where it came from, she saw Toro pawing the ground like a raged bull. "No Move Cards." He told them.
Seeing that they couldn't make a larger hole without getting electrocuted, Kui tried to see if maybe he could squeeze through. Readying himself, the Fukuisaurus leapt through the hole, only to get both stuck and electrocuted. "Gaaaaah!"
"Kui!" Everyone cried out as they saw him suffer. "Don't worry, buddy, I gotcha!" Grumpy called out as he did the one thing he knew how to do best; destroy stuff. He charged straight forward and busted down the fence with all his might. The attack resulted in both the Megalosaurus getting a massive headache from the electricity, and the fence splitting up where Kui was trapped and falling to the ground, completely wrecked.
"Hmm, clever strategy." Toro complemented the Megalosaurus. "For a moron."
"What'd you mean?" Kui asked as he pulled his body out of the hole he was trapped in. "He got me out of the fence."
"You shouldn't admire a man who leaps into danger to save someone if someone else has to save them both." Toro explained himself. "Now keep going!"
As the others ran to the next obstacle, Grumpy stayed behind with Kui. "Can you stand?" He asked the Fukuisaurus as he helped him up.
"I can." Kui replied before taking a step and collapsing again. "Augh!" He hissed in pain. "But I can't walk."
Seeing that his friend couldn't get anywhere, and that Toro most defiantly wasn't going to let the Fukuisaurus stop so he can heal, Grumpy lowered his head and gently placed Kui on his neck. "Here, let me help you finish."
"Are you sure this is even allowed?" Kui asked weakly.
"Only if he understands that both of your failures will be on his hands!" Toro called out to them.
After a while, they all regrouped at the second obstacle; the rock wall. "You've gotta be kidding me." Lola said as they all gasped at the size of it. "We have to climb that?"
"Expect to have to ruff every type of terrain!" Toro shouted at them from above. "Now get moving before the rocks start coming down!"
"Rocks?!" Everyone exclaimed in horror. "But don't we get a rope or something?!" Aqua asked.
"We didn't have fucking ropes in the fucking old days, so we don't fucking have them here!" Toro yelled as he started moving large boulders towards the edge of the wall. "You'd better get fucking moving if you don't want these fucking rocks to crush you!"
"He's insane!" Aqua cried.
"Well, so am I!" Sushi replied as she started leaping from ledge to ledge to reach the top.
Grumpy was doing the same with Kui using his sharp eyes to direct the Megalosaurus to the safest ledges. "Left! Right! Left! Left! Right!"
Those with four legs weren't as fortunate. They had to scale the wall like a human would, and it was not easy for beings that weigh more than elephants. "Agh!" Lola hissed as she pulled herself up another ledge that was too small for her to stand on.
"Lola, it's too dangerous for you!" Aqua called out from bellow, not even having tried to start climbing. "You should stop now before you seriously hurt yourself!"
"Are you calling my mate a fucking coward?!" Toro yelled at the Shunosaurus before pushing a boulder in her direction. "Just for that!" Was all he had to say for himself.
Not having time to dodge, the boulder hit Aqua directly on the head. "Oww! That hurt!" She yelled at Toro. "You almost tried to kill me!" Her newfound rage made her ignore her concerns for safety and filled her with the desire to see the Torosaurus pay.
"That was motivation!" Toro defended himself. "These boulders aren't even real! If I was trying to kill you, I'd have dropped all the boulders at the same time!"
"You might as well have done that!" Swift yelled at him as he nearly reached the top. Unfortunately, the ledge that the Majungasaurus placed his foot on gave out beneath him. "Aaaah!" He screamed as he fell to the ground.
"Swift!" Everyone screamed, even Toro was slightly horrified at what he just saw. The Majungasaurus continued on falling until he hit the ground hard.
"Aaaah!" Swift screamed as it felt like his left leg was broken in the fall. Things were only made worse when one of the boulders got lose from its chains and fell down, landing directly on his right leg. "Aaaaaaaah!" Swift screamed and roared even louder at the unbearable pain until he returned to his card, saving him from further suffering.
Toro didn't say a word and just looked at the Majungasaurus card in silence while those that were left continued their way to the top. After about a half-hour, everyone had made it. The last to the top was, no surprise, Aqua. "All right, mister, I got some words for-" The Shunosaurus stopped when she realized that their leader was gone. "Where'd he go?"
"Shortcuts!" Toro replied from the other end of the ravine of acid, his drill sergeant attitude returning. "I can take them, you cannot!"
"Then how are we supposed to get down?!" Sweet Tooth called out as the group gathered near the edge. "There's no stairs or anything."
Right after she said that, the ledge they were standing on started to crack. The dinosaurs heard the noise but didn't realize what it was until the ledge slowly started to come off. "I hate you." Sushi told the Mapusaurus before the ledge came off completely and sent the six of them down the wall. "Aaaah!" They all screamed as the rock slid down the wall like a skateboard, this side being a lot less steep than the one they climbed, before coming to a stop just at the edge of the ravine.
"That was fun." Grumpy said as he got off the ride.
"We could've almost died!" Kui reminded him. "How was any of that fun?!"
"I try to look at the positives. We didn't die, and the ride was fun once you got past the risks of death."
"...You're insane." Was all Aqua had to say to the Megalosaurus.
"Ahem!" Bickering dinosaurs all turned their attention to see Lola already on the other side of the ravine. "If the log can hold me, it should hold the rest of you."
"I'm not taking that chance!" Sushi declared as she ran across the bridge as fast as she cloud.
Those yet to cross looked over the edge and at the pool of acid beneath them. "So, that's supposed to be acid?" Grumpy said. "I remember knocking over some of Dr.Z's equipment and getting acid stains on me. Not a great feeling."
"Then don't fall down." Was Sweet Tooth's reply as she leapt over the ravine.
Grumpy and Aqua weren't so lucky. The Megalosaurus couldn't jump at risk of Kui falling off, and sauropods were unable to jump at all without hurting themselves. "I guess we have to take the log then." Grumpy said to Aqua.
"It would seem so." The Shunosaurus agreed. "You go first and I'll watch from the back.
Grumpy nodded and went to the front of the log. He placed a foot on the large piece of wood and felt the log shift. "'Gasp!'" Everyone gasped as they feared the log would give. Amazingly, that didn't happen and Grumpy was able to get onto the log without any trouble and begin walking.
Seeing that he was having to trouble with the log, Aqua started to get on herself. "No, no, no!" Toro yelled in his head. "It's supposed to be one at a time!"
Thinking that he wanted them done as soon as possible, Aqua for once ignored the risks of the log collapsing and started making her way to the other side. But it didn't take long for her to realize her mistake as they heard the log crack. "Oh, no!" Grumpy gasped, realizing what that sound meant.
"Hurry!" Aqua shoved him with her head before they both ran across the log. Unfortunately, this only weakened the log faster until it cracked and fell apart. Grumpy was able to make it to the other side with a small leap, but Aqua was too far away and fell into the pool of acid before. "Aaaah!" The Shunosaurus landed on her side and roared in pain as the acid burned her skin. She quickly got up, ignored the pain now on her feet, and ran out of the pool to regroup, a stair way nearby that lead up back to the course.
"Idiot!" Toro yelled at her before turning to the rest of them. "It doesn't count as completing the course if you destroy it in the process!"
"Toro, calm down." Lola tired to assure her lover. "All that's left is the field with machine guns." This did not help calm down the others as they forgot about the guns.
"Oh, the machine guns were left over from another exercise." Toro corrected her. "Instead, you have to dodge land mines as you run across the field."
"LAND MINES?!" Everyone shouted. "There's no way they'd survive that!" Lola objected.
"Maybe not you slowpokes." Sushi said as she crotched into a sprinting position. "But I can make it across without those mines even touching me." She said before dashing off. "YOLO!"
The Suchomimus ran as fast as she could across the field, making sure to avoid going in a straight line. At first it looked like she was doing just fine and might be too light for the bombs to detect. But that all changed when the ground beneath suddenly exploded and sent her flying. "SUSHI!" Toro cried out in horror. Things were only made worse when the ground where she landed exploded and sent her crashing elsewhere on the field, further damaging her.
For a whole minute, the Suchomimus didn't move an inch. Everyone held their breaths, praying for a sign of life. That sign came when they saw Sushi glow blue and return to her card, indicating that she wasn't dead.
While the others slightly calmed down from this, Toro's heart was still racing. One of his own soldiers, his friends, could've been killed out there. And it would've been all his fault. Things were made even worse when he say the other about to sprint out into the field as well. "NO!" He cried out as yellow energy surrounded him and lightning formed at the tip of his horns before he fired a Lightning Strike across the field, destroying all the mines in the process.
The other dinosaurs backed away from this sudden display of force. "Sir?" Sweet Tooth asked.
"Don't call me that anymore." Toro said sadly as he turned away, sounding like he was about to burst into tears. "You're all resigned from your positions. Go home and heal the injured. And don't ever come back here." Aqua and Grumpy didn't need to be told twice as they quickly ran for the exit, making sure to pick up Swift on the way. Sweet Tooth did the same once she grabbed Sushi's card.
The Torosaurus didn't need to turn around to know that Lola still was standing there. "That includes you." He told her before walking off.
"Toro." Lola said quietly as she started to follow him, but was stopped when Aqua started nudging her the other way.
"It's best we leave him alone for now." She told the Stegosaurus.
Lola hated seeing her boyfriend in such a state, but knew that the Mapusaurus was right and that she should wait first before talking to him. Sighing to herself, she followed Sweet Tooth out of the academy, all while thinking one thing. "What happened to you?"
Once everyone was gone, Toro wept openly.
DK
The sound of laughter filled the arcade as Dr. Owen and Cretacia played the several games. On a dancing machine, Dr. Owen showed his hidden breakdancer as he totally destroyed Cretacia. She got him back on the whack-a-mole game where she earned the highest score possible, completely wrecking it in the process. They even dove into the ball pit, making the children in there uncomfortable by the two adults acting like children and parents covering the kids' eyes. It was a happy moment for Cretacia as she was smiling again and having fun like she used to. Being the goofball her husband fell in love with.
At the current moment, she and Dr. Owen were at a table eating pizza until they probably would burst. "Someone clearly doesn't have table manners!" Dr. Owen joked as he swallowed the piece in his mouth.
"Like you're any better!" Cretacia countered, but the food in her mouth made it sound muffled.
Surprisingly, or not given how he eats, Dr. Owen could understand her perfectly. "I'm a guy! We're supposed to eat like pigs!"
"I bet that's the excuse you give to all your dates!" Cretacia laughed, cheese dripping out of her mouth.
"Ha! Jokes on you! I've never been on a date!" Dr. Owen tried to retort, but probably just made himself look even more pathetic.
"Really!? I would've thought a quirky guy like you would've had at least one girlfriend by now."
"I know, but apparently I'm considered 'not responsible' enough for most ladies." He said as he did a gesture with his fingers.
"Is that why you've decided to go after the woman who's been attacking our son?" She asked him, giving him a deadly glare at the mere thought of him marrying Ursula.
"Pfft!" Dr. Owen spat out the soda he was drinking right onto a nearby customer. "You really think that thing is still going on?" He asked, using a Scottish accent for some reason. "Please! Back then, the worse thing she did was hold my son hostage, and Tank and Ace beat her up for that, so it was forgivable. But to find out her boss made Rex an orphan, I think we'll need a break."
The mood suddenly changed as Cretacia looked down at her pizza, a bittersweet smile on her face. "I'm still getting used to the dinosaurs besides a few like Guru and Brontikens having names now. When Dr. Ancient was King, we didn't have time to decide on that and called them by their species names, which they did themselves before becoming cards." She sniffed as tears of joy started coming out of her eyes. "And our baby boy has been able to bond with and name all of them."
"Oh, he doesn't deserve all the credit." Dr. Owen waved her off, still using the accent. "Max and Zoe have been helping him all the way, and he's been doing the same. Together, those three can do anything."
"Yes. I guess they can." Cretacia said as they toasted each other, though Dr. Owen was using a piece of pizza instead of a drink.
Across from them, Patrick was busy counting money in front of the arcade owner. "I believe this should be enough to cover the mess they made." He said as he handed the money over.
The owner took the money and counted it for himself. "I don't know why you hang out with that quack if he's always getting into trouble."
"Señor." Patrick chuckled. "If life were that simple, it wouldn't be living."
DK
As the sun began to set, Lola went back to the academy to find Toro. It wasn't too hard to find him, he hadn't moved from the spot he was last seen at all. He was done weeping, and instead was looking out at the obstacle course he made. "Toro?" Lola called out to him. The Torosaurus said nothing in response, looking as if he didn't even hear her. "Everyone's recovered from our training mishap. They're all at a McDonalds if you want to talk with them and apologize." Again Toro said nothing, making Lola impatient. "Will you just say something?!"
"Why?"
His response made the Stegosaurus blink her eyes in confusion and tilt her head. "What?"
"Why did I have to become like him? I would've thought after all these years that his influence would've disappeared like dust. But today I've been proven wrong in the worst possible way." Toro said as he looked down with shame.
Lola walked over to him and laid down beside him, prompting the Torosaurus to do the same. "What happened?"
"A lot happened." Toro answered. "My sergeant was someone who would not hand over his job so easily, much less consider someone an equal. He was a horrible leader and dinosaur overall."
"How does this connect with what happened today?" Lola asked, failing to see the connection.
"I told you before you started to course, this was the exact training process I went though. Only the one I went thought was much less merciful. The pits we cross were actual lava, the rocks tossed down at us were actual boulders and much larger, and there'd be many dangerous and powerful game that could kill someone if they were gained up on."
A younger Toro stood among many new recruits. The number of those present began to fade away until not even half of those originally present remained.
"At the start, we had over 200 men and women who trained to be a part of the Southern King's army. After five years, when we supposedly completed our training, there were about twenty left, at most, including myself."
Lola's eyes widened at what she heard. True, training to be in the army was not an easy task and she knew many that had been killed during training, but never to such an extent. She was about to express her sympathy, when she replayed his words in her mind. "What'd you mean by supposedly?"
Toro sighed a long sigh that told Lola that he was hiding something from her. "The truth is that the only reason we even completed our training was because our sergeant was killed in an accident. As the most successful trainee, I was chosen to replace him and take command of his army."
Lola was slowly starting to understand what Toro was saying. "So, you thought that you were given your position and didn't earn it rightfully?" She guessed, Toro nodded in confirmation.
"It goes beyond that." Toro continued. "To the battle against the Western Raiders."
"You mean the battle where you claim to have slain over a thousand raptors? How does that connect with everything."
"Because I never told you the full story of the battle, only the outcome." Toro confessed. "While it is true that the we all survived the battle and all the raptors were defeated, we barely killed a hundred. The only reason any of that even happened was by sheer luck."
"Go! Go! Go!" Toro urged many of his soldiers, carrying their wounded up a ravine in a heavy rainstorm. "Get them as far away as possible and warn anyone you come across on your way back to the kingdom! The rest of us will hold them off as long as possible!"
Standing beside him were maybe twenty or so other dinosaurs, all carrying small wounds but could still fight. In front of them were too many raptors to count advancing towards them, teeth and claws bared. "If I'm going to die today, then I'm going to die like a man!" Toro silently declared as they prepared to fight to the death.
That's when it happened. Lightning struck a large branch and caused it to fall to the bottom of the ravine where the raptors were advancing. This caused the raptors in-front and those with Toro to become slightly distracted. This distraction proved to be a bad mistake for the raptors as the sound of rushing water appeared. In just a few seconds, a huge flash flood swept into the ravine. The raptors barely had any time to react before they were being carried away by the water, every last one. Toro and his troops were fortunate enough to just be high enough to avoid the water.
After a few minutes, the water began to recede. In its place was a trail of corpses. Yet, the dinosaurs of Toro's army weren't grossed out by the bodies and instead began to rejoice at the victory. "Whoo-hooo! We did it!"
"That'll so those rotten raptors to mess with the Southern King's army!"
"Victory's ours!"
As his troops celebrated, Toro kept staring at the ravine bellow, eyes widened. Not saying a word.
"After that battle, I resigned from the army." Toro finished his story.
"Why?" Lola asked. "Like you said, you won the battle without losing anyone."
"By sheer dumb luck!" Toro got up and stomped his foot on the ground. "If that flash flood never happened we wouldn't be having this conversation, because I'd be dead! I've tried lying to myself that things played out differently, and that I was a big hero. Some job that did!" Tears started to fall out of his eyes. "I guess I just wanted to prove that I could lead an army, even if it was a small one, and that I wasn't just handed the job. Instead, all I showed was that I'm even a more inexperienced leader than I thought if my idea of training was a death course!"
Lola got up and walked over to her boyfriend and nuzzled him affectionately. "Toro, Dear, no one has ever doubted your abilities. Rex made you Head of Defense for a reason. Because he had faith in you. The only one who doesn't believe in your abilities is yourself. So stop trying to prove something that doesn't need to be proven, and lead us against the Garden Thief."
After his girlfriend's speech, Toro sniffed a tear before shaking his head to stop them from flowing. "You're right, Lola." He said, the confidence in his voice returning. "Why was I wasting time thinking like those wannabe sergeants? They don't even know the first thing about leading a squad! Ha, ha!"
"And I suppose you have an idea what to do know?" Lola asked with a mental smile.
"Absolutely not!" Toro replied. "But I know how to figure that out for sure."
DK
Just like what Lola said, the others were all either standing or lying around outside at a McDonalds, awaiting their orders. Sushi was standing in the drive thru with Sweet Tooth, telling the worker in the other side everyone's orders, since the door inside was a little too small for them to fit through. "I'll have a ten piece chicken nuggets, no sauce. Yes, I know that's not my normal order, I'm trying to branch out to help a friend with her diet. OK, hang on a second." She turned around and looked at the Mapusaurus behind her. "Sweet Tooth, what'd you want?"
"I'll have two number nines, a number nine large, a number six with extra dip, a number seven, two number-" She listed before getting cut off by the Suchomimus.
"Sweet Tooth! You can't eat that much fast food if you're on a diet!" Sushi reminded her.
The Mapusaurus grumbled before scoffing. "Fine! I'll have a number five. But no vegetables. God help you if there are vegetables!"
"There won't be any vegetables!" Sushi replied before placing the order. "Finish with a number five, no vegetables."
"Okay, good!" Sweet Tooth said as they went back to the others.
Surprisingly, everyone else looked like nothing had happened to them: Kui was able to move again, Aqua's side wasn't burned anymore, and Swift's foot didn't even look like it was ever broken. "How's the foot holding up, Swift?" Grumpy asked the Majungasaurus.
"Good as new." Swift replied. "Dr. Tokugawa is a miracle worker."
"That he sure is." Sushi agreed as she and Sweet Tooth took their seats next to them. "What about you, Aqua?"
"My side had already healed while I was in the card, so I didn't need to be checked. And even if something comes up, I know how to take care of acid burns." The Shunosaurus explained. "That's part of the reason why I decided to join Toro's little watch group. I figured he could use someone with healing knowledge on the team since Paris isn't available."
"I guess that makes sense. You normally don't like to get involved with fights." Swift commented.
Aqua gave him a warning grumble, making the Majungasaurus chuckle nervously. "I can fight when I want to, I just don't as often as you do." She told him sternly.
"I'm assuming that's the reason you wanted to join this team." Grumpy said to Swift. "Same goes for me. Been a while since I've cracked some skulls open. Not since my time back in Zeta Point, if I recall correctly." The other all looked at him in silence like he was crazy. "I'm kidding! I haven't killed anyone. Literally, Dr.Z raised me so I didn't have to hunt, remember?"
Seeing that they were all explaining why they joined the team, Sushi and Sweet Tooth decided to go next. "Ours is pretty simple. We both had an epiphany that we became way to addicted with food and fish and decided we needed to diet ourselves." Sweet Tooth explained.
"You're the one on the diet, I'm just trying new things." Sushi retorted. "But yeah, we thought doing this might be health for us as it could get our minds off meals, and also get in some exercise."
With everyone else having explained their reasons, Kui was up. "I haven't really been doing much since my arrival. Paris hasn't needed my training very often, so I've basically been doing nothing. Which you would think a former champion shouldn't do. And don't get me stared on what Guru and Meg have been telling me."
"So, I guess we all had more to joining this than simply being the last ones available." Swift said, the others nodding in agreement.
"You'd really think I'd waste my time training you if I considered you all the bottom of the barrel?" Everyone turned around to see Toro and Lola approaching them. The confidence in the Torosaurus from a few moments ago was gone, replaced with nervousness.
"Hey, dude." Grumpy greeted them.
"Are you feeling better, Toro?" Aqua asked him.
Toro looked around at the dinosaurs in front of him. Instead of seeing looks of anger and hatred, they were more those of concern. Sighing heavily, the Torosaurus came clean. "Listen, everyone, I'm sorry for how I was acting earlier today. I have no excuse for my actions. I just hope that-" He said before Grumpy cut him off.
"Toro, none of us hold a grudge for how you behaved earlier."
"I do!" Sushi admitted, but was silenced by the glares of her peers. "Joking." She squeaked.
"If we held grudges for every time someone did something bad, we wouldn't really be able to be a functioning herd. Most of us would probably be locked up for life for the stuff we did."
"He does have a point." Kui brought up. "All the stuff I stole for my nest in Kyoto would probably get me arrested for life."
"I'm still surprised the aquarium hasn't fired me for trying to eat the whale sharks." Sushi said.
"What everyone is trying to say is that we don't care about the explanation." Aqua said. "All that maters is that you're back to normal."
If he could, Toro would've smiled at the loyalty his former troops possessed. Even after everything, they still considered him a friend. "Thank you, guys."
"Don't mention it." Swift said. "Now, are we going to catch the Garden Thief or what?"
"You still want to take part in that?" Toro asked.
"Of course. Didn't you just hear us explain why we joined the team?" Aqua said, lowering her head to Toro's level. "So, what's the first thing we do, you lunatic?"
"Hey! No talking back to your superiors!" Toro playfully scolded her.
The Shunosaurus did the dinosaur equivalent of a shrug. "I told you I'd get you back for earlier. And besides, you didn't hire us back just yet."
"You win this time." Toro glared at her before turning his attention to the others. "All right, troops, let's make this night the night the Garden Thief will regret ever coming up from the ground!" He declared.
"Yes, sir!" Everyone saluted and stood at attention.
"Um, excuse me?" They all turned around to see a worker holding a large bag of food. "I have all your orders."
"Okay, food first, then we'll catch the thief." Toro said.
DK
Elsewhere, the Alpha Gang were deep in a forest outside of town, searching for the dinosaur themselves. "I can't believe it's been five days and you two idiots haven't found hide or scale of that dinosaur!" Ursula scolded her partners as she slashed away the branches with a sword she conveniently had. "How can you consider yourselves dinosaur hunters if you can't even find one dinosaur in almost a week!?"
"But, Ursula, you saw the reports. It supposedly hides underground before it attacks." Ed pointed out.
"Which is exactly why you need me to keep your spineless butts safe." The woman replied. "A dinosaur with that kind of skill would make Dr.Z love us when we bring it back to him."
"It would be the bane of the brat's existence." Zander commented as he pulled out his phone and watched a remix of Spiny's interview someone made online for the tenth time that night.
"Zander, will you turn that thing off!" Ursula hissed at the tall man. "Your noise will tell it that we're nearby and run away again!"
"What'd you mean again? We haven't seen the dinosaur at all." Zander pointed out without looking up from the video.
"I'm positive we would've found it by now if you two morons took this job more like a job and less like a joke." Ursula slashed her sword and nearly cut a whole tree in half.
Ed just narrowly dodged the blade while Zander didn't seem to notice the threat. As he cowered on the ground in fear, Ed noticed something through the bushes. Something that resembled footprints. "Hey, guys! I think we're onto something!"
Moving the bushes away, Ed revealed a path of tracks that lead down a hill. "Perfect. We're getting super close." Ursula said. "I can smell it."
Ed, taking her wording literally, sniffed the air as well and picked up an unfamiliar scent. "Hey, I think I do as well."
"She didn't mean literally, Ed." Zander said, still watching the video. Ursula, having enough of his laziness, grabbed his phone and tossed it into the pond below them. "No!" Zander cried as it sank into the water. "That phone was on my card!" He sobbed.
The splash in the pound, plus Zander's sobbing, alerted a nearby dinosaur in the area of the commotion. Stepping out of the foliage was not the Edmontonia. Instead, it was a ceratopsian that looked a lot like Chomp, but was a light brown with many large white splotches all over the body, and lacked a horn on the nose, only having a barely noticeable brown bump. This dinosaur was a Diceratops.
Ursula gasped at the sudden appearance. "I can't believe it! My expert tracking skills led us to the dinosaur's hiding place before the brats found it!" She beamed with joy.
"Tracking skills?" Zander repeated bitterly.
"Never mind, let's get it." She said as they all pulled out scanners.
"ALPHA SLASH!"
DK
At the same time the Alpha Gang started their fight with the Diceratops, the Dino Patrol were searching the streets of the Garden Thief's attacks. "Wouldn't it make more sense for us all to split up and cover more space?" Lola asked as she dangled a bunch a radishes from a stick in her mouth.
Toro shook his head. "No, we'd stand a much better chance if we stick together. We don't know what species we're up against, or how strong they are."
"I really don't think that it could be that strong." Lola replied.
"I agree with Toro." Aqua said. "After all, me and Swift were able to beat Chomp and Terry when we first fought by working together."
"Ah, good times." Swift sighed at the memory before noticing something ahead of them with his predator vision that allowed him to hunt at night. "Wait, guys, I think I see something on the road, just ahead of us."
Slowly walking forward, everyone was able to see a large hole in the middle of the street. "How did nobody notice this?" Sushi asked.
"Most likely it was just made." Kui assumed as he walked over to it. Upon closer inspection, he deduced that he might be able to fit in it. "I'll check it out. I should be small enough to fit in." He said before hopping in.
"Careful, Kui!" Toro warned him.
The Fukuisaurus slowly walked deeper into the tunnel, the lack of light making it difficult for him to see far. Each step he took, he took with complete caution, almost like a Geisha. It seemed that the deeper he went, the more darker it had become. While to most it would seem obvious considering the time of day and his location, Kui thought of something different. "Guys, I'm seeing tunnels all around me." He informed them as he started making his way back up.
"Are you sure?" Toro asked.
"Affirmative." Kui replied. "This has to be how they get around without anyone noticing."
"Seems most likely." Sweet Tooth said as she stuck her head in the hole and gave it a few sniffs. "I think we might be in luck." She told the others. "Because I'm pretty sure I can smell them, and it's fresh, too."
"Is that fresh in minutes of hours?" Sushi asked, knowing the difference between the two categories when it came to a theropod's nose.
Before she could answer, Kui felt the ground beneath him moving. "I'd say neither!" He exclaimed before climbing out of the hole and rejoining the group.
"Get ready, soldiers!" Toro alerted his team as they got into defense positions, Lola dropping the radishes on the street. "Here it comes!"
"Please don't be a fake out! Please don't be a fake out!" Grumpy thought pleaded.
Suddenly, the Edmontonia popped his head out of the hole and grabbed the radishes. "An Edmontonia!" Swift identified to culprit.
"Then he's our Garden Thief!" Grumpy said before noticing the ankylosaur heading back the way he came. "Oh, no you don't!" He said as he activated his Super Move. "Zero G Throw!" Using his telekinesis, Grumpy lifted the Edmontonia high into the air before letting go and dropping him to the ground. The Edmontonia landed on his back and got back onto his feet. "How did he survive that?!" Grumpy said in shock that his attack failed.
"Don't you know ankylosaur anatomy?!" Aqua hissed at the Megalosaurus, hitting his side lightly with her tail. "Their backs are designed to absorb hits!"
Toro ignored his bickering soldiers and turned his attention to the culprit. "Edmontonia, you are guilty of vandalizing these humans' property! Come with us peacefully, and we we'll see that you don't get a harsh sentence!"
The Edmontonia responded to the Torosaur's terms by tackling him away. "Toro!" Everyone cried out as the Torosaurus crashed landed behind them. "That's it!" Sweet Tooth declared as she ran towards the Edmontonia and knocked him away with her head.
The Edmontonia did a flip and landed on his feet before Sushi jumped onto his back. "No running away this time!" She told him as Swift prepared to use his Move Card.
"Mayfly!" He announced as he dashed towards the Edmontonia before vanishing. The ankylosaur looked around frantically for the Majungasaurus before he found himself getting pelted from all sides, Swift being careful not to hit Sushi.
This went on for a few seconds until Swift stopped and the Edmontonia collapsed on the ground. "We did it!" Sushi cheered as she leapt off his back to join up with Swift and Sweet Tooth.
"Don't celebrate just yet, he's still standing." Sweet Tooth said as the Edmontonia got back onto his feet. "I think he wasn't some desert after that course. And I got one in the form of a Fire Canon!"
But before she could activate the attack, a purple glow surrounded the Edmontonia. Suddenly, a rock appeared in front of him before he spun around hit, curling it with his tail, before giving it a powerful push forward with his head, rolling it towards his attackers. The three theropods in his path didn't have time to react before the rock hit all three of them, knocking them back and returning them to the cards.
The others were left shocked at the Edmontonia's attack. "What was that?!" Grumpy gasped.
"Rock Roller." Kui answered before noticing the Edmontonia glowing again. "And he's about to use another one!"
The Edmontonia pushed another rock towards the remaining combatants with even more force than last time. The others all tended as they prepared to either dodge the attack or destroy it. But they didn't have to as Aqua swung her tail at it like a baseball bat and sent the rock back in the opposite direction. The rock collided with the Edmontonia and knocked him onto his side. "And that's strike three!" Grumpy joked as he prepared his other Super Move. "Gigantic Fall!"
The Edmontonia noticed the rocks being hurled towards him and smashed all of them with his tail. This gave Kui the perfect opportunity to run towards him unnoticed, leap into the air, and land on him like when he fought Armatus. The attack knocked the Edmontonia back, but he still landed on his feet.
Just as he was about to use Rock Roller again, purple spikes began to land around him, forming a circular wall. Rearing up to get a better look at his opponents, the Edmontonia saw Lola's thagomizers were glowing before they returned to their normal color. "We tried to settle this peacefully." She told him.
"But now you've just placed yourself under arrest!" Toro finished as electricity began to flow through him and his frill lit up. "Lightning Strike!" He called out as an orange bolt of lightning was fired at the Edmontonia.
The ankylosaur was struck and twitched from the electricity until he glowed purple and his card and Move Card floated to the ground. As the other dinosaurs all roared in the victory, Lola and Toro approached the card. "Well, that's the end of the Garden Thief's mischief." Toro said.
"Agreed." Lola nodded before looking down at the Edmontonia's card. "But what do we do with him as punishment?"
Her Torosaurus lover pondered for a bit before answering. "I think I have an idea."
DK
Earlier, the Diceratops was panting heavily as she was being ganged up on by Yeager, The Professor, and Pyro. Screeching, The Professor leapt onto the Diceratops' back and began clawing, scratching, and biting it. He only leapt off when Yeager grabbed the Diceratops by the neck and tossed her into the pond with a loud splash. "I can't believe it!" Ursula said with excitement. "We're actually winning!"
"It seems Seth was onto something when he made Clone Dinosaurs." Ed said.
"Makes you wonder what else he had planned." Zander said.
"Oh, he told me." Pyro told the trio as he approached the Diceratops in the pond. The ceratopsian looked up at the Alpha Dinosaur with fear in her eyes, too terrified to try and escape. "And I think you'll like what he had in mind." He said before he breathed his Fire Blaster onto the Diceratops, defeating her in seconds.
The card floated in the pond before it was picked up by Ed. "Oh my gosh! We actually got a card!" He cheered before the trio all said. "Hip-hip hooray for the Alpha Gang!" And leapt into the air.
As the landed back on the ground, The Professor took note of the lack of scenery change. "Hold on. If we defeated the dinosaur, why is there still a Battlefield?"
"Oh, I'm sure it's having trouble comprehending that we actually won this time." Ursula blew it off. "Now, who's up for a victory feast?!"
"Victory feast!" Zander and Ed cheered alongside Ursula with fists in the air as they went back to Zeta Point, leaving the dinosaurs behind.
"Something tells me this wasn't the only dinosaur on the loose." Yeager said.
"You're most likely right." Pyro said, noticing the Battlefield disappearing. "But that means that it's their failure, and not ours. Ha!" He laughed before the three of them were recalled.
DK
Later that night, Dr. Owen pulled up at the Taylor Household in his yellow car. "Thanks for driving me back, Dr. Owen." Cretacia thanked him as she got out of the car.
"Think nothing of it, Cretacia." Dr. Owen replied. "If you're up to it, we could do the same thing tomorrow."
"Actually, Señor, they wanted me to tell you that the two of you are banned from the arcade for life, and that they'd tell their friends." Patrick intercepted.
The two arcade wreckers seemed unfazed by this realization and laughed. "Maybe we'll just hang out at the Mega Mall tomorrow?" Cretacia suggested.
"Sounds like a plan." Dr. Owen agreed as he drove off into the night, honking Cretacia good night.
DK
"Relief has swept over Sanjo City as the Garden Thief, now identified as Boulder Edmontonia, has been captured and is currently serving his sentence." The anchorwoman reported as the screen showed Boulder properly filling in the tunnels that he created, so they wouldn't risk causing the street to collapse, as punishment.
"You know, I'm pretty sure that cementing these holes would be more effective, or whatever it is those machine things do." He said to the person watching over him, which was Rex. "Your Highness." His voice sounding a lot like Arnold Schwarzenegger.
"Perhaps." Rex shrugged before glaring at the Edmontonia as the ankylosaur pulled another sack of dirt into the hole. "But that doesn't mean you shouldn't help clean up your own mess. Maybe you should've taken the suggestions of my Chief of Defense, then."
Speaking of Toro, despite Boulder's thievery coming to an end he decided that having the Dino Patrol around might be helpful for future troubles. That and he really liked the idea of being in-charge of a dinosaur military. "One, two, three, four! Keep it up, two, three, four!" He chanted as they marched on their morning patrol. "All right, I believe that's everything covered!" He said before stopping.
This was followed by Lola crashing into him, followed by Sushi, Aqua, Swift, Sweet Tooth, Grumpy, and finally Kui being crushed beneath Grumpy's bum, all creating a large pile of dinosaurs at the beginning of a crosswalk. "Uh, sir? I think you forgot to say halt." Sushi said.
"Thanks for remembering." Toro grumbled, annoyed at his own failure to remember the most basic military commands. It seems that the Dino Patrol still had some work to do.
Next time on Dinosaur King:
Ursula: The plan is perfect! We set them up on a date, distract the brats, they confess their love for each other, get married and have several babies, and live happily ever after! Mwahahahah!
(Ed backs away from the laughing Ursula and holds up a cross)
A/N: Holy shit, this chapter came out differently then I originally thought. I was expecting a funny chapter with military slapstick when I began writing, but instead we got this. I'm not sure how to feel. Considering it allowed me to give personality to some minor dinosaurs, and flesh out one of the more popular ones, I'd consider this a victory.
I'll be honest, the stuff with Cretacia and Dr. Owen was not easy to write. Maybe because I don't have much experience with either of them. And before you ask, the stuff with Aki and Jim do have reasons for being included. One will be touched upon next chapter.
But let's talk about something that has come to mind recently. I have been thinking about what would it be like if I included the other dinosaurs from the Arcade and TCG in the story. Even going as far as to start giving some names and roles. And with a recent suggestion asking for their inclusion, I've debated what to do.
I've already ruled out adding them into this story, it was a decision I should have made in the story boarding process. I've already got the ending planned and including them would only work in a forced third season that would most definitely fall flat on its face. The only way I could add them in would be to completely rewrite the story, and that's a dumb reason to. The other idea is to do a sequel story and showcases them after I finish this story before I begin my crossover season. But I feel that one will also fall flat on its face. At the moment, I'll say that their inclusion in anything is probably unlikely, and probably for the best. With over 80 different dinosaurs, they'd be very forgettable.
Quality over quantity, as they say.