Chapter 5
Settling into a new nest
Driving down the road back towards Sanjo City from the mountain tops, the D team rode together with their newest member in the pickup truck with Spike Taylor at the wheel, and inside new friendships and bonds were slowly being forged. "I really can't thank you enough for this everyone, I mean you guys are willing to let me and Miku stay with you all." Cera said thankfully as Miku sat on her lap nuzzling rather comfortably inside. "After what I said to you guys just now…..I…I don't know what we did to deserve this…." she then added at the end lowering her head feeling guilty and wishing she could take it all back.
"Aw, don't fret about it Cera. You're one of us now, and what's in the past will stay in the past." Rex relied encouragingly with a smile.
"Yeah, we D team and dinosaur lovers have to stick together after all." Zoe grinned while elbowing their new friend playfully.
Max then shot his arm up to the ceiling of the car with a confident smile, "With all of us together, not only will we save the dinosaurs for sure but the alpha gang won't stand a chance against us." he said filled with energy before looking to Cera with enthusiasm, "We couldn't be happier to have you on board."
Cera placed a hand to her chest in relief as she smiled feeling secure and at ease being around people she can trust and rely on now, "Thank you….." not only was she among friends who shared similar beliefs with her, but they were giving her and Miku now a place to belong.
"Don't mention it sweetie." Dr Taylor voiced out from in front in the driver's seat. "After what you've done for my boy Max and his friends, it's the least we can do." he said with approval while looking to the back seats from the front momentarily with a thumbs up before returning his gaze to the road in front.
"Yeah, we probably would have been goners if you hadn't shown." Rex admitted feeling relieved as he hugged Ace closer to him, who barked and smiled with joy feeling appreciated.
"Plus, we finally have a new addition to our happy family! In fact I'd be begging you to be part of it!" Spike then cheered up at front before shooting a glance at Miku on Cera's lap who gulped down nervously at his eyes fixing a firm but excited look on her, "Not to mention we'd also be bringing a new dinosaur in too! But not just any one, the very missing link between birds and dinosaurs! Hahahah! This is a once in a lifetime moment! I just knew coming out here on this special day and then taking you home with us isn't some coincidence but fate hahahahah!" Dr Taylor laughed out loud as the 4 kids sweat dropped, face palmed, sighed for shook their heads in disapproval at his childish behaviour.
"Heheh…."
"Oh boy…."
Wanting to change things off topic, "So Dr Taylor, managed to find any buried treasure with that doohickey detector of yours?" Rex asked as the older man lowered his head and dropped down in disappointment.
"Err….I'd rather not talk about it Rex…." he said in embarrassment. What he didn't tell them was that his device did pick up certain kinds of treasure but not he one he was after. He came across a pair of ancient underwear which made his stomach gurgle, then found himself standing in a pile of dinosaur faeces which nearly made him lose his breakfast. When he finally found his long lost time capsule, after several tries with only rocks and old metal garbage, his joyful reunion was cut short when he landed on an old buried landmine which blew up where he stood and left him unconscious till the gang arrived back with Cera. A childhood memory now lost to time forever, as he whimpered and sobbed up front.
"Okay then….." Rex scratched his head agreeing that he shouldn't talk about it anymore.
"My dad can be a little bit much at first…." said Max to Cera trying to stand up for his father, as difficult as it was, "And sure he can get overexcited sometimes, especially when it comes to dinosaurs, but once you get past that childish side of his he's the coolest guy you'll ever come across." he said.
"Heh, I'll believe it when I see it." Cera chuckled unconvinced.
"Oh I'm sure you will, in fact when you come to stay over at our place you'll never want to leave I guarantee it!" he then cheered clapping his hands together and shaking with excitement.
Thinking about it and feeling obliged she then nodded back rather uneasily, "Hmm alright then…."
"Hey!" Zoe then cried out, "Why should you get to decide where she gets to stay!? That's so not fair! Not to mention it's just so…..wrong!" she whined.
"Oh, so they live in different homes then….." Cera then realised upon hearing her statement, though was curious as to why she was making such a huge deal of it. Then again thinking about it, perhaps 1 girl living under the same roof as a pair of boys would seem rather unusual.
"Well when you put it that way….I guess you're right there Zoe." Max scratched his cheek uneasily with Rex, having not taken it into account their age and circumstances.
"Sorry about that Cera, you didn't need to see that." Zoe then apologised for her sudden behaviour and tone of voice.
"It's fine, it's no big deal for us." Cera replied shaking her hands before looking to everyone happily, "In fact, as long as I get to stay with great hearted people like you I'm sure I'll be happy with whatever accommodations you have to offer." she said.
"Aww that's so sweet of you to say that…." said Zoe as she took her hands together and smiled innocently with sparkling but determined eyes, "In that case, I'm sure you'll love it way better at my place better than that pigsty those guys call home."
Max and Rex quickly turned to her with stern expressions, "HEY!"
"You take that back this instant!" They each yelled.
"Oh come on guys no need to get all hostile like that, you know it's the truth." Zoe said back to them all snobbishly, "If it wasn't for your mom your home would end up looking like some rat's nest in less than a day, even you know that's true." she scoffed, "Besides, I'm doing Cera here a favour, your home already has way too many ungrateful mouths for your mom to feed. Plus I wouldn't want our newest member to get uncomfortable or worse, tainted by your immature or brutish behaviours." she said in a more ladylike tone to make herself appear more civilised as she could.
"Ouch, did you really have to go that far Zoe?" Rex sighed feeling rather offended even if it was true. As he hugged in Ace who tried to comfort him with licking.
"Oh yeah!?" Max then growled shaking his fist at Zoe with a huge tic mark on his head, "Well at least we don't live on top an animal clinic with so many noisy patients that keep you awake all night with their loud barks and screeches!" He yelled, "Not to mention sometimes it gets way messier even with both your parents at home!" he added referring to certain types of messes the animal patients would make other than causing a ruckus.
Zoe's eyes widened with fiery rage, "You watch your tongue mister wise guy!" she exploded unwilling to take any kind of insult to her family's believed animal hospital, "Don't make me put you in a strangle hold!" she said popping her knuckles.
"Just try it!" Max retorted as he shook his fists ready for a tussle, refusing to hold back even if his foe was a girl and his close friend.
Rex being caught in the middle with Cera sweated as he tried waving his arms out to stop the fighting before it could escalate any further, "H…Hey guys! Calm down!" he begged though to little avail as their dinosaurs barked loudly, tuning out the truck's radio.
The back of the car was about to turn into a ring for an all put brawl, when Dr Taylor decided to speak up and say his piece, "Now now kids." he said catching their attention as hey all looked up front to him, "Let's not make a scene in front of our newest recruit and member of the family okay?"
As he finished they blinked before looking down to Cera, whose eyes were opened widely with Miku as they both stared stunned and unblinkingly.
"Errrr…"
"Oh….." Looking to one another Max and Zoe realised they were at fault as they slumped back into their seats awkwardly.
"Now kids apologise right now, you should know better than that don't you." Dr Taylor said once more as they lowered their heads in shame.
"Yeah, guess you're right dad…." Max admitted as he and Zoe turned to her.
"S…Sorry about that Cera…." they said together as she smiled and scratched her head.
"It's….alright….I mean what's family without a little spice and excitement to add to it once in a while huh?" Cera chuckled nervously letting them off.
"Whoa she actually took it better than we thought….." Max blinked his eyes along with Zoe who were both taken aback at how easy it was.
"Let's not push our luck Max." Rex spoke up just to be sure as his friend sighed.
"Yeah, I think you're right Rex."
"But still how do we decide where she stays tonight?" Zoe then asked once more as they all drifted into thought on how they could settle the matter civilised, and not through primitive violence like cavemen or even dinosaurs.
Thinking for a while, Dr Taylor stuck up his finger as an idea came to mind, "Well then how about this?" he said as they all looked to him waiting to hear his answer.
"To be fair, why not we let her decide for herself then? Sounds perfectly reasonable if you ask me." Spike suggested as they all looked to one another and decided it was much better than any of their ideas put together.
"Hmph, sounds fair to me." Max admitted as he, Rex and Zoe nodded together in agreement.
"Well Cera, where would you like to stay?" Zoe then asked as she and the other members of the D team and their dinosaurs eyes her and Miku rather closely, much to her discomfort.
"Errr….." she sweated looking towards all of them, worried that her choice will no doubt hurt the one she didn't pick…..
"Don't worry, we won't pressure you to choose or anything, in fact whichever place you pick we'll be a-okay with it." Max
"But I really recommend my house way more than that noisy animal hospital any day of the week." Max whisper
"Okay then….." Cera then looked down to her partner for her opinion, "Well Miku, would you like to pick?" she asked as Miku buried her face under her wing to brush herself before chirping back in response.
Chirp Chirp
"Hmmm, well okay then…." Cera nodded upon hearing her answer. As she turned to the boys on her left side and Zoe on her right, she brought a finger to her chin in thought as she closed her eyes, weighed the positives and negatives for each choice, before finally making her decision, "I choose….."
(Later)
As the truck pulled up in front of the Pet town animal hospital, Cera stepped out with Miku from the back door and as she stood in front she couldn't help but look up and smile with delight, "Wow, this place looks way better than I expected. In fact, it looks kinda cute…." she said after looking around it. The place gave off a rather welcoming atmosphere which put Miku at ease as she ruffled her feathers in excitement.
"I know right?" Zoe smiled as she stepped next to her new housemate with Paris hopping after them, and put an arm around her, "And if you think it looks great now, just wait till you see the inside. And the adorable room we have just for you!" she squealed with excitement.
"I look forward to it." Cera then nodded trusting her new friend's words.
As the girls and Dr Taylor began to unload the moving boxes from the back of the pickup truck, Zoe couldn't help but shoot a rather cocky smirk at Max and Rex who were still sitting inside. While Rex simply smiled accepting his loss with grace, Max didn't seem to take it so lightly as he folded his arms and scowled rather grumpily.
"Hmph…."
"Hehe, guess we can't win em all huh Max?" Rex chuckled patting him on the back hoping to comfort him though it only seemed to aggravate the spiky haired boy, who hated losing very much. "Don't worry, since the Drakes are coming to have dinner with us tonight she'll still get a chance to check out our place so we might still have a chance." he then added.
"Guess so…." Max huffed turning his head away, "Still can't believe she chose Zoe's place over ours in a heartbeat…." he said under his breath, though Zoe could hear it loud and clear and she seemed to enjoy rubbing it in his face.
"Hee hee hee….." Zoe she snickered snobbishly as Dr Taylor went back inside the truck. As he started the car and was about to drive off, Zoe leaned at the open back window giving a few last words, "Now you boys behave yourselves and make sure everything is nice is tidy till we come over, you wouldn't want our newest member to have any bad first impressions of you later at dinner now would we?" she said raising an eyebrow with a smirk as Max clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Tch!"
"We'll be on our best behaviour." Rex replied giving an 'ok' sign with his hands as he then playfully elbowed his friend at the back with him, "Right Max?"
"Yeah yeah….cheapskate….." he hissed as Ace and Chomp barked out the window saying their goodbyes got Paris as the truck drove off. As they waved bye to the truck which soon disappeared from sight, Zoe then took Cera's hand welcomingly, "Well, now with that out of the way, come on in and I'll show you around!" she said with enthusiasm as Cera nodded back at her looking forward to it.
"Mhmm."
Meanwhile inside the hospital, Dr Drake was busy using a mild needle to vaccinate a chow chow puppy which surprisingly took it without much fuss. "You're a brave little boy aren't you?" he said petting the pup's fluffy head which responded with a small bark.
Woof!
After that the dog's owner, a young woman, was at the reception counter where Mrs Drake handed her a bag of medicine tablets after she paid for them, "Now just give Fluffy make these special pills after each meal and let him get plenty of rest," she then smiled lightly as her husband handed back the chow pup in a small carrying cage, "And he should feel better in no time." she then concluded.
"Thanks Dr Drake, will do." The woman replied as she carried the cage by its upper handle and exited through the front door.
"Take care now." Mrs Drake called out with a bright smile. As soon as they both turned around to go into a mother room, as Zoe and Cera walked right in.
"Mom! Dad! We're home!" she called out catching their attention.
"Hmm? Oh hello there Zoe! Welcome home!" Her mom said welcoming her back.
"I take it you enjoyed your trip to the mountains earlier this morning?" her chubby father then asked.
Upon hearing his question she sweat dropped and scratched her cheek, "Err hehe more or less….." shaking off what was in the past she decided to introduce them to her new friend and soon to be roommate. "Anyways, I'd like to introduce you to our new house guest and member of the D team. Cera!" she said showing her off as the red haired girl smiled rather embarrassed before bowing down respectfully.
"Hello Mr and Mrs Drake, thank you for having me." she said.
"Hello Cera. It's a pleasure to meet you." Mrs Drake said welcoming her.
"Ah! Yes of course! I heard about you from Dr Taylor just now." Dr Drake then snapped his fingers in realisation before running up to her an shaking her hands, "I welcome you to our humble animal hospital, where all your beloved animal companions are given the best quality treatment and all the tender love and care they could ever want." He then stated showing off the hospital from the animal play area right down to the food stores and medical room which all glistened sparkly clean, very unlike the scenario that Max described back in the truck in the hopes of dissuading her.
"Thank you very much, we're really humbled." Cera replied taking in the welcoming atmosphere which made her feel she cold get used to things here very much. At that moment, Miku then climbed up and perched herself ontop of her shoulder, which Dr Drake soon took notice of
"Oh! So is this your little partner that Spike told me about?" Dr Drake asked as he took notice of her.
"Y…yes, this is Miku." Cera responded as the little raptor covered up her face shyly, "Come on say hi." She said nudging her with her finger, though it only served to make her bury herself in her arms and feathers even more so.
"Aww isn't she a little sweetheart. She's almost like a little canary." Mrs Drake smiled clapping her hands together.
Inside Dr Drake was tearing up and wailing with sadness, "Shame though, I was hoping she'd have a larger dinosaur with her, then I'd be able to test out my special mega needle!" he wept inside before an idea popped into his head. "Oh well, at least I have an alternative." He then walked up to the new girl and smiled welcomingly, "Say, since this is your first time here," he said eying the little dinosaur who slowly lowered her arms, "Your beloved pet shall receive a special vaccine shot courtesy of yours truly on the house! With 1 shot of this you'll never get sick again!" He announced holding up a small regular sized needle in his hand causing Zoe and Cera to both widen their eyes and gasp in alarm!
"EH!?"
SQUAWK!
Miku then turned pale, as paler than her usual white color till her entire body including her face and limbs became all ghostly, as she then fainted and fell down on Cera's shoulder, who blinked at what she just saw. "M…Miku?"
"Oh my….." Mrs Drake covered her mouth in surprise as her husband's jaw dropped. Clearly not expecting this outcome.
He then jumped as he felt a certain chill through the air and his heart skipped a beat as his daughter shook and tensed with rage as she then turned to him slowly, with flaring red eyes and gnashing teeth! "D…Dad! Look what you did to poor Miku!" she growled pointing at the now fainted bird dinosaur, as Cera had put her on the table to say her condolences for her life long partner.
"B…But Zoe….I was only trying to-"
"No buts!" Zoe cut him off before pointing out to Cera and her dinosaur, "Now apologise for what you did right now, or else you'll be the one taking that shot!" she threatened before swiping the needle from his hand! "In fact, I'll deliver it to you personally myself!" she roared intending to jab him in the backside!
Seeing no way out, her father slumped down into the corner and began wiggling his finger on the floor like a guilty child, "Y…Yes dear….." he whimpered as his wife covered her mouth trying hard but failing to suppress a giggle.
As Cera looked on with Miku, who had just regained consciousness and saw the whole drama play out they couldn't help but stare in amazement at what they witnessed, "Whoa, she actually managed to make him yield….." Cera said in awe and terror.
Miku gulped in response, "Remind me never to get on her bad side…."
(Later)
"Ehehehe, sorry about that Cera." Zoe chuckled in embarrassment towards Cera as she sweat dropped and scratched her cheek before looking to Miku on her friend's shoulder, "And you too Miku." Both females were staring back at her rather uneasily as they were heading towards the D lab, where Cera learnt Zoe's sister Reese worked, and also served as the D team's base of operations. "My dad can get pretty excited and giddy when it comes to giving animals shots…..which I've told him over and over so many times…." she then grumbled before facepalming herself.
"Did you really have to make him unpack all my things though?" Cera then asked feeling rather compassionate for what Zoe had put her own father through, "That seems kinda harsh don't you think? Also, I wouldn't want to be a burden."
Zoe then placed a playful hand on her shoulder and smiled with innocence, "Nonsense, it's the least we can do, after all you helped save us from the Alpha gang earlier today so I think it's only fair we return the favour." she said before giggling with glee, "Plus it serves as a rather fitting punishment for him after scaring Miku out of her feathers, so it's basically a win win!"
"Eheheh I guess if you put it that way….." Cera then chuckled and sweat dropped, while Miku shook her head in disapproval, "Still in a way, he's kinda like Dr Taylor right? He's crazy about dinosaurs and your dad's mad about giving treatments to animals, they're like 2 peas in a pod." she then added with a smile as Zoe suddenly gained the shivers.
"That's….a rather scary way to look at it….." she croaked feeling sick, having just pictured her dad, Dr Taylor and Dr Owen at some wild man's party all drunk and out of control. "But yeah can't argue with that. Hahahaha." She then laughed hoping to shake off those thoughts but to little avail. Fortunately her train of unpleasant thoughts are to a stop as Paris barked up ahead. Seeing they had arrived, Zoe brightened up as she was able distract herself with something else now, "Well here we are! Welcome to the D lab!" She cheered as she ran ahead with Paris and Cera followed.
As they came closer, the sight of an unusual building with a ceratopsian head feature, a stegosaur shaped flower patch and designed unlike any other building she had ever laid eyes on. "Wow, this place looks….amazing….." Cera breathed.
"Hee hee, just wait till you see the inside!" Zoe giggled as door sensors triggered and the front doors opened.
As they entered through, Cera's jaw hung down stunned with amazement. Inside as she entered were several paintings of dinosaurs and fossils posted around the walls of the room with even several giant fossils depicting a T rex, tupuxuara and placerias stationed too. As they headed deeper in, many advanced computers and high tech devices in aesthetic dinosaur themes came into view, with stylised dino footprints stamped all over as well. There was no way to describe the emotions that were running through the minds and hearts of the lab's newest visitors. "Whoa…" Was all she and Miku could force out upon seeing this.
"Hee hee, told you it'd be amazing." Zoe grinned knowing that their new friends was already enjoying what she was seeing, and that the D team was making a great first impression too.
As they made it to the main area, they were greeted with several barks as Chomp and Ace ran out to meet them, as they played with Paris a couple of familiar faces came into view. "Hey! You guys made it!" Rex cheered as he and Max came up to them.
"Nice of you to finally join us, we've been waiting for you both to show up." Max followed as Cera nodded politely.
"Mhmm."
"So what took you both so long?" Rex then asked as he put his shoulders on his hips.
"Hehe, you know us girls love to be fashionably late." Zoe giggled as she gave a cheerful wink and struck a rather cute pose as she pulled Cera in closer to her, "Isn't that right Cera?"
She sweat dropped and chuckled nervously, "Err hehe, I wouldn't really say that….."
Max then leaned in and whispered to Rex as they turned around, "Heh must be a girl thing."
"I agree, though the last thing we need is having another Zoe on board the team….." Rex added as they both shivered at the thought.
"Brr, I get chills just thinking about it." Max stated, though his low talking was picked up by Zoe's sensitive ears as she shot them both a fierce glare that made both of them jump!
"You said something about me wise guy?" she questioned.
Max sweated and held his hands out shaking them frantically, "Err nope! Nothing at all!"
"Not a word about you." Rex followed as he motioned his hand zipping his lips shut.
"Now now kids, let's not misbehave around our newest addition to the family." Dr Taylor's voice called out as he came walking up towards them.
Cera then walked up to him and welcomed him, "Hey Dr Taylor, fancy meeting you here." she said.
"The same to you as well." Spike replied proudly before opening his arms out to the room they were in, "In fact we bid you and Miku a warm welcome to the D lab! The pride and joy of the D team!" he proclaimed as the kids applauded the official welcome of their newest recruits, with their dinosaurs barking and cheering at the sidelines.
Cera couldn't help but blush a little in embarrassment but also feeling rather proud to be honoured in such a way, "We are honoured." she said bowing down politely, as Miku perks her head from her arm covering her face in shyness.
Dr Taylor couldn't help but tear up at her response, "She really has great manners, something Max ought to take a queue from too." he thought to himself on the inside tearing up knowing it would be next to impossible, but they would be something for sure. After that he gestured to his side, "There's someone we'd like you to meet as well." As he said so, a young woman with blond hair with glasses wearing a lab coat and carrying some documents in 1 hand, came walking in with a rather serious expression at firs,t which made Cera and Miku feel rather on edge knowing she was a figure of authority, but lightened up as the new woman smiled at her.
"Greetings Cera. I am Reese Drake and I am in charge of all operations here at the lab." she said.
Cera then raised an eyebrow curiously, "Drake? As in-"
"Yup." Zoe cut her off skipping up to her, "Reese here happens to be my older sister." she said gesturing her hand to the older woman before she stood up with closed eyes and a smirk, "Considering that she's in charge of things around here, that means I'm technically in charge here too!" she boasted with her head held up high, much to the shock of the men in the room.
"Huh!?" They all gasped in shock and alarm before some of them turned rather aggressive.
"Hey! We never agreed on that!" Max growled.
"Yeah, aren't we like a collective trust?" Rex responded calmly in agreement as their dinos barked.
"It only makes sense you guys." Zoe giggled, "After all, since I happen to be Reese's sister it only makes sense that she leaves me in charge of here when she's not around!" She boasting, wanting to look good in front of Cera, who unfortunately wasn't buying it one bit as she and Miku stared back at her with suspicion.
"Leave you in charge?" Reese spoke up making her sister jump in a fright. "You must be joking Zoe, never in a million years would I ever do something like that." she said rather seriously, despite sounding all monotonous, with her glasses shining and her eyes not being shown.
"Huh!?" Zoe turned pale and slumped down to her knees in defeat, while the men began to snicker behind her back.
"Also, don't go making assumptions or putting words into others' mouths, remember what I told you?" her sister then added which made the young girl freeze up, as she scratched her chin and tried to avoid as much eye contact as possible.
"Err…..Okay maybe she didn't exactly say that." she admitted twiddling her fingers before turning down to her sister in a begging position, "But still, I can't believe you could say something so cruel about your own sister." she sniffled with tears watering from her eyes.
Reese then rubbed her temple with her free hand, and sighed shaking her head in disappointment at her sister's childish behaviour before responding back, "If it makes you feel any better though, I'd never leave the D lab in the hands of anyone in this room." she said much to their displeasure.
"Aww….." they all moaned and sighed while lowering forward as Reese took her leave and headed towards to the main computer to begin setting up something.
Stepping up and helping Zoe back to her feet, "Your sister is….pretty interesting I have to admit." said Cera to her.
"Not to mention brutally firm and honest…." Miku thought to herself shivering in her feathers.
"Interesting is the last word I'd describe her." Zoe pouted before whispering in her ear, "You'd better watch your back around her, though she may not look like it, the moment you let your guard down she can become a real monster in seconds."
"Is…that so?" Cera then gulped as a drop of sweat fell from her cheek.
"Mhmm, take it from me I've seen how unforgiving and tyrannical she can get, she even makes the alpha gang's t-rex look like a tame kitten in comparison!" she added.
"I heard that Zoe." Reese said to her catching her by surprise.
"EEP!" She jumped, while Cera covered her mouth in shock too.
"Gulp…."
"When I'm finished here, you and I are going to have a nice, long heart to heart talk. No excuses, understand?" she said authoritatively as Zoe fell back down and twiddled her fingers.
"Y….yes Reese….."
Max couldn't help but grin with satisfaction, "Heh, she should have kept that loud mouth of hers shut." he snickered as Rex suddenly covered his mouth with widened eyes and sweating anxiously.
"Shh Max, don't push it!" Rex hissed to him as she suddenly shot them a stare which made them and Dr taylor freeze in place!
"Why did I suddenly get a chill?" Cera gulped despite not having the stare directed at her.
"And I thought Zoe was scary….her sister's spine chilling….." Miku commented to herself.
A little while later she headed up to a table on the side of the room to see several dinosaur cards lined up and arranged neatly with move card dinosaurs too. After going over them all, Cera could;t help but feel rather impressed with their achievements. "So, these are all the dinosaurs you rescued so far?" she asked curiously.
"Yup, every single one of them! Impressive collection don't you think?" Max boasted rubbing his nose cockily as Zoe and Rex shot him a firm glare.
"Max…."
Realising his mistake he then sighed, "Oh, sorry if I sounded the wrong way….." he apologised scratching his head.
"It's alright, I understand now." she replied to them much to their surprise at how easy she took it. "You guys are all just doing what you believe is right, I now realise that." She said picking up a few of the cards such as the Maiasaura and daspletosaurus, sensing positive feelings emanating from them. "At least now I know you all have good intentions, and I'm certain these dinosaurs are no doubt happier and better off in your hands than with the alpha gang for sure." She said much to their relief.
"Phew…."
"Thank goodness."
As she continued going over the cards she then noticed a rather colourful acrocanthosaurus card as she picked it up and eyed it closer with interest, "What's up with this one? This card seems rather unique and special compared to the others." she commented.
"That….kinda depends on how you look at it…." Rex replied scratching his chin while his expression of unsureness mirrored in the others.
"We managed to rescue that dinosaur from the alpha gang, but not before they managed to perform some crazy modifications and experiments on it…." Max stated feeling responsible for what it went through.
"The next time we faced it, it was really powerful and literally on fire!" Zoe called out.
"Yeah, I get goosebumps just thinking about it all over again….." Rex added as Ace came up to him and hardened his gaze. "We only barely managed to win thanks to Ace though." he said nuzzling the carnotaurus under his chin as he giggled and rolled over. As Rex smiled with his partner's happiness he then sighed to himself on the inside, "Oh how I wish he gotten over his hydrophobia soon, it's getting really tiresome especially when it comes to baths….." he thought which would make their relationship perfect in his opinion.
"Doesn't change the fact that those creeps really are the worst!" Max yelled angrily as he pumped up his arms and gritted his teeth furiously.
"Yeah…..I can agree with that for sure….." Cera nodded in agreement seriously as well, while taking a closer look at the dinosaur card herself, "Experimenting on a dinosaur like some lab rat, tampering with living creatures against their will is just horrible…." she narrowed her eyes angrily, before eying it more with curiosity, "Still…..why do I feel like I've seen this somewhere before?" she thought to herself before placing the card back on the table.
"We still haven't found a way to return that poor acrocanthosaurus back to normal though." Max then added feeling guilty at unable to save it the first time or change it back now.
It was then that Zoe gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder as he looked to her, "But at least now it's safe and out of their evil hands." she said encouragingly as he then smiled.
"That's looking at things on the bright side." Cera then nodded in agreement.
His smile then vanished momentarily, "Although, they were able to get their hands on a stegosaurus and saurophaganax a few days ago, so hopefully the next time we see them again we'll be able to save them….." he then stated feeling responsible for letting his guard down and losing them to Rod and Laura, worried about the experiment they'd do to them. Remembering what a certain blue haired man named Seth, did to some velociraptors some time back, he just knew their encounter with the acrocanthosaurus was just the tip of the iceberg.
"I'm certain we will." Cera responded with confidence as she placed a fist to her chest, "I'll be sure to do my very best for the team and for the dinosaurs." she said with confidence as the rest of the D team smiled having her support.
"Glad to have you on board for this Cera." Rex commented feeling more secure about their future success and for the salvation of all the dinosaurs.
"Excuse me, pardon my intrusion on your pep talk." said Reese politely as she called out for the red haired girl's name, as said girl looked back to see her and Dr taylor at the monitor table. "But I'd like to see you for a moment Cera."
"M…Me?" she pointed to herself.
"Mhmm." Reese nodded. Seeing as she wasn't going to say more until she did as told she decided to do so.
"Okay….." She said before she walked up tot he older woman and the rest of the kids following behind.
As she stood before the D lab head, she then held her hand out, "If you don't mind, I am rather curious about that device of yours." she said.
"Huh? You mean my dinoshot?" Cera asked as she unhooked it from her belt and showed it.
"Yes, that's it." Reese answered as she held her glasses firmly as she narrowed her eyes and eyed the device closer.
After staring at it for a little while with no other comment, "Well, what about it Reese?"
"Something up?" Max and Zoe each asked feeling unsettled and curious. So was Cera, who was starting to think the woman was getting a little bit nosy…..
She then pushed up her glasses once more before asking nicely, "If you wouldn't mind, may I have a closer look at it?"
"Huh?"
"Don't worry, I promise you'll have it back as soon as I am finished doing a few scans on it and nothing more." she said encouragingly, "It intrigues me quite much and I am curious as to how it works as well as how it compares to the dinoholders as well."
Though not enthusiastic at first, Cera found her words to be truthful before she slowly handed the gun shaped machine over, "Sure thing, here you go." she said handing it off.
"Thank you very much." Reese replied as she placed it on the table and several devices form the ceiling began to perform scans on it and the monitors were displaying its' contents.
After a while Reese soon began to use precision tools to poke at the device and as sparks began to fly out Cera became rather uneasy and doubtful as to whether Reese was merely observing, "I'd appreciate it if you don't try anything funny with it…." she said swallowing hard, worried at what she might be implying to the apparently really scary lady before her.
"There is no need to worry about anything at all," Reese replied taking off her eye goggles and looking towards her, "Just what kind of person would you take me for?"
Cera scratched her cheek uneasily, "Well….."
Reese soon got the idea as she turned towards her little sister whose heart skipped a beat as soon as their eyes made contact, "You wouldn't have something to do with this would you Zoe?" Reese questioned as she hardened her gaze.
"Err no! Of course not sis! Why would you think that? Heheheheh…" she laughed nervously while shaking her hands out in a frantic before bonking herself on the head and sticking her tongue out playfully, trying to act as innocent as she could, though she began to sweat panicky as Reese's eyes remained unlinked and her gaze firmly fixed right into her soul!
"It's got nothing to do with her." Cera spoke out vouching for he friend who breathed a sigh of relief while falling to her knees in exhaustion of the pressure. "I'm just not too comfortable with strangers taking hold of my things that well….especially the only thing I seem to know how to use, and apparently all I remember about myself before I….lost my memories…." she said uneasily and rather painfully as silence soon filled the room.
Reese's expression became more compassionate as she soon replied, "I understand…." she push up her glasses once more, "But you can trust me that no harm will come to your device, I promise you that."
Feeling reassured once more, Cera nodded full of faith and confidence, "Alright." she said as Reese smiled once again.
"Thank you very much." she then put her goggles back on and took out her tools once again before doing some close examination on the dinoshot, "Now let's see what you really are….." she said as she did a more closer study on the device.
As the rest of the D team looked on they couldn't help but be both curious and puzzled as to what she was doing, "What do you think Reese is doing?" Max asked Zoe as she rested her head on her hand while gazing boredly.
"You're asking me?" she replied turning just her eye at him.
"Well you're her sister, we thought you might be into the same kind of stuff as her." Rex replied casually as he folded his arms behind his head.
Taking that as insult she squinted her eyes, "Why you…."
"How very interesting…." Reese spoke up interrupting her before she could continue. Perking everyone's interest they came up to her workplace as she took off her goggles and held up the dinoshot in one of her hands.
"What? What is it?" They asked curiously as she moved over to where her computer was as she began typing on the keyboards, depicting several screens opening up on the monitor, displaying the insides and circuitry of the dinoshot.
"According to the scans I performed, this device has no installed stone." she said as they all gasped and widened their eyes in disbelief.
"Huh!?"
"No stone!?"
"Then….how can it summon dinosaurs then when ours requires them?"
"That's just it, I have no clue whatsoever." Reese answered back, with a hint amazement in her voice. She then leaned over to the screens and began scrolling through them as the others gathered around to see, and they soon got an idea as to why she got stumped in the first place, "The integrated circuitry and technology that this device and its components are made of are unlike anything I've ever seen. Some of which are made from the rarest metals on the planet, others I didn't even know existed." she said.
"My my, how very fascinating." Dr taylor commented bringing a finger down to his bearded chin in thought.
"Yeah no kidding….." Rex followed.
"That's not all." Reese continued, "From what the data shows, apparently there's no limit to the kinds of dinosaur it can call forth."
"Huh!?" Their eyes widened once again.
"So then, it can like summon any dinosaur there is out there!?"
"That's what I just said Max." she replied monotonously, "In fact, its' design is beyond anything I've ever seen in all my years of technological expertise…" she commented as her discovery left the entire D team baffled.
"Whoa, if there's something that baffle Reese, then it's really amazing for sure….." Zoe breathed.
"Yeah no kidding, she's like the smartest of us all, and if something's got her stumped there's no way we have any chance of understanding it at all…." Rex added.
As Cera stood outside form the group she couldn't help but feel special and blushed to herself, "I….feel honoured….." she mouthed out twirling a bit of her hair with her finger while looking away, she knew her dinoshot was a precious device but not to that level of significance.
It was at that int that Reese turned around from her chair and stood up eying Cera rather firmly, "Cera, are you certain you can't remember where or how you got this?" she then asked as the red haired girl took a step back unable to respond.
"I…..I….well…." she stuttered momentarily before sighing with sadness, "I'm sorry I really have no memories as to how I obtained it….or even who I am….." she said rather weakly as Miku chirped, petting her neck gently as the others turned rather downcast, even the 3 dinosaurs too could feel it themselves as they stopped barking or running around.
Reese then gained a rather fronted expression as a result as she returned the dinoshot to its original owner, "Cera…..I see…..I apologise if I may have rubbed you the wrong way…." she said returning it.
Cera shook her head smilingly lightly while fighting back he negative feelings inside, "No it's fine Reese, you were just trying to be sure, and so am I….." she replied as the other D team kids gathered around to comfort her.
"Hey it's alright, no need to feel all down in the dumps. Frowning doesn't quite suit you or anyone for that matter." said Max as he placed an arm on her shoulder.
Rex nodded, "Yeah, Max is right, I'm sure your memories will come back eventually, you'll just give it time."
"You won't be alone on this, we'll be behind your back every step of the way." said Zoe taking her hand with both of hers, "And if it doesn't, we can just make some new memories starting here on out. Together." she said as they all smiled brightly around her with their dinosaurs showing how much they truly were wanting her and welcoming her into their family.
"Thanks you guys, it means a lot to us both….." Cera smiled before she began sniffling and wiping away a joyful tear from her eye, as Miku jumped up and down on her shocker chirping with glee, "I'll be sure to never forget this." The 4 kids shared a wondrous moment together…which was soon cut short by an unexpected yell.
"Argh! I can't take it anymore!" Spike cried at the top of his lungs as everyone quickly turned to him in surprise.
"Huh?" Even Chomp, Ace and Paris nearly jumped at the sound of his loud voice.
Immediately, Spike rushed over to Cera and got down into a begging position "Cera! Could I borrow your dinoshot for a bit? Just this once please?" he pleased with teary eyes much to the surprise of everyone else present.
"WHAT!?"
"Dr Taylor!" Reese cried out in alarm and anger.
"I'm sorry I just couldn't help myself Reese!" he turned to her, "It's all I was thinking about the moment you mentioned it had no limits!" he cried admitting he hadn't paid any attention to Cera's welcome moment she was sharing with the group just now. "The stones in the dinoholders won't respond to anyone else but the kids, and after seeing how Cera's device can pretty much summon any dinosaur at will on its own I just couldn't help myself!" he cried as he the tensed up his arms and gritted his teeth as if he was in agony, "Now after so many months of seeing the kids summon their dinosaurs and bring back new ones I just can't hold myself back anymore, I just have to give it a whirl and experience the excitement of summoning a dinosaur for myself!" he roared with passion before turning around and grovelling before Cera once more, "Please…." he whimpered looking up at her with the most teary puppy dog eyes he could show.
Much to the dismay of the D team kids and Reese as they sweat dropped, face palmed, shook their heads or sighed…..
"Dr Taylor, stop making a scene in front of the children, you're embarrassing yourself." Reese muttered rubbing her temple before she went to popping her knuckles, ready to deliver some well needed discipline!
"B…But I only want to try it out just for a little bit?" Spike whimpered once more in his defence before turning over to the D trio as they took a step back when he got close to them, "I mean I see you kids do it all the time when you're out in the field, just once I would like to experience it first hand!"
"Dad…..please stop making a scene in front of us all….." Max cried out as Rex and Zoe both couldn't bear to look into his disturbing eyes a second longer.
Thinking to herself for a little while, Cera then opened her eyes, "Alright sure, I'll let you use it just this once." she spoke up much to the bewilderment of the entire D team!
"Huh!?" Even Reese felt her heart skip a beat too, and she thought Cera would be smarter than that herself….guess she was mistaken…..
"R…really!? You…mean that Cera?" Dr Taylor clapped his hands together while his eyes shone brightly as a hundred stars!
She nodded with a smile, "Since you all were kind enough to do so much for me and Miku, I think I should return the favour myself in anyway I can by making myself useful to you all." Her statement was quite moving, yet many of the others weren't on the same page as her, either she was too kind or she was fooled by Spike's bad act…..
As she looked to Miku on her shoulder who nodded back at her, knowing what she was thinking, Cera then pressed a button on her dinoshot which returned the little raptor to a card. "In fact, I think I'll let you have the honour of summoning Miku." She said handing himmboth the card and her dinoshot, also for the fact she didn't want to take any risks with one of the larger dinosaurs on the table.
"Hooray! Today really is my lucky day after all!" Dr taylor jumped for joy as he did a rather humorous but more embarrassing jig, with several maracas while even shaking his backside too.
The rest of the D team sweat dropped at Spike's antics and took several steps back for their own safety, "This is big mistake…."
"Cera's going to regret this, I just know it…." they each muttered to one another while counting the many ways this could go wrong.
Right before she can hand them off to the large man's hands she quickly remembered something important as she took them back, right out of Spike's grasp as he then pouted at the tease, "Hold on a second first." she said hurrying over to the table and turning over to Reese, "Reese, is it alright if I use the work table and tools over there for a bit?" she then asked as the older woman liked her eyes.
"Umm, sure you may but what for?" she asked.
"You'll see." Cera answered as she put on the goggles herself and began using the tools and sparked up her dinoshot with them.
"Err Cera?"
"What is it exactly you're doing?" Zoe and Max both asked curiously after she worked for what seemed like 10 minutes straight.
"Just making a few quick modifications to my dinoshot first before letting Dr Taylor use it." she answered after pulling off the goggles to speak to them, "After all, with your recent skirmishes with the alpha gang, it's clear they have a dinosaur detection system just like this." She said before turning back to work, "So I'm just going to add in an extra layer of precaution, by encrypting my dinoshot with a special cloak programme to make sure that when I summon a dinosaur, it won't trigger any kind of signal for them to trace. I mean, we can't have them find this place and launch a full scale attack that would endanger everyone else and the cards already gathered right?" Cera
As she answered, the entire D team was once again stunned speechless by her logic and deduction, as Dr Taylor blinked his eyes and stared into space, "Ah…..Why didn't I think of that sooner?" he asked himself before he slumped down, "I can't believe I nearly let my enthusiasm and excitement get the better of me, not to mention giving away our top secret location in the process…." he groaned.
"Indeed." Reese commented feeling impressed herself, the way she thought ahead made her seem rather strategic like a battlefield veteran.
"Whoa…..no way…."
"She really though that far ahead?"
"Just who is she?" The rest of the D team commented in amazement.
After noticing her passion and expertise with the tools available to her, Max couldn't help but whistle feeling impressed, "So guys, what do you think?" he asked the others.
"I'm thinking she really knows her stuff….." Rex replied. "Still, is really letting your dad summon a dinosaur a good idea?" He whispered as Max quickly shook his head answering him.
"Not at all…." he then looked over to his father who was stomping his feet and biting his hat impatiently, which made him chuckle in amusement, "Though he's really wanted to do this for a long time now, so might as well let him have his fun, for a little bit." he said as the others soon smiled and nodded with him.
"Almost there….just a little more….done!" Cera called out as she finally finished the last few details. She said as Dr Taylor scrambled up to her and began skipping in 1 spot like a child awaiting for a new toy. "Well then, here you go, your patience has been rewarded."
"Oh boy! I can hardly wait!" Spike cried out grabbing the card and dinoshot without hesitation, "Here goes! The moment of truth, oh how I've waited long for the day I'd be able to summon my own dinosaur! It's just like that dream I've had where I rode on the back of a T-rex into battle!" he commented while dancing around with joy and heartfelt emotion, "Now it's finally about to come true! Well maybe this isn't exactly the same, but otherwise-"
"DAD!" Max yelled snapping himont of dreamland.
"Eh?"
"Dr Taylor, will you please get on with it already? We'd appreciate it if you didn't waste everyone's time monologuing….." Reese groaned pinching her temple as a tic mark was beginning to form on her forehead. Even the kids were glaring scowls at him as he thens sweat dropped.
"Oh alright then…..can't a guy enjoy the moment when his life long dream finally comes true?" he muttered under his breath, feeling offended they would poop on his party. Nevertheless he cleared his throat and holding up the card in a cool pose, "I've wanted to say this for quite some time and now here goes! Dino slash!" he shouted at the top of his lungs as he slashed the card across the dinoshot! A bright light shone and it soon materialised into Miku's all sized form, as she raised out her wings and screeched powerfully, before being surrounded by the other D team dinosaurs who wanted to play with her.
Reese smiled impressed he was able to pull it off, but more so at the new dinosaur as she took a notepad and began writing down important notes on it.
"Would you look at that."
"He actually didn't mess it up." Rex and Max commented as Zoe simply stared back and whistled.
"Whistle.
"I did it…I actually did it! Woo hoo! I did it! I did it! I'm the man! I'm the dinoman! WOO!" Dr Taylor once more broke into his excited childish jig, as he ticked off another of his lifelong goals to achieve before he went to the fossil dig site high in the sky.
"Glad you're so happy dad." Max smiled while also sweat dropping, praying that he could stop soon in his mind.
"Oh I couldn't be happier!" Dr Taylor replied before putting on a rather big grin much to the unease of the otherss, "But this is just the beginning! Now to try something really big!" he jittered with excitement as he ran over to the D lab table and plucked out a card from the pile which he thought would be one worthy of him, "Like this carcharodontosaurus!" he boasted with pride as he flashed the card to the rest of the gang who widened their eyes or gasped in bewilderment!
"EH!?"
Dr taylor then grinned almost maniacally, driven on with adrenaline and excitement as he prepared to slash the card! "Prepare to meet your master! Di-"
"NOOOOO!" Everyone cried out in horror as he was just about to slash it!
With lightning speed, Reese suddenly appeared behind him and pinched him right under the elbow as he let out a high pitched scream in response! "YOWCH!" The sound of his cry echoed through the entire lab much to the surprise and horror of the children witnessing what was happening.
"You've had enough fun Dr Taylor, now it's time you return that to whom it belongs to." Reese said firmly to him as she hardened her eyes at the larger man whom she was easily overpowering with little effort!
"Y…Yes Reese, I hear you." Dr Taylor croaked as he dropped both the card and dinoshot form his hands, which Cera both quickly reclaimed, taking back what she said about the older man, from now on she would be keeping this out his hands.
After that she shuddered at the sight of Reese's skill in combat, making a note to herself never to get on the Drake's bad sides (in the event the parents were the same as Zoe and Reese) before pressing the button and returning Miku to normal again. "I think I'd better programme a few security measures into my dinoshot just to be safe." she commented eying her dinoshot before turning her attention to the D team. "If you like, I could tweak your dinoholders too and give them a little more kick too."
They looked back at her in surprise, "Really? You'd do that?" Max asked.
She smiled in response, "Of course, we're not just a team, we're friends too aren't we?"
Without hesitation and with plenty of excitement they quickly handed off their devices, "Awesome!"
"Thanks Cera, glad to have you on our side." They each praised or patted her on the shoulders giving her their upmost support, while their dinosaurs ran around her barking with happiness. Feeling showered with praise was more than enough to make both her and Miku smile, knowing she really did have a place among them now.
As she began working on the 3 dinoholders, Reese stood back and observed before smiling to herself, "Seems I may have found myself a competent assistant at last, and if things go well, maybe even a future heir…." she thought.
(Later)
That night it was dinner time as the Drakes gathered over at there Taylor's for a finely get together between old friends. After the moms, including Reese and a bit of help from the kids and the dads, a well made dinner selection lay out on the table consisting of fried chicken, steamed vegetables, grilled fish and other delicious meals, which the men quickly wolfed down ravenously while the girls ate rather gracefully and politely.
"Man, I can't get enough of this!" Max mumbled with his mouth partially full.
"You said it Max! I feel like I'm in heaven now!" Dr Taylor cried out as he chomped on a large drumstick with Dr Drake, sinking his teeth into its soft meat and taking in its delicious juices!
"Sigh, like father like son….just wished they have proper table manners once in a while." Zoe grumbled with disgust while eating with Rex and some of the others calmly. As they ate at the table together, the dinosaurs ate dog food at the side near the TV, while Miku sat above on the couch eating a bowl with dried crickets in it.
"Mmm, this is actually pretty good Mrs Taylor." Cera commented as she took in another mouthful. "I can't thank you enough for inviting us to dinner." She said as Miku looked up from her for and chirped with delight.
"Why you are very much welcome Cera dear," Aki replied with a bright smile, "Though as much as I'd love to I can't take all the credit, Mrs Drake here actually helped me out a bit too." she said turning to the orange haired woman who sat next to her.
"Oh I didn't do all that much really….." she chuckled.
"In any case, Miku and I are really appreciative of this very much." Cera added as she continued eating and treasuring the wonderful food before them.
"We're glad you both love your meals very much, there's nothing I enjoy more." said Mrs Taylor feeling touched before noticing Miku on the couch, "It's rare to see someone with a bird outside of their home, many prefer to keep them caged so they wouldn't fly away." she commented curiously, "I didn't think it would be possible for someone to have such a close bond with a pet other than with dogs, but there's a first time for anything I suppose."
"Yeah…..what you just said….." Cera said nervously as some of the others shared her expression.
Seeing it as an opportunity, Max decided to change the topic both to keep Miku's identity a secret and also because he wanted to get something off his chest, "You know Cera…." he grinned putting an arm around her shoulder, "If you stay with us here instead of at Zoe's, I promise you'll have have meals fit for an emperor every single day." He said which made her feel somewhat uneasy.
"Oho Max you flatter me, even though I'm not really that good of a cook myself." his mom responded modestly.
"But it's true mom!" Max called back before turning to Cera again, "I could even have her throw in a couple of her homemade milkshakes too! Trust me they're way better than anything you'll find at any ice cream stand out there!"
"Oh that sounds…..nice." she replied unsure what to make of it.
"Oh boy, I know where this is going…." Rex sweated as Zoe began to steam up.
"Trying to buy her in with food are you?" she muttered as she stood up firmly ready to stand her ground, "Well it won't work!" She then turned to Cera, "My mum happens to make the juiciest and sweetest apple pie you've never heard of! One bite and I promise you'll never be able to stop wanting more!"
"Err….okay…." she sweated scratching her cheek.
"Oh my, that's so sweet of you to say that Zoe….." her mom chuckled while Reese sat at her side of the table and ignored the chatter.
"Now now kids, we're all friends and family here." Dr Drake clapped his hands getting them to settle down.
"So there's no need to get anymore hostile with one another since we have a new addition to our group." Dr Taylor followed sounding firm. Their words fell on deaf ears as both continued to argue over whom Cera should stay with.
Seeing it as an opportunity, Cera decided to put a little distance between herself and the hoo haa at the dinner table, as she went over to the TV area to see Rex watching the 4 dinosaurs eat. Noticing he was rather quiet himself she then leaned in curiously to him, "Hey Rex, you seem pretty quiet, is something wrong?" she asked feeling concerned.
He looked up to see her next to him, "Oh Cera it's you, no it's nothing at all really." he replied with a smile.
"Really? Because it doesn't seem that way….." she responded raising an eyebrow.
Seeing there was no way he could lie to her, he decided to come clean, even if ti did hurt….."Sigh…well it's just that…seeing Max and Zoe being so happy and energetic like they are now, the fact they have families of their own with plenty of connection and cheer between them….I can't help but feel kinda left out myself." he admitted as Cera raised an eyebrow.
"Left out?" She blinked before remembering what he meant, "Oh….right….." she recalled when they were in the truck telling her about themselves, their dinoholders and stones, adventures from their side of the story, but one fact she remembered especially well was that Rex mentioned he was adopted unlike the others, and he couldn't probably relate to them as much from what she expected. Realising that she smiled as she sat down to him, "Well Rex, you know you're not exactly the only one who feels like that."
He blinked his eyes in surprise, "What do you mean?" He then quickly remembered that Cera herself too was in a similar position as he was, how she didn't remember her own family even if she did have one….how she was like the odd one herself too. "Oh yeah….."
"But even so, I won't let that set me back completely." she said wth confidence, "Even if I can't remember what my life was like before I lost my memories, I at least now feel very blessed to be surrounded by so many great people. I'm sure you feel the same way too don't you?" Rex remained silent as he gave it some thought. "They say family is whoever is there for you when you need them most. And I'd say you found one that can do much more than that." She said smiling as Rex too felt more at ease.
"You're right Cera….." he said gratefully, "Thanks, guess I needed that."
"You're welcome." she replied.
"And just know that we're your family now too, so don't ever forget that." Rex added as he stood up and she followed too.
"I'll be sure to remember that."
"Hey! Cera! Rex! Don't just sit over in the corner by yourselves!" Dr Taylor called out to them as they turned to see Max and Zoe doing an arm wrestle with one another while Reese and the moms had a nice chat together at another section of the house. "Our night of family fun has only just begun!"
"After Zoe and max finish their little contest we'll start with charades followed by twister and a whole set of fun family games!" Dr Drake cheered shooting his arms up with excitement. "Come on and join us! It'll be fun!"
Smiling at the family fun they were all having, Cera stood up and urged her blond friend to join them, "Well, shall we Rex?"
"Heh, alright then." he chuckled as he ran off to join them, "Don't count us out of the picture just yet!"
Before she followed, Cera paused for a moment before thinking to herself carefully, "Family huh? I wonder….do I have a family of my own too? If so….will I ever see them again?" she thought to herself before shaking her head clear ad putting on a bright smile as she joined the rest of the gang for an all night of fun and excitement, as their dinosaurs hurried to join in too!
(That night)
After a long night of fun, laughter, binding and excitement, the Drakes arrived back home with Zoe excitedly taking Cera upstairs to her new room which had been finished, where she had a nice newly made soft bed and fluffy blanket in the corner next to the window, decorated in blue wallpaper and whitish drapes, and a small mirror with a table at the side leading to a personal bathroom. She had beaten Max in the arm wrestling match, settling matters between them about Cera once and for all and was about to reap in the reward by enjoying a night of girls only fun. Unfortunately her mother had other ideas…..
"Aww mom come on! I've waited so long just for this!" she whined as they stood outside Cera's room with the door opened up, "I just know Cera will enjoy a sleepover in my room with me where we can have pillow fights and do other girl things like comb each others' hair!" she begged.
"Now now Zoe," her mom responded, "Cera just moved in with us, let's give her some space and let her settle down first. Alright?"
"Oh alright mom….." she sighed knowing there was no way she could get her way…at least for now.
Her mom then smiled, "Thank you dear, now good night and see you in the morning." she said as she walked off to her own room.
"You too mom." Zoe said to her as Cera called out from her bed.
"Good night Mrs Drake. You too Zoe."
Zoe then turned to her new firned and smiled, "Well Cera, we've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow, and we wouldn't want you to miss out on any of it too." she said as Cera nodded herself.
"I look forward to it." She said as Zoe closed the door behind her. Cera was now dressed in long wooly pyjamas and wore a night cap and even a flower themed eye mask which she slowly put on, while Miku was given a small box with comfy pet pillows inside as her own bed, which she nuzzled in rather comfortably. As she slid under the covers she called out to her partner, "Well Miku, can't say today went the way I hoped for." The young raptor opened her eyes to see her partner, "But I have to say things might be looking up for us now….." were her last words as she drifted off into a deep restorative sleep for the net day to come.
As she did, Miku smiled to herself seeing her partner was happy and content now, and the was all that mattered to her, as she nuzzled in to her own bed ready to hit the hay. "I think I can get used to this…." she thought to herself as she closed her eyes, "Who knows what adventures or obstacles we would run into from this point on…..But at least we won't be undertaking them alone anymore." were her last thoughts as she yawned and drifted off into dreamland.
(Meanwhile)
"Ooogh…..my back's all sore….." Ursula groaned in agony as she and her friends Ed and Zander limped out of Dr Z's room now all in torn up clothes, bandages in several spots on their faces, several bite marks across their limbs and within their torn fabrics, ruffled hair with evidence of tugging in them. As they all slumped down and fell face forward on the ground, Ursula then lifted her head up gritting and gnashing her teeth furiously as the painful memories of earlier began to flooded her mind no matter how much he tried to forget. "How dare they do that to us, after all we've done for them….." she hissed clenching her fist before sitting up and eying all her clothes, from her upper body suit down to her high heeled shoes and cape, "Oh my one of a kind fashions….sniff….no one could ever replace you….you will be missed….." she teared up and her eyes watered immensely seeing this as a huge tragedy against fashion.
"Ugh…..I feel like I just got into a fight with a grizzly bear….." Zander groaned feeling all sore around him, rubbing his head after suffering several nips and scratches from Spiny's teeth and claws, evidence seen around his face and his cracked sunglasses!
"I feel like I've been sitting on a cushion made of pins and needles…" Ed whimpered as he lay on the ground, as he then shuddered recalling how Tank had rammed herself straight into his butt with her spiky back. "I've been through abuse from Dr Z before, but that one really takes the cake…"
"Hey Ed, I think you've got a tooth stuck in your rear end." Zander spoke as he pointed out one of Terry's teeth that was still embedded in the fat boy's bottom! "Let me get that for you." Without warning he moved in and plucked it out, causing Ed to jump up in pain!
"YOW!" he cried out before landing back down with a loud thud!
As Zander eyed the hole in his comrade's pants and the nasty wound that was in he then shuddered, "Ouch, that's going to leave a mark….and probably a nasty infection too…." he said.
"I…Infection!?" Ed gasped before turning pale and fainting unconsciously, "Farewell cruel world…." he breathed his last as his soul leaving his body into a more peaceful place at long last…..
Having all she could handle from her 2 incompetent underlings Ursula flared red and exploded! "Grrgh! Will you quit your bellyaching you two!? I can't take this anymore!" she shrieked at the top of her lungs as suddenly both Ed and Zander jumped up in a fright caught by surprise by her unexpected yell!
"GAAAAH!" They then ran over and covered her mouth while sweating profusely.
"Sshh! Ursula keep it down! You'll wake Dr Z!" Zander hissed.
"Or worse, Terry, Tank or Spiny….." Ed then shivered, the last thing they wanted now was to get themselves chewed out but their own dinosaurs….literally….
She then shook them both off and hissed with disgust at their whimpering, "Tch! Instead of whining about our problems we ought to be doing something about them! That's how real work gets done!" she growled stamping her foot in frustration.
"B…But what can we do now?" Ed then whimpered twiddling his fingers, "Dr Z locked up the weapons vault and suspended us from duty until further notice."
"Not to mention he confiscated our alpha scanners on top of that….." Zander moaned after than as his body slumped forward.
Ursula's fire then snuffed out as she fell to her knees weakly with reality being shot right in her face again, "Great…..thanks for reminding me….." she moaned. It didn't last long though as a certain red haired girl flashed into her mind, and recalling her face and what she did to them reignited her flames of anger and vengeance once more. A tic mark appeared across her forehead, she clenched her fist and grinned her teeth with fury! "GRRRRR! It's that little new brat's fault! Barging in and foiling our plans when we were so close! We've had more than enough trouble with 3 of them getting in our way every single time, now another comes right out of the woodwork!?" she screeched pulling her hair in anger.
Catching onto her words, both men then flared up vengefully, "Oh just thinking about it again is making my blood boil…." Zander growled tensing his hands.
"It's all her fault!" Ed cried out punching the ground several times no matter how much it hurt, though eventually as he picked up his hand he saw it throbbing painfully "Ouch."
After a while of furious gnashing, Ursula's scowl turned into a sinister grin, "You know what boys?" she said as an idea hatched inside her head and she snapped her fingers, "I think I know just the solution for this humiliation." She said as they turned to her curiously.
"Oh yeah? What's that?" Asked Zander raising an eyebrow in suspicion.
"An ice pack and a good night's sleep?" Ed then asked bluntly.
Ursula then gained a tic mark in annoyance as she tightened her hand into a fist, "Payback you idiot…." she said popping her knuckles.
Zander and Ed both blinked in confusion, "Huh?"
"Listen!" she growled as they jumped up straight in a fright, "It's because of that new kid we ended up like this, and there's way I can ever bounce back from this humiliation until I make her pay!" she snarled punching her fist into the open palm of her hand, "Just thinking about her makes me want to tear her apart way more than the other 3 brats we had trouble with all these months!" she growled as she fumed with rage.
"You know what Ursula? You're right!" Zander announced in full agreement.
"She was really rude crashing our almost victory party. We've gotta teach her some manners!" Ed voiced out firmly hitting a fist into his palm.
Ursula grinned with delight seeing her partners were on the same page as her, "Hehe, glad you guys are on board, now we really can let her have it the next time we see her, which will be very soon!" she declared vowing vengeance as they all laughed out loud together.
Zander however quickly stopped, "But how do we even flush her out?" he then asked using a finger to scratch his head, "No way we can just simply summon a dinosaur like last time, the brats won't fall for it so easily as before, not to mention we can't without the alpha scanners at least." he pointed out.
"And without a good enough reason, Dr Z will never give them back to us after the last mission we screwed up." Ed muttered following his friend.
Ursula then lowered her head down clearly having not taken this factor int account, "You make a good point there you boobs….." she folded her arms in thought before her brain hatched another idea, "Aha! I've got it!" She cried out as she snapped her fingers.
A little while later the trio found themselves at Dr Z's map table at the main hall, where they gathered around in a circle with the table at the center, "I can't believe we're actually going to do this….." Zander muttered in disbelief as he took out the box filled with Dr Z's fortune telling dino bones from the side.
"Hey these old bones worked wonders before when Dr Z did it, that's how we found dinosaurs before they were activated." Ed then pointed out.
"Which is why they're going to help us find the next dinosaur before the brats get there!" Ursula chuckled, "With this we'll always be 10 steps ahead of them! Aha!" she then grinned and rubbed her hands together in devious delight, "And when they show up late to the party we'll spring our new trap on all 4 of them! After we've beaten them all thoroughly, we'll rub our victory right in their sorry faces and they can't do anything about it!"
"Oooh! I like the sound of that!" Zander gasped clasping his hands together.
"Hey my butt's already starting to ease up now from hearing that." Ed followed rubbing his behind which was throbbing less and less now.
As the alpha trio all gained rather devious grins and chuckled amongst themselves in full agreement, they gathered around the table ready to begin their newest dastardly plan! Though if not for 1 small little problem…..
"Alright then, how did that motto go again?" Ursula asked herself as she placed a finger to her chin in thought.
"Umm? Was it stick your bone, stick your bone goo?" Zander suggested as he did a little jiggle leaning side to side with his hands on his hips.
"Nah that sounds way too ridiculous, I think it was make a moan, make a moan moo!" Ed followed, as the 2 of them soon began doing all sorts of ridiculous dance steps, skits and even more ridiculous rhymes to the point they were doing swing dancing with one another.
Their theatrics became even more nonsensical that Ursula scrunched up her hair in her hands tightly and gritted her teeth before screaming her head off, "Argh! I can't take this anymore! We're wasting time with this silly old nursery rhyme! Just give me those bones and I'll toss them across the map!" she yelled snatching them out of the men's hands as she began shaking them up ready to throw them across the map table!
"Ursula wait!" Zander held his hand out, "If we don't do it the way Dr Z does, we could end up on some wild goose chase in the middle of the ocean!"
"Gah!?" Ed then gasped at the horrors of where they could get sent, like stranded on a deserted island, falling off the cliff of a huge mountain or even getting them surrounded by a pack of wolves in the woods!.
Before he could speak up though, Ursula had beaten him to the punch, "Oh yeah? Just watch me! Ha!" she laughed as she tossed the bones!
"AAAAHHH!" Both men hugged one another and they could feel their hearts beating and everything go in slow motion as the bones slowed down before finally landing in place.
"Ahahah!" Ursula then laughed snobbishly, "What did I tell you? Feast your eyes on my success!" she boosted as she held out her arm to the table while holding her head up high.
As Zander and Ed both headed to the table and took a closer look at the dino claw's position, they both narrowed their eyes and squinted at their so called leader, "You're telling us to go all the way to middle of the Mariana Trench?" he said as she quickly opened her eyes and looked again, sweat dropping nervously.
"Err well…..of course! It went exactly as planned!" she then cried out putting on a facade of confidence, "Now let's head to the loading bay and assemble the underwater mining gear!" she announced pointing to the loading dock's direction.
"Forget it! I'm doing it properly this time!" Zander retorted as he scooped up bones for a real try, "And I think I just got the rhyme this time!" he grinned but just as he was about to throw though, Ed's large thick hand grabbed him the last second!
"Hey! Don't you dare! Without giving me a turn it's no fair!" Ed cried out trying to yank the bones out of the skinny man's grip!
"Ed! Hands off!" Zander retorted as they began fighting over the bones like kids with toys!
Upon seeing this Ursula slapped herself in the forehead before pinching her eyes in, "Tch! I'm surrounded by nincompoops….." she grumbled before marching in to stop the fighting, "Alright break it up you two! Don't make me-" As she tried to pull them apart, suddenly one of their fists shot out and bashed her straight in the face as she stumbled back! Her face had caved in and as she pulled it back out, now with a black eye and swollen red, she then flared red and roared "Grrr, how dare you damage my perfect beautiful face!? That's it! I've had it!" Letting loose all she had she dived into the brawling men and soon it turned into a triple threat as all 3 scrambled and fought for the bones!
"Let go already!"
"Hands off the merchandise you twit!"
"It's my turn!"
Suddenly Zander and Ed's hands we flung out and the bone scattered all across the floor, some of them even were chipped or cracked! As the 3 stopped fighting, now all tangled up, they widened their eyes in shock at what they did, "Gaah!"
Ursula quickly turned and glared at her underlings which caught them by surprise! "Now look what you bozos did!" she yelled as they shivered in alright!
"I…it's fine, we can just gather them all up and put them back where we found them, and Dr Z will never know." Zander shuddered while twiddling his fingers together.
Ed gulped as he nodded, "Yeah, no way things can get any worse than they are now….."
As soon as he finished his sentence, chibi Terry, Tank and Spiny stumbled into the room as they eyed the bones that were scattered around the room rather intently, much to the anxiety of the Alpha trio.
"Ummm….what are you guys doing?" Ursula asked uneasily. She soon got her answer as their dinosaurs, without warning, began jumping onto the bones smashing them under their weight till they were nothing more than piles of dust! They even began to fling about some of them into the walls or across the the room which further ruined them!
"GAAAAAAHHHH!" The Alpha trio cried out in horror as they quickly scrambled to unhook themselves as fast as they could from their tangled up bodies! By the time they separated they could only look on in despair and shock as Terry flipped up the last bone, in the shape of a claw, into the air before crunched it up and swallowed it thinking it was a biscuit! Their hearts skipped a beat and they turned pale, as Terry licked his lips in satisfaction before taking his leave with Spiny and Tank, leaving their owners to contemplate their place in life.
"When Dr Z finds out what we did to his precious bones he'll literally have Helga serve us up and he'll eat us for breakfast." Zander mouthed out as he began biting his fingernails.
"W….Well, on the bright side at least we he won't be sending us out on short notice anymore…" Ed then quivered as he began twiddling his fingers together, "And if worst comes to worst we have an excuse this time for our mess-up right?" he then squeaked as Ursula turned around to them both menacingly, a shade covering the top half of her face before a pair of blood red eyes pierced at them, causing him and Zander to hug one another and sweat profusely!
"Not….one word…to Dr Z….ever….got it?" she said in a low but menacing tone while tensing up her fist which shook as she was only barely able to restrain herself from going full berserk on them both!
Knowing the wrong answer would send them into the afterlife, the 2 of them nodded weakly and turned pale, "Our lips are sealed….." they gulped.
And now concludes chapter 5. Just wanted to do something about Dr Z's dinosaur bones and why they haven't been seen again for so long. Hope you enjoyed this and I hope to be able to tie up other loose ends the anime may have, though feel free to point them out, I may miss a few. This chapter took longer than expected since I am now on a very packed schedule. On another note Rod and Laura won't be appearing again for a while due to them recovering, also want to give the D team more chances to shine with their new recruit. Next chapter will feature a hunt for a new dinosaur, one lost by Cera.
In response to the review from MCRDanime, yes I will be going over those other dinosaur cards in future chapters where they will involve dinosaurs used in the arcade and DS that weren't in the anime seasons, including tarchia or tarbosaurus.