Dinosaur Queen

by HunterHQ

A young girl named Cera and her partner Miku awaken without a clue as to where or when they are, even as to who they are. Join them on their journey as they work together through trials of many kinds to dig up their past and piecing it together, while battling foes across space and even time itself!

13. Fight to the Finish

Chapter 13

Fight to the Finish

It was late afternoon in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia, the sun rose high above the sky shining down bright rays of light which shone and illuminated the landscape while waves of heat which soon followed, rained down mercilessly, baking the land and forcing anyone under the light to seek shelter in whatever shad for cover they could find. At the mountains nearby, a card capsule lay upon a rock ledge, which soon gave way as some wind blew and eroded it slightly, causing it to fall and smash open on some rocks below as the cards landed on a lower pile of rocks. Some sand soon blew over them in the wind, causing them to glow purple as a large moss green ankylosaur, with spots of yellow around it and covered in several small bony spikes along to back down to its tail which ended with a club. As he opened his eyes and yawned the tarchia sniffed the air before sensing an incoming sandstorm blowing in the distance. Sensing danger he headed for an opening in between the mountains as he sought out shelter to wait out the dust storm, while also looking for food and water.

(Meanwhile)

Max and the others were watching a brand new episode of the dino troopers on TV at his house and were looking forward to seeing the climax as the troopers banded together as they were about to deliver the final attack on the villain! The D team kids sat at the large couch while Spike and Aki sat at the table eying the TV from afar.

"Take this you villainous swine!" The red trooper yelled as they joined their weapons together and were charging up an energy blast while Max and the others looked on with excitement and anticipation, with widened eyes, deep grins or jittery emotion, while the adults including Cera just looked on happily in a more mature manner.

Right before they launched their attack-

"Breaking news!" A unexpected news report suddenly came up which interrupted the final battle scene and causing the rest of the D team to sigh in disappointment, except for Max who begin throwing off a rant in annoyance.

"Aww man it was just getting to the good part!" He cried out grasping his hair in his hands as the others looked to him and sweat dropped. What they were about to see though, was about to shock them to their core….

"We are reporting live at the Washington DC white house, where Eugene, Inspector of the CIA has called together leaders from across the globe at the United Nations in order to present newfound evidence regarding the recent and unexpected appearances of dinosaurs across the world." she explained as the D team widened their eyes and gasped in alarm and shock!

"Say what!?"

"No way!" Max and Zoe exclaimed out loud, never once considering the possibility that their actions would ever be caught on a global broadcast such as this. They always mangled to get away with it somehow, but today it seemed they were out of luck….

Rex tensed as a drop of sweat fell from his cheek, "That doesn't sound good….." he gulped anxiously.

"Oh my," Aki covered her mouth in surprise as she sat at the dinner table. "I've been reading about those incidents on news papers, no one knows how those dinosaurs appear or why, how nice they are finally about to do something to address them." she then added smiling with relief as the rest to the D team sweated nervously.

"Y…yeah, it sure is great mom." said Max anxiously as he scratched his cheek and the others either turned their eyes away.

"You said it Aki….heheh…." Spike chuckled nervously looking to his wife while his heart raced uncontrollably before whistling like he wasn't involved.

It wasn't long before on the screen when a man with a serious face, spiky black hair and beard and in a suit stepped before a large number of important leaders and audience in the UN court room "Greetings honoured delegates," he introduced himself politely with a bow, "I understand that the situation involving these sudden and unpredictable appearances of dinosaurs is most troubling and is no doubt a threat to national security." he said formally, "While the reasons for their appearances can't be so easily explained, I have nonetheless investigated the situation most throughly for several months now and have uncovered evidence that pinpoints these dinosaurs are not isolated incidents, but are no doubt tied to the actions of certain individuals who may no doubt have been involved with them." he proclaimed as the halls echoed with curious murmurs and discussion amongst the people, as the D team grew increasingly nervous and alarmed.

"Ah!" They all gasped.

Cera on the other hand tensed and narrowed her eyes while Aki clapped her hands together feeling excited with a most innocent expression.

"Wow, how interesting. I can hardly wait to see this." she said with a bright smile as the others looked to her, gulping hard or shivering anxiously over how they were going to explain this. Either they confessed or she learns the truth herself now, neither option boded well but their day of reckoning had arrived and there was no escaping it….

As they all turned to Max, unwilling to admit the truth themselves, Max gulped down hard and sweated anxiously before forcing himself to walk over to his mom. "Err mom….."

She blinked and looked up to her son, "Yes honey?"

Max twiddled his fingers and even felt sweat in his feet and gloves as the pressure continued to build up inside, "Y…you see….there's….something we may need to confess….." he croaked painfully, as the others looked on in anticipation waiting for what was about to unfold.

Aki blinked curiously, unable to make out what he was trying to say, "Confess? What do you-" Her eye moved momentarily to the TV as she turned her full focus onto it as Johnson on TV was about to load in the evidence on the screen he had displayed there, "Oh! It's about to start! Let's see this first!" she said with excitement as she raised the volume so everyone could hear!

"Ah!" Max widened his eyes as everyone looked on in horror at their secrets finally about to be spilled!

"Oh no!"

"Behold!" The inspector declared pressing the button and the screen began loading, as the D Team's hearts raced uncontrollably!

Suddenly, unexpectedly, the screen then displayed an amusing scene which depicted a pair of dinosaurs, a cartoonish tsintaosaurus and a blue ceratopsian which looked like a cross between a styracosaurs and triceratops, who were dressed in human clothing and were involved in a romantic comedy drama with one another, directed and produced by none other than Stanley Spinoberg himself! As it played out the D team stared in surprised and bewilderment while members of the audience began laughing uncontrollably or shouting angry rants at the Inspector!

"H…Huh!?" He gasped in disbelief that what he was showing to countless powers across the world was nothing close to what he had in mind!

"Ahahahaahahh!"

"Is this some kind of joke!?"

"You took us away from our responsibilities to see this!?"

"Gah! N…No that's not what it looks like!" He waved out frantically to them before yelling to the staff in charge, "S…Shut that off now!" he ordered as they hurried to cut it off! He then turned to the camera and he widened his eyes in horror, "Are we still rolling!? Ah! Cut that off now! Cut to commercial!" he yelled frantically rushing to the camera, his palm covering up the screen before it shut off!

As the screen shifted into static, everyone stared speechlessly with unblinking eyes, unable to fully comprehend what they just saw, "Well, that was unexpected….." said Aki feeling rather letdown and disappointed, "I'm shocked they actually showed that on TV. Who knows how many saw that…." she said as everyone took a breath of relief knowing their secrets were still safe for the time being.

"You're not the only one…." Max groaned as he sat down with exhaustion from the anticipation, also feeling letdown that Spinoberg, his all time favourite director had created an abomination of a movie that gave dinosaurs bad names…..now he knew Rex's dad had every right to be angry with him.

His mixed expression of downcast and relief was soon mirrored by everyone else as they all let out a sigh of relief, except for Cera who folded her arms.

Smelling something sweet, Aki looked to the kitchen and hurried off to it, "Oh, looks like the cake's finished baking. I'll go get that out now." She said as she hurried off leaving the others.

As she disappeared from sight, they all decided to let out their thoughts, "Phew, I was almost worried there." said Zoe letting out a sigh.

"Yeah, I thought the whole world would know our secret by now." Rex breathed feeling more at ease.

"Let's be glad that didn't happen, it's a miracle!" Spike then cheered raising his arms out to the air, while Cera sat back and smirked to herself.

"Gee I wonder about that….."

(Flashback)

Several days ago, Cera was typing away rather hard at the computer in the D lab, her eyes completely fixated on the screen she didn't say a word, which caught Reese's attention as she passed by, "What are you doing there Cera?" she asked with interest as the red haired girl looked up to her.

"Just trying to cover our tracks so no one can trace our activities back to us," she answered before returning back to her work and typing, "We already have plenty of trouble with dinosaurs causing havoc and the alpha gang, last thing we need is the government getting involved."

"That makes a lot of sense….." Reese replied placing a finger to her chin in thought before looking back at her, "How long have you been doing this?" she then asked.

"For a couple weeks now," Cera answered which surprised the older woman, "You won't believe how much content I've had to erase or clear out since I started this. It's a good thing most people prefer to run away screaming than stay behind to take pictures otherwise there would've been way more to do." she said seriously.

"I'm amazed, not only that you can hack into government systems but also you've managed to keep it up this long." Reese replied praying her.

"It was a little tricky at first but I got the hang of it," she replied, "It started out with news websites and their archives before moving on to police files and now this," she said reaching the last and latest file as she stretched out her arms feeling stuff after being stuck at the chair typing for a while now but smiling as she was almost finished at last, "But at least I can say we're in the clear for now, once I'm done with this." Looking to the data file for bit then turning to Reese, "Say Reese, would you like to have the honours of replacing this with something more…..entertaining?" she then asked as Drake smiled in amusement at her offer, also feeling flattered.

"Haha, sure why not?" she chuckled as she searched through various possible substitutes on the internet before finding one that would perfectly suffice, "I think this will do." she said showing off Spinoberg's latest masterpiece/monstrosity as Cera smiled and held a thumbs up in response.

"Hee hee, excellent choice." she giggled in agreement as Reese began uploading said file to the Internet.

(Present)

"I was lucky there were only parts involving the D team on," Cera thought to herself looking back on it, "Though I'm surprised not many with the alpha gang, maybe they're covering their tracks too?" she then mused, "In any case it's fortunate for us, now we wouldn't need to worry about ourselves or the dinosaurs on the receiving end of the authorities." she thought keeping it to herself seeing no need to let the others know about it.

"While it is a shame the rest of the world is still kept in the dark and no one knows how to approach this situation regarding the dinosaurs," muttered Spike before sighing deeply, "Perhaps it would be best it stays this way."

The others nodded with him in agreement, "Yeah, wouldn't want a bunch of government agents busting down our door and taking us into custody or anything like that." said Rex.

"Yeah, no way would I ever want to be on the world's most wanted list." Zoe added shaking her head in disapproval.

"I can live without that any day." Ma added folding her arms before they all began laughing joyously together.

"Hahahahaha!" Their moment thought was interrupted by the familiar sound of a beep and red flashing light.

BEEP BEEP

"Huh!?" As they all looked to their flashing devices they knew what that meant.

"Another dinosaur's showed up!" Rex gasped.

"Quick! To the lab!" Spike said firmly as they nodded and filled him out the glass sliding door!

"Right!"

After they all left, Aki came back in earring a pair of oven gloves, while holding a large rich chocolate cake which was still steaming fresh form the oven, "Everyone! The chocolate cake's ready!" she cheered before opening her eyes to see the place was deserted, "Oh? Where did everyone go?" she asked herself looking around before puffing her cheeks, "They left me all alone again, and I worked so hard to make this for everyone too…." she muttered.

(Meanwhile)

At Zeta Point, Rod was busy typing away at a computer an was quite fixated on it while Laura watched him intently as he deleted a photo which depicted Dr Z and the A team robbing the vaults at Las Vegas. "And that takes care of that!" he said proudly as he laid back in his chair and stretched out himself.

"Nice job Rod," his sister praised, "Now we won't have to worry about anyone else getting in our way."

"I'm with you there," Rod replied in agreement, "That D team's already a handful on their own, last thing we need are a whole bunch of government agents sticking their noses in where they don't belong." he stated as their scanners suddenly blinked red on their desks nearby.

BEEP BEEP

"Whoa!" Laura gasped as she reached in and took them both, handing one to Rod, "Check it out! A dinosaur!" she said excitedly as her brother grinned with eagerness.

"Yeah, and I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate our hard work for today." he said as he hopped out his chair and stretched out a bit more before waving to Laura, "Come on Laura, no need for Seth to tell us anything." he said deciding to do him a little favour since he was very busy lately.

"Mhmm." she nodded as they headed outside for the hangar.

Seth himself was very busy doing repairs on the generator and teleporter machine after the massive blowout it suffered not long ago, in fact he was working overtime to salvage whatever repairs he could while also doing his best to make do with what limited resources they hd to do it, needless to say he had his work cut out for him considering it was also taking precious time away from his experiments too, which frustrated him deeply since he could have been using his time to further improve the dinosaurs they had.

Meanwhile the A trio was lounging around at the living room doing their favourite hobbies to past the time, unaware of the new dinosaur. Ursula sat at the couch reading the latest fashion magazines as well as celebrity gossip which were all stacked up next to her, Ed was sitting on a chair holding a packet of potato chips and he was stuffing his face with them causing many crumbs to fall to the floor in a mess, while Zander had a set of puzzle pieces laid out on the table while working on a jigsaw puzzle which was already barely making up the picture of a tyrannosaurus in the forest.

The sounds of passing footsteps soon caught their attention as they looked up from their work and saw Rod and Laura pass their door in a hurry, which was more than enough to capture their interest.

"Where are Rod and Laura heading off to now?" Ed questioned as he then widened his eyes and gasped, "Must be another dinosaur!" he said patting a fist into the palm of his hand while dropping his bag of chips which then spilt out.

A tic mark appeared on Ursula's forehead as she jumped off the couch and her stack of magazines fell down on the floor, "Oh no they don't!" she growled spitefully whole tensing up, "No way am I about to let THEM get the drop on us again!"

"Yeah!" Zander yelled throwing his puzzle on the floor in frustration, causing it to break into pieces again, "I've just about had it with those 2 toddlers! As if the brats weren't trouble enough!"

"Then instead of yapping about it, let's go do something about it!" Ursula chanted pumping up her arm as her 2 sidekicks rallied to her side feeling motivated!

"Yeah!"

Their glorious moment was soon interrupted as Helga walked in, sparking red momentarily as she looked to them, her eyes glowing yellow, "Scanning….." she said monotonously as she detected the 3 messes in the living room, being Zander's puzzle pieces, Ed's crumbs and Ursula's magazine, "Messes detected. Scanning for source." she then said before turning to the trio sinisterly as her eyes scanned all 3 of them and locked on to them! "Sources detected." She said as she slowly, menacingly strolled towards them!

The trio felt their hearts racing and their instincts warning them of imminent danger approaching as Helga walked closer and closer to them, "Why is she walking towards us?" Ursula sweated as she slowly backed away, making sure the 2 bozos were in front so she would grab them first hopefully.

"I don't like that look in her eyes…." Zander shivered as he hugged himself and gritted his teeth anxiously.

"M…Maybe she's going to take our order for dinner tonight?" Ed gulped as she soon answered.

"Must eliminate sources of filth." she said deeply as she began to pop her knuckles, each one as loud as a dinner bell ringing! "Commence elimination!" she then bellowed as the Trio screamed loudly in terror!

"EEEEK!"

"We should go while we have the chance!" Zander cried springing away as fast as he could towards the exit and past Ursula!

"I'm with you there buddy!" Ed cried following him closely as Ursula's jaw dropped seeing they got ahead of her!

"H…Hey don't you dare leave me!" she yelled as she tried to chase after them! Their efforts were for naught as Helga suddenly zoomed in and appeared in front of them, causing the 3 stooges to freeze in their tracks!

"Gaaaah!"

She then reached out her arms and grabbed all of them and began to drag them away like rucksacks across the floor! Restraining them all in a single arm as she strolled down the hallways with them in tow!

"Get your hands off me you beast! This is harassment!"

"Ow! That's my liver!"

"I feel like a toothpick about snap!" They each cried, before turning pale seeing she had a massive garbage bag with her which was large enough to fit 3 people in like a body bag!

"Into the bag you go." She said as she flopped it open with her remaining arm!

The trio sweated anxiously and cried out, "AH!"

"Don't you da-" Suddenly they were all shoved into the bag without warning as Helga then tied the top end in a knot and eliminating their hopes of escape! "GAAAAAHHH!"

"H…Help!"

"I can't stand the dark!"

"Let me out of here!" They all cried and pleaded but they fell on deaf ears!

As she dragged them along, she didn't care as she walked down stairs and causing the bag to tumble about with its' load.

"Get off me you bozos!" Ursula yelled in frustration as Ed and Zander rolled ontop of her.

"I can barely even move!" Zander retorted in frustration.

"I feel like I'm getting kidnapped…." Ed whimpered.

"Oh please who'd ever want to kidnap you?" Ursula grumbled in annoyance which made Ed feel hurt and insulted, thinking he wasn't valuable or worth it…..

Their train of grumbling and annoyance soon came to a stop as they found they weren't moving anymore from earlier, which didn't seem like a good thing at all in their current position.

"Hang on, why did we stop?" Ursula then asked before feeling all 3 of them were being carried up and held high.

"She's lifting us up." Ed noted.

Zander then cringed, "H…Hang on…..do you think she's-" before he could finish, Helga then released her grip and tossed all 3 of them down the trash chute as they inside the bag slid down in a massive swirl almost like a roller coaster!

"WHOA!" they all cried together feeling pressure blowing against their faces despite being inside, before landing hard and roughly on top of a mound of garbage, in a dark room which ranged from old metallic parts to organic waste and grime which cluttered and lined the walls of the garbage store!

After recovering from their rough landing and wild ride, Zander groaned in annoyance being the first to regain his senses, "Great, not only we get treated like trash now we're tossed out like trash!" he ranted in annoyance having Ed ontop of him and Ursula's leg in his face!

"Oh world how could you be so cruel!" the green haired lady then wept comedically as she rubbed her eyes and leaked dramatic crocodile tears, "What did a beauty like me ever deserve such horrible treatment! WAAAAAA! It's not fair!" she whined loudly as Zander tried to poke his fingers in his ears to block it out, though being cramped up so close to her didn't seem to help that much.

"Well on the plus side at least we're together, things can't get any worse." he said, which then caused a bad sign for them as a loud grumbling sound sound be heard from Ed's belly!

"Uff….uh oh….." he huffed, feeling his stomach gurgle and bubble loudly, as he could feel something was rushing up from it and getting close to his throat!

Ursula and Zander both sweated nervously as they turned to him, hoping it wasn't what they feared, "Ed?"

"What's wrong?"

Ed's expression soon turned uneasy and sick, "I ate too much, and after that ride….I think I'm about to-" He turned green and his face puffed up signifying he was at his limit and couldn't hold back anymore! "URF!"

"NOOOOOOO!" Ursula and Zander shouted in horror as Ed began letting out his insides which began to full up the bag with them!

(Meanwhile)

"So where's the dinosaur this time Reese?" Max asked the blond haired woman with everyone else, who was typing at the computer as they all arrived at the D lab.

After zooming in on the blimp she enlarged the map image, "In Mongolia, the Gobi Desert to be precise." she said as Zoe cringed and shivered uncomfortably.

"A desert? That doesn't sound too comfortable….." she said uneasily.

"Indeed, the climate in the Gobi desert can be very unpredictable," Dr Taylor nodded seriously as he folded his arms, "In fact during hot days the temperatures can soar to above 49 degrees while dropping below 49 at night!" he proclaimed much tot he shock of the D team.

"Huh!?"

"No way!" They gasped, all except for Cera.

"It's true," she said, "Considering that deserts have such dry air the heat gained during the day can be lost so quickly and easily when the sun sets."

"Not just that, the Gobi desert is often known for its annual sandstorms." Reese added which made Max and the others feel uneasy about dangerous environmental hazards on top of finding and battling a dinosaur under such conditions.

"Of all the places we've visited this may be the most dangerous of all….." Rex mused seriously bringing a finger to his chin.

"Rex is correct." said Spike firmly as he looked to them all seriously, "Max, everyone, This time none of you will leave until you are properly prepared do you understand? It's for your own safety, no exceptions." he said with authority.

Normally Max would disagree seeing his dad tended to overreact or get carried away, but this time he had good reason to be so, "Alright dad." Max then replied seeing there wasn't going against it this time, also when it comes to the desert it's better to be safe than sorry. The rest of the D team also nodded in agreement.

"One thing's that essential is water," said Rex as he got out a couple of large bottles from the back room, "I mean no way we'll be finding any water in a desert right?"

"Mhmm." Dr Taylor nodded, "Unless you manage to find an oasis, which chances are extremely rare and not worth taking." he said.

"We each take a large bottle, that ought to last us for at least a day, but make sure we use it only if it's an emergency." said Rex as he and Zoe went to fill them up.

"And don't forget sunscreen! That's a must!" Spike the called out which made Max cringe.

"Aww dad, you know how much I hate that!" he whined.

"Would you rather get red sun burn blisters all over your face and come back home looking like a clown Max?" Zoe asked as he shuddered at the thought.

"Err when you put it that way….." he muttered as he grabbed a bottle reluctantly and began latching it all over his face, neck and legs before passing it on to the others as they lathered themselves in it, even their dinosaurs!

Cera soon came back with a bunch of goggles and face masks, "This should come in handy in case we come across any sandstorms." she said laying them down on the table.

"Ah! Thanks Cera!" Max cried in joy as he tried them on which were still pretty clear and sturdy, "Hehe these are cool! No way will any sand be getting in my face today!" he chuckled as the others soon equipped themselves too till they were fully prepped for desert work!

"Alright, looks like were all set!" said Rex confidently as even the dinosaurs had mini goggles around their eyes to keep themselves secure, except for Miku, who did;t have one which fit her so she decided to hide herself in Cera's hair instead. As they all headed onto the teleporter they were enveloped in bright light before vanishing.

"Good luck out there kids! Take care!" Dr Taylor waved as they disappeared from sight. A few minutes layer he gasped in alarm, "Gah! Oh no! I forgot to give them winter clothing for the night!" he exclaimed fearing they'd freeze to death in the night!

"I'm sure they won't take that long Dr Taylor, let's have faith in them." Reese replied to him as he took a breath to calm himself down.

"You're right Reese, they've gotten out of tight spots before, I'm sure this will be fine…..I hope….." he added at the end with a hint of insecurity in his tone.

(Later)

As the D team appeared on top of a large sand dune, already they were greeted by the desert with harsh rays from the sun above along with the dry air and sweltering heat, "Argh….man it's hot….." Max grunted covering up his eyes with his forearm as Chomp and the others already started sweating like crazy under the blistering heat the moment they made contact with the warm desert air and scorching sand!

"What'd you expect? It is a desert after all." Rex replied, feeling beads of sweat beginning to trickle down from his face in annoyance, also because he was wearing a blue long sleeved shirt so no doubt he was cooking the most with sweat already running down his back.

"Yeah no kidding, the sun's really strong here….wish I packed my hat….." Zoe sighed as she had to put on her pink goggles just to block out the sun's rays but even then it didn't seem enough.

Max then gritted his teeth, "Well we're here already, we might as well toughen it out and get this over with." he said.

"Yeah, sooner we find that dinosaur, the sooner we can get out of this hot spot and get back home." said Cera in agreement.

"Easier said than done….." Rex grunted looking around them to see nothing but sand, sand dunes and blowing sand by the wind for miles around.

As Cera switched on her dinoshot it instead came up with static much to her annoyance. "The heat seems to be interfering with the scanner, I can't get a full fix on the reading." she muttered, starting to feel grumpy with her hair and head feeling sweaty already, for Miku it was like being trapped between a rock and a hard place, or in other words between a sweaty and hot place as she hissed feeling agitated already heating up with her thick layer of feathers.

"That's just great," Max grumbled as he stomped on the ground though his shoe only sunk into the sand beneath, "So then we can't call for help nor can we summon out Chomp and the others if we run into trouble?" he asked feeling worried.

Cera checked once more to see that there was a signal still but it was very weak, "The communication function seems a little fuzzy….." she noted before dialling through and seeing some of the other functions still worked at least for the time being, "But slashing cards should still work, and everything should return to normal if we find some shade and cool off a bit."

"That's a relief….." Rex breathed along with the others.

"For the time being I guess we'll just have to think on our feet, and try to think like a dinosaur." Cera stated before bringing finger to her chin in thought, "If we were a dinosaur in a desert, where would we go to find food and water?"

As the D team pondered over what the answer might be, Rex soon caught sight of something in the distance, "My guess, over there somewhere." he said pointing out to the mountainous hills in the distance from them. "Chances are we might find an oasis in those mountains somewhere."

Max then nodded firmly, "Then that's where we'll start looking." he said.

"We'd better hurry too, if we stay out for too long in this heat we'll be done for." said Zoe as they all hurried off through the desert sand, braving the desert heat and harsh light best they could as they pushed on to the mountains.

(Meanwhile)

Rod and Laura were soon flying over the vast desert in their blue alpha jet as they cruised smoothly over the orange desert sand, shielded from the blistering heat of the sun thanks to their air-conditioned transportation, "Here we are Rod, the Gobi Desert, with sand as far as the eye can see." said Laura looking out from the side of the glass windows seeing nothing but sand and hills for miles around, "Trying to find a dinosaur here would be even harder than finding a needle in a haystack." she then noted.

"Heh, that won't be a problem," Rod smirked as he tapped a button on screen which displayed a radar screen with a sonar function, "This radar should allow us to pinpoint the dinosaur's location easily and we can go after it in the comforts of this air conditioned aircraft." he said as Laura smiled.

"Hee hee, you make a good point there." she giggled before they both noticed a small red blimp on their radar, looking ahead it was pointed to a very large and wide mountain range in the distance.

"Looks like it's within that mountain range, full speed ahead!" said Rod as he kicked the engines into high gear and sped ahead!

(D Team)

Meanwhile the D Team weren't able to enjoy the same comforts as the Alpha siblings as they continued their long and arduous trek through the vast desert under the blistering heat of the sun, "Sand….sand….nothing else but sand…..is anything else other than sand going to show up soon? I'm getting tired already…." Max moaned as he hunched forward and sweated like a mammoth in a volcano, his spiky hair was even beginning to sloop down after being drenched.

"I've got sand in my shoes….." Zoe muttered as she lifted up her show and emptied it of sand before putting it back on, only for sand to full it up again as she made no more than 2 steps.

"I'm even getting sand in my hair…." Cera noted as she ran her fingers through and felt several grains fall out from it after the wind blew on them momentarily.

"Man I feel like an ice cream cone about to melt." Max then groaned as his lips began to dry out and crack. Rex, Zoe and Cera too were just as exhausted as he was as their feet were beginning to drag through the sand instead of stepping on it. Chomp, Ace and Paris too were drained of energy as they panted hard and their tongues hung out from their mouths indicating sheer thirst.

Fighting against his urges to whine and complain, Rex saw the mountain range was coming very close in the distance which spurred him to continued trying despite the odds being stacked against them, "Come on guys," he said to them behind him as he pointed out to the mountains, "I know we're all feeling hot and drenched out here but the sooner we make it to those rockies we'll be able to get some shade and cool off a bit." he said.

"I know Rex!" Max yelled, already at his limit, which made him jump in surprise. "But still would it kill this desert to at least give us a little breeze?!" he then wailed falling to his knees and shaking his fists at the air, as Chomp slumped down and cried out in pain and agony. As much as the others wanted to talk back to Max about his childish behaviour they couldn't deny the fact he had a legitimate reason to act that way, in fact even they were beginning to reach their ends as well, as the sun mercilessly rained down its powerful waves of heat and light upon them, as if it had the intention to dry them out…..

When it seemed hopeless they'd be stranded in the endless sea of sand, a mild breeze soon blew in, which provided them some welcome relief from the heat and soon the light and the sun itself was blocked out by a rather large blanket of grey clouds that had just blown in. As the rest of them looked up they smiled with joy and their dinosaurs jumped about in excitement to see mercy hadn't abandoned them yet.

"Wow Max, looks like you got your wish granted." Cera complimented as he stood up again and took a breath of relief.

"What were the odds…." he commented to himself as he held up his arms and took in the full extent of the breeze, which was like a cooling nurturing touch to his already red hot and sweaty skin. "Aaaah…..now that feels better….." he said as everyone copied him.

"Yeah, no kidding, a little longer and I'd be burnt to the bone….." said Rex as he soon remembered something important, "Now that I think about it, maybe we should have a little water." he suggested to the group.

"Oh right! How could I forget that!?" Max hasped in alarm as he rushed to yank out his bottle from his pack and he rushed to open it before taking in a few large gulps, which were like heaven and life to him as it ran down his dry and course throat.

"Careful Max, you might want to ration that till we get out of here." Zoe warned as Cera and Rex both nodded with her.

"It'll be fine don't worry about it." Max replied ressuringly to them as he took another few chugs from his bottle, as drops fell from it Chomp widened his eyes and hurried along to catch them, but failed and whimpered sadly as they sunk into the desert sand. Hearing his friend cry, Mac smiled and filled in some water to his bottle's cap and handed it to his buddy who barked with excitement and wagged his tail, "You want some water Chomp? Here you go!" he said as he offered some water generously as the yellow trike lapped it up greedily but also gratefully. "Doesn't that feel better?" he said with compassion before petting him on the head and he nuzzled back thankfully.

Cera smiled seeing the bond deepen between the both of them, they were getting close, almost like brothers that she could confirm. She then did the same as he did and took a few sips of water before handing the cap to Miku to drink "Here Miku, this should fill you just fine." she said as the little raptor took it in her 2 tiny hands and slurped it down. As she looked around to see the endless dry land and shifting sand in the wind, she knew that it was so inhospitable that man would never try to tame this kind of land, yet life still manages to find a way here. "Wonder how desert dinosaurs manage to survive under these conditions…." she then muttered hoping the dinosaur they were after could be adapted to survive here.

"Here Paris, you look like you could some too." said Zoe as she handed Paris some water to drink after she had her share. "We all know how important water is for both pets and people alike." she said with a smile as she hummed joyfully.

"You too Ace….." said Rex as he handed his partner some water which he lapped up, worrying it may dry up and he may never have another chance to drink again. "A little longer and you'd shrivel up like a sardine." he chuckled in amusement before petting him on the head. looking to everyone else and seeing they all had their spirit back he smiled before calling out to them, "Alright guys, let's get a move on now."

They all nodded before continuing again, this time at a much faster pace, with the wind blowing and the clouds blanketing the sky and blocking out the sun they made excellent progress as they soon reached the foot hills and their scanners were beginning to function once more, as they took them out and saw the screens were back online! "Alright! Now we can use our dinoholders perfectly again!" Max cheered seeing all its functions were operational and they could go home if things got too sticky for them to handle out here.

The others soon mired his relief and joy, but soon Cera felt a change in the winds as she felt it blowing with a bit more force than it was earlier. Miku ruffled up her feathers and her eyes became slit as her instincts were picking up very bad vibes. "Hey guys, does it feel like the wind is picking up?" she asked as the others looked to her and decided to feel it themselves.

"Now that you mention it, yeah….." Zoe replied as she put her finger in her mouth before holding it up to the air to feel the wind, and she could tell it was no doubt picking up strongly.

"Wait a minute, didn't Reese say something about sandstorms?" Rex then asked as their hearts skipped a beat upon realisation.

"You don't think….." As Max turned to look in the direction the wind was coming in from, he and the others were stunned to see a massive wave of sand and wind rushing at them from across the desert and it was closing on them fast like a cheetah on gazelle!

"AAAAAAHHHH!" They all cried in alarm!

"Dust storm!"

"Run for it!" They each cried before putting on their goggles and makes before trying to get behind some rocks for cover! It was for naught as the winds were much faster and soon their were enveloped in the dust storm!

"Ah!" Max cried as his bottle was blown out from his hand and it spilt into the desert sands! "No my water!" he cried with Chomp before he and the others felt the winds blow with the force of a punch and sand was grazing at their faces!

"AAAAHH!"

They tried their best to fight against them, but found themselves sinking into the sand or being blown back instead! "The wind's too strong!" Zoe cried out as Paris struggled to keep behind her! "I don't like this!" she then cried as she fell down to her knees and Paris took shelter in her arms as she hunkered down.

"Ah! My face!" Cera cried as she felt the particles and grains scratch her cheeks and her arms.

"Can't see a thing, even with these goggles!" Rex grunted as the dust obscured his view making it hard to see everyone else, as Ace kept shaking his head to get sand out of his eyes. "Stick together! Don't separate!" He cried out though his voice could barely be heard by the howling winds, as he quickly took in a mouthful of sand and began coughing out violently!

Chomp and the others did their best to hold on before they let out a cry as they were beginning to blow away! "Chomp no!" Max yelled as he jumped and grabbed hold of his partner's paw before he could escape his grasp!

"Ace! Hang on!" Rex yelled grabbing hold of the carnotaurus who nuzzled up in his embrace as Rex used his own body as a barrier to shield him from the sand!

"Stay with me Paris!" cried Zoe as she grabbed onto her partner's tail right before she got carried away!

"Don't let go Miku!" Cera gasped as the little raptor cringed on to her finger and even resorted to biting into it just to stay secure, even if it hurt Cera than much she didn't care as long as her partner was safe! Very soon, another massive wave blew in which soon buried the all under the sand as the D team cried out! "AAAAAHHHH!" As the dust storm began to lessen, a large shadowed quadrupedal figure appeared from out of the dust behind some large rocks. Sniffing the air it saw the outlines of several figures buried by the sand as it headed towards them.

(Meanwhile)

In their ship, Rod and Laura's warning signals soon lit up as they looked to it, "Hmm?" reading it Laura saw a wave of incoming winds and sands on the radar at red levels before looking out the window to see a massive wave of dust clouds building up in the distance and approaching them, "Oh dear looks like a sandstorm's brewing." she said worried putting her fingers to her chin in thought. "From the looks of things, it's a big one too."

"You can say that again….." Rod muttered in agreement as he eyed it increasing with distance as it closed in on them and when they were so close to reaching the dinosaur on their radar.

"Good thing we're still safe in this huh Rod?" said Laura feeling hopeful.

"Yeah, but we'd better not get too close," he replied eying the controls and screens which were lighting up with warning signs, "If sand gets clogged in our engines then we're done for." he said before pressing a button and pulling up the controls his hands were hiding onto. "I don't think that storm's going to be dying down anytime soon, therefore I'm pulling us up.….." he said as they began to climb higher into the sky towards the layer of white clouds.

"Yeah, and even if there is a dinosaur down there, there's no way Spiny and Terry will be able to fight in those conditions." said Laura in agreement looking down below to see the sandstorm sweep across the desert like a tsunami on the beach. She then folded her arms and sighed with disappointment, "Guess that mean's we'll have to find a place to wait it out and come back later."

"That's quite a shame but it can't be helped….." Rod muttered as he turned around to find a safe place sheltered from the storm to land so they could conserve their fuel.

(D Team)

Meanwhile deep within a mountainous gorge where the walls of a canyon, apart from an opening in one, shielded the rest of the valley from the wild and blowing sandstorm outside, it was a calm and serene oasis with a large pond of water where some desert birds were drinking out of or pecking at some nearby bushes for any insects or grubs they could fine. There were also rocks scattered around and even flowing cacti spread across it to show it was indeed lush and fruitful.

In a cave nearby, Max lay near the entrance partially covered in sand as he slowly began to stir, "Urgh….what happened….." he groaned feeling aches and sores all over himself as he pulled himself up straight. As he began to rub his head he could feel grains of sand come off from his hair and gloves. His vision was still blurry and he could still hear ringing in his ears, but after shaking his head and blocking his eyes he found himself at a clearing with bushes and dead tree trunks sticking out around the sand or lying on the ground, safe and sheltered from the storm miraculously. "Where….am I?" He then asked as he stood up and turned around to see the entrance to the large cave in the rocky walls, "A cave….how did I get here?" He then felt something in his shoes and pockets, taking them off and flipping them inside out, large amounts of sand began to pour out of them till they made a miniature hill. "Whoa, look at all this sand….I feel as though I was just buried alive…." he said before eying the many grains on his clothes before beating them off, hoping to clear off as much as he could and get rid of the irritating sensation.

"Tell me about it….." a female voice groaned behind him. "I've even got sand in places I don't feel comfortable mentioning…."

As Max turned around he blocked in surprise to see a friend walk out groggily to meet him, "C…Cera?" he asked noticing she was still brushing out sand from her hair. He then smiled seeing she wasn't too harmed and she smiled back to see the same could be said for him, though a little banged up by the storm, at least they and their friends were-

"Ah! That's right!" Max then gasped in realisation as he ran past Cera to look inside the cave. She then followed him and they both found Zoe and Rex were lying down at a rocky platform looking rather battered, which worried their friends as they went over to them.

"Zoe! Rex!" Max gasped as he took Rex and shook him hoping for a sign of life. While he did that Cera brought Zoe up to check for a pulse and she sighed with relief to feel there was still one there, "Come on guys wake up! Please!" Max then cried once more shaking Rex rather vigorously, as the blond boy opened his eyes and moaned.

"Urk…." He slowly opened his eyes he caught sight of his friend holding him in his arms, "M…Max?"

"Cera?" said Zoe next as she woke up too.

Both Cera and Max both smiled feeling at ease, "Ah, thank goodness you're alright." she said as they helped them stand and then backed off to give them some space, as they began brushing off whatever dirt got on their clothes or in their hair.

"Yeah, I think so." said Rex as he brushed off the really irritating particles that were stuck on his long sleeve.

"Could be better, but I'm good." Zoe muttered as she had to take off her shoes and empty it of pebbles and grains too, "I'll never be able to look at sand or even the beach the same way again." she then muttered as she felt a few grains rub against her under her clothes in uneasy areas.

Max snickered at her being uncomfortable before looking around and realising they were missing some important friends of their's "Wait! Where's Chomp and the others!?" he then exclaimed as everyone gaped in alarm!

"You're right! They're gone!" Rex cried out as they looked around frantically for any signs of their friends.

They quickly ran out of the cave and shouted out at the top of their lungs, "Chomp! Are you there!?" Max called out.

"Ace! Paris! Miku!"

"We're here!" They cried out, but their calls went unanswered.

Zoe then brought her hands to her chest in worry, "Oh no, you don't think they got lost out in the storm do you?"

Max and the others turned to her horrified by that possibility before eying the opening on the other side seeing that the sandstorm was still raging violently outside, of that were true…."N…No!" He was tempted to run out and go searching, and the others were prepared to gild him back, when the sound of rustling bushes near them stopped them in time. As they turned to look, they rusted harder and eventually a yellow triceratops' head pop out and barked, bringing hope to Max and the others!

"Ah!" they gasped.

Max's eyes widened with joy and relief, "Chomp!" he cheered as the triceratops baby barred happily and ran up to him, followed closely by a small carnotaurus, parasaurolophus and a microraptro hanging on her back as they all ran back to their owners!

"Paris, Ace and Miku too!" Cera cheered with the others as they welcomed them with open arms, "There you are!"

"It's a miracle!"

"I almost thought I lost you forever!"

"Oh you had me worried Paris…you're safe now." Zoe cried rubbing her face on Paris who chirped back happily.

Ace on the other hand was more affectionate as he began licking Rex's face and tickling him non-stop, "Hahaha, take it easy Ace, I'm here now and I'm not going anywhere." Rex laughed before stroking his partner's head.

A little while later after the renuono they checked their supplies to see if they had anything which may have survived the storm. Unfortunately for them luck appeared to have abandoned them as snd seemed to have filled up their packs and cluttered up all their things. "Ugh, my water's all filled with sand now….." Rex grunted uneasily seeing the particles sloshing inside his bottle, making him feel rather sick.

"And I lost mine in the desert out there….." muttered Zoe in annoyance as she felt her lips chapping up.

"It's just mine left now," said Cera as she took out the last remaining bottle they had with them, as they and their dinosaurs all fixed their eyes on it, "Question is, can we make it last?" she asked uneasily looking around to see everyone was eying their bottle and were aiming to get at least a sip of it.

"The dinoholder seems to be working just fine now that we're in the shade." said Rex checking his device, "We could go back and restock, but who's to say the dinosaur won't move on when we get back?" he then added stating they can go back if they really needed to.

"We'll just make do with the best we have now then we'll go back if we have no other choice." suggested Max as the others nodded with him.

"Mhmm."

He then bought a finger to his chin, "Still the question remains," he then said as he looked around to het a full view of their surroundings, "How did we end up here in the first place?" he then asked as he saw no doubt they come in through the opening in the walls, but somehow they got in after being further away from it earlier.

"Yeah good question…." Rex mused as they pondered over it for a but.

"The storm's out there and we're here in this gorge all safe from it." said Zoe before looking up at it and hearing the strong winds echo through the opening, "You don't think the storm blew us in here do you?"

Cera shook her head, "I highly doubt that." she said before noticing some footprints in the sand at the entrance coming in and out of it, showing there was someone here recently besides them, "Someone no doubt must have brought us here, question is, who?" Before the others could answer, the sounds of approaching footsteps followed by scrunching of sand came from behind the far corner of the canyon which caught their ears.

"Huh?" Turning around they could see a shadow looking on the walls as something began to approach them from the other side! As it did, their dinosaurs arched themselves ready to face what was going to come their way.

"Do you hear that?" Zoe asked uneasily.

"Yeah," Max nodded narrowing his eyes, "Something's coming….." he said as the sounds of the footsteps grew louder and louder.

Soon, emerging from behind some bushes was a large green and yellow ankylosaur with bony plated armour on its back. As it appeared it let out a low but calm bellow before walking to them, which surprised the entire D Team, "Whoa! That's a big dinosaur!" gasped Max.

"A tarchia…." Cera breathed, amazed that a wild dinosaur would approach them so calmly without any fear.

"I've heard of those," said Zoe, "They're ankylosaurs that lived in Mongolia and it was theorised that it was desert like it is today."

Max then smiled folding his arms on his hips,"Guess he must be feeling quite at home huh?" he said as the tarchia soon stepped towards them. As Chomp and the others held their ground and put on firm faces, the tarchia leaned towards each of the kids, sniffing them as they held still and their breath, worrying about what it might do next. They also didn't want to startle it knowing it could easily turn and smash them if it got spooked! As they held their breath and sweated anxiously, hoping it would finish soon, it then backed off giving them space as they took in a deep gasp of air and slumped to the ground overwhelmed by suffocation and the pressure!

"Boy that was close…." Max moaned.

"Yeah, I felt my heart was going to explode there…." Zoe gasped putting a hand to her heart as Rex and Cera said nothing but gasp for air, having held it the longest, their face colours returning.

As the tarchia moved over to a bush to browse, Max then pondered over a thought that crossed his mind, "Did he….save us from the sandstorm?"

"From the looks of things, that seems plausible….." said Rex in thought.

After that, the tarchia looked to them rather compassionately as it jerked its head to the back behind the rocks as it began to walk away.

"Looks like he wants us to follow him." Cera noted observing its' behaviour.

Max thens shrugged his shoulders, "Well, what have we got to lose?" he said as they followed behind, but staying clear of its heavy tail knowing one swipe could take their heads off!

As they made it around the coiner they widened their eyes to see the sparkling pool of water before them, as the sun's rays peered through a gap in the clouds above and ill innate the sparkling rich water before them! "Ah! An oasis!" Rex gasped as the others' eyes brightened in amazement.

"Look at all that water!" Zoe cheered excitedly as she felt her heart race.

"Ahahahah!" They laughed as they came down to get a well earned drink in the hot day while chasing away the birds that had gathered, scattering the flocks to the skies! They either splashed it on their faces, scooped it with their hands or even guzzled down from the edge like animals did.

"Man is this stuff great!" Max cheered as he looked up from drinking.

"Yeah, it tastes even better than the water we brought with us!" Rex commented as he sipped with his hands.

Looking around Zoe noticed their dinosaurs were settling in nicely, "And there's quite a lot of food to go around here too." she said noticing Paris and Chomp munching on the bushes and plants nearby while Ace went go chasing birds before resorting to snapping at some flying insects near the water, though the sight of getting near the oasis caused him to back away from it slightly, still not having overcome his hydrophobia yet. Miku meanwhile climbed on a dead tree branch nearby pecking ate whatever few grubs she could find under the peeling bark and she snatched them up and swallowed them down.

After enjoying their welcome relief they noticed their saviour was walking to the side towards some cactus plants as he began to sniff the flowers that ere blooming on them. "That tarchia pretty much saved our lives back there." Cera breathed feeling grateful for what it did for them.

He then opened his mouth wide and began to chomp down on a large chunk of cactus before chewing it up with the thorns and swallowing it down without any qualms. "Whoa look at him munch down that cactus." Zoe widened her eyes impressed.

"My teeth already hurt just looking at it." said Max uneasily as he covered his mouth feeling a numbing sensation come upon his teeth. He then looked down to see Chomp was shuddering at the sight before running off to chew some softer leaves at a bush, "I don't think Chomp would ever eat that, even if he was really starving…." he thought to himself.

The tarchia then looked at them, before moving on to a bush nearby, tugging at it until he tore it out form the roots! The D Team gasped at his strength and noticed he dropped it before them and used his head to nudge it at them.

Looking to it and back, Cera then pointed to it, "Is that….for us?" she asked as the tarchia let out a friendly growl.

They sweat dropped ay the dinosaur's unusual but no doubt genuine generosity, "Umm….thank you….but I don't think our stomachs can take that." said Max uneasily scratching the side of his head, which made the poor dinosaur lower its he'd sadly much to their dismay. He almost felt like taking a bite out of the bush to show his appreciation, but then changed his mind upon noticing Chomp and Paris were both wagging their tails and barking with excitement. As they looked to him he could tell what they wanted as he chuckled back, "But Chomp and Paris might like it right?" They then jumped up and down with excitement confirming it.

"Hahah I take that as a yes." said Rex as the 2 herbivores went to munch on the leaves and twigs they were given as a gift. After they had their fill the entire D Team dinosaur gang gathered around the tarchia and ran around him happily as he wagged his tail playfully with them, even letting them jump on top of him for fun.

"He seems pretty friendly for a wild dinosaur doesn't he?" commented Zoe as she folded an arm on her hip and smiled.

Cera observed and saw Zoe was indeed right as he let their dinosaurs approach him so closely and calmly without showing any signs of agitation, "Yeah, wonder why." she mused as she then smiled, "How about I go find out?" she added as she picked up Miku form the ground and began to walk up towards him, much to her teammates' alarm!

The rest of her friends turn to her in alarm, "Whoa whoa Cera! You're not actually thinking of walking up to that dinosaur are you?" Max laughed nervously thinking she was joking.

"Well, how else are we going to get an answer?" she then answered calmly much to his disbelief.

"H…Hey now, you're not actually serious!?" he exclaimed as she started walking up to its face and it looked to her, observingly her carefully, as the other dinosaurs made way and let her pass.

"Cera get back here!" Rex cried in alarm, but before he and the others could go and stop her, they saw it turned out to be alright as she raised her arm to its head.

"Hey there, it's okay…..we're all friends here right?" she said as she began stroking him gently and he hummed in response to the gentle patting she gave him, "Y…yeah that's right, we mean you no harm at all." she said in a soothing tone stroking his face, "We're grateful for you helping us out there, so thank you." As she said that, to everyone's amazement, the dinosaur began to nuzzle up closely to her chest and hum again. Listening to what he was grunting, Miku then looked to Cera and chirped, listening long enough, Cera nodded. "I see I understand….." she said understandably as she walked back to the D Team who were awaiting her answer, "It's alright you guys," she said to them, "Apparently this tarchia was just very lonely and wanted a friend. Also, he couldn't just leave us to get buried underneath all that sand just now so it decided to save us." she said before smiling warmly while turning her gaze to him as he continued munching, "We were really lucky he was in the area and he saw we needed help."

"Wow really?" Zoe asked in surprise, celery it wasn't what she nor the others were expecting.

"Whoa, so are you like some dinosaur whisperer or something?" Max then joked with a snicker as Cera shook her head in response.

"Not entirely," she said as she nuzzled her partner's chin, "It's more like I listen to what Miku tells me after she hears out what it had to say. But if you read its' behaviour enough you might get the same idea as I just did." she then added at the end as Max felt taken aback by her words.

"No kidding….." Zoe then mused with interest, amazed at another new talent Cera seemed to uncover about herself.

"Hehe, maybe at this rate you can do some kind of dino therapy with Chomp and the others," Max joked as he looked down at their dinosaurs who looked back at him curiously, "Get them to behave when they step out of line like they do in those dog or cat training shows." he chuckled.

"Haha that would be a blast." Rex then laughed as Cera blushed red with embarrassment.

"Aw guys you're teasing me….." They soon laughed together joyously, as the tarchia watched them from afar. It seemed to smile for a small moment before lowering itself down to the ground and let out a low groan which caught everyone's attention.

"What's wrong with it now?" Max asked eying it as Cera approached it slowly and carefully. As it turned to her it let out a few small cries to Miku who then chirped back to Cera, who's expression held firm.

"Hmm…."

"What did it say?" asked Zoe as she and the boys came up to their red headed friend after she seemed to have finished her conversation with the dinosaur.

Cera looked at Max and the others, feeling uneasy about telling them how the dinosaur felt, but eventually mustered up the courage to say it, even if it wasn't easy, "From what I can tell….it had a close friend once, but then….it lost them in something unfortunate," she said choking a bit and also feeling rather saddened herself, "So now it feels….rather downhearted since we kinda of remind it of its' old friend and the times they had together." she said at the end as the mood turned rather downcast for everyone, feeling they wished they didn't ask.

As they looked to the dinosaur they saw he stopped wagging his tail and he lowered his head down, his humming becoming lower and more depressed as he tried to look away. "For such a big dinosaur he really does have a big heart too….." said Zoe.

Max then walked up to it and it looked back at him curiously. The young boy then smiled and opened his hands out to him, "Hey it's okay big guy, everything's going to be alright." he said as the others soon joined his side to welcome the tarchia into their circle of friends.

"Yeah, we're all friends here." said Zoe smiling warmly, "And we'll be your friends too."

"If you come back with us, you'll be safe and have more friends than you can ever hope for?" Rex then offered as their dinosaurs jumped up and down barking with enthusiasm hoping he'd come with them. The Tarchia looked to them all and blinked curiously as Cera stepped forward towards it once more.

"You won't be lonely anymore and it'll be way more fun than living out here in the wilderness by yourself." she said as she held out her arm to it, "So what do you say?" she asked once more with hope.

The dinosaur looked to all of them one by one, as it began to ponder over what to do. It noticed all the sincere smiles on their faces knowing they meant what they said, yet he didn't feel quit ready to open up its own heart to them yet, as a bad memory and feeling passed through his mind at the last second, making him turn away much to their surprise and disappointment. He then turned around to the shelter behind some rocks as it then lay down to rest, curling up its tail by its side.

"So that's a….no?" Max asked feeling let down.

Cera shook her head, "I'm guessing it wants time to think it over." she said observing it, "We did only just meet after all."

"I see….." said Rex understandably before folding his arms on his hips, "Well we shouldn't go against its' wishes, we should at least give it some space for the time being."

"I agree…." said Zoe as Max nodded with her. As Cera looked back to the now resting dinosaur she narrowed her eyes slightly seeing there was still something about it, but she couldn't figure it out just yet….

"So what do we do now?" Max then asked feeling unsure what to do next.

Looking up at the sky, Rex could see it was getting dark, and the orange light of the sunset peered through the opening that as ahead of them, "It's getting late, maybe we can think it over in the morning." he suggested.

"Once tarchia trusts us enough maybe he'll change back into a card for us and we won't need too fight at all." Zoe then added.

"Yeah." said Max agreeing with her, as he and the others headed back to the cave behind the corner and saw it was rather homy on the inside sepsis being barren and rocky, "Good thing we have a place to spend the night too, courtesy of tarchia." he said as he stepped in.

"It feels pretty warm too," said Rex as he touched the walls of the cave, "Should be just enough to keep us from freezing through the night."

"Doesn't look too comfortable though…." said Zoe shuddering a bit noting all they had was a large rocky platform for them all to get on, other than that it was sleeping on the sandy floor, which was a big no no considering there right be bugs in there.

Cera then folded her arms at their predicament, "Well beggars can't be choosers." she muttered knowing it was an inconvenience that they had to sleep under such conditions. As she brought a finger to her chin in thought she then snapped them as she came up with an idea, "Though I may have a solution…." she said as the others stared and listened.

(Meanwhile)

Nearby, Rod and Laura were traversing over the desert rocky outcrops when they managed to find a buffer just the right size to rest their jet and to provide enough cover for the storm earlier, as well as being not too far from where the dinosaur signal was. "This looks like a good place to land." he said settling the jet down gently to avoid scratching it against the sharp edges of the walls and boulders before coming to a settle on the desert ground, which was balanced between the soft sand and the hard rock.

Laura looked around nd smiled seeing it was just right, "Yeah, and it'll be way out of the dust storm's way if the wind does blow again tonight." she said before her eyes turned droopy, "Still, it is getting late and….yawn…..I'm getting sleepy…." she yawned covering her mouth as her eyelids became heavy.

"Yeah me too." Rod muttered feeling a little grumpy before checking the thermometer to see the air temperature outside was dropping below freezing levels, "It's really cold outside too, wouldn't be a good idea to go out." he said while also considering the fact that the low light would make it really difficult to see.

Laura then pressed the thermostat a little as it switched from air conditioning to heater, "Good thing this jet here comes with a heater too." she said feeling much warmer and comfortable as she lowered her seat down flat so it was pretty much like a bed, "Ahh, cosy isn't it?"

Rod smiled and nodded dreamily as he did the same, "Mhmm, we can go hunting for that dinosaur in the morning. Good night Laura." he said as he rested his head on the palms of his hands like a pillow and closed his eyes dreamily.

"Night Rod." his sister replied as she rolled to one side and rested her head on her 2 hands clapped together like a pillow.

Elsewhere, further off from the cave where the D Team and siblings were resting, a pair of travellers and their bactrian camel were settling down for the night in an oasis surrounded by several trees and a pool of water as they built a campfire to keep themselves as warm as they could in the cold of the desert, which dropped below 40 degrees, a sharp contrast to the heat of the desert day. As their camel slept by the fire, its owners, a pair of men in long nomadic clothing settled themselves by the fire, as they settled a frying pan on it and began to warm it up.

"Brr, tonight's colder than usual….as if that sandstorm earlier today wasn't bad enough…." said one man with a black shaggy beard wearing reddish clothing as he added another stick to make the fire bigger, though the desert winds blowing didn't seem to help much.

"I know, even 3 layers isn't enough for this….." his friend said who wore orange and white as he began taking out a rucksack with supplies, "Perhaps a nice warm meal should help." he said as he began to rummage through it, taking out a large frying pan and laying it on the fire to warm it up.

His friend looked over to him curiously, "I do hope you've packed enough food for tonight's dinner." he said feeling hopeful as he hugged himself to conserve body heat in the freezing desert night air.

"I'm sure we can make it to the next village on what we have." he friend replied reassuringly as he took out a large brown egg which was nearly the size of a football. "And this egg I bought from the last place we passed by will surely keep us going for tonight at least." he said as his friend took it into his hand and eyed it with awe.

"Amazing! I've never seen an egg this large before in all my years!" he gasped in amazement as the other man took it back and smirked.

"Enjoy seeing it now, because it's about to become our dinner." He said as he began to tap it on the side of the frying pan to make it crack, though after at least 3 knocks it didn't even have a single chip off! "Hmm? An unusually hard shell….." he mused to himself with interest as he continued tapping it but to no avail.

The first man's stomach then growled as he yelled out in hunger and impatience, "Hurry it up! I'm hungry!"

"I know!" he friend responded just as hungry, "Give me a minute or 2, this shouldn't take long." Losing patience himself he found a nearby rock and hurried over to it before smashing it! It caused a large zigzag crack to open in the center of it as he smiled with excitement, "Aha!" he cheered as he hurried back to his waiting friend who too was smiling with excitement upon hearing the crack earlier, "Dinner is now served." he said as he opened it, but instead of a massive yolk a pair of cards instead fell on the frying pan, one a carnivorous dinosaur and the other an orange card with a fireball on it!

Both men widened their eyes in surprise, "What!? Cards!?"

"What is the meaning of this outrage!?" They didn't have much time to be frustrated as the flames caused a few sparks to blow up into the air before landing on the cards! As a result they both glowed, causing the men to shield their eyes and the camel to wake up. As it died down they all widened their eyes in horror to see a massive bipedal tyrannosaur dinosaur, yellow with red marking around the body from head to tail roar out fiercely to the night sky and moon as they hugged one another in fear!

"GAAAAAHH!" They quickly ran over to their camel which had just hurried up to its feet upon seeing the massive carnivore awaken out of nowhere!

"Get on quick!"

"Run!" They cried as the tarbosaurus spotted them and charged at them with a wide open jaw! Fortunately the camel was able to avoid the jaws in time though it was a near miss as they could all feel her warm breath blowing on them and sharp fangs nearly making contact as they snapped close!

She roared in frustration but before she could try again and NOT miss, she halted her attack last minute as its nose soon caught a familiar scent. Sniffing the air and holding its head up high, she manoeuvred itself in the direction of the blowing wind before its nose locked onto the direction it was coming from like a homing missile. Taking in the scent it's eyes turned primal and slitted as it roared out in fury and headed in the direction the smell came from into the night, where the desert mountain range was.

Back at the cave, Tarchia noticed all the D team were snuggling together in a huddle, using one another for warmth to conserve body heat, even if it mean the boys had to get close with the girls to do it, some of them even resorted to hugging their dinosaurs as heat packs or even using them as pillows! Seeing they were so peaceful, the tarchia's heart was touched as he went to go gather up some nice soft bundles of leaves from a nearby bush before gently covering over them like a blanket, which made them feel more comfortable as their expressions turned to smiles.

It soon began to fall asleep knowing they were at peace themselves, as it brought it back to an old time before when it had a close friend…..

Suddenly, their nearby dinoholders and dinoshot suddenly flashed red, the beeping sound and light was enough to make it open one eye crankily, spurring him to move off to find another place to sleep for the night, near a shelter of boulders. But as it walked near them, its ears soon picked up the sounds of a roar in the distance, an all too familiar one as he growled with agitation. Looking out to the opening of the canyon wall, it narrowed its eyes with anger as it began to head out through them and into the night of the desert.

(Next morning)

Ursula, Zander and Ed painfully dragged their feet across the floor as they staggered with exhaustion while covered with all kinds of grime and muck all over their clothes and hair. "Oww….I thought we'd never climb out of there…." Zander groaned rubbing his forehead as he scratched his head with his now icky fingernails, digging into his scalp which itched tremendously!

"Same here, but no way was I going to let my final resting place be a dump of all places." Ed muttered as lifted up his shirt and slowly shook out slime and goo from inside it before yanking out a tin can from inside his pants.

"How humiliating…." Ursula muttered, having chicken and fish bones caught in her hair and her eyes already developing bags since she and the others barely slept a wink as they spent nearly every waking moment trying to dig out of the garbage bag and then to climb back out to the entrance, it was an ordeal which took a toll on them all as they left behind a trail of food remains like banana peels and apple cores behind them. "I never want to go through that again…." She muttered as flied began to gather around their heads and hover above them, as they swatted at them repeatedly but to no avail. Having stayed down there the entire night their noses had pretty much gotten used to their new pungent odours much to their dismay.

"Hmm?" As they headed for their rooms for a much needed shower, not caring about the trail of garbage and grime the were leaving, they passed by the living room to see the monitor was flashing again. Upon closer inspection, their eyes widened in surprise, "Look! Another signal!" Ed pointed out.

"2 dinosaurs in 1 location!?" Ursula cried out as she clapped her hands together like it was a dream come true, "Oh this is our lucky day!" she sang before spinning around.

Noticing 1 signal was the same as the one from yesterday, Zander was able to conclude one thing from it, "Looks like Rod and Laura haven't come back either." he noted putting a finger to his chin.

"You think something happened to them out there?" Ed asked worried for them before biting his nails, "Like their ship crashed or maybe they got lost or lose eaten!?" he cried out in horror. To his surprise, Zander and Ursula seemed to take it pretty well as they both laughed out loud.

"If that was the case then luck really is on our side this time!" Ursula cheered shooting her arms out to the sky, "If we never see those ankle biters again it'll be a dream come true!"

"Oh yeah! This is what I call a time for celebration!" Zander grinned as he started doing a jig, "I just knew things would be looking up for us the moment we got out of that garbage disposal!"

Ed thought about it for a bit did see they had a point, he was about to join them in joyous celebration when realised someone else wouldn't at all and he gulped, "But would Dr Z want that though?" he asked as they then stopped celebrating and fell down in defeat.

"You make a good point….."

"Knowing him he might blame us and even make fossils out of us….." They each muttered in defeat as Ed turned pale!

"No! I don't want that to happen!" he screamed running around in circles in a panic, "What do we do!?" he then exclaimed before huddling up in the corner and shivering.

Thinking about it and realised they were in a predicament, Ursula then gained an idea, "Wait I know! If we bring them back along with those 2 dinosaur cards he'll reward us generously for sure!" she called out as the others turned to her, "Not just Dr Z, Rod and Laura would be indebted to us for this too," she then added with a devious grin, "I bet they'll be so grateful maybe they'll even owe us their very lives!"

The 2 men then cheered in excitement and amazement. "Ah! A great idea!" Ed gasped with his eyes glistening.

"I've always wanted to boss them around and rub it in those snotty faces of theirs!" Zander snickered as he did his jig again.

"Oh the thought of it is making me jitter with excitement!" Ursula sang as she blushed red, "I can't contain myself any longer!

"Then what are we waiting for!?" Ed cried as he waved to them to come quickly, "Let's go get Dr Z already!"

"Off we go!" They all cheered as they scampered along to their boss' bedroom. They quickly barged in through the door to his bed and saw he was reading a kids' storybook about a dinosaur in it, "Hey Dr Z!"

"Hmm?" He looked up from his book hearing their voices, grouchy that they interrupted his quiet time but he soon widened his eyes in horror to see them covered in grime, food packaging remains and flies! "Gah! What are you doing!? Get out now!" he yelled in alarm while pinching his nose to block out the horrendous stench they were carrying on them!

"Ah! Sorry!" They gasped in realisation at the mess they were making in his room before running around to behind the corner of the door, "Is this okay?"

Dr Z thought about it and found it more tolerable as he folded his arms grumpily, "Better…." he said before getting to business, "First off what do you want? And second, why were you all covered in garbage?! Don't tell me you actually went dumpster diving!" he demanded furiously.

"Long story doctor…." Ursula muttered twiddling her fingers as Ed and Zander both shuddered as they began reliving the experience they had in the trash chute the other night. "In any case, Rod and Laura still haven't made it back home yet we thought you should know." she then added which made Dr Z's heart skip a beat.

"My grandchildren are still out in that desert by themselves!?" he exclaimed turning pale as he grasped his face in horror as fantasies of his 2 children crying for help in the desert, drying up like skeletons under the sun and being swallowed up by a quicksand pit flooded his mind! "Oh no! I'm so terrible! How could I have let them down!?" he cried in horror as he stood up with determination, "Don't worry children! I'll-" Suddenly his back began to give way again!

CRACK

"Argh!" he cried in pain and teared up before falling back down on the bed whimpering.

"Umm if you'd like Dr Z, we can bring them back for you easy!" Ursula suggested lapping her hands together as she and the other speeded their heads in. "In fact we were just about to go when we decided to let you know first!" As she said that Ed and Zander both nodded frantically.

Dr Z hardened his gaze at them, "Grr, then what are you still standing around for!? Get your butts off and go already! Don't you dare come back without my grandkids!" he demanded before sniffing the air and pinching his nose while turning green, "And while you're at it, go take a shower! You smell worse than dinosaur manure!" he yelled pointing out at them.

"Ugh…." they groaned realising they should have done that from the start, "Yes sir doctor sir!" They quickly said before scurrying down the hallway to their quarters to clean up!

Their sounds of their footsteps slowly died down as they got further and further away from his room. Looking to the floor he saw they still left a long trail of garbage which include some orange peels and apparently left over oil and grease mixed in with burnt food crumbs in it, which stunk like crazy as his eyes began to water from the pungent stench it left. "Great, now what am I going to do with all this garbage….." he muttered, he was considering of calling them back to pick up after themselves when a burly woman suddenly barged in without warning through the wall! "Ah! Helga, perfect timing." he brightened up seeing just the perfect robot for the droid, "Listen, clean up this mess right now." he pointed to the mess with a firm tone.

She turned to look in the direction he did as her eyes scanned, "Scanning…..mess detected." she said in a robotic tone before eerily turning to Dr Z himself, "Source of filth detected."

"Hmm?" Dr Z blinked in confusion as to what she meant.

"Eliminating now." she said as she plucked out a large black garbage bag from her apron's pocket before stepping towards him rather menacingly.

Dr Z could feel his heart racing as she said nothing in her approach to him, "Wh…Why do you have that large garbage bag Helga? And why are you coming to me like some scary monster?" he gulped turning pale while pointing weakly at her. She soon stood before him and he then got the message as he shook his hands out in a fright! "Wait, oh no….Helga don't you-" She cut him off as she grabbed him by the throat and proceeded to shove him into the bag! "AAAAAHHHH!" his wills of despair echoed through the halls of Zeta Point as she sealed up the bag tightly and tied a knot around it before housing it over her back and heading right for the trash chute.

(Meanwhile)

The next morning as the sun began to rise over the horizon and peer through the gap in the rocky walls, they shone through in a straight line and began to illuminate the cave entrance, as the rays focused n Max he turned around and grunted in annoyance before finally opening his eyes. After blinking them and smoking his lips he sat up straight and stretched out his arms, "Yawn…..man I slept like a rock last night…." he said getting up as one by one the D Team and their dinosaurs too woke up and kicked off the bushes they used as blankets and stretched out themselves too.

"Yeah, I didn't think sleeping on the desert ground would be that comfortable." said Rex curiously as he rubbed his back and found it to be perfectly fine much to his surprise. As he took a look outside he then pointed out to their side, "Hey look." They all turned to see the bushy covers they kicked off, "I don't remember getting covered by bushes last night." he said as he picked them up and felt them with his hands, "Also, it's actually pretty comfortable….." he then said with a smile before dropping it on the ground and letting Chomp and Paris munch at it for their morning breakfast. While they did that, Miku and Ace headed out to the pond to get some water and hopefully catch a few bugs that may be hovering about there.

"Who do you think put it on?" asked Zoe curiously before a thought crossed her mind, "Wait, you don't think-" She looked around to see they were actually missing someone as she blinked her eyes in confusion, "Huh? Where's…..tarchia?"

The others soon followed her as they looked around the canyon but found pretty much no trace of the large herbivore, as if he had disappeared into thin air! "Did he wander off somewhere while we slept last night?" asked Cera as Max face palmed in annoyance.

"Aw man, now we've got to go look for it all over again!" he cried before lowering himself down in dismay and Rex had to go pat him on the back to comfort him.

"Don't worry Max," he said encouragingly, "We can always keep track of where it goes using the dino detector." he stated brightening Max's mood a little, as Zoe volunteered to check on her dinoholder to track where he might have gone.

"It's still early in the morning so it should still work fine." she said feeling the temperature of the day was still quite cooling so their devices should still work as normal. As she switched it on she widened her eyes and gasped in alarm, "Wh.…What the!?"

The others turned to her, "What's wrong Zoe!?" Max cried as they gathered around her, the sound of her cry also urged the dinosaurs to regroup around them.

"Look!" She pointed out at her dinoholder, which was slightly shaky as she was surprised at what she saw, 2 red blimps, indicating that 2 dinosaurs were within the same vicinity!

"No way! 2 dinosaur signals!?"

"There's another dinosaur here besides tarchia!?" Max and Rex both gasped in surprise.

Cera narrowed her eyes and saw they weren't just active and moving, they were coming close together, "Looks like they're converging on one another….." she said seriously as they saw the opening to the canyon ahead of them, with tarchia's footprints leading out through it!

"Come on guys," Max waved to them, "They're not too far out from here, we should check it out!" he said as he rushed through first.

"Right!"

As they all regrouped and got prepped up they hurried off through the opening in the gorge, following the tracks of the tarchia hoping to find out where it was headed. As they did, Cera narrowed her eyes and hardened her expression knowing there was something amidst and it couldn't be good, "I've got a bad feeling about this…." was all she could think to herself as they hurried out into the open and across the warm desert sand.

As they headed through the opening and into the desert, the sun soon shone across the mountain range and before long it crept over the rocky ledge Rod and Laura were sleeping at in their jet as it radiated their faces and spurred them to open their eyes.

"Yawn…" they both stretched out and rubbed their eyes upon waking up, as Rod was the first to adjust his seat and wake up. "Hey Laura, sleep well?" he asked, his tone still somewhat drowsy as his sister adjusted her own seat.

"Mhmm," she smiled dreamily and nodded, "Surprisingly it felt really comfortable in here, almost as good as our beds back home." she replied. As she looked to the blinking screen she blinked her eyes in surprise at what she saw, "Huh?" Upon closer inspection she saw her eyes weren't playing tricks on her as she quickly alerted her brother, "Wow! Look at this Rod! There's another dinosaur nearby!"

He sprung to life upon hearing her words, "Huh!?" As he saw what he showed her he too was taken aback, "Wow, what a stroke of luck today is!" he grinned eager for a big catch before zooming in on their targets, "Looks like we can make it there on the alpha scooters." He said as he tapped a button to ejected a pink and blue scooter from their jet's back and they quickly hopped out from the cockpit and onto the desert floor, "Hehe, couldn't think of a better way to start the day." he said eagerly as hopped onto his.

"Let's go!" Laura cheered as she got on hers and they both sped away towards the nearest signal, leaving behind a trail of dust in their path.

As they sped along for a while, they came across a set of 3 toed footprints leading from an oasis, hearing the sound of a roar in the distance they could tell it was a carnivore and no doubt close by. As they hid behind a grove of trees, Laura pointed out a large theropod scanning the horizon carefully from above a sand dune while sniffing the air, "There it is!" Laura whispered as she pointed it out. As she took a closer look she noticed something familiar about it, "Hey, that dinosaur looks kinda like Terry doesn't it? In fact, it seems almost as big as him." she commented as Rod narrowed his eyes and brought a finger to his chin in thought.

"Yeah, except the arms are kinda shorter." he said noticing that small difference. He then smacked a fist into his palm, "There's no question about it, that's a tarbosaurus!"

"Thought so," Laura replied in agreement, "Though I don't remember that being among the dinosaur cards we lost." she then added.

"Doesn't matter, in the end a dinosaur's still a dinosaur, and we're here to grab it!" Rod replied as he grinned eagerly and tightened his hand into a fist.

"Mhmm!" Laura nodded,

Rod unaware of this took out a scanner and a spinosaurus card, "I'll send Spiny in to-" but as she was about to slash the card, she took a closer look at the tarbosaurus, it appeared it was fixated on something in the distance as it snarled and began to walk off. "Wait a second." she then said stopping herself at the last minute.

Rod grunted in response at her chickening out for some reason, "What's the big deal Laura?" he asked, "Just summon Spiny and let's get this over with already." he said impatiently.

"Yeah I know Rod." she said back feeling rather conflicted about something before pointing out at the wandering dinosaur ahead of them, "But it looks like that tarbosaurus is looking for something," she said seeing she was sniffing the air keenly before she began to move off in the distance down the sand dune, "Wonder what it is? Maybe we should find out."

"Like we care." Rod scoffed as he reached into his pocket and taking out a scanner with Terry's card, "Come on, if you won't do it then I will!" he grunted in annoyance as he prepared to slash.

Seeing him act as such brought Laura back to remember something that Cera said once, how they didn't care about the dinosaur's feelings and they simply used what they were given. Did that mean they saw Terry and the others as tools to use and nothing more? As much as she didn't want to do it, she knew they couldn't just attack and turn the dinosaur into a card like they always do…..

She then gritted her teeth and grabbed Rod's hand at the last second, "W…Wait Rod!" she cried out stopping him.

He turned to her in alarm, "What is it now?"

"W….well…." Laura looked away and twiddled her fingers knowing she acted on impulse and had no way to respond back, till she thought up an excuse on the spot, "I'm curious, I think we really ought to see at least what it's up to first then we capture it? Okay?" She said, hoping he'd buy into it.

Seeing Laura was eying him rather pleadingly, and also feeling somewhat curious himself Rod clicked his tongue in annoyance before conceding, "Sigh fine….." he huffed as Laura breathed a sigh in relief "Do we really have to though?" His sister didn't pay him much mind as they hopped on their scooters and took off behind the tarbosaurus, following it closely behind, as Rod narrowed his eyes at Laura who's mind seemed to be fixated somewhere else, "Looks like we are…..Wonder what's gotten into her?" he muttered before looking at his alpha scanner and noticing something odd, "Hang on," he said as his sister stopped to look too, "Is it actually heading for the other dinosaur signal?" he then asked before smirking, "If it is, maybe they could fight each other and then after we take the loser we can then get the winner while it's still tired and weak! Heh, maybe this can work to our favour after all." he said.

"Yeah, it sure can…." said Laura under her breath unsure of herself as they continued onwards.

Meanwhile, Tarchia had came upon the horizon in an area surrounded by sand as well as rocky outcrops sticking out of the ground. It sniffed the ground closely before lifting its' head and sniffing the air carefully. As it looked ahead it saw the tarbosaurus come in from over a sand dune not too far from where it was. They saw one another and locked eyes, and roared fiercely! The tarchia lifted up his tail and slammed it into the ground, creating an eruption of sand before raising it up and shaking it as a threat message!

The tarbosaurus however didn't buy she snared viciously baring its teeth and charging ahead towards the tarchia which held its ground! As it did, the sky turned multi coloured signalling a battlefield had appeared. As the tarbosaurus moved around to the tarchia's flank, he quickly shifted to his side and swung out his tail at lightning speed! The carnivore backed off in time with the club barely missing its' head. The ankylosaur brought in its tail again to prepare another attack but the tarbosaurus saw her' chance and delivered a head shove at the unprotected side hoping to throw him off balance! The tarchia however was able to maintain his balance and was only pushed forward before growing back in response!

It wasn't long before the D Team came upon the top of a sand dune and looking down they were surprised to see a battle between 2 wild dinosaurs!

"Whoa look!" Max cried out in surprise as they found themselves in the middle of a brutal battle between 2 prehistoric gladiators!

Rex eyed the new dinosaur and recognised it, "It's a tarbosaurus!" he said.

"And she's fighting tarchia!" Zoe gasped covering her mouth while Cera just stared and watched seeing the 2 dinosaurs circled one another, as the tarchia swung out his tail and the tarbosaurus was able to duck out of the way before lunching forward with a bite, though the ankylosaur was able to move out of the way in time as the massive jaws snapped close.

Max gritted his teeth seeing this as he turned to the others, "Come on guys, we should help it out!" he said rallying them together and they nodded in agreement.

"Yeah!"

"Dino slash!"

"Go triceratops! Roar!"

"Carnotaurus! Blow them away!"

"Parasaurolophus! Bloom!"

Soon all 3 of their dinosaurs appeared on the field together as a group, as Max yelled out the order, "Altogether now!" he cried as they all charged ahead towards the 2 battling behemoth that were already locked in fierce combat! As they came close, the tarchia was able to throw off the tarbosaurus away before it roared out angrily to the approaching D Team dinosaurs, which made them stop in their tracks as dust built up as they dug in their heels to halt their charge!

The D Team couldn't believe their eyes as the tarchia began to ward them off with its waving club tail, "Wh…What?" said Max surprised by the unexpected development.

"Why's he getting them to back off?" Rex then asked surprised it was refusing their offer to help it.

Zoe uneasily placed a hand to her chin, "Could he maybe be trying to keep the fight between it and the tarbosaurus, so that they don't get hurt?"

Cera narrowed her eyes and shook her head, "I don't think so…." she said rather seriously as the others looked to her in confusion.

"Huh?"

"What do you mean?" They asked.

She then focused her gaze at the tarchia which roared and slammed its tail on the ground as the tarbosaurus got back to its feet and charged right back at it, and they both met in a head lock trying to push the other down! "From what I can tell, it doesn't want us to interfere." she said as she hardened her expression seriously, "That it's his battle to fight and it's…..personal….."

The rest of the D team were taken aback by what she said, "P…Personal?" Max parroted uneasily with Zoe bringing her hands to her heart in worry.

"I don't know what that means, but….I don't like the sound of that one bit." said Rex looking back to the battle as their dinosaurs regrouped by their side to protect them in case things got hairy, while the tarchia and tarbosaurus circled one another and squared each other off for another confrontation.

"Me neither." said Cera narrowing her eyes, "All we can do now is stay out of it and hope for the best."

Nearby behind a rocky outcrop not far from where the D Team were, Rod and Laura too arrived on the scene and bore witnessed the battle brewing below them, "Hehe, looks like we're on time for the party, and we get a front row seat." Rod smirked knowing no matter who won the battle they'd win in the end, also knowing they could enjoy a good quality battle between 2 dinosaurs that lived in the same environment.

The tarchia swung his tail once more, but the tarbosaurus was able to get around in time as she opened her jaws widely and snapped hard, only for a tooth to break off upon contact with the ankylosaur's bony armour! It then fell to the ground with a few drops of blood as the massive carnivore backed away roaring in pain!

"Ouch!" Max cringed covering his mouth, "My teeth hurt just looking at it….." the scene urged him to take better care of his own dental hygiene so he wouldn't need to visit the dentist.

"No way will getting through that armour be easy." Rex noted.

The tarbosaurus roared ferociously leaning in, as the tarchia swung out its tail, this turned out to be a mock charge as the large carnivore expected it to come, leaning back out of the club's way before seizing the opening to charge in and grab it by the head! After getting good enough grip she was able to sling the huge herbivore through a large rock smashing it in the process! The tarchia got back up and charged ahead, meeting the tarbosaurus in a collision before overpowering and shoving her into a rock wall! The tarbosaurus recovered quickly and snapped forward, but the tarchia jumped back and managed to counter attack with a swift blow from his tail to the tarbosaurus' head sending her across the desert floor and even knocking out some of her teeth in the process! On closer inspection the tarchia and suffered a few bleeding bite marks to his head while the tarbosaurus' mouth was already bleeding from having some of her teeth knocked out as they both roared at one another violently!

Everyone looked on, tensing up at the heightened pressure in the air between both dinosaurs as the sense of anger and hatred could be felt, their partners tensing up and shaking with agitation, even the alpha gang was finding that this was getting out of hand.

"Th.…This is going too far!" Zoe cried out in alarm as the tarbosaurus stomped her feet in the ground and roar out!

Rex gritted his teeth, "And the tarbosaurus still wants to fight!" he gasped in disbelief.

"I don't understand, why are they so angry at one another!?" Max yelled, "Knock it off! Stop it both of you!" he yelled but his cried fell on deaf ears as both dinosaurs squared off with one another again.

"This….is horrible." breathed Cera as she begun to shake, "Their voices, nothing but rage and hatred…..they're out for blood!" she cried out clenching her fist much to everyone's alarm!

"What!?"

They all turned back to see the tarchia still wasn't about to yield just yet, in fact he was still raring to go. He swung his tail and delivered a swift blow to the tarbosaurus's side, who responded with delivering tail swipe of her own and knocking him away! Yet after getting up the tarchia was unwilling to back down as he roared another battle challenge at his rival.

"But….why would tarchia want to go through that extreme!?" Rex yelled, "I know about self defence against predators against one another but this is too far!"

"Urgh…." Rod meanwhile gritted his teeth seeing things were indeed getting out of hand, but as much as he wanted to interfere he knew that putting out one of their dinosaurs in the middle of that battle would be sending them to their doom, as Laura covered her mouth in horror and turned away unable to look anymore. It was at that moment, the stones in their dinoholders and alpha scanners suddenly began to glow, as they looked to them in alarm!

"Huh!?"

"What the!?" Their stones glowed and soon they were all enveloped in a bright light which forced them all to cover their eyes!

"Whoa!"

"AAAAAHHHH!"

As it died down they found themselves in what appeared to be a desert, only this time it seemed slightly more green with a few more shrubs, fallen trees and bushes in the desert sands surrounded by an oasis with a pool of fresh water in it, as the clouds blew gently across the blue sky.

"Huh? What is this?" Max gasped in awe with his friends seeing this never happened before to them.

"Did the stones bring us here?" Rex then asked.

"Seems that way…." said Cera just as amazed and surprised as the others were.

"No way…." Rod breathed as Laura looked up and around, finding herself captivated by the serene atmosphere and scenery.

It was then they heard the sounds of approaching foot steps in the distance. As they all looked, they saw a large bulky ankylosaur come up from behind a dune heading straight for the oasis for a good drink, an ankylosaur they all recognised in an instant, "Is that tarchia?" Zoe asked.

"It….looks like it…." Max replied. They soon noticed a small ceratopsian, without any horns and about the size of a sheep travelling close to its side following it as they made their way to the watering hole for a drink together.

"Is that a protoceratops?" Rex then asked. After that, the 2 dinosaurs began playing with one another, with the protoceratops wagging its tail like a happy doing and bouncing around the tarchia as the larger herbivore let out a few happy cried wagging his own tail and trying catch him.

"Aww how cute…..they're playing together." Zoe then said clapping her hands together with a smile, "Everything's so happy and peaceful…." seeing dinosaurs play with one another like young children did brought a warm fuzzy feeling to the kids, even the alpha gang who were eavesdropping on what they were saying, as they smiled seeing all was calm and safe.

Cera smiled before realising what this really was, "Could these be….tarchia's memories?" she then asked as the others looked to her, "Are the stones….showing us what happened in the past?"

"So that must have been his close friend from before." said Max upon realisation.

"Yeah…." Rex replied in agreement before becoming serious, "Wonder what happened? Why are the stones showing this to us?" Little did Rex know, was that soon regret that answer.

The scene shifted to later in the afternoon when the 2 dinosaurs were sleeping in the shade, with the protoceratops nuzzled in safely within the tarchia's curled up tail. It then stirred and yawned before heading out to browse on some bushes a bit further off, away from the safety of its larger companion. As it began to munch on the shrubs, it was unaware it was being watched by a pair of hungry eyes behind an large rocky wall. Letting its guard down, it failed to respond in time as a tarbosaurus lunged out from behind, roaring at the top of her lungs opening her jaws widely as she took the small herbivore by surprise!

Everyone turned pale, some covering their mouth in horror and disgust as the large carnivore grabbed hold of the helpless protoceratops and shook it in her jaws like rag doll before crushing the life out of it, as blood dripped down from its lifeless corpse onto the sandy ground. As she walked off with her prize, the tarchia had just awoken upon hearing the noise, and bellowed a cry of repair and sadness upon witnessing the life of his close companion taken away from him.

They all stared speechless, unable to fully process what they just witnessed…..

"That's…..horrible…." said Cera clutching her hands into fists as she felt herself choked hard on tears of sadness, they bore witness what tarchia experienced and suffered years ago with their own eyes and now they could understand its' pain….

"So that's the same tarbosaurus it's fighting now!?" Max gasped in alarm.

"No wonder it's so hateful and angry…." said Zoe sadly.

Laura couldn't help but sniffle and shed a tear herself while Rod clenched his fist in anger, gritting his teeth in the process seeing that tarbosaurus had to pay for what she did. Even he felt some emotional connection with dinosaurs from time to time and he felt really ticked off after what he witnessed. The rest of the D team were beginning to sympathise with the tarchia, when suddenly a bright light shone causing them to cover their eyes again!

"Ah!?"

"What now!?" They all cried as the blinding light erupted again! As it died down they found themselves at a rocky opening in a wall, with the entrance leading to the desert outside and what appeared to be a nest inside it.

They all blinked in surprise to see they were in fact in another vision the stones were showing them, "Huh? What's this now?" Max then asked before gasping in surprise to see the tarbosaurus come out from one side of the rocky outcrops with the body of the protoceratops in her jaws. As he gritted his teeth in anger and the others hardened their expressions, they soon took an unexpected turn to see a pair of hatchling tarbosaurus scurry out from the nest inside as their mother dropped the carcass for them to eat, which apparently was their first meal in weeks, after a long time of unsuccessful hunting she finally managed to bring food home for her starving young.

"Are those…..babies?" Rex gasped, seeing their were actually quite skinny and malnourished, and seeing how they were diving into the carcass ravenously was proof of their immense hunger.

"So then….the tarbosaurus did that so she could feed her young?" Zoe then mouthed out before smiling rather conflictedly, "That's….sweet….and yet….harsh…."

Cera tensed up as a result, "It's a cruel world that's for sure…" she said as they all looked down unsure of how to handle this situation, seeing there was no good or bad in this….each creature doing what it needed to survive, it was just life….

As the tarbosaurus moved off to go hunting for herself afterwards, the chicks played outside but stayed close to the nest. But they were soon greeted by an unexpected guest, and probably the last they would ever see. The tarchia soon walked in from around the corner of a large cactus, sniffing the ground and apparently tracking the tarbosaurus for what may have been miles now, as he narrowed his eyes seeing the chicks who stared at hum curiously.

"T…Tarchia?" Cera then breathed as it hardened its gaze at them and walked towards the unsuspecting chicks.

"What's it….doing?" Zoe then asked uneasily, knowing something didn't seem right. Without warning and to everyone's alarm, the tarchia growled angrily as he swung his tail club with massive force, smashing into 1 of the chicks and sending it flying into a rock wall! As it smashed against it, it let out a cry in pain its bones shattered like toothpicks from the force of the tail and collision before falling lifeless to the ground!

Everyone widened their eyes in alarm at what they witnessed.

"AH!"

The horror scene wasn't over yet as the remaining tarbosaurus chick made a run for the nest, the relentless ankylosaur, consumed by vengeance, brought down his tail and smashed down on the young dinosaur, leaving it as a now bloodied pile of flesh and bones which then speed into the desert sand.

"NO!" The D Team and the alpha gang were both taken aback at the horror they bore witness. As if the first scene with the tarbosaurus killing the protoceratops wasn't bad enough now they saw the brutal murder of baby dinosaurs….

The mother tarbosaurus soon returned hearing he sounds of her babies cries, as she arrived she soared angrily at the intruder who basically signed his death certificate as she snared viciously baring her fangs! In response the tarchia turned to face her and growled back raising his tail and shaking it up! Before they could do battle, a massive sandstorm then blew in, as both dinosaurs turned to look, without warning they were swept in and roared in agony before being swallowed up by the wind and sand!

The D Team cried out and shielded themselves, "AAAAAHHH!" They cried bracing themselves for the incoming wind and dust about to blow over!

"WHOA! Incoming!" Rod cried out as he quickly reacted and used himself to shield Laura who crouched down and covered her eyes!

As it seemed to die down they all looked up to find it was normal again much to their surprise.

"Hey….we're back home…." Max breathed looking around to see the sky was still clear in the morning and the winds were calm now. Before long the began to remember what they witnessed earlier as they turned rather downcast.

"So those were the tarbosaurus' memories we just saw too?" Zoe then breathed in a heavy tone.

"How awful…." Cera breathed feeling her heart was breaking up, both sides of the story, each of them tragic and after carrying it on for so many years it now seemed that both dinosaurs were trapped by it and unable to escape, until one of them perishes…..

"Tarchia was so nice too…." Rex followed as he sighed sadly, "To think he endured something like that once, losing his best friend before his own eyes, no wonder he's so caught up in revenge…."

"And that tarbosaurus, she was only doing what she had to to feed her family…." Max said painfully. Nature was such an unfair and cruel mistress at times, and the creatures that live under her rule were but her play things no matter what they suffered or experienced…..to think they were subjected to such a cruel fate….

Rod and Laura too were struggling to recover from the revelation that had just unfolded before them, "So then, basically both dinosaurs hold a grudge against one another.…." Rod muttered before hardening his expression uneasily, "Now they're going to settle it to the death….."

Laura swallowed hard, unsure what to feel of this, they came hoping to grab both dinosaur cards after they tired each other out, but after what they witnessed she was having second thoughts on what to do.

ROAR!

"Huh!?"

Suddenly the sound of a ferocious roar snapped them all out of their faze as they looked back and realised the battle was still taking place! They quickly turned back to the battle to see the tarchia suddenly glowed purple as he activated his super move! He stood up in his hind legs causing a massive swirling vortex of sand to open up beneath the tarbosaurus' legs and it began to suck her in! The vortex was also beginning to spread towards where they all stood as Cera yelled out to them in alarm!

"Get back everyone! It's a sand trap!" she cried in alarm.

"Whoa!" They quickly scrambled on top of their full sized dinosaur partners and backed away from the growing vortex of quicksand!

"Let's beat it!" cried in alarm as they quickly hopped onto their alpha scooters and jetted away out of the trap!

Backing away to higher ground and to the other side, they witnessed the tarbosaurus roar in pain, struggling to pull herself free but to no avail as she was swallowed up by the sand! A few seconds later, a huge pillar of sand shot out, striking her from the side as she landed hard with a loud thud on the hard ground ahead, smashing down on some rocks in the process as she lay helpless at the tarchia's mercy, who growled in anger as he raised his tail club ready to deliver the final blow to her head!

The D Team widened their eyes in alarm at what was about to happen! "No Tarchia!" Zoe cried out.

"If this keeps up he'll kill her at this rate!" Cera gasped in alarm.

Max gritted his teeth and rallied everyone together, "Come on guys! We've got to stop him!" he yelled as they nodded firmly and charged ahead with their partners!

"Right!"

On their side the alpha children could see that they couldn't sit back any longer as Laura turned to her brother sternly, "Rod! We should do something now!" she cried as he nodded.

"I'm about to do just that." he said as he was prepared to send in Terry, but before he could slash the card a voice shouted out which made him stop at the last second.

"Tarchia stop!"

"Huh!?" As they all looked, they were taken aback to see that Cera had ran out in front of them, and now she held her arms out in front of the tarchia, in the hopes of stopping it from crossing the line!

"Is she….out of her mind!?" Rod exclaimed as Laura covered her mouth and her heart began to race, she had seen enough blood and violence just now, even if Cera was an enemy even she didn't deserve to get crushed, no one did.

"Cera get out of there!" Zoe then cried out in alarm before Rex held her back.

"No, I think….she's doing what she thinks needs to be done." he said firmly as they looked closely.

The tarchia roared fiercely in front of Cera's face hoping to scare her out of his way, but she held her ground firmly and her expression was unyielding. He then began to raise his tail, at that point the others charged in.

"I'm not standing by anymore!" Max grunted, "I'm going in!" he said with Chomp charging with him.

"Me too, no way am I letting her do this by herself!" Zoe followed as she and Rex hurried to them.

As the tarchia was prepared to deliver the finishing blow, Cera then mustered up every ounce of courage she had left in her as she then spoke out to it, "Is this what your friend would've wanted? To see you consumed by anger and revenge?" she asked it calmly, as the ankylosaur held his tail back at the last second. It then backed away slightly as Max and the others rallied to Cera's side, with even their partners holding back at the sidelines, letting out warning growls at it. Miku as well, as she perched on Cera's shoulder and flare out her feathered arms defensively.

"We know you suffered a heavy loss, and we are very sorry for it, you have our sincerest condolences." Cera continued as she lowered her head sadly, "But hatred won't bring it back, nor would it change a thing. If anything, it'll only make things worse for you." She tensed momentarily before looking to the tarchia with a serious expression, "So please, let this cycle of hatred end here." As she said that the tarchia looked to see Max and the others were still standing by her side and with their partners hanging back ready to go, it knew they wouldn't hesitate to fight too. Taking a breath it then recalled the times it had with its old friend the protoceratops, how they were close and almost like family on their long travels through the desert together since they met, looking at itself now it realised it had much to be ashamed of…..

It then lowered its tail, calming down with deep breathing before turning around. As it turned to leave, everyone felt a wave of relief come over them, as Max fell down to the sand feeling overwhelmed by the pressure, while Cera put a hand to her chest and smiled, "Thank you tarchia." she breathed seeing it was alright now. Even Rod and Laura who were hanging back smiled with relief to see everything turned out fine too.

"Phew…..thank goodness…." breathed Max with a sigh of relief with everyone else calming down seeing the worst may be over.

"Yeah, I was really shaking in my shoes back there." said Rex shivering in his tone a little.

"I thought we wouldn't have been able to convince him…." breathed Zoe feeling much at ease.

After they did they turned to Cera and shot fierce angry glares at her much to her surprise, "What were you thinking Cera!? You could have been crushed!" Max yelled.

"I know guys…..I'm sorry for that….." she said twiddling her fingers together, even questioning herself about her reckless choice. "But, I guess my body acted on its own before I realised it….." she then said painfully as she looked away from them, "I couldn't just let that tarchia suffer anymore, nor did I want tarbosaurus to suffer either….."

As she said that, the rest of her teammates smiled understandably as they reached out to comfort her in turn, "We understand, you really love dinosaurs don't you?" said Rex, "Maybe on a level none of us have reached….."

Looking around the rest of them nodded with him agreement and Cera smiled with relief to see all was well now, "Let's just be thankful it turned out alright and that it's finally over with." she said optimistically, but her optimism was short lived….

ROAR!

"Ah!" They all turned quickly to see that the tarbosaurus had gotten back up on her feet and was now even more furious than ever! She then lunched out at full speed, nearly about crush the D Team like ants!

"Run!" Max yelled as they scattered, narrowly escaping the carnivore's giant foot from stomping on them into jelly! Upon hearing the roar, the tarchia turned around, but widened it eyes to see the tarbosaurus quickly grabbed its tail behind the club before swinging him out into a rock wall! After crashing against it he fell upside down and she began to mercilessly stomp on his unprotected side and with each one he roared in pain as the tables began to turn!

"Ah!"

"Oh no!" The D Team gasped in horror that the violent battle was about to begin again!

"Hey! Knock it off!" Max cried out.

"Yeah! Stop it tarbosaurus! There's been enough pain and suffering today!" Rex followed up desperately.

Sadly, neither of their words reached the tarbosaurus' ears, her attention was completely fixated on finishing off her rival that she blocked out everything else in her surroundings. She then opened her massive jaws widely and was about to clamp down on the struggling trachea's exposed neck and finish him off for good!

Zoe and Cera gasped in horror as Max then gritted his teeth seeing there was no other choice now, "Chomp! Protect tarchia!" he then yelled as the yellow triceratops roared and charged full speed ahead!

"You too Paris!"

"Get in there Ace!" Rex and Zoe called as they followed after their leader! Cera meanwhile held back wishing them all the best, though she wished she could do more as she and Miku looked on.

Hearing the sounds of approaching footsteps, the tarbosaurus turned to look around, only to see Chomp charge in and flip her away far from the now vulnerable tarchia! She then landed hard on the sand, but kicked herself back up and roared fiercely at the 3 dinosaurs who now blocked her way, signalling she would show no mercy to anyone getting in the way of her revenge!

Chomp shrieked back and charged ahead with Ace and Paris following behind closely. As they did, Cera narrowed her eyes sensing something wasn't right, before noticing a suspicious look in the tarbosaurus' eyes and she widened her own upon realisation, "Max! Pull Chomp out of there now!" she yelled warning him as he turned to her in surprise.

"Huh?"

"It's a trap!" she yelled as he was taken aback!

"Say what!?" Unfortunately for him, Cera's warning came too late as the tarbosaurus quickly sidestepped Chomp's charge and thrust to Max's horror, "No!" He then gasped seeing the trike had exposed his weak spots to her as she began to glow red and activate her super move! Gathering flames in her jaws she quickly grabbed onto Chomp's neck behind the frill then lifting him up she raced towards Paris and Ace who stopped in their tracks to see her charging at them with Chomp in her jaws! Before they could react in time she rammed them both straight into a large rock wall before blasting it with a tremendous flame causing it to explode into pieces!

"Ah! NO!" Max gasped as all 3 of their dinosaurs returned to their cards and floated gently to the desert floor.

Everyone was then aback by the sudden development, "No way!"

"I don't believe it!"

"She took them all out in 1 move…." Laura breathed in amazement while Rod was speechless beyond belief.

"She's overwhelmed with sorrow and rage….." said Cera as the others looked to her, seeing her tense up and shake, "She's channeled all of her rage, all her pain and sorrow over the loss of her offspring into that burning dash of hers…." she breathed as the others felt their own blood and hearts run cold.

"N…No way…."

"So then….there's really no way we can help her…."

"Urgh…." Max then gritted his teeth in frustration, clearly underestimating how much rage and anguish the mother tarbosaurus had kept inside her, perhaps there really was no other way to calm her down after all…..Shaking his head clear he hurried over to grab the cards of his friends. "I've got them!" he yelled as he managed to pick up all 3 of them.

"Max get back!" Rex yelled out as he looked up to see the tarbosaurus was now snarling at him and prepared to bring her mighty jaws down!

GROAR!

"AH!" Max cried holding his arm out and closing his eyes.

"No!" Everyone cried out thinking he hadn't got a chance of escaping…..that it was all over….until-

"ROAR!" A familiar roar echoed from behind, and as everyone turned to look they saw the tarchia had gotten back up on his feet, and now was bellowing a challenge to the tarbosaurus, intending to settle things once and for all between them now.

Upon hearing his battle cry, the tarbosaurus turned around and began scraping the ground and roared at the top of her lungs as she charged ahead with full force, with only one thing on her mind, to kill…..

As she did the tarchia glowed purple and stood up on his hind legs again causing a sand vortex to form before the charging carnivore and hoping to suck her in again! Unfortunately, this time the tarbosaurus was quick to react as she leapt over it with all the force run her legs and landed on the side of the tarchia much to everyone's amazement! As he tried to shift sides and get a better aim with his tail, the tarbosaurus quickly turned around faster before he could respond, as her massive jaws clamped hard on his neck! The sound of his neck armour cracking was heard before being blocked out by the ankylosaur's cries of pain and agony! As she crunched down, the tarbosaurus mercilessly shifted her head side to side as her teeth continued to dig into the tough hide of the tarchia before eventually causing blood so spill onto the ground, and his struggling only made it worse as it persuaded her to bite harder! Now that she had her long time enemy in her jaws she wouldn't let go until it was finished!

The D Team stared and looked on, as if they were seeing a real life horor scene before their eyes, "This is horrible….." said Cera feeling sick and sad as she fell to her knees feeling helpless and unable to think of anything…..

"Worst part is….we can't do anything about it….." said Max as he and the others stared hopelessly, it was like the animal documentaries they saw on TV, only this time it was real before their very eyes, the only thing they could hope for was if the tarchia would turn back into a card and save itself, but would it work before it died? They didn't want to take that chance, but they had nothing left…..all the could do….was watch….

Behind the boulders, Laura turned away and covered her ears to try and block out the tarchia's cries in pain as best she could, but the few groans that made it into her ear were enough to make her tear up and wish it would end soon.

"Tch!" Rod clicked his tongue having enough, this carnage show had gone on long enough and he was about to put a stop to it. But right before he was bale to slash Terry, the tarchia mustered the last ounce of energy he had to deliver a swift blow to the tarbosaurus' leg with his tail!

The force of the blow was almost like that of a sledgehammer as the tarbosaurus then threw away the tarchia with all the force she had, as he slammed through a rocky outcrop! After he landed he skidded across the desert floor before coming to a stop. With blood still seeping out form his bite wounds, he groaned and breathed heavily before closing his eyes and turning back into a card, safe at last…..

"Tarchia!" Cera cried as she ran in to grab both cards, "I've got you!" she said picking up the dinosaur and move card in time. She then looked up and widened her eyes to see the tarbosaurus had set her sights on her and the cards next as she took a step forward!

"Ah!" she gasped in alarm with Miku as the rest of her teammates cried out.

"Cera!"

"Run! Get out of there now!"

Seeing she didn't move and assuming she may have been frozen in fear, they rushed to her side on instinct, even if they didn't have their dinosaurs to protect them they weren't willing to abandon their friend as they rallied around to protect her. Their expressions turned serious as the tarbosaurus prepared to take another step to them, no doubt to mount a charge, but no matter what they were going to stand their ground…..

As the giant carnivore stepped with her other leg, the sound of a bone snapping was heard as she laid it on the ground! With a roar in pain she fell forwards and collapsed, much to the D Team's surprise!

"Wh…what?"

"Did she run out of energy?" Max and Zoe both asked.

Cera however knew the answer as she pointed out at her lime, which was now deep red, "Her leg, it's….broken…." she said sounding almost emotionless as the D Team soon realised that was the reason why Cera didn't run earlier….

"Tarchia must have done that, and it took him all he had too." breathed Rex feeling almost sorry to see her in such a state, "Now she….can't get back up….." She was so consumed by revenge she was willing to throw her own life away to get it. And in the end, she may have won the battle but she lost the war….

The tarbosaurus soon realised that, too late, as she began to breathe heavily and close her eyes, drained of energy she shed a single tear before glowing red and returning to her dinosaur and move card.

As they laid gently on the warm desert sand, like a tombstone for a grave, Max walked slowly towards them, with a shade covering his eyes as he picked them both up, "Not the way I was hoping to get 2 dinosaurs….." was all he could say.

The others soon walked up to him looking just as solemn as he was. For a while they just watched, as Max simply stared looking at the cards in his hands, neither saying nor doing anything. "Hey Max, are you-" As Rex reached out to put his hand on his shoulder, he then pushed it away to his surprise.

"I'm fine." he said eying Rex with a firm gaze which put him off a bit as he walked past him. As he came to the center of the group he held out his dinoholder and began typing on it, "Let's just….go home…." was all he said in a choked voice. Seeing no reason or no way to talk back, they all did the same and began dialling too.

While they did, Cera eyed boy the tarchia in her hand and the tarbosaurus' in Max's, "Let's hope they both rest in peace now…." she thought hopefully.

As they did so, Rod and Laura watched, still haven't recovered from what they saw just now, till Laura blinked her eyes snapping out of it, "They're leaving…." she said.

Rod then widened his eyes remembering they had 2 cards now, and with the D Team's dinosaurs all out of commission now, they were no doubt easy pickings, "Hey wait a sec, we should be going over and taking them now!" he said as he ran over to his scooter. Before he could get ti to move, Laura put a hand on his shoulder and looked away uneasily, not making any eye contact with him for she worried how he'd respond, "Rod." she then started swallowing hard knowing what was right, "I….want to go home now…..I don't feel so good….." she said with her stomach feeling painful and her heart overwhelmed.

As Rod looked at her and saw the expression she was carrying, he thought to himself and realised even he didn't have the heart to take the cards from their rivals even at an opportunity like this, it just didn't feel right to him either, not to mention he also knew he'd be proving Cera's point about them being low and like the others in the Alpha Gang. Clicking his tongue in annoyance he then sighed deeply, "Fine…." was all he could say as he and Laura jetted away back to their jet as the D Team vanished in a veil of light.

Meanwhile, a hang glider with alpha logos on both sides of its' wings soon descended from the clouds above with Ursula, Zander and Ed on it as they struggled hard to hold it straight let alone steer it to pick up strong air currents, but finally after a long and arduous journey, "Hey we're finally here!" Ed cheered with excitement as the pointed out to the desert below them.

"Excellent!" Ursula smiled, "Now let's just land this thing smoothly so that we-" They suddenly caught sight of something ascending from the ground below them, a blue alpha jet to be precise as it achieved lift off from the ground and begin to fly upwards. "Huh?"

Zander blinked to see if his eyes were working fine and unfortunately they were, "Is that jet coming straight for-" Before he could finish, the jet zoomed past them causing their glider to spiral out of control as it made a nose dive right into the desert below!

"GAAAAAAAHHHH!" They screamed in terror before they crashed in desert sand, causing a large tower of dust to erupt out form their landing! As it cleared, bits and remains of the glider were left scattered around them and their heads spoked out of the ground and they spat out whatever sand they swallowed. Though Ed had crashed into the ground head first and only his 2 legs were left hanging out from it.

"Great!" Ursula grubbed in annoyance as she pulled herself out of the ground, "Just when we come all this way for them they just leave us here to dry out!" she cried stomping her feet in frustration.

"Now we're going to have to find another way to get home….." Zander mumbled as he pulled himself free next and he moved to pull Ed out next, as he tugged on the fat man's leg with all his might before he stumbled back and Ed was sent flying out of it! "WHOA!" the skinny man gasped as he fell on his back!

"GAH!" Ed cried as he flew out and smacked hard on the ground, leaving behind an imprint in the sand as he spat out what he swallowed. As he blinked his eyes groggily he widened them upon noticing a way they could get home, "Hey look over there!" he pointed out as they looked at where he was directing them.

Ahead of them was a herd of camels, single and double humped, each tied to a stake near some water troughs and a tent with a nomad salesperson calling out to them, "Camels! Come get your camels right here!" he said waving to them, "Best prices and best quality camels!"

Ursula and Ed brightened up with joy to see they had a ticket back before they turned to Zander, who waved his arms out frantically, "Oh no! Don't look at me that way! I am not spending my money to buy another dumb animal!" he yelled having bad memories of an incident back in Egypt.

(Back home)

Later at the D lab that night, Dr Taylor had just placed the newly acquired tarchia and tarbosaurus safely in their card vault before looking to the children at the table with relief, "Glad to see you're all safe and sound kids." he said with a smile, "We were worried about you since you didn't check in with us after so long."

"We're fine dad." said Max smiling back softly with the others.

"Yeah, not a single scratch on us too….." Cera said with a low sigh at the end as they fell silent once more, sitting at the table doing almost nothing. Even their dinosaurs didn't seem to have their usual spunk and enthusiasm as they normally did.

"To come back with 2 dinosaurs is an impressive feat, I thought you would be more excited about it." said Spike curiously, expecting them to be more energetic about it.

"We are happy to be back with those." said Rex before lowing his head, "It's just….a lot has happened Dr Taylor, we'd rather not talk about it right now."

Dr Taylor thought about it, before remembering what Cera had reported to him and Reese about their events in the desert, and after thinking about it more he could understand why it didn't seem like a victory or moment to celebrate, "I see….I understand…." was all he could say in response feeling sad.

Reese then walked up to him from behind, "Let's just leave them be for now doctor," she suggested, "They deserve some time alone to get over what they just experienced."

Looking to her and back to the kids seeing they were rather down and in low spirits he conceded, "You're right…." he said sounding sad himself as he turned around to give them their space, "I'll just…leave you kids to it then." he said exiting the room with Reese, leaving the children to ponder over everything they had bore witness with their own 2 eyes, they still hadn't managed to get over it, not even close…to see actual blood and gore followed with anguish and hatred together, it was overwhelming for them, not once had they experienced such during their adventures and they had no idea how to take it….

"I still can't believe what I just saw…." Max mouthed out as he stared a the table with an almost blank and lifeless expression.

Rex looked to him before dong the same, "Yeah, to think dinosaurs would feel such emotions, almost like us too….."

"It's horrible too, sometimes life can be unfair and we can't do anything about it sometimes…..it's just beyond our control what we get dealt and we're forced to make do with it whether we like it or not." said Cera with a deep sigh.

"That still doesn't make it any better." Zoe replied as they continued to stare into space, knowing that there may no doubt be more situations like this to come, having just experienced it for the first time, and yet….not knowing if they could handle it again….

After moping long enough, Cera hardened her expression seriously and stood up from her seat as everyone looked to here in surprise, "Well we can't keep dwelling over what's done, we do have to move on eventually from it." she said as they felt rather moved by her words.

"Cera's right." said Rex, "We can't keep feeling sorry about it, sometimes these things do happen and it's no one's fault. We just have to accept that's reality…." he added at the end.

Zoe then nodded firmly, "Now we know that these things can happen, and all we can do is the best we can and hopefully learn from them so we can at least prevent things from getting worse than they already have." she said.

"I agree with you there Zoe." said Max last as he stood up with a serious expression on his face, "Now I see that it isn't just fun and games, dinosaurs can be dangerous too." he added clenching his hand into a fist tightly, "And we'll have to do everything we can to make sure they stay safe, from the alpha gang and from themselves even." Max

"Mhmm." They all nodded with him in agreement at the end.

"Speaking of which, I'm surprised we didn't run into the alpha gang today." said Rex having just realised it as he put his finger to his chin in thought.

"Let's be thankful they weren't there to make things anymore complicated." replied Cera.

"Yeah, things would have been a whole lot worse if the old lady showed up." Zoe muttered folding her arms behind her back.

(Meanwhile)

Back at the Gobi Desert, it was late at night and the alpha trio were slowly and quietly sneaking up on a camel which was munching at a cactus near the rocky gorge for a midnight snack, apparently having just escaped from the alpha gang right after they bought it and only now they managed to corner it without it suspecting a thing, after nearly an entire day of chasing after it through the blistering heat of the sun, they were parched and at their last legs but now all their efforts were soon about to pay off.

"Almost there….." Zander breathed as he reached out for its rope handle which lay just in front of him, "I've almost got that rope…."

"Suddenly Ursula gained a tic mark and she yelled out loud in frustration, Hey! Who called me old!?" she screamed fuming red as she blew their cover!

"Gah!" The camel looked to them and then began trotting off quickly to their dismay, with Zander just missing the rope end!

"Ah! It's getting away! After it you clods!" Ursula bonked them on the head without taking responsibility as they hurried after it! "No! Don't desert us in the desert!" she cried pleadingly though they fell on deaf ears and only spurred the camel to run faster!

"I'm getting strong sense of deja vu here….." Ed mumbled finding this situation familiar somehow, "At least it's a good thing that camels was only a rental!"

"Lucky for us we put them all on my card!" Zander yelled in frustration as they chased the camel across the desert dunes into the middle of the night, "Come back here!"

And there's chapter 13, as things get intense this chapter stay tuned for others to come. In case anyone asks, the Eugene the inspector here will only be a one time character used for just this chapter, also wanted to address that there were so many dino incidents and yet no governmental action taken after that. Idea came from transformers prime how they manage to cover their tracks every time.

Also included a cameo of Mini King and the cartoon tsintaosaurus from the Dinosaur King wiki too.

In response to reviews

Drew Luczynski

-I wanted to make there be something else to happen on Cera's side and expand upon Rod and Laura simply showing up but not seizing the opportunity to snoop. Also, Seth's route will be following the canon but I think I might add a few things in season 2 but will keep things mostly the same.

pokemonking0924

-Yup she got a first hand look into their base and not areas the D team hasn't yet. Yeah, each of the skills she has will be expanded on in an OC season 3 if I get there, sometimes doing this story alone is challenging and it's easy to lose motivation. All wanted to address that fact that wasn't touched on in the anime how Seth had the long range teleporter but it wasn't used again.

I enjoyed writing the funny moment too how she beat Rod and Laura and also that bit about Reese and Zander as well. I plan on having more alpha weapons later but alpha dinosaurs won't reappear till OC season 3.