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!

38. There's no business like shogun business

Chapter 38

There's no business like shogun business

Further off in the caves, Cera and Miku continued trekking uncomfortably through the rocky terrain in search of the alpha gang who ran off being chased by bears, which for reasons she couldn't comprehend. For one thing she couldn't understand why the bears would exert so much effort into chasing 3 buffoons who would be hardly worth the effort, nor why she bothered with the effort having to put up with their nonsense and babysit them at every single step. Nevertheless, as painful as she had to admit it, the D Team alone weren't enough to stop the space pirates from accomplishing their vile ambitions and they needed all the help they could get no matter how small or ridiculous it was, so she had no choice but to save them.

Although, that didn't mean she had to like it, for she had to trek across very hard and bumpy terrain to get to where she currently was, along with coming across close shaves with falling stalactites almost flattening her and Miku, while pitfalls nearly taking her by surprise. On top of that even if she did find them there was the matter of saving them from a pair of wild animals that could make a meal out of a human with ease...she much rather fight with dinosaurs than risk her own neck for the 3 stooges who have a just as great knack at getting into trouble as much as causing it.

Be that as it may she decided to focus on finding them first, which had proven to be rather difficult, "Now where did they go?" She grunted in annoyance as she came to another opening where a number of tunnels spanned around the perimeter and the ground as hard as bone meaning finding footprints wasn't an option now, "Sigh...man this place is like a maze, they could've gone anywhere..." She then sighed as she began rubbing her temple in annoyance.

She would've continued to dwell in her frustrations and the bad stroke of luck she was dealt, she suddenly opened her eyes as she recalled a solution for such a situation like this, "Wait, I remember installing a tracking function into my dinoshot," she then said taking out her device, remembering she developed that while installing her elemental sync function, "With luck I should be able to track down their alpha scanner and hopefully it'll lead us right to them." She said typing into it. Before long a beacon lit up on her screen which made her smile seeing it work, "Ah there it is..." She said seeing it wasn't too far from their current location and looking up to see it was along the largest tunnel path. "Come on Miku, lets go find those idiots." She said as the 2 of them went through.

After walking along the path a while, the light began to dim but it was still visible enough to get a good look ahead. As they closed in on the signal, Cera soon narrowed her eyes seeing the signal suddenly stopped in place much to her surprise. "Huh?" Blinking her eyes she began to worry slightly fearing the bears had caught up to them snd the unthinkable had happened. Shaking her head clear she decided to remain focused and positive before continuing onward hoping nothing terrible had befell the alpha gang for even they didn't deserve something so cruel. As they came upon it, a wave of relief soon washed over her as she saw a device on the ground which she came in to pick up, "It's Terry's scanner." She said noting it as it beeped red with her dinoshot's scanner.

Looking around she could see no signs of a scuffle nor any blood around so it meant the bears hadn't caught or made a meal of them thankfully. On another note it brought up another problem for them, "So much for finding them...giving scanners to those guys is like giving pearls to pigs..." She sighed facepalming hard. Way she saw it, Either they couldn't hold onto it while they ran or they threw it at the bears, wouldn't put it past them on that. "On the bright side Terry's safe with us again with Spiny and Tank." She smiled slightly before it soon turned to a scowl, "On the bad side, we're still lost and have no clue on how to find the alpha gang..." She then sighed seeing they were back to square one again. She was about to ponder over how they ought to proceed from here, when a voice echoed through the caverns which their ears picked up.

"Man oh man how did things end up like this?" A familiar but unsettling voice echoed through the caves which caught Cera's attention as her ears perked up at the voice.

"Hmm?" It didn't take long for her to recognize it as she hardened her expression into a scowl, "That voice….I know who that is…." She muttered off as she hurried off after it in the direction it came from. Despite the cave being dark and like a maze, the sound of the voice was so loud she was able to figure out where it came from and after a while of navigating the underground labyrinth she came to a large clearing and found the source of the yelling.

Foolscap was breathing heavily, under huge stress and pressure shown by his tense expression, heavy sweat and angry stomping about as he shouted out loud his frustration, "It was my big chance to score a cosmos stone and some well deserved credit, but now I'm stuck having to look for Sheer while Gavro gets all the glory!?" He cried out in anger as he scrunched up his spiky haired and ruffled it all up, "Heck I was the one who got the cosmos stone from China! What did I ever do to deserve this!? GRRR!" He then growled as he began stomping his foot on the ground in a rage!

"Maybe for starters you ought to stop your crazy ambitions, give up on your mad goals and let my friends' parents go!" A voice yelled back at him which caught him by surprise and made him jump and make his heart skip a beat!

"HUH!?" Turning in the direction it came from he widened his eyes to see Cera leaning against a stone stalactite rather causally, "Gah! You!" He gasped in surprise.

"Quite the drama queen aren't you Foolscap? Didn't take you for the type to shout out his thoughts in order to blow off steam," said Cera shrugging her shoulders with a small smile out of pity, "Then again when you're up against us I can't blame you for getting so worked up." She added at the end with a smirk as he began to sweat nervously.

"Urk…." He gulped before pointing out nervously at her, "H…How long have you been standing there!?" He asked.

"Long enough." Vera replied looking up at him, "Word of advice, stop thinking out loud so much, you'd give yourself away to an enemy who wouldn't hesitate to take you down on sight!" She then said angrily as she got into a battle stance with Miku snarling aggressively at their enemy.

Their remarks made Foolscap gnash his teeth in annoyance as he began popping his knuckles while itching for a fight! "Oh, so you think you're tough huh?" His scowl soon turned to a grin. "Well you're now all alone without any of your precious little friends, not to mention with only that puny pipsqueak of a dinosaur to hide behind!" He laughed pointing at Miku mockingly as she narrowed her eyes and flared up her feathers angrily.

"You'll eat those words soon enough…." Cera hissed angrily as anyone insulting her partner Miku was crossing a forbidden line which no one would get away with.

"Oh I'm so scared!" Foolscap cried feigning worry before grinning maliciously and taking out 3 cards from his pocket, "Too bad that pile of feathers can't save you from this! Ha!" Placing all of them on his headband 3 bright lights shone out, being a Daspletosaurus, amargasaurus and saurolophus! All of which roared out ferociously before string down at Cera and Miku, who stepped back in face of the opposition they were presented with.

"3 dinosaurs…." Cera thought as a bead of sweat dropped from her cheek. As it did a small confident smile soon came on her face, "This should be fun." She turned an eye to Miku, "Hope you don't mind sitting this one out Miku, could get a little too rough." She asked. At first a little hesitant her partner soon nodded back agreeing with her reason as Cera smiled back at her, "Thanks."

"Not so tough now are you?" Foolscap snickered feeling full of himself which soon subsided when he saw Cera wasn't worried in the slightest.

"Actually," smirked Cera much to her foe's confusion and soon concern, "I'm feeling better than I've ever been thanks to these!" She said holding up 3 cards then slashing them on her dinoshot! "Dino slash! Flame up tyrannosaurus! Shake em up saichania! Gush out spinosaurus!" Appearing before her were Terry, Spiny and Tank in full sized forms as they roared out furiously at their foes who roared back! "Element booster!" She yelled choosing Tank and equipping it onto the saichania, "Dino tector on!" Tank then armoured up and roared fiercely as Cera narrowed her eyes tensely hoping what she had would be enough given she couldn't armour more than one dino at a time.

The cave turned multicolored, the same time as when the D Team was fighting Gavro, seeing the battle before him, Foolscap couldn't help but whistle impressed seeing it was a big one, "I've gotta say kid, you've definitely bring in the big guns this time." He admitted with a nod before grinning excitedly, "So you can be assured I'll be bringing in even bigger ones!" He cried then holding his hand out with amargasaurus in it, "Spectral Armour!" Placing it on his headband it caused his sauropod to appear in armoured form! "Tell you what since I feel sorry for you, I'll give you a little handicap and leave it at that," he snakily replied before pointing out, "Now go get her!" He yelled as his dinosaurs roared and charged ahead!

"Together guys!" Cera yelled as her own dinosaurs responded in turn and attacked!

First Terry engaged the daspletosaurus in up close combat. Lunging forward and opening his jaws, his smaller opponent managed to side step him before biting into his neck and shoving him against a rock wall! Terry though responded by kicking out his leg and knocking his foe off him.

"Eat Heat strike!" Foolscap then growled as his dinosaur became clad in flames and charged ahead towards Terry!

Cera narrowed her eyes taking another card, "Then I'll counter with Critical bomb!" She yelled as Terry flared red, as flames erupted around him he sidestepped in time grab before turning around to grab the daspletosaurus' tail before swinging it around and throwing it mercilessly into some nearby rocks!

"Grr!" Foolscap grunted in annoyance before looking to another battle where his saurolophus rammed into Spiny and sent him skidding back slightly. The move only succeeded in angering the spinosaurus as he roared out and snapped on the hadrosaur's neck and then bringing it down hard! "So you wanna play rough huh? Fine! Let's play!" Foolscap grunted clenching his hand into a fist before taking out a move card, "Take this! Tupuxuara dive!" Activating the move card, saurolophus cried out for help as it glowed, causing a tupuxuara to fly out and then strike Spiny from the side and knocking him onto the ground!

"Spiny!" Cera gasped seeing that as he kept trying to get up the pesky pterosaur kept swooping from above and knocking him off again! Whenever he did get up he tried swinging his tail and leaping up to snap at it but to no avail, only to get sucker punched by the saurolophus which had rammed him from the side and thrown him off balance!

"Haha! No way you can win against this!" Foolscap laughed smugly as his saurolophus bellowed out making the tupuxuara dive down again for another attack at the now weakened Spiny!

Cera clicked her tongue in response,"Tch! If you've got allies from above, I'll just call up some help from below!" She yelled taking out a water move card and slashing it, "Ocean panic!" As the tupuxuara swooped down, Spiny roared loudly glowing blue as a pit opened up below his flying adversary! At once 2 opthalmosaurus leapt out from the pond and snapped at the tupuxuara causing it to stop in place mid-flight! As it tried to back away more soon kept leaping out at it snapping at it in almost every direction it tried to go in, further confusion and disorienting it! Eventually one successfully got hold of its legs in its jaws before pulling it down underwater! Losing consciousness underwater, it and the opthalmosaurus school returned to cards before returning to Cera's hands as she smirked in Foolscap's displeased face

"Why you! How dare you use my own move against me!? The nerve!" He growled stomping his feet in frustration, taking the tactic as an insult or like salt being rubbed in old open wounds!

Nearby Tank roared at amargasaurus before swinging her tail out and managing to delover a swift blow to its head causing it to back away painfully. Seeing he was on the losing end again, Foolscap grunted and sweated anxiously before reaching into his pocket for one more move card, "Okay, third time's the charm! Bubble attack!" He growled activating it, making his amargasaurus blow out a large bubble before smacking it with its tail and sending it hurtling straight at Tank!

Cera narrowed her eyes at the incoming move as she took a card of her own, "Too bad that move won't get through Earth barrier!" Slashing it Tank glowed purple before roaring out and slamming on the ground! Bits of earth rose into the air from her stomp which then collected around her and shielded her from the incoming bubble which popped harmlessly in front of her!

Seeing how easily their advances were thwarted, the 3 enemy dinosaurs slowly backed away nervously seeing how outclassed they actually were in contrast to their rivals! "Hey! What do you think you're doing!? Get back in there you! Are you dinosaurs or chickens!?" Foolscap yelled in annoyance before fuming red, first he was put on side duty and now he was getting his butt kicked really bad, this clearly wasn't his day. "Grr! She's just like a bad rash on Gavro's back….very stubborn and hard to eliminate no matter what you try….well I've had it! No more playing nice!" He grunted to himself before taking a breath and smirking with confidence, "So you overcame my moves big deal!" He said cockily as he held up their 3 grey cards, "Let's see how you hold up against a triple dose of spectral armour!"

"Ah!" Cera widened her eyes Realizing she couldn't armour up all of her dinosaurs, but soon she realized she did have a solution, "Oh no you don't! Not this time!" Responding quickly she took an earth move and slashed it, "Go Tank! Spike arrows!" Slashing it Tank roared out as energy surged through her body up to her tail before she fired a barrage of arrows at Foolscap catching him off guard!

He widened his eyes at the incoming arrows as he desperately tried to dodge them, ducking and zipping out of the way, a handful of them nearly tearing his wings off or even shredding his backside! "Wh…What the!? Hey!" If it wasn't for the fact he was quite flexible with yoga he'd have more holes than swiss cheese by now as he zipped away from another shot! "Cut that out! You can't just attack me like that!" He yelled out in protest shaking his fist, "You good guys are supposed to fight fair with honor and stuff! Sto-"

WHAM!

Not looking where he was going he ended up flying straight into a nearby stalagmite before falling down to the ground in a daze, "Urgh…." He groaned as his eyes spun around and he lost consciousness.

"With him out of the picture, his dinos are toast!" Cera grinned as the 3 dinosaurs backed away nervously seeing they had no way to fight back their stronger opponents now, "Now to take care of these guys for good!" She yelled before looking taking a fire and water move card out, "Terry! Spiny! You're up! Mist sword!" Slashing both moves both theropods flashed blue and red, Terry fired up overheat from his tail while Spiny called forth a water sword! Both blades merged into one steaming geyser of heated water which made the saurolophus back away nervously. It didn't get the chance to flee as both Terry and Spiny brought the blade down on it, slashing it through and causing it to collapse unconsciously before turning into a card!

"One down!" Cera cheered pumping her arm up while Terry and Spiny roared triumphantly. Seeing the fall of their comrade, the remaining 2 dinosaurs turned around and tried to make a run for it, "You're not getting away so easily!" Cera yelled at them, "Tank! Your turn!" She called giving the ankylosaur a head up as she roared back at her in acknowledgment, "Magma quake!" She yelled slashing an earth and fire move! Tank roared as she slammed down on the ground causing a massive crack to form and then open up beneath daspletosaurus as it fell through and roared out in a panic as it struggled to get out! Terry soon followed up with firing volcano burst init the crevice causing it to become magma as it erupted through daspletosaurus' body as it roared in pain before Tank sealed the deal before slamming her tail into the crack causing it to close shut and it roared out one final breath before turning to a card again!

"And last but not least-" she smirked seeing the amargasaurus trying to flee but she knew it wouldn't get far with what she had planned for it in the form of a water and earth move fusion! "Water mole attack!" Tank flashed purple before leaping into the air and spinning into the dirt! After that Spiny fired falling water into it, and further away the amargasaurus felt vibrations coming under its feet! It stopped to look around to figure out where it came from, a fatal mistake as Tank suddenly shot out and struck its underside in a huge pillar of water! Smashing it into the roof of the cave she came down and landed on her feet while the amargasaurus crashed onto the ground and let out a pained moan before returning to a card!

"Alright! Way to go guys! Woo hoo!" Cera cheered happily as her dinosaurs roared together victoriously with the battlefield disappearing. After that she recalled her dinosaurs and turned them to chibi form as she looked down and smiled on them all proudly, "You all did awesome, I couldn't have been more proud of you all at such great teamwork." She said complimenting them as she leaned down to stroke them one by one as they purred and cooed with content. She was proud not just by their success but also the fact they were now becoming true friends with each other, having the same trust in one another like the D Team dinosaurs, and that made her filled with hope and joy for them. Unable to contain their excitement anu longer the 3 of them quickly jumped on Cera, knocking her down and began snuffling into her or licked her face rather affectionately as she giggled out loud, "Ahahaha! Stop that tickles! Cut it out!" She laughed out loud as Miku got back up, having been knocked down by accident after her partner was tackled playfully by her friends.

Looking at them she smiled feeling glad her partner was making such good friends with their former enemies yet she couldn't help but feel slightly jealous at all the attention she was getting from them. The moment didnt last long as a hanging stalagmite, loosened from the battle earlier suddenly crumbled and fell down which Miku quickly noticed as she squawked in alarm and jumped out of the way before it could crush her!

Cera looked up and widened her eyes seeing what had happened, "Ah! Miku!" She cried as she quickly got up and picked up her friend holding her close, "You okay?" She asked worried, before being answered by a calm coo which made her smile with relief as she rubbed her close to her cheeks, "Thank goodness..." She then breathed. A rocky part of the wall soon crumbled away. Too as a result of the fight. Looking up the gang saw a small but secret cavern had been revealed, with a sacred looking box inside.

The sight was most pleasing to the eye as Cera couldn't help but approach it with awe, "Hmm? What's this?" She then asked herself as she noticed a way to open it, as she did she found inside it was a glowing silver sword, the blade carrying a scale like pattern and it glowed flowing with power. A power Cera couldn't put a finger on yet knew it was special in its own way, "What a beautiful sword….seems rare and valuable….how did this get here?" She asked herself eyeing it curiously while the other dinosaurs gathered around her for a look at the blade.

"Grrgh…." A groan soon caught her attention as she and the others turned to look.

"Hmm?" Looking behind her she saw Foolscap had already gotten back up on his feet and was making his way to his last dinosaur card as he grabbed it up. After that he clenched his hand into a fist and punched the ground, "I had 3 dinosaurs and a perfect plan to use them! How could you beat me!?" He growled in frustration, "Wait I know, it's because they're weak that's why! I'll need to go get better ones!" He then said with a smirk unwilling to take any of the blame for this failure, something which served to tick Cera off a lot.

"Hey! Don't you dare call those dinosaurs weak!" She yelled at him, "If anything you should blame yourself for using them so poorly!" She then pointed out at him, "If anyone should be called weak it's you!"

"Say what!?" Foolscap cried out loud widening his eyes at the offense, he then gritted his teeth and began popping his knuckles as he began stomping towards her, "You snobby little kid! Why I oughta-"

Grr!

"WAH!" He suddenly stopped in his tracks as Terry, Spiny and Tank stood in front of her defensively and growled out at him viciously along with Miku who stood perched on Cera's shoulder, despite being small sized they looked as though they could tear his head off if given the chance! He gulped and turned pale nervously as he began backing away from them, "Err….hehehe, on second thought I've gotta run now! Catch ya later!" He cried out in a panic before stretching his wings and taking off down the cave path!

"Get back here!" Cera yelled out angrily as she and the others quickly gave chase! Despite their best efforts though the flying space pirate was able to out speed them quite easily and as soon as they made it into another cavern clearing with a few paths to choose from they saw no trace of him as Cera clicked her tongue in annoyance, "Tch! He got away…again!" She shouted out loud in frustration and lowered herslef forward in disappointment at letting her friends down.

Speaking of them, she didn't have long to find them as a voice cried out to her from behind, "Hey Cera!"

"Huh?" Turning around she saw Max, Rex and Zoe running towards her with her chibi dinosaur partners by their side.

"Hey guys, what's up?" she asked as they came up to her looking rather urgent.

"Have you seen the shogun come by?" Zoe asked with a hard look on her face which made her step back a but in surprise.

"N...no I haven't," Cera answered her as she scratched her cheek a bit, "I was chasing after Foolscap just now but i lost sight of him before you arrived. Why?"

Max stepped forward, "The shogun got away from us on a ninja servant with the white cosmos stone!" he cried.

"And Gavro took off after them!" Rex ended which made Cera widen her eyes in surprise.

"Ah! We've got to find them fast!"

Max then pointed ahead of them, "I think the entrance is up ahead from here! Follow me!" he said pointing forward as they all ran together in a group down the path Max pointed, and before long they saw the opening up ahead and soon they stepped out into the light and on to the grass again.

"It looks like they all got away..." Said Rex as he and the others looked around seeing no trace of them for miles.

"Man that other guy was fast..." Max grumbled in annoyance at how inept they were at keeping up with them despite their best.

"I don't see a trail or footprints or anything..." Said Zoe after that.

Cera ten folded her arms on her hips and looked around, "Well ninjas are pretty good at tracking and covering their own tracks to make sure they themselves aren't followed so its's no surprise there." She then said.

"On the bright side that means Gavro wouldn't be able to find them so easily." Rex added looking at things positively.

"But that means we're in the same boat though..." Said Zoe as she put a hand to her chest rather unsurely.

"We've got to find them and get the cosmos stone before the space pirates do!" Max then said firmly, but before the D Team could act some screaming soon caught their ears making them look.

"WAAAAH!" Before long the A team soon came into view, swinging their arms out frantically as the father and baby bear bounded after them! Seeing how they were still in trouble made the D Team sighed in dismay or eyed em with sympathy.

The alpha gang still hasn't gotten away from that bear?" Max sighed.

"Guess they've got a way with animals..." Cera commented shrugging her shoulders.

"What's their problem?" Max groaned wondering at how bad their misfortunes were, unaware that that same bad luck was about to fall on them.

Some rustling behind them caught their attention as they turned to look, "Huh?"

The children's eyes widened and their hearts skipped a beat as they saw an enormous mother bear stand before them on her hind legs, towering over them like a giant! "Gwah!?"

"I don't know but suddenly we have a bigger one!" Rex gulped turning pale as the bear let out a ferocious growl!

"Aaaaaah!" The D Team screamed before quickly turning to run ahead as fast as their legs could carry them, not stopping to look back as the mother bear charged forward like a mad bull towards her prey! Even Terry and the other alpha gang dinosaurs felt their survival instincts spurring them to run despite how much they hated fleeing! Eventhough it was a known fact to never run away from a bear they didn't want to take their chances as they picked up speed best they can, screaming their heads off and even managing to run past the 2 other bears ahead of them! "WAAAAH!" They cried as the bears soon caught up to them! When it all seemed hope was lost for them and they'd end up as lunch for the family of bears, they ended up running past them instead much to their surprise! "Huh?"

"Bear! Bear! Bear! Bear! Bear!" The alpha gang screamed waving their arms frantically as the family of bears chased after them down the forest path as the D Team stayed in placing staring in disbelief at what they witnessed.

"Looks like we're safe…." Max muttered in surprise.

"Those bears seem to like alpha gang, especially the old lady." Rex commented which made Cera raise an eyebrow at him.

"Did you really have to say that?"

Ursula suddenly stopped in place as she ranted out loud, "I can't bear it when someone calls me an old lady!" she growled, spurring Ed and Zander to run back for her.

"You'll have to bear it this time Ursula!"

"Cos can't bear the thought of being eaten by bears!" They cried before picking her up and resuming their desperate escape attempt from the bear family!

"AAAAAH!"

As the D Team looked on unsure of what to make of the Alpha gang's comedic escape which looked like something out of a cartoon, Cera was beginning to have second thoughts over whether she should save them or not. On one hand she didn't want them to get eaten by wild animals, but on the other hand she was actually quite scared herself and couldn't bring herself to get into a tussle with animals capable of slaughtering a human in less than a minute.

Suddenly Zoe ran off into the forest which caught her attention as she turned to look and see her disappear into the brush, "Hmm?" The others looked in her direction too, curious a to what she was up to.

"Where's Zoe off to?" Max asked.

Cera looked to them, "We'd better go follow her, these are dangerous times to be alone." she said seriously as they nodded with her and ran after Zoe. Stopping briefly to see the Alpha gang and the bears disappear at the end of the trail she shrugged it off believing they'd be fine on their own, after all they survived worse, as she turned her attention to see what Zoe was up to, as of now she was way more important.

Very soon the team managed to catch up to Zoe as she suddenly tripped and fell forward to her knee!

"AH!"

"Wait up Zoe!" Max cried as they caught up to her.

"Are you okay?" Rex asked with concern as they knelt down to her. Cera

"Where are you going? Why are you in such a rush?"

"What's gotten into you all a sudden?" Max and Cera each asked feeling worried too

Zoe then forced herself up to one leg as she looked towards her friends, "Because, my dad may be leading the shogun's army into a giant battle right now!" she said pointing ahead of them when she got up.

Cera widened her eyes in surprise, "Huh!?" she didn't know what was more shocking, the fact that Dr Drake actually managed to escape from the space pirates or that he's now in the shogun's shoes! Either way it'd be bad, since he's now alone and vulnerable in this dangerous time period, and while he's fearless and strikes terror into the hearts of animals in the clinic he'd be completely helpless in an actual battlefield!

Max however wasn't entirely convinced, "What are you talking about?" he asked feeling that Zoe may have gone nuts all a sudden.

Zoe though was certain of herself as she tried to back up her point, "The shogun and my dad look exactly alike and that Hanzo guy said something about a shogun look alike who was about to lead their army into war!" she pleaded for her friends to believe her.

"Yeah but…our parents are being held captive by the space pirates." Max replied still not buying it nor finding it possible.

"Maybe Zoe's dad escaped somehow." Rex then suggested not wanting to give up on Zoe's theory.

Cera then gained a rather conflicted expression on her face, "It's….a possibility….." she said rather painfully, as much as she wanted to remain hopeful and optimistic, she still wanted to remain realistic and didn't want to get everyone's hopes too up otherwise they'd be greatly disappointed if it wasn't the case.

"I know it's him Max." Zoe then said firmly and assured of herself knowing it couldn't be anyone else but her beloved father. Looking to the others she then focused on Cera hoping she'd believe her more than the others.

Seeing how fully assured of herself she was, Cera then nodded and smiled back at her deciding to take the chance and support her, "If you really think so Zoe, then we'll believe you." she said which made her friend smile back in relief.

Max and Rex then smiled too deciding to believe Zoe too, "Well if he escaped then maybe our parents did too Rex." he suggested.

"Maybe," he said looking to Max before taking out a device from his pocket, "Let me check the TPS…." dialling on it he then scowled hard disappointed at the results he got, "Nope, I'm afraid I'm not getting any kind of signal that can help us find them…." he grunted before easing up at his friends, "But that doesn't mean that guy isn't Zoe's dad, I say we head to this battle."

"Yeah, besides that's where the shogun and Hanzo are headed and they have the cosmos stone!" said Max firmly as he clenched one hand into a fist.

"Let's go!" everyone else said in agreement knowing what they needed to do now.

Cera then looked ahead and pointed towards the woods, "Guys, I say we head into the brush." she suggested much to the others' surprised and confused looks they shot at her, "I know it's tricky in there, but if I know ninja they'd never go somewhere so exposed and in the open where they can be easily seen." she then said backing up her reasons.

Rex folded his arms in thought before nodding back at her, "You make a good point Cera." he said narrowing his eyes, "Looks like we'll need to rely on our eyes and ears if we're gonna track them down."

Cera then looked to all 7 dinosaurs with them, "You guys too, stay sharp and keep a lookout." she said to them as they barked back in acknowledgement, not just for the shogun but for any sign of danger that may be lurking about in the forest. As they traversed through the bushes and undergrowth in search for any signs of the shogun's trail, they kept their eyes and ears peeled for any signs of movement. Their dinosaurs too sniffed the air hoping to get a whiff of the ninja's scent to track down, but it was clear that they covered their tracks well as they turned up with nothing.

"They have to be here somewhere…." said Zoe rather anxiously as she and the others made their way out of some bushes.

Rex then put a comforting hand on her shoulder, "We'll find them Zoe, we promise." he said to her with assurance before looking around them, "Plus we have to….this is our best chance at a cosmos stone and we can't blow it….." he added as they moved on to the next trail.

As they did Cera began to ponder over the cosmos stone, even if they intended to use it for good the risks were far too great considering the stone can be unpredictable in anyone's hands, far too much for any human to bear. For the shogun's own sake it'd be in everyone's best interests to get it away from him the second this conflict dies down.

Little did they know, Ace held back from the group, sniffing the air and catching scent of something most enticing, as if it was calling out to him specifically. He could feel it, the white cosmos stone was nearby long with the sent of humans. Sniffing the air, following his instincts and his nose, he walked up to an unusual looking rock sensing something wasn't right about it. Biting onto an end sticking out, he pulled hard, yanking it off revealing it to be a camouflage tarp hiding 2 grown men underneath!

"What the!?" Hanzo gasped in surprise at his cover being blown.

Hearing his voice the D Team turned around, "Look!" Max gasped.

"It's the shogun!" Zoe cried.

"Come on!" Cera yelled as they all ran towards the 2 men whom Ace had literally uncovered. As they approached them, looking to the tarp on the ground Cera had to admit was a good disguise, though nothing beats an animal's keen senses, especially one tuned to the white cosmos stone.

"Hanzo and I were just looking for you kids, weren't we Hanzo?" said Tokugawa with a smile as he looked up to his trusted servant who didn't know how to respond.

"Err…."

"And we were just looking for that battle you guys spoke of." Zoe replied, "The one Hanzo said your lookalike was at."

"We'd like to hear more about it if you don't mind sir." Cera asked respectfully.

Tokugawa and Hanzo both looked to her curiously in response, "And….who might you be miss?" the shogun asked blinking his eyes.

"Oh she's Cera," Max answered for him as he put a hand on her shoulder, "She's a friend of ours who helped get you out of that rockslide just now."

"I see," he then mused before smiling lightly and bowing in respect, "Well thank you very much for that. I truly am grateful for it."

Cera smiled back and shook her hand at him, "There's no need of thanks, it's something anyone should do." she replied humbly.

Hans however widened his eyes in disbelief at what he heard his master say, "You were buried under rocks master!?" he exclaimed in shock as Tokugawa sweat dropped and scratched his head with a nervous smile.

"We'll…save that for another time," he chuckled anxiously before sporting a more serious look, "Right now we have more important things to worry about." He then said, "What is the story with this lookalike Hanzo?" he then asked the taller ninja, "Who is he? Where did you find him? Could he be this girl's father?"

"In truth I don't know much about the man except that he looks like you and carries a big spear he says uses for helping animals." Hanzo admitted, "And when I say big I mean REALLY big." he added as he opened out his hands to prove his point.

"That sounds like my dad's needle!" Zoe gasped finally realising it had to be her father.

The rest of the gang didn't need anymore proof either, "There's no doubt about it for sure!" Cera narrowed her eyes seeing they now had a chance to save a parent.

"It's him! Where'd you find him!? Is he okay!? Was my mom with him!?" Zoe asked urgently.

"What about our parents!? Were they there?" Max then asked as he and Rex pleaded for more vital information.

"Tell us everything."

"I'm afraid the lookalike was by himself when I found him…." Hanzo replied reluctantly, "No one was with him."

"So then….your dad must be the only one who escaped…." Max muttered.

"Or maybe my mom and your parents were hiding nearby and my dad was out looking for help or something." Zoe then suggested.

"Yeah! Maybe so!" Max responded in agreement.

"This could be the big break that we've been waiting for!" said Rex seriously as Max became fired up with determination with the others.

"Oh yeah!"

"Shogun sir please take us to this battle!" Zoe then begged Tokugawa and Hanzo, "It's really important that you do!"

In his heart Tokugawa felt he owed it to them for not only helping him find the cosmos stone but also for saving his life time and time again, for once in his life he was experiencing true gratitude and he knew he had to repay them, "These children not only helped me find the gemstone but they protected me in several battles against with Takeda's ninjas." he said to Hanzo firmly, "They're coming with us! No more arguments!" stand firm

Seeing there was no way to change his master's mind, who couldn't be more sure then he ever had been in all his years of service, Hanzo finally conceded, "Understood…." he then bowed down allowing Tokugawa to climb on him, "Alright we'll be moving fast so try to keep up." he said to the D Team before rushing ahead unexpectedly without warning!

"Whoa! Wait up!" Max gasped in surprise as they hurried after him as fast as their legs could carry them!

"He did say try to keep up and he really meant it!" Cera cried out widening her eyes and seeing they could barely maintain a good pace with Hanzo despite the huge weight he was carrying on his shoulders.

"It's gonna be tough getting the cosmos stone from this guy…." stated Rex, having a feeling that even after they were done with the stone it's likely they wouldn't give it up easily, not to mention he was very strong too.

"Yeah, I'm having a hard enough time just keeping up with him!" Zoe cried.

"He's giving a piggy back ride, no way he can keep up this pace." Max then said confidently which made Cera look to him.

"I don't know Max…." Cera sweated uneasily as fatigue slowly began to creep into her legs, "This is guy is no doubt Tokugawa's right hand, no doubt he's probably used to dealing with his antics on a daily basis so I'm certain he's used to this for a while now." she stated hoping he wouldn't get his hopes too up.

"We'll see about that!" Max then grinned confidently as they continued their pursuit after him through the forest, refusing to give up for even a second..

After that Cera looked ahead and focused her gaze at the shogun, from him she could sense that there was indeed change in him. From what the D Team mentioned he was selfish and greedy, but perhaps after their recent time together he's finally opening up to them and acting more responsible and grateful too. No doubt they inspired some good feelings in him which would help prepare him for the future ahead as a great leader of Japan.

A while had passed and yet Hanzo hadn't shown down for even a second, in fact it seemed as though he was picking up speed much to the D Team's surprise! Looking around her Cera could see her friends scrunching up their faces with

Luckily for the D Team, Hanzo soon halted his pace before stopping near a clearing much to his master's surprise, "Is something wrong Hanzo?" Tokugawa asked him with concern. The answer was soon made clear to him as the echoing sounds of war and battle cries echoed through the forest as they looked over the forest canopy ahead of them, "Oh now I hear it…the sounds of battle." he said sensing the tension in the air growing making them both rather angst knowing conflict lies beyond the trees.

The ominous tension was interrupted as the D Team came into view, panting heavily and gasping for air.

"Okay…I was wrong…he kept up the pace…." Max wheezed as he rested his hands on his knees, Zoe put a hand on her chest to still her racing heart and Rex slouched forward.

"Guess carrying his master sound like some heavy weight no doubt worked up a good sweat for him." Cera muttered though she fared much better than the others as she managed to keep herself straight though she was sweating pretty hard, "We've been spending way too much time on the Backlander lately…." she thought as she rested against a tree to support her slumping body. Surprisingly despite their size difference, none of the dinosaurs apart from Miku who nestled comfortably in Cera's shoulder, were still relatively okay despite the long run.

"I don't mean to complain but how much further do we have to go?" Zoe then gasped in exhaustion.

The sounds of war cries and clashing soon echoed through the forest which caught their attention as they looked up.

"Don't you hear that fighting kids?" Tokugawa asked them, "The battlefield is just beyond that bamboo forest!" he then said at the end warning them in advance and urging them to prepare for whatever lay ahead.

Suddenly Hanzo sensed something amidst which the dinosaurs seemed to pick up on as they looked around rather agitatedly, even Miku too as her eyes became slit and she shook tensely sensing danger which Cera quickly picked up on. "Footsteps are approaching!" the ninja warned them, "Look out!" he then yelled jumping out of the way as several shurikens suddenly flew out at where he stood right in front of the D Team's eyes!

"AAAAAAHHH!" They all screamed in alarm at the rain of razor sharp shrikes which came out of nowhere! Before long leaping out from the shadows were 4 armed ninjas and a familiar lady pirate whom they instantly recognised, "Sheer!?" they exclaimed as the 4 females honed in on Hanzo as he desperately tried to shake them off but to little success!

"I've come to take the legendary gemstone in the name of master Takeda!" The lead ninja yelled as she clashed blades with Hanzo, the 2 warriors disappearing as fast as lightning as their weapons made contact!

"I'm a tree! I'm a tree! I'm a tree!" Tokugawa yelped as they headed to the upper branches, as Sheer threw out a curved boomerang which nearly struck Hanzo before he dodged it and it bounced off a tree trunk! Hans then drew his blade against another ninja and they fought each other a bit before he leapt back putting distance between himself and his foe before being forced to leap away from shurikens and the boomerang again! "WAAAH!" Tokugawa cried out as the boomerang shredded a branch they leapt off and all 4 ninjas closed in on them! "I'm not a tree!"

The D Team saw despite his skill it was clear Hanzo was at a disadvantage, seeing he wasn't just outnumbered but all hindered with Tokugawa still on his back, and even if he did drop him down he'd only put his master in danger by exposing him as an easy target! As much as they wanted to do something they feared getting caught in the crossfire and putting themselves and the shogun at risk by making themselves targets too. They could only look on tensely seeing the ninjas and Sheer gang up on him, dogging him at every turn!

The D Team meanwhile looked on "He's an awesome fighter but he's outnumbered…." Zoe said worried for their lives.

"No way he can keep this up forever….." Cera narrowed her eyes. She could see Hanzo was indeed strong and skilled to fight off so many foes while carrying the shogun this long, but she sweated anxiously as she wondered how long more he could last.

"Then what do you say we even things up a bit!" Max then suggested unwilling to stand back doing nothing anymore while their friends were in danger.

"Good idea! Ready Ace?" Rex said to his partner as they both retuned their dinosaurs to their cards.

"Dino slash!" They summoned both the carnotaurus and triceratops to their full sized forms as they roared out fiercely!

"Take on those ninjas!" Max pointed out without hesitation.

"Careful guys! Don't underestimate them cos they're smaller than you!" Cera warned them which put Rex on alert.

"Those ninjas have lots of sharp things, we should add some armour." Rex he suggested cautiously.

"Oh yeah good point!" Max replied in agreement as they took out their element boosters!

"Element booster! Dino tector on!" Chomp and Ace were soon equipped with their battle armour before charging in to attack!

"Good luck…." said Cera as she looked on, knowing that this may be their greatest challenge yet….

"Look! Behind us!" The lead ninja yelled to her comrades as they quickly engaged the dinosaurs in battle! Cera had to admit despite being outsized and clearly outmatched they were not only courageous and devoted in service to their master, she had to give them credit at least for that.

Throwing out shrikes which easily bounced off the dinosaurs' armour, their blades easily bounced off their thick scales. Resorting to use small bombs, it caused some degree of a nuisance to Chomp and Ace but nothing too significant. Having had enough of these pesky annoyances, Ace swung out his tail forcing them to back off into he trees before Chomp charged into them shaking them up violently!

"We'd better retreat and regroup to somewhere more open," Cera then suggested to her friends, "We'll never be able to fight them on even ground here in the forests."

Nodding at her, Max quickly noticed Tokugawa and Hanzo recuperating in a nearby tree as he yelled out to them, "Guys! This way! Come on!" he yelled spurring them to join them quickly as they retreat to a better position! As they ran off, Chomp and Ace followed behind them closely, abandoning their attack on the ninjas as they headed for a larger clearing further ahead.

They didn't get too far though as a trio of armoured deinonychus suddenly appeared before them!

"Guess Sheer's still on their side and she just released 3 deinonychus!" Max yelled out.

"Ace! Watch out!" Rex warned as their dinosaurs turned around to face their incoming attackers!

The 2 subordinate raptors engaged Chomp and Ace, using their smaller size and agility to evade their attacks and launch counterstrikes at their vulnerable spots! Their diversion created an opening for the leader raptor to rush in towards the D Team and the gang!

As the D Team backed away nervously at the charging raptor, Hanzo saw it was time he stepped in, "Take the shogun to safety." he said lowering his master to the ground, "I'll deal with these beasts!" he then yelled before leaping out and unsheathing his sword!

"Come on! This way shogun!" Zoe said to him as she lead him away into the woods.

Cera then hardened her expression and held back behind the D Team, "I'll stay here and help Hanzo and the others keep these guys in check!" she then yelled to them with urgency, "We'll make sure you get away!"

They looked back at her with hesitation, but seeing they didn't have any time to argue with her and how determined she was to take this choice, they knew they couldn't stop her either way, so reluctantly they nodded, "Alright, good luck Cera!"

"Be careful!" said Max and Rex as they gritted their teeth hard, painfully looking away as they took the shogun down the forest path to the open plains!

As she saw her friends leave, a screech caught Cera's attention as she and the other dinosaurs quickly turned, and they widened their eyes in horror at what they saw. Looking ahead, Hanzo dodged the deinonychus' attacks while matching its claws and teeth with his blade! Both were agile and swift as the wind, as they leapt past one another's attacks before striking back harder, sparks flying as claws met sword! It was a sight only a classic could feature as Cera and her dinosaurs looked on in awe, "He's doing quite well for a person…." she said as a drop of sweat fell from her cheek and her dinos look on in awe with their jaws dropping.

She however narrowed her eyes seeing Hanzo was beginning to wear down as the deinonychus' armour easily held off his sword and began to aim for his more vulnerable spots as he exerted more energy evading them in time! "But he won't last long…." she gritted her teeth tensely while clenching a fist hard at her helplessness and inability to do anything for him. She slowly began to curse herself for making a promise she couldn't keep to her friends, "If only there's something I could do to help him too…." she thought seeing Hanzo slowly being overwhelmed by the deinonychus leader while Chomp and Ace struggled to deal with the other 2. She was going to consider summoning one of the dinosaurs to help out, even though it wouldn't be able to get to Hanzo in time, when she widened her eyes realising she did have something she could use, "Wait! I remember now!" Looking down to her side, she remembered the mysterious sword she found inside of the case in the cave as she reached for its' handle unaware she was being attacked from behind!

"You let your guard down child!" a voice shouted at her which caught her by surprise!

"AH!" She and her dinosaurs turned around in alarm to see the 4 ninjas had gathered together and were arming their blades and ready to unleash them on her, seeing she was vulnerable and exposed herself!

"Young or not, this is war and anything counts!" the lead ninja said in a ruthless tone as she flashed her katana whose blade reflected Cera's horrified face on it! "You were unwise to tread here on the field of battle, now you pay the price for your carelessness! HA!" She yelled leaping into the air and preparing to swing her sword down on the helpless Cera as she widened her eyes and the sharp end of the katana was reflected in her pupils!

After having kicked the lead deinonychus in the gut and making it stumble back, Hanzo turned around and widened his eyes to see the unimaginable, "NO!" he cried holding his hand out to Cera, seeing her life was about to be cut short….when suddenly-

SLASH!

It all happened in the blink of an eye….something none of them ever saw coming…..

Ofu stepped backwards with widened eyes, caught off guard and rendered completely speechless upon seeing her sword had met with another, faster than she could have seen. A sword which Cera held, with a scale like pattern glowing in a red aura which was enveloping around Cera's body. A sight so incredible and also startling, Miku, Terry and they other dinosaurs could only stare paralysed in awe and amazement at what was happening to her.

"AH!?" Hanzo's heart skipped a beat and froze in place, dropping his sword to the ground as he lost the use of his hand.

Cera then shook her head regaining her senses as though she had just woken up from a dream or trance, "Whoa…." was all she could say as she looked to the sword in her hand which was glowing as much as she was, "That was not what I was expecting…." she said surprised herself. She thought it was just a blade, but it was far more special than a s simple heirloom or treasure, beneath its' beauty was incredible power which was filling every vein and drop of blood in her body! She couldn't explain it but it was incredible indeed….

Being caught by surprise now, the ninjas backed away nervously seeing the unexpected and extremely dangerous new threat presented before them, "Impossible!"

"That sword…." 2 of them said, which Hanzo took notice of.

He knew he saw something like that in a book he once read about legends in the land, how alongside the half moon stone there was a legendary sword known as the sword of the snake which was found in the flesh of the Yamata no orochi itself, containing a power which rivalled that of the stone, "It couldn't be…." he breathed out in awe and amazement, after having found the stone he knew the sword had to be real too, but to see it with his own eyes right here and now….he didn't know what to believe anymore. The sounds of screeching suddenly snapped him out of his spacing out, quickly looking ahead he saw the lead deinonychus had recovered and was rushing back at him! He gritted his teeth and picked his sword up before clashing it with the raptor's claws! "Urgh! How foolish of me to lower my own guard…." he grunted to himself cursing at his naivety before turning an eye to Cera who was still dangerously outnumbered by several foes, "Forgive me Cera, but you'll have to face them alone for now…." the thought reluctantly before forcing the raptor back an engaging it in close combat!

Back with Cera, the ninja leader held her arm back to her subordinates telling them to stay out of her fight as she intended to test Cera's skill herself. As they backed away, Cera then thought it best to do the same for her friends as she looked down to the chibi dinosaurs, "Get back you guys," she said seriously with a firm expression before looking back ahead, "This is going to get ugly…." As she said that she hardened her gaze. Seeing how dead serious she was, Miku chirped to the other dinosaurs spurring them to retreat and hide in the brush so they wouldn't get in Cera's way or risk getting caught in the conflict too, as they popped their heads out and eyed the battle closely, watching closely for any signs of foul play while rooting for Cera as well.

Meanwhile both Cera and the ninja leader faced off one another, flashing their swords at each other as a show of strength while keeping one another's guard off. The tension between the 2 of them so thick one could cut through it like butter, especially when no words were said nor a move was made between them both for several seconds, known the first wrong move would be the last for either side. Seeing it was indeed a stalemate, the lead ninja smirked under her hood seeing there was a tactic she could implment, one that Cera wouldn't see coming. Putting her sword back inside her sheath much to Cera's confusion, she then clapped applaudingly at her, "Impressive skill with the sword for someone so young." she complimented Cera, though despite that she kept her guard up and narrowed her eyes anticipating the possibility off this being a trick. The ninja lady however then bowed down with respect a she introduced herself, "I am Ofu, master ninja and humble servant to Lord Takeda Shingen." she greeted in a polite manner before stating straight once more, "What is your name?" she asked.

Cera kept her guard up, but sensing no ill will from Ofu and seeing the other ninjas had no intention of ambushing her for now, she narrowed her eyes as she decided to play along. "Cera," was all she answered back with, "And I'm not too fond of what you and your pals tried to do to Tokugawa and my friends just now." she said hard and with a hint of spite as the aura around her glowed somewhat tensely, "For that I'll make you pay for it!" she yelled out in anger as she raised it out and got into a battle stance as Ofu readied herself too!

"We shall see…." she narrowed her eyes and smirked seeing Cera to arrogant and immature in thinking, and felt certain that would be her downfall. Seizing the chance she struck out attempting to deal a preemptive strike to Cera's vital spot! "Ha!"

Her attempt to make a clean and quick kill was met with a swift counter as Cera swung her arm out and matched the enemy blade with her sword! The dinosaurs barked with enthusiasm, cheering for Cera as the 2 of them clashed sword to sword with each other! Neither giving in nor giving up! Ofu's experience with the sword meant she knew the best parts to attack as well as openings to exploit as she continued swinging out her attacks consecutively! Cera however, her senses and reflexes amplified by the sword, allowed her to anticipate where the next strike would come from as she managed to parry or block each attack as they came! Despite he enhanced senses and reflexes, she wasn't able to get in any good attacks herself as Ofu soon smirked smugly at.

"Your reflexes are sharp yet your technique is crude." Ofu commented as they locked both blades and eyes with each other and then began pushing at one another, "There is still much room in you for growth and improvement." As she said that the 2 of them broke away and met in a stand off on opposite ends, "Your talents are squandered with the likes of that cowardly imbecile Tokugawa, and especially with meaningless trifles such as friendship." Hearing her talk so low about what she held most dear made Cera tighten her grip on her sword tensely in anger, "Should you swear your allegiance to our master Takeda, perhaps we might consider sparing your life." Ofu then offered as she sheathed her sword and offered a hand to her, "Your skills have great potential and under the guidance of our cause you can indeed become a mighty warrior greater than any ninja or samurai who has ever lived!"

Her 3 subordinates then stepped in beside their commander before joining in, "Agreed, with such power at your disposal you can make a powerful lieutenant or even a general under his new rule as master of the world."

"Lands and kingdoms can be at your feet and at your mercy, with riches far beyond your wildest imagination should you accept."

"What say you?" They each said as Cera tried her best not to give in to her emotions at being insulted and having her ideals stepped on by these agents of evil.

Recollecting herself, Cera then spat out with venom, "After what you did to my friends just now I won't even scrub your footwear!" she yelled, "I'll never join scum like you who oppress the innocent all for the sake of power! People like you are the kind I despise the most!" she growled flashing her sword violently, "You're going down hard!" she swore seeing the ninjas' actions similar to that of the pirates who fought with vile intentions all for self gain, even seeing the war they were fighting like that of an old dark memory buried deep inside her heart….where people in a futuristic city ran and screamed being oppressed by gel monsters whose faces were that of the pirate symbol and along with dinosaurs such as panoplosaurus, siamotyrannus and an indosuchus hunting down people who couldn't get away as they punched on them or blasted them away sending them flying into other structures with huge crashes as destruction bloomed all around them! The war and villainy rounder reminded her of that dreadful time even though she couldn't put her finger on why she remembered it, but regardless she knew evil when she saw it and vowed to end it with every fibre of her being.

Hearing her answer greatly disappointed the ninjas as Ofu narrowed her eyes, "You would refuse an offer of glorious power and conquest over a childish notion such as friendship?" she questioned.

"In a heartbeat!" Cera yelled back without hesitation much to their disappointment, made evident by clenched fists and hardened expressions.

Ofu then calmly closed her eyes as she realised she had to do it the hard way now, which she hoped to avoid in order to save time and effort but alas it came to that, "What a shame…..how very disappointing indeed, but perhaps you are young and immature you would think as such." she sighed before taking her sword out again, "It's clear that I am the far better swordswoman, though there's without a doubt your weapon is the superior blade. Such youthful vigour…..how sad to see it all wasted…." she said shaking her head in disgust before getting into a battle stance, "Your weapon shall soon belong to Lord Takeda, and soon the world shall follow, right after we've given you a brutal and merciless end!" She declared as she snapped her fingers! "Ninja! Regroup!"

Upon her command, the 3 other ninjas vanished into thin air before appearing around Cera, surrounding her in a circle formation on all sides with no way of escape!

Cera sweated tensely as she looked around her on all sides which made her feel slightly overwhelmed, "Ganging up on me alone? Where's your honour?" she questioned which only seemed to amuse her attackers as they laughed back at her..

"Honour? Ha!"

"Such meaningless notions will do nothing more than hinder one's abilities in battle."

"To think you actually believe with such nonsense."

"Which is why you shall fall right here in battle to us right here and now!" Ofu yelled angrily as each of the kunoichi armed selves with chains, katanas, smoke bombs and shurikens real to go for the kill!

"4 against 1? Not the odds I like very much…." Cera thought to herself before calmly smirking to herself seeing she had an easy fix to this, "So how about I call in some backup then?" With the power of the sword flowing through her, Cera quickly grabbed her dinoshot and pressed a button faster than the ninjas could react as she recalled her dinosaurs to their cards and slashed! "Dino slash!" 3 lights shone and Terry, Tank and Spiny appeared in full sized forms, putting themselves between their friend Cera and her merciless attackers as they roared out fiercely in defence of her, showing they were willing to fight to the death if the situation demanded it, which forced the ninjas to step back anxiously in sight of the huge beasts which now stood in their way!

"So you possess monsters too…." Ofu grunted underneath her mask, and yet despite the opposition she faced her loyalty to Takeda and honour as a warrior refused to allow her to back down so easily, as she did a hand gesture to her subordinates, "Ninja! Attack formation!" she commanded gesturing forward as they split up each going after one dinosaur and splitting them up from each other as they disappeared into a blur and appearing in the middle of the group catching the dinosaurs by surprise and off balance before breaking them up!

One go for Tank's legs

One ninja lunged out, ducking under Tank's tail as she swung it, only to be delivered a swift cut to her back legs with the scythe end of the chain! Another threw out a flurry of shurikens at Spiny as he held out his hands trying to shield his face as they pelted at his hands! Another one threw a set of bombs which exploded in Terry's face as he roared out in annoyance and stuttered backwards, shaking his head in disorientation!

As Cera looked up from where she was fighting Ofu, she clicked her tongue seeing they were in trouble, "Tch! They need help too…." she grunted seeing these ninjas meant business if they cud give the dinosaurs trouble. Shaking Ofu off and kicking her aside, she quickly took out her dinoshot with 3 move cards which she chose carefully for this situation, "Tupuxuara dive!" she cried slashing the first card, summoning a tupuxuara from the sky, as it knocked away 1 ninja as she leapt into the air to have a go at Spiny!

She soon took out another, "Critical block!" slashing it, she summoned a trio of velociraptors which lunged out at the ninja attacking Tank's legs! She backed away and fought hard to keep the little hunters off her back as they circled around her and flared out their vicious teeth and claws! Finally for Terry she chose one card he was quite familiar with, "Tag team!" She yelled slashing the next card. As she did, a pink pawpawsaurus materialised in front of Terry, tanking the bombs that exploded harmlessly in its face before bellowing out loud much to the ninja's annoyance seeing her attacks had no effect as they both roared out at her.

Seeing their efforts easily shaken off, Ofu narrowed her eyes angrily and gritted her teeth under her mask as she jumped out of the way of Cera's next swipe before seeing her subordinates back away at the massive army of dinosaurs stacked against them as they roared out in a rage at them! "Tch! There's no end to these monsters!" Ofu grunted narrowing her eyes and sweating anxiously. Clearly it was time they changed tactics, "Perhaps if we hold one of her friends captive it should make them all surrender-" She suddenly widened her eyes realising something wasn't right, "Wait a minute…." Looking behind she saw the rest of the D Team along with Tokugawa had escaped while they were being held back here! "They've escaped! Blast!" she hissed clenching her fist seeing now that she and her team were tricked as she raised out her arm, "Ninja! Regroup and pursue Tokugawa!" she ordered as they nodded back in acknowledgement!

They then threw out several smoke bombs which landed around the dinosaurs which exploded into a massive smoke screen which caused them all to roar out in disorientation as the smoke blocked out their senses of sight and smell! Also with them all roaring in a panic hearing wasn't any good either and in a panic they began crashing into one another in a panic and a desperate attempt to escape. "Sheer! Delay them!" Ofu then commanded before she threw a smoke bomb where she stood causing the rest of her troupe to disappear!

"As you command." Sheer smirked as she took to the air.

"No you don't!" Hanzo then yelled out in anger as he prepared to respond to the enemy ninja about to go after his master.

"Hanzo look out!" Cera yelled seeing he turned his back to his opponent who then rushed at him furiously!

"Huh!?" He tuned around too late as the raptor knocked him back with its head before tackling him in multiple directions and then charging at him head on, ready to go for the kill as he landed hard on the ground unable to respond! "Urgh!"

Cera widened her eyes and turned to the only dinosaur close enough to reach him "Chomp! Get in there quick!" she yelled to him as he threw off his opponent from his face before charging in and knocking the leader deinonychus away like a rag doll in the nick of time!

"Thanks for the help." said Hanzo grateful to the triceratops before bowing down to Cera for saving his life.

"Don't mention it," she replied helping him up. "But it's not over yet, keep your guard up." She said as they birth turned to face the deinonychus leader which kicked itself back up again! Shaking its head clear it snarled viciously at them as the both of them got their swords ready for a fight! "We have to finish this quick, the others no doubt need us." said Cera grasping the sword tightly in her hand.

"I know…." Hanzo narrowed his eyes and sweated tensely before turning an eye to Cera, "But if anything happens….know that I am honoured to fight alongside you." he said as a small smile came on his face, "Though you are young you have the heart of a true warrior in you."

"I appreciate that very much." she replied feeling deeply honoured, "But it isn't needed." she then said looking ahead which surprised him till she answered back, "Because nothing's going to happen. We'll win and save everyone!" she declared as he nodded in response with confidence they'll do just that!

"Absolutely!"

"AARRGH!" They both yelled as they charged into battle with the leader deinonychus which leapt at them!

The 2 of them, despite being outmatched one on one, were able to turn the tides on the raptor as when one blocked or distracted the dinosaur's attacks, the other reached in and struck out at it, or forced it to jump away and expend energy! Each time the deinonychus struck back, they'd either lure it into a tree to hit into or they blocked it together with both their swords before counterattacking its' exposed stomach! For a while as they kept up their teamwork they eventually drove the deinonychus into a corner as it panted with exhaustion before leaping away to rejoin its pack, as Chomp and Ace came together in front of the 2 humans ready to protect them both against the raptor trio!

It seemed as though they had their foes on the run and planned on pressing their advantage, when a scream echoing from the other side of the forest caught their ears!

"AAAAH!"

"AH! My shogun!" Hanzo cried out in alarm realising he was in danger.

"They're in trouble…." Cera gritted her teeth as she looked over to Chomp and Ace who perked their heads up at the cries of their partners in danger, "Chomp! Ace! Go help them! We can handle things here!" she yelled to them as they turned around, disengaging their opponents before running into the open fields beyond the trees!

Despite that, the deinonychus refused to allow them to escape as they immediately went into pursuit, "The deinonychus are going after them!" she quickly looked to the only other person she could rely on in this dire situation, "Hanzo you have to get to them first!" she pleaded seeing no one else who could intercept their enemies in time!

He gritted his teeth knowing it was a tall order for him but nevertheless nodded seeing it was war now and there was no time for hesitation as he nodded in response, "I'll do my best!" he said as he sped away, drawing the deinonychus' attention as they rushed after him hot on his heels!

Looking to the side where her own dinosaurs were she could see the smoke was beginning to clear meaning they'd all be free and ready to join the fight soon enough, "We're right behind you!" she then cried out to him.

"I think not!" a sudden voice yelled out surprising her.

"Ah!" Looking ahead she saw Sheer fly over her till she positioned herself in front of her!

"You're about to get your hands full with an even bigger problem!" she gloated as she took out a card, "Come forth megalosaurus!" Placing it on her necklace, it glowed as a large purple and black carnivore appeared on the field and roared out fiercely which made her step warily back.

"Rats…." Cera clicked her tongue in frustration as the dinosaur's appear ance would no doubt give her trouble as she backed away slowly to her own where she'd be much safer.

Sheer grinned as she added the card to her necklace next, "Spectral armour!" The megalosaurus' marks glowed before encasing the fierce beast in purple and red armour before roaring out ferociously!

"Tch!" Cera clicked her tongue in frustration as she looked up to see Sheer waving her hand playfully and mockingly at her.

"Ta ta now." she said as she took off ahead of them, following behind her raptors after Hanzo while leaving the megalosaurus to delay her!

Seeing she couldn't waste time here, Cera whistled which got the attention of her dinosaurs who all had recovered their senses as the smoke screen finally cleared, "Altogether guys! Get him!" she yelled out courageously pointing at their one foe as Terry, Tank and Spiny along with their allies charged head on towards their single armoured foe planning to overwhelm him with their sheer numbers as fast as possible!

Unfortunately her haste had got them in great danger, as megalosaurus suddenly glowed in a rainbow aura and activated Zero G throw, which began to lift up all the dinosaurs till they were helplessly suspended in the sky! "Oh no!" Cera gasped as they struggled helplessly up in the air before releasing them, causing them all to crash hard to the ground and causing a huge cloud of dust to erupt! As it cleared, tupuxuara, pawpawsaurus and the velociraptors were returned to their move cards while Terry, Spiny and Tank lay on the ground badly injured! "Get up guys! Quick!" she cried desperately as they tried to force themselves up!

Sensing what they were trying to do, the megalosaurus glowed rainbow once more firing a psychic bind over the 3 downed dinosaurs which froze them helplessly in place! Seeing them at its mercy, the armoured carnivore liked its lips ravenously as it turned towards Terry and walked menacingly towards him, opening its jaws wide and ready to deliver the killing bite to his neck!

Cera could only stand and watch helplessly as the megalosaurus prepared to do away with her friends one by one, saving her and Miku for dessert after it was done tearing their last hope apart to shreds. "They don't stand a chance against him now…." she sweated anxiously and her heart began to race, as though she was seeing a real life horror movie about to unfold before her eyes and there was nothing she could do about it! She couldn't accept it and she knew she had to do something, for no one else could.

"But…What can I do?" she asked herself seeing she didn't stand any chance against a dinosaur, much less an armoured one. She was about to consider recalling them and then else herself exposed in order to save them, when a poke at her shoulder made her look down to see her partner Miku was nudging her for attention, squawking out frantically hoping to get through to her. "M…Miku?" Lowering her head down she leaned in her ear to her partner who began to chirp an idea to her. After she finished explaining her plan, she widened her eyes in alarm, "What!? Are you crazy!? You could get killed!" In response Miku chirped back at her seriously and after seeing the look in her eyes, Cera claimed down and gritted her teeth understanding her reasons, "Tch! You're right, it's the only way…." she clicked her tongue painfully as she pressed a button and returned her to card form. "Don't make me regret this." she said reluctantly to the card before slashing it on her dinoshot, "Dino slash! Microraptor shine!" Miku appeared in full size and screeched furiously while perched on Cera's shoulder!

Despite that she didn't manage to get the megalosaurus' attention shrugging it off as a mere insect as it neared Terry. Seeing they had to do something big to draw it away, Cera then narrowed her eyes to Miku who nodded back at her, as she entrusted the sword of the snake to her. By then as the spectral dinosaur was about to bite onto Terry's neck, "Stick it to him!" Cera yelled out loud throwing Miku at the megalosaurus with all her might! Spreading out her wings and shrieking loudly, the megalosaurus turned only to see Miku jab the sword straight into its exposed neck, blood gushing out as it roared out in pain enraging it as its mental focus and hold on the other dinosaurs began to weaken!

But they weren't done yet, not even close! "Parasitic Perch!" Swooping up high, she clamped herself onto the megalosaurus' neck and began to tap into its brain stem, causing it severe mental pain as thrashed about trying to keep her from controlling its mind! Try as it might, it's arms could reach her nor could it turn around and bite! It had immense trouble trying to hold its larger adversaries down while trying to keep the microraptor acting like some sort of brain parasite and taking over its own mind! Eventually as it jumped about and swung its tail, smashing down trees to no avail, it relinquished its control over Terry and the others before resuming full focus on Miku, throwing out its neck and eventually dislodging her off who screeched loudly in alarm as she lost her grip and crashed hard onto the ground several feet away!

"Miku!" Cera widened her eyes as as she ran to her partner's aid, scooping her into her arms and bringing her in closely, "You okay!? Please say something!" she begged with concern looking over her partner who remained motionless. As she stirred and open her eyes she widened her eyes and squawked in alarm, making Cera turn around and her heart skipped a beta as the megalosaurus roared out furiously and made a full frontal assault on them as it rushed at them with full bloodlust fury! Unaware that Terry began to stir and open his eye having regained consciousness at that moment.

"AAAAAAHHHH!" she screamed holding her arm out and closing her eyes tightly as the megalosaurus' jaws leaned in ready to snap on them!

ROAR!

At the last second Terry, having mustered the last ounce of strength left in him, kicked himself up and responded quickly to Cera's cry of help! Lowering his head he charged forward, catching the megalosaurus by surprise he rammed it on its side and sent it crashing through some trees! Looking up Cera widened her eyes in joy to see Terry stand roaring triumphantly! "Terry!" she gasped as he lowered his head down to see whether they were okay as he sniffed them, "Thank goodness you came in time, otherwise we'd be dinosaur food." she said gratefully petting him on his snout as he snorted back in pleasure. Hearing a roar behind them, they turned and narrowed their eyes seeing the megalosaurus kick itself back up and roar at them in anger as Terry roared back furiously! "Alright, let's take this guy down together!" Cera yelled punching forward as Terry and Miku roared out in unison! After that throwing her arm up, Miku jumped up and landed on Terry's head before glowing in the colours of the rainbow! "Energy equaliser!" She commanded as her partner began transferring much needed energy into the tyrannosaurus and energising his depleted strength!

Enraged, the megalosaurus roared and rushed ahead planning to end this battle once and for all! "Now Volcano burst!" Cera yelled slashing the move card, causing Terry to glow red as he charged a flame in his jaws, shook it around before throwing it at the incoming carnivore! It shot across the ground before enveloping the megalosaurus in a punishing flame! Roaring in pain and unable to withstand the heat and power of both dinosaurs working in unison, it collapsed to the ground as its' armour shattered returning it to a card!

With their foe defeated, Terry and Miku both cried out victoriously while Cera smiled brightly and jumped up in joy, "Alright!" she cheered before running over she to grab its card. Looking up she saw the skies were returning to normal though it was now late evening as an orange hue coloured the skies above, "The battlefield's over too, guess Max and the others won." she said smiling knowing the won for sure, and that had to be a good sign. Looking ahead to see Spiny and Tank still on the ground and having difficulty getting up, Cera nodded at Miku as she hopped off Terry and glided over to where they were, glowing in a rainbow aura as she used energy equaliser to heal them all as she placed a claw on their heads.

"Let's go guys, they're waiting for us." She said as she ran on ahead with the rest of them following after her. As they made it out into the clearing, they could only watch as Ofu picked Sheer up before grabbing the case containing the cosmos stone! "Oh no the stone!" she cried out in alarm as she tried to run ahead in vain, only to see the bounding ninjas disappear in a cloud of smoke! Seeing their opportunity lost again, Cera's knees slowly buckled as she fell down to them and fell forward on her hands in despair, "No…..not again…." she breathed painfully before punching hard into the ground and screaming her frustrations out, "AAARGH!" She remained still where she was, unable to handle the feeling son defeat going through her heart and mind, even her dinosaurs didn't have it in them to go comfort her, worrying she'd only lash out in response.

The sounds of war cries soon echoed ahead, and the cries and screams of her friends in trouble soon woke her up.

"WAAAAAAH!"

Opening her eyes with a full on glare, she was in a most terrible mood after having lost the stone and now the army was preparing to tear her fiends apart before her eyes? "Not on my watch…." she breathed deeply she forced herself up to her legs, clenching her hands into fists which shook tensely with rage. Taking a move card out she slashed it with all her might, "Earthquake!" Tank roared glowing purple before slamming on the ground causing a huge chasm to open up in the path of the incoming troops causing them all to stumble and fall back, others even fell off their horses that were started by the sudden quake which shook them up while others even fell into he chasm, some barely managing to hang on to the edge!

"GAAAAAH!"

"That should hold them…." she said, feeling tempted to end them on the spot, she held herself back from using more drastic moves like magma blaster and fire cannon, knowing the line she shouldn't cross. After a calming breath she looked ahead and noticed the D Team, Hanzo and Tokugawa up ahead, who were staring in surprise and shock at what just happened as some of the soldiers began to back away from the chasm.

"What….just happened?" he croaked almost speechlessly feeling overwhelmed by what he just saw with his own eyes.

Hearing the sounds of feet stomping, Max and the others smiled or smirked as they looked in the direction they were coming from, "Heh, Cera happened that's what!" Max grinned.

"Yeah! Here she comes now!" Rex called out as Hanzo and Tokugawa widened their eyes in surprise to see Cera running towards them with Miku on her shoulder and Terry, Tank and Spiny right behind her!

She ran ahead of them first noticing the deinonychus card one the ground which she reached and picked up before reluctantly turning to her friends, "Sorry I'm late you guys….Sheer held me back just now…." she apologised in a painful voice feeling responsible for this, "If only I got here sooner the cosmos stone-"

"We'll worry about that later." said Rex interrupting her.

"We're just glad you're here to save us." Max added with a smile which made her feel somewhat better though the bitter after taste of defeat still lingered on her mind.

Looking ahead, Tokugawa suddenly sweated nervously seeing big trouble coming their way, "Let's not celebrate just yet kids! Look!" he cried in alarm as they turned around to see what was going on, only to widen their eyes at the army having worked the courage to leap over and cross the chasm to get at them!

"AH!" They widened their eyes seeing the soldiers take out their swords and spears while charging at them!

Wasting no time, Rex quickly looked to Ace who ran to him, "Let's make a run for it!" he said Rex looking to the others as Ace helped him up on his back.

Everyone soon did the same, Max getting on Chomp, Cera on Terry and lastly Paris lowered herself down as Zoe got on top of her before holding her hand out to the shogun, "Hop on!" she said to him.

He sweated nervously with hesitation, having been out off by Paris growling at him earlier in the day, but seeing there was no time to waste he'd much rather take his chances with this monster rather than Takeda's army, "A…Alright…" he gulped nervously as he took her hand and he helped her up onto Paris' back, which strangely felt quite comfortable, "Hey this is actually quite fun…" he said patting Paris with appreciation.

"But where do we go now?" Hanzo then asked with concern, "Those soldiers will chase us to the ends of the earth!"

Rex then smirked confidently in response, "Heh, which is why we'll be going forward!" he cried punching forward in the direction of the army much to everyone else's alarm!

"Wha!?" Everyone widened their eyes in shock and disbelief at his idea thinking he had gone nuts, but he looked back at them seriously.

"Trust me on this, let's go!" he yelled assuringly as Ace roared and ran ahead towards the incoming soldiers, spurring the other dinosaurs' instincts to follow them in suit much to everyone else's shock at what was happening!

"WHOA!"

Meanwhile further off in some dense bushes, Foolscap poked his head out from the underbrush as he began rubbing his temple sorely after having been struck head on by Paris' tail earlier. "Urgh….my head…." he groaned in annoyance before grasping onto it, "I've had enough for one day, I'm going home." he muttered as he flew away for the forest where he parked the space pod.

As soon as he left Gavro stumbled out from behind some trees he knocked down after crashing through them, as he looked around curiously to see no one around, "Hey where did everybody go? Hello?" he called putting a hand over his eyes as he surveyed his surroundings only to find no one around or answering him, "Oh well, guess I'm going back to the ship on my own again…." he said shrugging his shoulders before taking off for the sky, "Although, what am I going to tell the boss when I show up empty handed…." he shuddered nervously only knowing the beginning of the horrors Specter would give him since he hadn't brought him a single cosmos stone this entire time.

Meanwhile back on the open plains Paris lead the team up front with Zoe and the shogun on top, Chomp and Ace followed in second with Max and Rex, and Terry, carrying Cera and Miku, held back with Spiny and Tank in order to guard the rear. Upon sight of 6 massive dinosaurs running at them, many of the soldiers lost their will to fight as they began to scatter running away in several directions!

"Hey Rex, when you said we should run." said Zoe with concern, "I didn't think you meant towards the soldiers!" she then cried out.

"With the calvary we've got, why not?" Rex cried out excitedly as the soldiers ran out of the stampeding dinosaurs' path! They saw no benefit or even no sense in engaging such monstrous foes, they'd much rather face their Master Takeda's wrath then throw their lives away foolishly as they and their horses ran past them without a backward glance!

"Heh, he makes a good point there!" Max grinned with excitement as he punched his arm forward, "Yee haw!" he cheered as they bulldozed over any soldiers that didn't get out of the way int time, flattening enemy troops or knocked aside anyone who was foolish enough to dare stand against home, punching huge holes in the enemy ranks! Some who were daring enough to strike at Terry ended up getting snapped up by his jaws before being thrown away screaming several feet away, others were swept off their horses and feet by Spiny or Tank when they got too close to their tails!

Eventually, as they passed over the hill, on the horizon stood a camp surrounded by white tents and soldiers in greyish armour, along with men that Tokugawa recognised instantly, "There! My camp is over there!" he cried pointing ahead in excitement.

"And my dad should be there too!" Zoe then added sounding hopeful.

"Let's go!" Max yelled as they rushed after onwards to the end goal in sight!

As troops of Tokugawa's men gathered around at the front of the camp, Paris and Zoe soon stepped forward before them as Tokugawa waved out to them, "Ahahaha! What's with those looks men?" Tokugawa laughed in a jolly manner as his men stared at him in shock, paralysed with awe and surprise at what they were witnessing, "You men act like you've never seen a guy ride on the back of a giant monster before!" he chuckled feeling powerful and proud of himself.

"That's our shogun!"

"Tokugawa?" His men asked in surprise, though they couldn't decide which was stranger, the giant monsters, their leader riding on one fearlessly or that their usually cowardly and childish master was doing something rather heroic for once.

"But….we just saw you leave earlier…." another man asked curiously as he pointed to the back of the camp.

"And you gave us such horrible parting words…." Another cried out who still hadn't managed to get over it.

Tokugawa blinked his eyes in surprise at what he heard, "What!? I did?" he asked in confusion as Zoe widened her eyes in realisation.

"It must be my dad!" she gasped in alarm before turning to the soldiers, "You've got to tell us which way he went!"

Before the soldiers could answer her back though, the sound of a battle horn sounded behind them catching their attention.

"Hm?"

"What's that?" They wondered looking up and around, unable to pinpoint what it was, though from what their past experiences taught them it couldn't mean anything good at all.

"Shogun look!" Hanzo yelled in alarm as he pointed behind them!

As they turned to look they widened their eyes to see a massive army of Takeda's forces amassing together as an enormous wave of foes charging upon them like a red tidal wave about to sweep over and bury them in destruction!

"AH!" They gasped feeling overwhelmed by the enemies that were charging at them with weapons bared!

"Reinforcements!"

"So many of them!"

"There's no way we can win even with our 6 dinosaurs!" Max and the others each cried feeling anxious and alarmed knowing they didn't stand a chance, while Cera hardened her expression tensely knowing for a fact if they stayed and fought they'd be slaughtered in seconds!

Assessing the situation, Hanzo's expression hardened with reluctance as he knelt down to his shogun with respect, "We have no choice but to retreat sir." he said, even if meant putting the rest of their land at risk under the circumstances this was a fight they couldn't win and he hoped his master would be able to understand and see it too.

Tokugawa gritted his teeth begrudgingly, knowing it would ruin his reputation as leader of his army…..eventhough he already had done more than enough of that by all his cowardly whining and complaining, but observing their situation and seeing how much damage his own forces had taken in his absence, all because of his own selfish quest for glory and power, he felt it was his responsibility to make things right again. Closing his eyes and taking a breath, "You're right…." he sighed admitting it before holding his arm out to his troops, "Fall back! We'll regroup at the castle! We'll have the advantage there!" he commanded.

The rest of his men were surprised by his sound judgement for once, but instantly they responded, "Y…Yes sir!" They saluted him before giving the command to the remaining troops.

"All forces retreat!" As they said so the men began gather whatever supplies they could carry as well as muster all the horses available before they began scattering in several directions as fast as they could. After that the D Team got back on their dinosaurs and headed out from the camp as they made a run for Tokugawa's palace as fats as they could go!

Along the way the sounds of war cries echoed behind them, as the Takeda troops tore through the Tokugawa base camp and were making another attempt on their lives!

Seeing how cut off they were from escape, Zoe then huddled down to Paris and hugged her tightly out of fear, "I'm really scared…." she shivered and sniffled wondering what could they do now, if the shoulders caught up with them they-

"We'll get through this Zoe," said Tokugawa as he placed a hand on her shoulder, snapping her out of her negative thinking as he looked to her with a compassionate smile, "We promise." he said in a gentle fatherly tone.

Zoe stared at Tokugawa, as the image of her father materialised around him, which reminded her of a time when she was little and during a thunderstorm at night, he came in to comfort her when she was terrified of the lightning which kept her awake. He stayed with her through the night until morning, and his presence kept her safe and secure, and Tokugawa's single moment of compassion reminded her of that as she nodded at him, "Y…Yeah…." she said trusting in his words as he smiled back at her.

The moment was sadly interrupted as a handful of arrows suddenly shot out and landed in front of Paris, making her stumble a bit in alarm as she reared up on her hind legs and bellowed in alarm!

"WAAH!" Zoe cried hanging onto Paris with Tokugawa as the gang looked back to see several archers aiming their bows and arrows at them!

"Pick up the pace! We need to go faster!" Max yelled which spurred the D Team to hasten their efforts in their attempt to escape and regroup at a better location! As they ran ahead form their spot several arrows landed where they were and before long horses and footmen began trampling over the footprints they left behind!

No matter how hard they tried running through forest, over hills or over streams the enemy troops were never far behind them much to their chagrin, "Man these guys are relentless…." Cera huffed seeing that quality in them to be both admirable and most annoying seeing the wouldn't let up until they all were dead. As another arrow landed near his leg, Terry snorted in annoyance and growled fiercely, which spurred Cera to pet him gently on the face to clam him down, "I know you detest fleeting Terry, but we have no choice now, too much is at stake." she said to him comfortingly, while also letting him know if one of them lagged behind they'd risk endangering the others and they'd all end up in a bloodbath within minutes.

Their dinosaurs soon began to tire and stumble, unable to keep up their pace any longer! They seemed doomed as they began to slow down and gasp for air, worrying the D Team as they would have to fight their innumerable foes with exhausted dinosaurs in a fight they couldn't win, when Tokugawa quickly pointed out a glimmer of hope! "There it is! My palace!" he pointed out and they looked ahead to see the massive Japanese palace lying beyond them!

"It's huge!" Zoe widened her eyes in awe at its' size and magnificence.

"Maybe Dr Drake went and took shelter somewhere there." Rex then suggested.

"Let's hope so." said Cera with a firm nod, with the goal in sight the dinosaurs gave one more burst of speed as they rushed off to the final stretch, as night soon blanketed the sky covering it in darkness and stars.

As they headed through the main entrance down to the gates into the courtyard, the enemy troops began to converge on their position faster than they anticipated!

"Faster! They're gaining!" Max yelled to the gang as they picked up speed best they could, before managing to get through the gates in time much to the shock of the men stationed inside! As they did, Chomp, Ace and Paris lowered their partners down and panted with exhaustion as the D Team got off to tend to them, "They've reinforced their ranks! We're no match…." he said sounding deeply worried that even with their dinosaurs at full strength they'd be outmatched with sheer numbers.

Despite the D Team's dinosaurs on their last legs, Terry, Spiny and Tank turned around and roared out at the gates facing down the enemy troops that strangely had stopped in their tracks, "We'll make our final stand here guys." she said to them hardening her expression and readying herself for battle, while the Alpha dinosaurs snarled, "Don't let them in no matter what." As she said that they roared out, vowing to fight to the death if that's what it took.

As they did, Tokugawa yelled out to his troops as he pointed to the gates, "Don't just stand there! Can't you see the Takeda forces are right outside the fortress!? Close the gates at once!" he ordered.

"I don't understand sir!" One of his servants said as he walked up to him, "Just a minute ago you told me to leave the gates open!"

Tokugawa then raised an eyebrow in suspicion, "Why would I tell you to do that? That's a terrible idea…." he muttered.

Overhearing him Cera sweat dropped and sighed with relief that they did, or better yet Zoe's father did, otherwise they'd be locked out with the enemy forces and be driven int a corner literally.

"Oh maybe my lookalike said that but what could he have been thinking?" Tokugawa then wondered.

Zoe soon brightened up with a smile realising her father was close, "My dad's here!? Where is he now!?" she asked hopefully.

Ignoring her Tokugawa returned to the more urgent matter at hand, "Come on! Close the gates you buffoons!" he ordered.

Hanzo then stood before the shogun and bowed before him, "If I may point something out?" he asked politely, "The open gates seem to have given the enemy pause." Everyone then turned to look ahead to see the enemy troops had indeed froze in place and hadn't moved an inch since arriving at their doorstep.

"Why aren't they charging in?" Rex asked feeling unsettled, sensing that they may be planning something like some sort of surprise attack from behind them as they kept their guard up at the gates.

"Maybe they're wary about something." Cera thought out loud.

Zoe then widened her eyes in realisation, "Wait, I remember now." said Zoe as she snapped her fingers catching the attention of her friends.

They then leaned in closer to her to avoid spilling the beans to the shogun, "What Zoe?" asked Max.

"My dad studied Japanese warfare one time, he mentioned something about Shogun Tokugawa doing something like this and-" she soon stopped as they realised what truly happened, "Wait…."

They then sweat dropped in dismay, "If he did everything the book said then…." they soon realised they basically created their own past.

After that came stunned silence between the D Team as they began to contemplate whether any other events in history which they felt were a mystery may have actually been caused by their actions here in this time hopping adventure of theirs to save their parents, "Wow…."

It was soon interrupted by the sounds of pounding hooves and boots as they looked ahead to see Takeda's army fall back and retreating! "Look! They're leaving sir!" Hanzo gasped in surprise and in relief that the battle was over at last, "Thank goodness your lookalike left the gate open, it spooked the enemy and gave us a safe haven." he said seeing it was a complete miracle they made it out alive this day.

As everyone became more eased and relieved, Cera narrowed her eyes in suspicion, "After coming all this way it'd make no sense for them to just give up and leave like that…." she thought to herself before a possibility crossed her mind, "Wait….according to history Takeda mysteriously fell ill and perished causing his army to eventually fall apart…." she recalled knowing it happened at this point in time, and while nothing could explain why a theory soon crossed her mind, "Maybe the cosmos stone….." If it was indeed the case, then perhaps losing the stone was a blessing in disguise after all….

"Well, well, well Zoe," Tokugawa smiled at her oblivious to the truth, "I must reward your father. That crazy reckless strategy of his seems to have paid off." he complimented before looking to his servant, "Tell me quickly, where is he? Where did the other me run off to?"

"Well he said something about having to rest in a room or umm…finding the rest of a room or some what…" he replied confused to what he was told just now.

It didn't take long for the D Team to realise where he had gone, "He's in the restroom…." they muttered feeling he doubt got nervous and wet his pants or something….though no one can blame him, anyone would easily cave into pressure of this scale, especially one with no experience in battle.

"It's right this way." Tokugawa pointed up the stairs as he ran up them and the D Team, after recalling their dinosaurs all to card forms, followed after him, while Hanzo remained behind to coordinate the troops still there to help explain the situation at hand to them as well as plan out their next move against Takeda.

After running through the hallways they soon came upon a wooden door at the end, "Over there!" pointed Max as Zoe ran ahead of him first to it.

"Daddy are you in here!? Hello?" Zoe called as she knocked on the door hard, hoping he was okay himself both physically and emotionally too after everything he went through today. As she did the others looked on unsure whether she had the right of interrupting Dr Drake on his private time or whether it was just plain rude. "We're coming in…." she then said in advance unable to wait a second longer after no response.

The shogun reached for the door knob and opened it, as he sighed with disappointment, "Empty…but it looks like he was here…" he said seeing evidence of his presence all around the room.

"Huh!?" Zoe gasped looking in and soon the others followed.

"He took off his armour!" Max gasped seeing the vest and helmet on the sides of the hole.

"Yeah and from the looks of it he climbed out this window." Zoe pointed out, seeing a huge cloth tied in several knots leading out to the roof and down the palace as she looked out the window, "He must have taken off into those woods." she said sad at the fact they just missed him by a few seconds!

"Come on let's go look for him." Rex suggested

"Yeah!" Max nodded in agreement.

"I can help you, I know the forest." said Tokugawa seriously as they all looked to him with a smile, glad to have his support.

"Thanks shogun." said Zoe feeling grateful this time as he smiled and nodded back at her, deciding it was time he repaid the debt he owed them and his lookalike.

Before long he lead them to the back entrance of the castle which lead out to the forest as they hurried along the open trail through the trees, "Come along, if we hurry we might be able to find him." he said as they ran along it hoping to catch up to Dr Drake in time before he fell into bigger trouble, for who knows what kind of wild animals dwelled here and at night.

As they did, Cera and Zoe narrowed their eyes hard with determination, vowing not to leave this time period without him and if they couldn't get this era's cosmos stone than they were going to find and bring him back no matter what it took.

As they neared the edge of the forest, Tokugawa looked up and heard a certain rumbling noise ahead as he pointed forward, "I hear something going on over there!" he said before running ahead to investigate.

"We'll go look!" Max yelled running ahead with Cera following him behind.

"W…Wait up Max!" Zoe gasped as she and Rex struggled to keep up with her friends who just had a head start on them!

As soon as they made it out to the other end of the forest, they found a red space pirate pod about to take off, along with 3 certain passengers in it, "Look! There he is!" Tokugawa gasped in surprise to see the lookalike had a striking resemblance as everyone said.

Max soon followed in and he was shocked at what he saw, "Ah! Dr Drake!" Max gasped widening his eyes in shock to see Dr Drake together with Foolscap and Sheer!

"It really is him!" Cera's heart skipped a beat to see it really was him as they had suspected. She saw him ye still couldn't believe it!

Dr Drake blinked his eyes in surprise to see the D Team had came for him, "Hmm? Hey Max and Cera, is that you!?" he gasped. A second too late as the pod suddenly shut, locking him inside with Sheer and Foolscap!

"Wait! Let me out of here!" he pleaded with his captors but to no avail.

"No way, you had your chance of freedom." Foolscap responded smugly as the ship began to start up!

"NO!" Cera cried out widening her eyes seeing Dr Drake was about to be taken away again and they couldn't do anything about it! She gritted her teeth and shook a fist at them in spite, "Give him back! Don't you dare!" she yelled but her threats fell on deaf ears….

"Everybody's okay Max! Cera!" Dr Drake then cried out to them assuring them not to worry.

"Dr Drake wait!" Max cried out as he, Cera and Tokugawa ran towards the ship only to see it take off into the sky!

"Tell Zoe I'm okay!" were his final words as the pod zoomed away and disappeared into the night sky.

As it did, Cera fell to her knees weakly as their hopes were once again dashed, "No…." It was a bitter lost, not only did they fail to get the white cosmos stone but now they lost Dr Drake once again….how could she ever bring herself to tell the others or live with with this failure? Such thoughts were beginning to fester in Cera's mind as she lowered her head down feeling ashamed at having to tell Reese and the others back home.

Before long Rex and Zoe soon came upon the discouraged group, "What happened?"

"Was that my dad?" They asked.

"That was him but…." Max choked at the last bit knowing they wouldn't want to hear it, "The space pirates took him away again…" he said at the end forcing them out of his pained throat. While he said that Cera gritted her teeth angrily vowing not to let this happen again.

"No….daddy…." Zoe sniffled feeling utterly devastated that their hope had just been stolen from them and they couldn't do anything about it.

Hearing Zoe's defeated tone made Cera punch her hand hard into the ground, so hard it nearly made a dent in it. Looking up she narrowed her eyes vowing that as long as blood was in her veins not only will she and the D Team never give up trying to save their parents but also make the pirates pay for their crimes.

Standing up she and the others wanted to say something to Zoe to comfort her, but they couldn't find the right words for this situation.…if there were any….

Not wanting her to dwell in sadness any longer, Tokugawa placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, as she turned he smiled at her warmly, "He told us to let you know he was okay." he said, "I could hear the love in his voice Zoe and I know that strong love like that means that one day you'll be back together." he said with assurance and hope which helped lift her spirits slightly along with he others as they stared at the starry night sky that had just dawned upon them.

Taking a breath and realigning her thoughts, Cera then looked to Zoe and tried to put on a brave face for her and to convince the others not to be discouraged, "He got out once…there's no reason he can't get out again….so let's not give up hope just yet." she said which helped ease their worries and discomfort slightly.

"Yeah…." Max muttered softly though it didn't help much that they failed to get him back when they had their chance right in front of them, all because of dumb luck….

Rex then shook his head remembering what was urgent now, knowing there was no time to mourn or dwell on defeat, "But our work's done here, we have to get a move on before they take off." Quickly he typed on his dino bracer and activated his communicator, "Jonathan! Beam us up now!" he yelled into it and right on cue, the Backlander appeared out of nowhere right above them much o the shogun's surprise as a beam shot down from above and enveloped the group!

"Wh…What is this!?" Tokugawa widened his eyes and stepped back in shock at a giant monster in the sky and was apparently swallowing up the children! He ran off to try and bring them back but seeing them smile back at him made him realise they weren't in danger but in fact….leaving…

"Shogun Tokugawa." said Zoe rather painfully before smiling lightly to stay brave, "We have to go now, we have to save my dad." she said to him as a single tear shed from her eye, "Thank you for everything, it may have been short but we'll never forget what happened."

Max and the others nodded as they bowed in resect to one of Japan's future great leaders, "It's been a great honour to meet you."

Tokugawa said nothing back, feeling bad that they would have to leave so soon, he had barely known them but had gotten used to having them around and even grow to appreciate them despite not knowing them at all. This would be an experience that would edge itself into his heart and carry on into the rest of his life, as he soon bowed back for the first time ever to another, "I understand…." he said, "I wish you all the best of luck on your journey in rescuing him and your family." He then looked back at them with a firm look in his eyes, "I truly am grateful for all you've done for me too, and I'll always remember it."

Zoe smiled back feeling touched at his words, "You may not have been my dad but….Thanks for helping to fill in for him even if it was just a bit…." she said to him as they soon vanished into the ship itself which then flew off away and turned invisible once more.

As it disappeared Tokugawa shed a single tear himself wishing he had the time to say one final piece to her before parting ways forever, "I may not be your father Zoe." he said with slight regret before shaking his head firmly and becoming more confident and serious in himself, "But I'll say this, I'd be the proudest man in all the land if I was."

With that concludes the Ancient Japan Arc and soon on to Ancient Persia, hope you enjoyed Cera fighting with all 3 dinosaurs and also holding her own against the ninjas, how she gets her talents and skills will be revealed in season 3 as to who she truly is as well. Also this arc didn't have the alpha gang do much so wanted their dinosaurs to shine so hope you enjoyed what I put together. As for megalosaurus let's say Sheer got its card after beating Foolscap and leaving with the ninjas.

Also spectral armour amargasaurus was in the manga.

In response to reviews-

Anonymous

-Yup

Drew Luczynski

-Agreed, which is what Cera did here also with the tracker.

Also it was the same achelousaurus.

Guest

-Tag team is the pawpawsaurus move but not sure what you meant by the user of which fusion move?