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!

41. A necessary sacrifice

Chapter 41

A necessary sacrifice

"Urgh….my head hurts…." Cera groaned as a throbbing ache rumbled through her mind. As she slowly opened her eyes she could feel the entire world was spinning before her as she struggled to get back to her feet. As she pressed hard on the ground to push herself up again, she soon felt the ground itself was stone hard unusually and it felt rather cold when her hands were on them just now as her feeling and senses came back to her, "Huh? This isn't the desert sand…..it's a hard floor…." she then mused pressing on it with her feet, also seeing it was solid metal too. Looking around and surveying her surroundings she saw herself in a room with glowing contraptions sticking around the walls and circuitry being embedded around the ceiling and walls as energy and data coursed through them inside.

"Where….am I?" Wherever she was she could tell they didn't have anything like this in Ancient Persia, let alone Earth. As she looked ahead of her next, she froze stiff and her heart skipped a beat upon locking eyes with a familiar mark on one of the walls in font of her, a purple hexagon with black markings on it which she saw on every dinosaur that the space pirates used against her and her friends! "Oh no….that symbol….." Taking a step back she soon began to realise there could only be one possible place this could be, "If that's here then that means….wait-" Blinking her eyes she recalled seeing the D Team's parents being taken in by a group of Gel Jarks and she acting on instinct and impulse ran after them before the beam took them in!

Returning to the present, she noticed a nearby window which she trolled towards. Looking down from it she turned pale seeing she was inside some sort of flying vessel suspended several thousand miles above the surface of Planet Earth itself! "AH! I'm in space!" she cried as she stumbled back and fell down in shock, unable to take this sight in! Around the blue planet was deep black space and many stars swirling across the galaxy, as much as anyone wants dot go into space she never meant it to be like this! Though since she was in a ship with the mark of her enemies plastered on the wall, "Then that means…..I'm on the space pirates mothership!?" She then cried in alarm. Looking around she saw no sign of the D Team's parents or any guard around, meaning fortunately or unfortunately she was teleported to a different location from them. That meant she'd be safe from the guards but at the same time she was now lost herself!

Acting quickly she took out her dinoshot and began to dial into her communicator in an attempt to call for help, "Jonathan! Come in this is Cera! Can you read me?" she called but sadly got no response but static much to her disappointment, "Jammed….so much for calling for backup….guess I'm on my own here…." she grunted in annoyance before looking around to see herself in the enemy's lair, danger pretty much lurking around at every corner and with no way of knowing where she was going she could very well end up a prisoner just like the D Team's parents were! She was about to curse her own dumb luck and for making such a stupid decision on such short notice before taking in a few gasps of air and calming herself down, "Okay…take a deep breath and clam down Cera….you got yourself on board there's no reason you can't get yourself off again." She told herself, seeing now it was too late to go back on her choice. On the other hand, when life gives one lemons the best course of action would be to make lemonade.

"Maybe I can use this to my advantage somehow…." she then thought to herself pursing her lips, seeing she could maybe work this to her advantage, "If I can find some kind of computer or terminal to hack into maybe I can find out where everyone or even the cosmos stones are being kept, and if not, maybe even get some top secret info that could help us out and shed some light on what's going on here." She then thought seeing the options she had available to her, before looking up and around her to see no such device in the room she was in. Not wanting to take her chances going through the ship blind, she then took out her dinosaur card, "Dino slash!" After that Miku the microraptor appeared in full sized form and perched herself on her shoulder.

Opening her eyes and laying them on the Spectral pirate logo on the wall, Miku's eyes turned slit and she hissed rather viciously in agitation, sensing very bad vibes emanating all around her making her go crazy as he ruffled her feathers and began to snarl and bear her teeth! "Easy Miku," said Cera scratching her chin gently which made her coo contently and ease up, "I know you want to get off this place as much as I do." she said before turning serious, "But right now, since we're here we can maybe get the D Team's parents out and take back the other cosmos stones while we're at it too." She said as Miku calmed down understandably. Looking up and around for any sort of exit which didn't involve going through the doors and getting spotted, she smiled upon catching sight of an open air vent up above, just the right size for her dinosaur to go through.

"I'm gong to need your help to go in through those ducts and find us some kind of computer terminal to hack into, okay?" she asked looking to her partner in the eye. Miku looked up and hesitated slightly, feeling anxious about leaving Cera alone while also at the same time having to go deeper into enemy territory on her own. While it was a risky gamble their options were limited and this was their best course of action to take whether they liked it or not. In the end she took a breath and chirped back at Cera with a firm nod which made her smile with relief that she was on board with it. "Thanks, good luck out there and be careful." She then said as she threw her arm up, allowing Miku to get the lift she needed to flap hard enough and then grab onto the edge of the vents before climbing through them, leaving Cera to await her return. "I'm counting on you….as much as the others are counting on me….." said Cera as the end of Miku's feathered tail disappeared inside, praying for her safe return and fast, looking around she gulped and began to sweat nervously feeling the pressure and sense of danger making her skin crawl and weigh her down like an immense weight.

(Meanwhile)

Inside the air vents, Miku grew increasingly agitated at being cramped up in such tight spaces and the fact it was still rather dark and difficult for her to make out her surroundings or what was ahead of her, on top of the fact she was in the enemy's lair it was driving her crazy inside as she restlessly navigated the nooks and crannies of the ducts hoping to find an exit or any source of light she could find. Her feathers ruffled up and her eyes went all slit as she hissed and gnashed her shape teeth together, as if something in her own dna was acting out against the environment itself and she wanted nothing to do with it more than she needed. She couldn't explain why but she knew that if she gave into her primal instincts she'd lose sight of their mission, as she did her best to suppress them despite how difficult it was, pressing on as she sniffed the air hoping to catch a whiff of something that could be an exit or opening for her.

Fortunately her perseverance paid off as a light soon began to shone at one corner which helped provide her some relief as she scurried over towards it. As she got to where it was though, she then frowned slightly in disappointment to see that it was a small opening in the vents which was blocked off by bars which prevented her from being able to squeeze through much to her disappointment. Looking down though, she then gulped nervously upon hearing some angry growls and noticing where they were coming from. Beneath her were 3 large containers used for holding dinosaurs in a rather sinister looking lab filled with advanced equipment from pieces of spectral armour laid out on a table as well as a tube used for growing the crystals which made the armour. Inside the containers were 3 dinosaurs, a black triceratops with orange spots, a brown stegosaurus with white stripes and yellow plates, and finally a white tyrannosaurus with deep orange spots around its body. All of them roared out viciously upon being contained in such tight spaces and were cursing their fates of captivity while waiting for their chance to be free so they could unleash their pent up rage. The sight of it all was enough to put off Miku as she looked away and crawled on further down the vents hoping to find an opening she could use as well as that being the last she'd see dinosaurs about to be experimented on again…..something she wished to never lay eyes upon since Seth….

Speaking of which, had she stayed longer she would have noticed the lab doors open and a familiar man in spiked blue hair wearing red face paint, now in a white-and-black cloak over a blue jacket with white sleeves and trim. A red belt also held his jacket closed and underneath it were white pants and navy blue boots. Accompanying him was a gel jark, one he had grown rather attached to and had grown increasingly loyal to him since being assigned under his command by Specter and now it devoted its entire life and being to pleasing the former Alpha scientist. As he entered the 3 dinosaurs stopped their restless thrashing at the containers and looked down at the man who was gazing upon a tablet which depicted various clips of the space pirates' dinosaurs being defeated by the D Team and Alpha gang time and time again, the results he was seeing made a disappointed frown appear on his face as he recognised the dinosaurs and no doubt whom they belonged to.

"I never expected those children to have made it this far nor give us this much trouble…..their interference is really starting to becoming a nuisance." he muttered in displeasure seeing how much stronger they had become and how well they were overcoming the spectral armour with their new ultimate moves. Ruining his plans for a new race of dinosaurs was one thing, but for them to come after him across space and time is another matter altogether. Then again it was to be expected since their parents were abducted, he had to give them credit and admire their tenacity, but too bad it would all be for naught for their feeble attempts to delay the inevitable won't stop him from achieving his destiny as a sinister smirk appeared on his face.

Seeing how powerful their ultimate moves were, perhaps it was time he upped his game and tip the balance of power back in his favour, "Once my next experiment is complete and this new spectral armour is perfected, their meddling shall soon be a thing of the past." he said switching to another screen which depicted 3 new armour designs he had recently designed that would prove to be more than capable of handling all 6 of the D Team and Alpha gang dinosaurs. "Of course this new design exerts a power no normal dinosaur can contain or control." He then said to himself before closing his eyes and smirking to himself with delight, "Then again, I've never considered normal an acceptable quality, after all I seek perfection." He then said looking up at the 3 dinosaurs in the containers that were still eying him closely wondering what he was going to do, though they'd soon wish they didn't know. "Now, to begin your next stage of evolution." He then said pressing a button and pushing on a lever, causing waves of energy to shoot out at the top of the containers, infusing all 3 dinosaurs with power as they thrashed about and roared furiously, their primal instincts kicking into overdrive as energy coursed through their veins while their angered cries echoing through the lab like a dreaded nightmare awakening.…

(Meanwhile)

As Miku continued traversing through the dark vents, still desperately looking for a sign of light or an opening to use but to no avail, she was on the verge of losing her patience and then going crazy with agitation, when a voice up ahead soon caught her ears. "Hey! Get your slimy slug hands off me!" A male voice shouted at one end, one which she recognised almost instantly. Despite being in such a dark tight space she was able to determine where it was coming from despite the many echoes inside. Crawling towards it, she found another opening which reached out into a rather empty tunnel hallway in the ship and she widened her eyes to see a large number of Gel Jarks travelling down it!

With them, 4 of the D Team's parents, being the Drakes and Taylors, who were lead away back to the house while being restrained by the gel monsters, with looks of disgust or sadness on their faces for being caught again, "Ugh I'm going to need a shower after this…." Dr Drake cried uncomfortably as the slimy hands of the jarks gripped and wrapped around his body to prevent him from struggling or resisting.

"We were so close….." Aki sight deadly as she put up no resistance, having been greatly discouraged after coming so close.

"Oh Zoe….please stay safe….." Mrs Drake prayed clasping her hands over her chest as they were lead to the other end of the tunnel and the door shut behind, though it had not gone unnoticed by Miku.

Narrowing her eyes and hissing viciously at the sight of the vile slime monsters treating the D Team's parents so harshly, Miku wasted no time backtracking through the vents scurrying back to Cera, intending to inform her about what she discovered so they could mount a rescue mission to save their friends and hopefully take down the Space Pirates and their base while they're at it.

Back at the other room, Cera was pacing about restlessly back and forth before looking up at the vents where she had tossed her partner to. Much time had passed since then and she was growing increasingly worried after getting no response from her, fearing she may have gotten lost in the vents or worse trapped or caught which would leave her at even more of a disadvantage than she was now, also making her lose hope of rescuing the D Team's parents, let alone escape from the enemy ship. Lowering her head down she began to purse over her lips and sweat with anxiety, "What's taking her? I sure hope she's okay…." she asked herself as she became close to biting her own nails as the pressure slowly got to her.

Luckily for her, a chirping noise echoed from the vents making her look up, "Ah!" she gasped then smiled with delight to see the micro raptor's head pop out from the opening of the vent, "You're back, thank goodness…." she said putting a hand on her chest to calm her racing heart while letting out a deep sigh of relief she held in. After that Miku spread out her arms and launched herself from the vent before gliding down gracefully onto Cera's shoulder once again, giving her partner human peace and security ti have her back by her side, "Did you find a computer we can use Miku?" Cera then asked but to her surprise, Miku quickly responded with urgent squawking and chirping which put Cera off seeing how flustered and agitated she sounded, which was rather unsettling based on her panicked tone.

Though after listening to her long enough she widened her eyes upon learning what she discovered, "What!? You found where they're held!?" she exclaimed as Miku nodded back. After that Cera narrowed her eyes, forget gathering data, rescuing the adults was top priority as she eyed her partner seriously, "Show me." In response Miku nodded and pointed out with her feathered arms to one of the doors ahead, having marked out most of the ship's pathways using the vents she crawled through she pointed ahead with her head like a compass' arrow as Cera followed through the door which opened and closed as she entered through.

Passing by several rooms which depicted advanced technology unlike any she had ever seen nor did she know what it was used for, she also kept her guard up to make sure they weren't followed and also keeping her eyes peeled for any guards or signs of the parents. She also passed by a landing dock containing several red time pods like the ones the pirates used constantly, as well as a launch bay for the pods to both enter and leave when necessary, something she made note of as they left it.

Entering another room she was surprised to see a number of large tubes filled with purplish liquid and energy surging into them, along with the shape of what appeared to be glowing cards inside them. The whole feel of the room gave a very eerie vibe which made both Cera and Miku tense up. Eying one of the cards closely and making out the silhouette of blazing spin attack on one of them, Cera narrowed her eyes realising what it was, "This must be where they produce all their move cards…." she breathed looking around to see there were 6 tubes, one for each move element stationed around them, followed by some large cage like pens in the background close to where the next door was.

Looking down she noticed a few consoles at the move capsules, which she noticed could be used to access the ship's mainframe, "Maybe I can access their terminals here." she thought to herself curiously as she began to type on it while Miku hopped off her shoulder to explore the room a bit, sensing a strange vibe coming from the pens at the door. As Cera looked on screen to see various lines of code light up she narrowed her eyes hard at what she was met with. "Hmm the security here is pretty tight, not even Zeta Point could compare to this….." She noted seeing there was no way she could decode it all in the limited time she had, and even if she did have enough it would take too much away when her main priority was to get the adults off this flying prison. "It'll take too long to break in here, I'll just have to plant a receiver and hack it remotely." She said to herself as she began establishing a link to the codes and her dinoshot like how she did at Zeta Point one time, and she soon smiled upon finishing it. "There that should do it."

She smiled pleased with herself but then turned upon hearing the sounds of agitated squawking coming from her partner as she turned towards her curiously. "What is it Miku?" Looking in the direction her microraptor was facing, which was towards a couple of the enclosed pens which appeared to hold dinosaurs for some odd reason. Curious, she decided to take a closer look through the viewing glass on one of them, but upon doing so her heart skipped a beat and she widened her eyes in shock to see a trio of pink velociraptors all cramped up inside the pen, with so little room they bare;y and any room to turn around or even move! Upon sight of her peering inside, one of them jumped up and snatched agitatedly at her which made her back away in shock, "Ah!" she gasped nearly falling down as Miku went to her face and licked her comfortingly. "Thanks Miku…." she said taking a breather in relief before looking ahead sadly to hear the velociraptors inside the holding pen thrashing and scratching at the walls inside but to no avail, their angered and sad cries echoing inside.

It was a sad sight, not wanting to bear with it any long Cera decided to look to the next one, hoping for something better, but instead she saw a purple cryolophosaurus curled up on the floor of the tube looking rather miserable and even malnourished. Following onto the next were a trio of pink tapejaras and the last holding 3 pteranodons, being red, yellow and light blue. It was then she began to realise this was how they held the dinosaurs they used for move cards, and seeing them as no more than moves it was clear they didn't get as much care as full sized dinosaurs did seeing how weak and depressed they were behaving, being forced to live in such decrepit conditions before being needed to be used by their captors and forced into battle too.

"Oh you poor things….." she sighed with compassion, feeling a spear struck her heart before hardening her expression bitterly with spite, "How dare they treat dinosaurs like mere weapons and objects….." she cursed the pirates under her breath before looking ahead at all of the pens, "Come on, let's get you out of there." she said determined to rescue them all first, also it wouldn't hurt to have backup while they had it too. Walking up to the velociraptor pen first and seeing a big red button on the panel, she assumed it to be the release button. Pressing it, it caused a bright light to shoes around the whole inside of the holding pen, which made the velociraptors shriek before they returned to the form of a move card and the pen opened up. Reaching in to pick it up, Cera did the same to the remaining assist move dinosaurs before gathering them all in her hand and eying them with compassion, "You no longer need to suffer anymore, so rest easy all of you." she whispered into the cards kindly before putting them in her pocket.

After that was taken care of, Miku petted her on her shoulder with her arm to get her attention before pointing ahead, "So that way Miku?" Cera asked as the microraptor chirped back in response. "Okay, you lead then." She then said following the dinosaur's lead through the door which then lead into the tunnel where the adults were taken through earlier. As the doors opened she came upon a massive room with what appeared to be a giant glass dome located in the center of it, encasing over a large hollow space down below which resembled a crater in a way. Piquing her interest she hurried up towards it and looked through, and once she did she widened her eyes in shock and disbelief to see a familiar house located down below!

"That's Max's house!" She exclaimed stepping back slightly in surprise. Eying it closer she then smiled seeing she had finally found where they were being held now the next step was to get down to where they were. Looking ahead behind the house she saw a kind of stairway which lead to where it was and saw it was on the other side of the dome, "Looks like I can get down from there…." she noted seeing she would need to make a long run around it to get to them. At first it seemed all too easy, but when a pair of Gel jarks left the house, she soon widened her eyes "AH!" Looking closer and leaning in, she turned pale upon seeing there was like an infestation of gel jarks surrounding the house on nearly every corner! Nearly covering the floor in a sea of pink and grey as they beeped to one another while surveying their surroundings closely, monitoring for any signs of movement around or in the house. It was no wonder why she didn't see many guards on her way here. The space pirates no doubt stationed them here to prevent any more future escape attempts like before….smart for them but really bad for her.

"So many of them….." she mused seeing that getting to the house and getting the others out of it would be really difficult, one even a veteran commando would have trouble with. Looking all around and seeing guards on nearly every side and corner of the room she hardened her gaze and sweated anxiously seeing almost no openings or blind spots to use, "It'd impossible to sneak past them, we'll have to draw them away and get past them somehow." she said coming to the only logical conclusion. As she began to ponder over how, she felt the move cards she gathered press against her leg side her pants. Reaching in to take them out, she then smiled seeing she had just the answer, "And I think I might know just how." Eying the move cards in her hand, she soon gained a rather sinister smirk on her face knowing exactly what she was going to do, "Well guys, time for some well deserved payback hehe…." she snickered as she prepared to slash them and give the Gel Jarks a surprise they'd never forget!

(Meanwhile)

Inside the house living room, Spike was stomping hard in frustration on the floor where their escape hole was once, only to find it was now completely sealed up with metal plating which the gel jarks bolted over after discovering it No matter how much he tried he couldn't even put a single scratch on the floor seal, and soon after a while he sweated with exhaustion and rested his arms on his knees conceding defeat most reluctantly, "Looks like there's no going back down there again…." he huffed in exhaustion as the others looked on discouraged.

"Days of hard work digging underneath the house all wiped out in a few hours….." Dr Drake sighed as he shook his head sadly in condolence.

"Now what do we do?" His wife then asked with concern as she looked to her friends hoping for ideas.

"A good question, after what happened just now it's likely they'll never take their eyes off us again." Aki sighed as she put a hand to her chest which was beginning to ache with grief and worry, "What if we never see our babies again?" Feeling overcome with emotion she began to sniffle and tears began to form in her eyes.

Spike then moved in to comfort her with a close embrace, "Easy Aki, don't think like that." he said patting her on the back gently to calm her worries and then wiping away a dripping tear from her cheek. She then looked up with teary eyes to see her husband's warm smile and confidence in his eyes, "We'll get out of this I promise, or better yet Max and the others will save us. I just know they will, everything's going to be alright." he said to her with faith and assurance in his voice as she nodded and wiped the tears away with her finger.

"Oh Spike….." she said calmly with a light smile, as a feeling of peace washed away her worries before hugging her husband closely and he returned it with a hug too while the Drakes looked on happy for them as they nuzzled closer to one another. Spike was proud of himself for being able to make his wife feel more secure, but his expression turned serious soon after, as much as he wanted to keep their hopes alive realistically how could they possibly escape now? After their last attempt and now being watched on all sides 24/7 it would take a miracle now….

CRASH!

THUMP!

Some sudden sounds outside the house suddenly caught the ears of the parents as they perked up in surprise.

"Huh!?" They widened their eyes at the loud smashing and thuds outside the house which were soon followed by the fierce cries of dinosaurs!

ROAR!

SHRIEK!

"What was that?" Aki asked nervously as Spike held her back with his arm to keep her from stepping outside the house or looking out the windows, for safety reasons.

"I'll go take a look." said Dr Drake volunteering to take a look outside the window to see what was going on. Lifting the curtain covering it, he widened his eyes and gasped in surprise at what he saw, "Whoa! It's a complete pandemonium out there!" he exclaimed catching the attention and interest of the other parents.

"Say what?"

"Hmm?" Mrs Taylor and Drake mused curiously.

"Let us see too!" Spike cried with interest as he ran ahead towards the window and pulled back the curtains. What they saw came as a complete surprise to them all.

"Oh my!"

"AH!?"

Outside the gel jarks were being scattered about in a panic by several dinosaurs! The velociraptor packs were lunging and pouncing on several of them who flailed their arms in a panic before getting knocked down, a light blue and pink cryolophosaurus were ramming through several of them or sweeping them up with their tails! A flock of tapejaras from above swooped down, both blue and pink and pecked away at other jarks before driving them into each other as they collided into a big slimy mess and a large brown one swooped down and swept several others off their feet! A segnosaurus flailing its claws cleaved a couple of them to pieces and some stegoceras began bashing another on the backside till it was sent flying on top of its comrades!

"What's….going on here?" asked Aki clasping her hands over her chest feeling worried. As fun as it was to see the Gel Jarks running around in a panic like before, she worried about what might happen if those wild dinosaurs were to break into their home and make lunch out of them next! Noticing it, Spike got his lasso ready in the event those dinos wanted to make a meal of them next they'd have to go through him first, while Dr Drake readied his huge needle with a cartridge loaded with heavy duty tranquilliser in case.

Mrs Drake however was more curious about something else though, "How did those dinosaurs get inside this room all of a sudden?" she asked scratching her cheek curiously, puzzling the other parents who didn't realise the front door of the house opened and a young girl stepped inside with a bright smile.

"Because I brought them in." she said which made them all turn around to see the person speaking.

"Huh?" When they did, they were taken aback by surprise, so much that Dr Drake dropped the needle he was carrying.

Overwhelmed by emotion and rendered nearly speechless, "C….Cera!?"

"Is that you!?" Aki and Spike choked painfully forcing out their words, laying eyes with one of the children they hadn't seen for many moons they prayed that the red haired girl who stood before them wasn't an illusion.

Cera soon answered their prayers and chased away any doubts they had with her own words, "Heh, who else would I be?" she smiled cheekily with a grin before looking at them all, relieved to see none of them were without injury thankfully, "It's great to see you're all doing alright."

They all soon brightened up with hope and joy seeing their prayers were answered with an even greater miracle they could ever hope for, "Oh Cera!"

"You're here to save us!" They cheered or clapped.

One of them however went a little too far though as he felt overcome by his emotions, "Ahahaha! It's a miracle!" Spike cried dramatically as he opened his arms out wide and quickly enveloped Cera in a very affectionate hug, giving her all his appreciation and joy in the form of a vice grip around her waste which ade her shoe and slowly turn blue!

"Ack! Not so….tight please!" she croaked feeling the life and breath being squeezed out of her body and soon her soul would too!

Fortunately Dr Taylor realised his mistake and over affectionate actions in time before suddenly releasing her in time, "Oh sorry about that!" he sweat dropped nervously before twiddling his fingers before his cross wife who was mad at him for nearly killing their saviour! "It's just, it's been so long since we last saw you and we were worried about how you were doing." he pouted shamefully, "To see you come for us….is like a breath of fresh air."

"Air…." Cera wheezed as she gulped in as much as she could and telling herself to never take it for granted again. After that she straightened out her own clothes and looked to the 4 parents present with a warm smile and firm nod, "Of course, I'd come for you, you mean the world to my friends in the D Team." she said to them before smiling more hopefully, "I'll tell you this, they're fighting hard non stop with all they've got and doing everything they can to not only save you all but also to stop those space pirates from getting their hands on the cosmos stones." she added which further pleased the adults and relieved them to hear the good news.

"Hahaha, that sure sounds just like them!" Dr Drake laughed and nodded feeling glad that despite their absence their children were still as strong as ever.

"That's a relief that they're doing fine." Aki breathed in relief seeing they were growing up and were so brave to face all sorts of dangers chasing after them since. Perhaps she could now trust them to look after themselves next time she or Spike left them alone.

"Yes, if only we could tell them just how proud we are of them." Spike nodded wiping away a small tear from his eye hinting that was the only regret he had after hearing Cera's heartfelt tale. He soon however blinked his eyes in realisation, "Wait a second…." he pointed at her curiously, "How did you manage to get on board in the first place?" he asked as his expression was shared amongst the other parents.

"Yes, please do tell." Mrs Drake then asked wanting to know more, also if the other children were on board the ship too somewhere.

Cera then scratched her cheek sheepishly wondering where she should start, "Well it's a strange story…." She then explained to them how she broke off from the rest of the gang that night in order to patrol their surroundings and make sure it was safe to camp out. After that she overheard them crying for help and being take hostage once more on board the ship. She then was forced to make a most difficult decision between helping her friends as Foolscap went after them, or save the parents. Seeing she may not have another chance at this she ran after them as they were taken in only to end up getting separated from them till she found her way to them now.

Spike suddenly widened his eyes hearing her words, "So then…Max and the others were nearby too!?" he cried as Cera looked to him and nodded rather nervously.

"Well yeah…." she gulped which made Spike fall forward and face fault comedically on the floor upon realising how close they were to freedom yet so far from it too.

"Urk…."

Mrs Drake then scratched her cheek rather sympathetically, "I see…..it must have been a very hard choice for you to make." she sighed feeling bad for her and what she went through on her own through the ship before getting here.

"It was…." she said sadly looking away before shaking her head clear of doubts, "But I have no regrets, besides I'm sure Max and the others can hold their own just fine against Foolscap, we have nothing to worry about." she said with confidence.

"I agree, no way will our boy ever lose to those flying rats with wings." Spike spoke out with a confident grin to which Aki nodded back at.

"Mhmm."

Cera smiled for a bit but soon turned serious as she stepped in between the group, "As much as I love to stay here and play catch up, I think we really should be going." she suggested, "After that disturbance outside there'll no doubt be more guards coming." she said as she looked at the door and hearing no noise from it meaning things had to have quieted down now, but that didn't mean no one else heard it so unless they acted fast they all could end up being detained for life!

Spike then turned to the others with a serious look, "She's right gang, we'd better get a move on now while we have the chance."

As Aki and Mrs Drake nodded back, Dr Drake suddenly spoke up, "We can't leave, not yet." he said as the others blinked their eyes at him in surprise.

"Huh?"

"Why not?"

He looked to each of them seriously, "Not without Dr Ancient and Cretacia." he answered.

Spike then widened his eyes in realisation, "Oh yes that's right! How could I forget!?" he gasped patting his fist into his palm.

"We can't leave them here that's for sure." said Mrs Drake with concern for them.

Upon hearing their words, Cera then took a quick look around the living room and now only noticing that there weren't any signs of Rex's parents at all, no doubt they would've heard the commotion by now and come running to see, but since they didn't that could only mean one thing. "Where are they? You mean they're not with you?" she asked the other parents curiously.

"No I'm afraid not." Spike sighed in disappointment shaking his head, "After those jelly monster goons recaptured us, they separated us from Rex's parents for some reason." he said recalling how Ancient and his wife were pulled away from them forcefully before being lead back here.

"And we haven't seen them since we got back here, meaning they must still be held somewhere." said Dr Drake hugging his mega needle tightly feeling worried about what they might be going through since they were pretty much the ringleaders of this ragtag team of theirs, and also the most important to the pirate's plans so they'd no doubt punish him more than the others for trying to leave behind their backs.

"Is that a fact?" Cera responded seriously before putting a finger to her chin thinking to herself, "They must be using them for some sort of purpose no doubt." Though for whatever that purpose could be it might have to do with the cosmos stones….as for what that was a mystery they had to unravel fast.

As she thought to herself, Spike folded his arms and looked around the ceiling of the house which was actually symbolising the entire of the ship as a whole, "How will we ever find them in this place? It's like a needle in a haystack." he said stretching his arms wide which made the others go quiet since they had no ideas of their own to contribute unfortunately, meaning it was up to Cera now.

Pursing her lips in thought then folding her arms, Cera noted it was a difficult challenge…but one she had no intention of letting it stop them when they've come this far. Looking around and seeing the TV and then taking not elf the possible equipment in the Taylor house, she then came up with an idea, "Maybe I can help narrow our search down a bit." she said confident she has what she needs to work with.

The other parents looked to her puzzled by what she meant, "Hmm? How so?" Dr Drake asked her, to which she smirked and held a thumbs up.

"Just leave it to me." she said to him before looking to Spike for his permission, "Sorry Dr Taylor, but I might need to do a little rewiring of your TV if I'm going to find where the Ancients are." she asked politely, "So you might need to cut back and sacrifice whatever favourite shows you have for a while now."

Spike scratched his head in confusion at what she was talking about, "I'm not sure how you're planning to do, but if it means we'll have a shot at getting off this flying prison then do what you must." he answered giving her the green light, "Besides the cable here's awful, no matter what channel I try there's always static." he then pouted grumpily seeing that even as prisoners they didn't get any privileges of the sort too, how rude…..

Cera then smirked in response seeing she got the all clear she needed, "Then it's a good thing you'll be getting something better than cable tv." she said as she headed to the side drawers and took out a toolbox before heading over to the TV screen and then began tinkering behind it, using the screw driver to open up some parts and then rewiring circuits while welding in new parts together which she found lying around in the toolbox. As she worked hard at the TV, the others looked on with deep interest, tempted to ask what he was getting at but decided to be polite and not interrupt her, also because she was greatly focused and ought not to be disturbed if she was going to get them all out….however she was doing it.

After a while of typing away, "Almost there….." she sweated tensely and then wiped her brow dry with a handkerchief, seeing she was at the final critical stage, one slip up and it could run all her hard efforts! As the adults looked on with anticipation, Cera squinted her eyes hard as she took 2 ends of a live wire which began to spark when she brought them close to each other. Upon connecting them, a current soon transferred through them and into the entire television set much to her joy at managing to pull it off! "Got it! We're logged in!" She cheered as the others roared with excitement and applauded.

"Woo hoo!"

"Nice!"

"Well done!"

Dr Drake's smile soon vanished as he asked out of curiosity, "Umm….so what did you do?" he asked breaking the mood of celebration.

"Oh just rewired the TV so that it can hack into the ship's frequencies and feed," she answered back casually, "That way we can make a call over to Rex's parents and let them know we'll be coming to reduce them shortly."

Her answer caught all 4 adults by surprise, "Whoa! You can actually do that!?" Aki breathed in surprise as she clapped her hand over her mouth.

"I just did." she answered her with a smile before returning to the screen which displayed a loading icon, "Now all it needs is a little time to boot up then we're good to go." she said narrowing her eyes at it as it neared completion.

"Incredible…." Spike then breathed putting a finger to his chin as he observed her and the work she did to establish this link. He always knew she was skilled but this was absolutely amazing. As the other parents were stunned speechless by her great talents, "How in blazes did you manage to pull it off Cera?" Spike then asked her both in awe and also seriously, wanting to know how or where she learnt to do all this on her own, in fact for someone so young her skill rivalled that of even Reese!

Upon hearing the question, Cera then sighed upon being reminded of her missing memories and the emptiness she had inside her which she carried along all this time for not being able to remember, "To be honest…..I'm not all that sure myself." she replied softly in a pained tone, which the adults soon picked up on, "All I know is that when I lost my memories all I remember retaining were some old talents I had no idea how I picked up on….I just had them that's all….too bad they didn't help much as clues as to who I am though hopefully after this is over I might be able to find out." she said as they all grew silent not wanting to make her feel anymore uncomfortable.

"I see….." was all Spike could say as he looked away, feeling regret for asking in the first place,e as Aki patted him on the back gently.

Cera smiled lightly though, understanding he meant no harm, as it reminded her she still had something to solve for herself later when this was all over, "Anyways, just a few more seconds for it to boot up….." She said seeing the loading bar had just completed. Before long the screen began to light up and on it was the face of a familiar man appeared on it, in a brownish laboratory room and a reddish globe like device in the background.

"Hello? Who's this?" Dr Ancient asked eying the screen curiously, surprised that his tablet could actually receive calls.

The sight of his face and the success of the remote link brought big joyous smiles and grins to the faces of Cera and the other parents, "Dr Ancient! It's you!" she cried joyfully while the adults cheered with excitement.

"Yippee!" the men hugged one another in a jolly way while the moms simply clapped hands together in a more modest manner.

"Yes!"

Dr Ancient widened his eyes and his heart skipped a beat at the other end, "Impossible! Cera is that you!?" he exclaimed.

"What!? Let me see!" Dr Cretacia's voice cried in surprise offscreen before suddenly forcing herself in and having the screen focus entirely on her. "Oh sweetie it is you!" She cheered happily to see Cera's face before letting her husband come in to see too.

"Long time no see." Cera smiled back at the both of them, "Glad you both are okay, Rex and the others would be relieved."

"Heh…that depends on your definition of okay…." Cretacia sweat dropped nervously, rubbing her head from a throbbing headache after just thinking about Specter being overbearing and obnoxious, not to mention the many tone deaf off key notes he called singing still ringing her ears, which she found to be more deadly than any sonic weapon ever developed in the future.

"More importantly, how did you manage to get on board?" Dr Ancient then asked her, "Also how were you able to get this line?"

"I snuck in by chance after I saw you guys in the desert just now," Cera answered as she began to tell them the same story she told the other parents earlier before, "I was checking the surroundings to make sure our campsite was safe then I stumbled upon you guys by chance." She explained, "I managed to get here into the house and hack the line so that we can talk right now."

"That was very brave and resourceful of you." said Cretacia complimenting her in serious manner, for someone so young to undertake such a challenge all by herself had to require one of great spirit and determination.

Cera nodded back, "Mhmm, it was a little nerve wrecking but luckily I managed to pull it off." she replied before turing serious, "Anyways, what's the situation? What are the pirates planning and what do they want with you?"

As she finished her question the Ancients became more serious and the atmosphere of the room became more tense. Looking to one another they nodded at each other before turning back to the screen ready to fill in their friends about the terrifying truth they discovered, "About that, by now you realise that Specter and his pirates are after all 7 cosmos stones." said Rex's dad.

"They think that by acquiring them they'd be able to control all time and space." his mom followed.

It was then that Dr Ancient frowned sadly and shook his head, "But we ran the numbers, and the results are catastrophic. In fact the stones contain more energy to destroy the universe and even dimensions several times over!" he then said which stunned Cera beyond belief.

"Say what!?" she gasped as the other parents present with her couldn't believe their ears. She heard about how powerful the stones were as the Pterosaur warned her and the D Team, but after hearing what Rex's parents discovered she wasn't too keen on finding out how they worked anymore.

"Oh dear, that doesn't sound good….." said Aki covering her mouth in shock realising there could be nowhere in the universe they could go to hide even if they got off this ship, had the pirates manage to unite the 7 stones they'd all be doomed. In fact it'd be the end of everything, as Spike gritted his teeth and clenched his hand into a fist, it was clear that if it came to it they couldn't allow their children to trade their lives for even a single stone.

"Honey please hold me…." Dr Drake whimpered as he hugged his wife close and she patted him on the back calmingly.

"And no matter how many times we tell him it's too dangerous he never listens…." Dr Ancient then sighed as he rubbed his temple in annoyance, "Him and reasoning will never go together in a million years. Honestly he's more mad than Dr Z…." he grumbled at the end seeing that to be a red alert sign for both others and even himself Even if his plan did work, he shuddered to think of a universe with that lunatic in charge.

"All the more reason we have to get you all off this place." said Cera seriously knowing this rescue operation became even more important, "Once we get you guys, we'll head out for the escape hatch soon."

"Mind telling us where're you being held?" Spike asked as he leaned in at the TV screen.

"Specter's holding us in the main control room," Dr Ancient answered as he stepped aside to reveal a cracked globe like device with pirate marking around it.

"He's having us repair the cosmos stone detector, wanting precise coordinates this time so it'll make finding the stones that much more easier." Cretacia finished after him showing they had gathered several tools to piece the thing together along with spare parts they managed to scavenge together as well.

"In that case….." Cera then smirked, "Why not give him an entirely new detector altogether Dr Ancient?" she suggested much to the confusion of the Ancients and the other parents as they blinked their eyes in surprise.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm…not sure what you mean." Rex's parents asked.

"Where are you getting at with this Cera?" Mrs Drake asked in confusion.

"I thought the idea was to make sure he DOESN'T find the other cosmos stones?" asked Spike raising an eyebrow at her while folding his arms on his hips.

Cera smiled, "Yeah, which is why you'll make one that works so well, it'll put him in an extra good mood so he'll let his guard down and go easier on you." she answered, "At the same time, it'll work perfectly in giving out false coordinates that should send him and his goons on a wild goose chase so that he won't get in the way of Max and the others from finding the actual stones before he does. Killing 2 birds with a single stone as I might say." She added at the end sticking up her finger to show her point.

Everyone's eyes brightened up at the sound of her idea, "Genius!"

"It's so brilliant why didn't we think of it before!" The Ancients gasped as they began to quickly look over the blueprints they had for the detector hoping to find some sort of part they could remove in order to destabilise the machine or cause it to malfunction in the long run.

"You're a very clever girl Cera," Aki praised clapping her hands together, "Max and the others really are lucky to have you a a friend, they can sure stand to learn a lot from you."

Her compliment made Cera blush red rather sheepishly, "Hehe thanks Mrs Taylor, I appreciate that." she chuckled.

"Alright, now that it's settled there's no time to lose!" said Spike taking initiative of the group in the house as they looked to him for leadership. "Dr Ancient, we'll come for you and in the meantime do what you need to throw those pirates off our trail and the kids." He said as Rex's parents nodded back at him.

"We'll do what we can to slow down the repairs as we can." said Ancient.

"Please come as soon as you can," Cretacia then pleaded dramatically as she jittered insecurely, "I don't know how much longer I can take being in this awful place." she then cried with teary eyes to show her agony.

"Got it. Over and out." Cera answered them with a firm nod as she pressed a button switching off the television and cutting off the call, hoping that they weren't traced since she was using the pirates' own frequency to communicate with them earlier.

"Alright team, you heard him, let's roll!" called out Spike as he pumped up his arm into a fist and grinned with eagerness as everyone else punched up to the sky in agreement!

"Right!"

The group then headed for the front door and as they did they were greeted by the surprise of a Gel Jark on their doorstep!

"AH!" They gasped as it seems like it was going to grab them, only for it to fall down face flat on the floor unconsciously much to their relief!

THUD!

"Phew…that almost gave me a heart attack…" Spike muttered as they stepped around or over it and headed outside. What they saw was complete and utter chaos, where the floor littered with the defeated bodies of Gel jarks and dinosaurs either kicking them while still lying down or just wandering about the chamber looking for a way to get out. It was clear which side was the victor in this battle, as Miku flared out her arms and screeched victoriously having lead the dinosaurs in an all out rebellion against their former captors.

"Wow, looks like we missed the party here." Spike whistled as he folded his arms and looked around to see nothing but fainted Gel jarks or dinosaurs stomping on gooey slime in nearly every corner.

"Just be glad none of you were a part of it." said Cera to him as she pressed a button on her dinoshot which returned all of the other dinosaurs apart from Miku to her hand which she then kept away in her pocket. After that, she helped Miku back up onto her shoulder before looking over the knocked out Gel jarks that were still lying down on the ground, either on their backs or on their stomachs. As some of the parents tapped them with heir hands or kicked at them they gave no reflex or movement in response, "They're still out, let's hope they stay that way." noted Cera before looking to Zoe's dad, "Alright Dr Drake, since you got off the ship before, which way is the exit?" she asked him as he pointed ahead towards the exit doors.

"It's right where the pirates hold their dinosaurs," he answered, "They send me there to make sure the dinosaurs are in perfect health before they get sent out into battle."

"Lead the way then." said Cera as he nodded back at her and the other parents who awaited for his directions.

"Right, follow me and stay close." As they headed up the stairs and through another door at the upper levels they soon passed through a long tunnel where the walls were lined with more pirate markings and circuitry as they came towards a door at the end with a huge pirate mark on it. "Here, this is it!" He said as they stepped forward and the doors opened upon sensing them, revealing a set of large dinosaur holding pens scattered around the room. Above were a number of large dinosaurs ranging from rajasaurus, daspletosaurus, iguanodon and ankylosaurus either lying down or pacing around restlessly in their tight enclosures. Eying them, Cera narrowed her eyes recognising some of them as dinosaurs she and her friends fought once. "The exit hatch is just over there!" Dr Drake cried interrupting her thoughts as he pointed at the wall and at the marking where the emergency escape door was situated.

"Excellent, once we get the Ancients out we'll be home free for good this time." smiled Spike with enthusiasm while the moms gasped with relief that they would soon see their children again.

"Yeah, Max and the others will be really glad to have you back." said Cera understanding their excitement, "Also, that would mean we won't have to risk trading the cosmos stones for you too…." she thought to herself seeing that as an added bonus later on. Though first things first, "Now we just have to figure out where to go from here to find Dr Ancient." she said as she found a hexagonal computer screen at one end. She walked towards it for a better look and the other parents followed her closely behind, "Maybe this computer can help us with that." she thought putting a finger to her chin.

"Think you can work it Cera?" asked Aki in a hopeful tone.

"I'll see…." said Cera looking to her firmly before turning more unsure as she eyed the console, finding it rather hard to understand or read. Despite that she didn't want to worry the others after coming this far as she tried to look over and figure it out, which proved to be more challenging than she anticipated, "Urgh most of this is in a language I can't read…." she grunted in annoyance hardening her gaze before focusing on one particular function, "But I can at least make this out to be a card function for the dinosaurs in those containers." she then said as she came to a blinking red button on the middle screen which had just appeared, "Pressing this should activate security measures that should return them to cards which we can then take out." she suggested, "That way the pirates would have way less dinosaurs to use next time they go after the cosmos stones."

"You know that doesn't sound like a half bad idea." said Mrs Drake seeing the logic in doing that.

"If we can do something to help make things easier on our kids' end then we should do it while we have the chance." said Aki suggesting that they go for it and think about finding Dr Ancient and Cretacia later.

Seeing how their wives were up for it, both Dr Taylor and Drake looked to her seriously, "Do it Cera." they said to her as she nodded back with affirmation.

"Let's do this then….." as she pressed a button for one of the cages, it caused a bright light to shine in the pen of the saurolophus. It let out a startled bellow having been woken up from tis nap before turning into a card and floating down to the floor of the pen which then opened up. As Aki went to get the card, Cera continued doing so and before long they gathered together the cards of saltasaurus, amargasaurus, acrocanthosaurus and ampelosaurus before handing them back to her.

"Alright, we've almost got half of them down," said Cera as she looked up to see the remaining dinosaurs being held in the upper holding pens. So far eerything was going smooth and she hoped to keep it that way, "Just a couple more and the space pirates won't have anymore dinosaurs they can use."

"And without dino muscle, all those flying buffoons can do is twiddle their thumbs unable to do a thing." Dr Drake smiled.

"Yeah, and after we rescue the Ancients and get out for the last time we'll be home free!" Spike cheered with excitement seeing salvation was at hand for them at last, "With the way things are going, what could possibly go wrong?" As soon as Dr Taylor uttered those words, he completely jinxed it and sealed their fates…..as the front doors ahead opened much to their alarm!

"AH!" The escaping group widened their eyes and froze stiff upon seeing Gavro stomp inside grumpily while rubbing his head in annoyance.

"This is not fair…..I mess up one time and then I get put on dino duty again?" he complained, having to have just put all the escaped dinosaurs earlier back after they all escaped somehow, not to mention being forced to clean up any kind of messes they've made both from wreckage and otherwise. After that he gritted his teeth and punched down on the floor so hard it made a huge dent and several large cracks in it! "Why do Foolscap and Sheer get all the fun and I get stuck doing the lousy jobs!?" he then growled out loud cursing his fate and bad luck before stomping in frustration! Looking up though, he blinked in surprise to see the D Team's parents were all out and staring at him in shock, "Huh?" rubbing his eyes to make sure he was seeing clearly, he then pointed out at them realising it wasn't a hallucination, "Hey! What are you guys doing out here!?" he yelled before seeing Cera with them! "And how did you get on our ship!?" he then demanded which further complicated their escape plan!

"Oh no we've been spotted!" Mrs Drake cried a she and Aki backed away, with their husbands jumping on front to protect them and Cera at the upmost front as they faced off against their one foe who stomped towards them while popping his knuckles itching for a fight!

"Don't worry, we've got him outnumbered, we can take him!" Spike grinned with confidence as he took out his lasso and whipping it on the ground creating a loud crack sound!

"My trusty mega needle will take care of this." bellowed Dr Drake as he wave out his signature trademark tool and then aimed it at Gavro.

Cera however hardened her gaze, waiting for what he might try next while Miku screeched viciously, flaring out her wings and baring her sharp teeth trying to intimidate the approaching space pirate.

Despite the resistance the parents put up, Gavro remained unfazed as he had exactly what he needed to take care of this loose end, "You'll need more than those toys to beat me!" he growled angrily taking out a card and playing it on his chest plate, "Anchiceratops! Time to clean house!" He yelled as a green ceratopsian with curved horns appeared on the field and bellowed out aggressively as it reared up on its hind legs and slammed back down, shaking the parents and Cera off balance momentarily!

"WAH!" Looking up they turned rather pale and anxious as the anchiceratops bellowed out loudly and narrowed its eyes at them!

"Hehehe, I'm gonna enjoy this after what you and your friends did to me back in the desert!" Gavro grinned sinisterly as he popped his fingers with anticipation as his dinosaur began scrapping the ground with its front foot as it prepared to mount a charge!

Seeing the display and recognising it, Cera gritted her teeth and Miku narrowed her eyes as they waited for the moment it would rush ahead and they'd have to time their dodge right otherwise it'd be game over.

The men on the other hand though, weren't as ready for it as she was, "Still think we can take him Spike?" Dr Drake quivered, nearly wetting his pants as Spike gulped down hard, taking back his words from earlier.

"Go get em!" Gavro pointed out as the anchiceratops rushed forward full speed ahead towards them!

"On second thought….run!" he cried as everyone screamed and ran away in separate directions only to get as far as possible from Gavro's dinosaur!

"AAAAAAH!"

"EEEK!"

"Scatter! Quick! He can't chase us all down!" Cera cried out to them as the parents split up and ran behind or between dinosaur pens where they couldn't be easily reached, causing the anchiceratops to stop in its tracks as it turned around in confusion, unsure of which target to focus on!

"Before I put you guys back in that house where you belong." said Gavro before turning around to see Cera having ran in the wrong direction only to come up at a wall. Turning around she and Miku sweated as the anchiceratops turned to them, "I'm going to enjoy getting some good payback on you kid!" Gavro grinned as he began popping his knuckles eagerly. Seeing the red haired girl on the ship put him in a way worse mood as it reminded him of being trapped inside the cave under rocks earlier because of her and the D Team, now he had his chance to get some much needed payback at last! He grinned menacingly with anticipation as the anchiceratops halted its pursuit of the adults before turning around to stomp towards Cera and Miku much to the parents' horror!

"Oh no!"

"Cera!"

"Run now!" They cried out to her but she found herself cornered against the wall at the escape hatch and the controls being at the other side!

"Tch!" Cera clicked her tongue and Miku hissed ready for a fight as she nodded to her partner, "Go Miku! Get him!" she yelled to her as she threw the little microraptor forward intending to latch onto the anchiceratops' face! However in response the ceratopsian swung out its tail, sending a burst of wind which sent Miku flying away in the opposite direction at the wall, which she crashed into letting out a squawk of pain as she slid to the floor! "AH! Miku!" Cera widened her eyes seeing it could be a bad injury as she ran towards her believed partner as fast as her legs could take her! "Are you okay!?" she pleaded scooping her dinosaur into her hands. Miku opened her eyes weakly and let out a pain squawk, as Cera began checking her for injuries, thankfully apart from the impact and being shaken up, nothing was broken as she let out a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness….don't do that again okay?" she asked her partner who licked her face in turn as they smiled at each other.

The touching moment between them didn't last long unfortunately, as the anchiceratops bellowed out loud, catching heir attention as it charged straight towards them like a mad bull to their alarm! "AAAAH!" Cera screamed out in terror seeing no way she could escape or fight back now, while Gavro grinned and rubbed his palms together eager to see the human splatter like roadkill all over the place!

"Hehehehe…."

As the large dinosaur neared crushing over Cera, she closed her eyes and hugged Miku tightly to her chest, who buried herself in her partner's embrace as they braced themselves, only for a part of the wall next to them to open up and a bright light shine out from it much to their surprise! "AH!"

The anchiceratops halted its' charge at the last second, surprised at the sudden open escape hatch while Gavro blinked his eyes in surprise, "Huh? What the?" he muttered scratching his head in confusion.

"Cera go! Get out while you still can!" Spike shouted at the end where the controls were, where Dr Drake had just pressed the button to open up the hatch!

"AH!" Cera widened her eyes and Miku squawked in alarm realising what they were doing, "No way! Miku and I came too far to leave without you! I'm not leaving you behind!" she retorted refusing to leave them behind again, otherwise her efforts would have been for nothing.

Despite that, Spike had more of a reason why she had to leave them behind, "Don't be stupid! If you stay you'll be captured and detained like the rest of us!" he yelled knowing she was more important to the D Team than they were, "And then Max and the others will be even more worried too!"

Cera began to lose the ability to shout back, seeing time was short and they were absolutely right, nevertheless it didn't make things any easier for her and she couldn't accept it, "But…."

"He's right sweetie!" Yelled Aki as she and Mrs Drake came up to where their husbands were, "This isn't up for debate!"

"Go now while you still have the chance!" Mrs Drake added as they all shot her firm expressions telling her to go, for it was what they wanted

Feeling weak and unable to think of a decision herself, Cera froze in place, losing energy from her limbs and finding herself unable to move due to the overwhelming pressure and guilt she'd feel the moment she would jump through that door, "Everyone…." she didn't know if there would be another chance to come back like this, and if there wasn't she'd never be able to live with herself or look her friends in the eyes for letting them down, and if there was….would she be able to save them again?

While they were caught in a conflicted situation, Gavro saw his chance to move in, "Well it ain't happening again if I have anything to say about it!" he yelled gritting his teeth as he charged right at her and Miku himself!

Seeing no other way, Cera's heart sank as she took one last hard look at the D Team's parents, giving themselves up selflessly for her, entrusting their hopes and wishes, as she turned away painfully, "I'm…sorry…." she breathed as Miku clung onto her shoulder and she jumped through the hatch as Gavro widened his eyes that she was getting away!

"NO!" he cried as the hatch closed before he could grab her, and he slammed straight into it!

SMASH!

"Urgh…." he moaned painfully before sliding down to the floor.

As the hatch slewed itself shut, the 4 parents looked on hard seeing their one chance of freedom and escape now slipped away, "Good luck Cera….we're counting on you and the others…." thought Aki clasping her hands together in prayer as she and the others entrusted their hopes to her and their children, "Save the world….no matter what it takes…." she thought at the end as Spike an the others regrouped with her.

"Grr!" As Gavro regained his senses and looked up at the hatch, he gnashed his teeth hard and punched at the hatch causing it to crack apart with ease! A sight which made the D Team's parents turn rather pale at his immense power, "Boss ain't gonna like it when he hears one of those kids got on board and stole some of our dinosaurs…." he muttered putting a finger to his chin in thought before patting on the now sealed escape hole, "Although, once I close up this little escape hatch for good, maybe I'll be able to get back on the boss' good side again so that's looking on the plus side of things." he thought with a light smile before grinning rather maliciously, "As for you guys." He turned around and his anchiceratops bellowed menacingly at the 4 parents they backed away nervously.

"Uh oh…." Spike gulped as Gavro opened up his wings and hovered above them.

Knowing they were helpless and at his mercy, Gavro began to pop his knuckles eager to take his anger and frustration out on them for making his bad day even worse, "You're going to be in a lot of trouble when I'm through with you!" he growled as the parents readied themselves for their fate.

"Urk…."

(Meanwhile)

Back in his room, sat Specter the leader of the spectral space pirates on his throne with Seth next to him as they observed the events that had just transpired on screen, and needless to say being a child at heart Specter couldn't contain his excitement as he blew a party favour and applauded with joy, "Ahahaha! Well done Gavro, with this all the holes in our ship are finally plugged and we don't have to worry about anyone sneaking off into the night without my permission." he chuckled in amusement before stroking the blue apatosaurus he had napping on his lap, "Isn't that right Brontikens?" he cooed to the chibi dinosaur who purred and yawned in content.

After that, he looked down to the former member of the Alpha gang who had proven to be his most trustworthy ally of all, "Oh and Seth, do make sure our friend Gavro gets the first new super dinosaur that you've been working on. For his outstanding performance today I'd say he deserves it." he instructed the blue haired man who then nodded and bowed in response.

"I'll be sure to just that Specter." he said politely with an emotionless expression before taking his leave to return to his lab generously provided to him by the leader of the pirates.

"Ahaha, I knew I can always count on you for anything." Spector chuckled as the door closed behind the scientist, knowing he could always expect great things from him, to him their meeting was written in the stars and it would only be a matter of time with his genius and his own plans for conquest that the universe would be theirs to conquer.

Little did he know, behind the door, Seth soon gained a sinister smirk of his own behind the door, "Heh…." he chuckled seeing his own plan of biding his time and waiting for the right moment to strike was paying off. He detested Specter's flamboyance as much as Dr Z's childishness, but once he had all 7 of the cosmos stones himself he'd soon be able to remake the universe as he saw fit, one where his evolved dinosaurs would reign supreme over all and he would be rule over them as their god.

After that he then brought up his tablet which featured Cera's face on it as he narrowed his eyes and smiled sinisterly at her. For her to have gotten on board and so far was most impressive, in fact he was almost proud of it. While it did risk having to disrupt his plans and sabotage operations on board somewhat, he could see that her skills were still as, if not sharper than they were the last time without a doubt, and in the back his mind he was looking forward to seeing her again soon as he switched off the screen and returned to his lab to retrofit one of the special dinosaurs he prepared for the new armour he finally managed to perfect.

(Meanwhile)

It was midday already over the desert of Persia, and the sun was burning bright and high in the sky. A light soon shot down from the sky and appearing below it right before it faded away was Cera, with Miku by her side as she lay on all fours in the warm sand of the desert, "Urgh…." as Miku looked to her with concern she could only see her partner staring blankly into the sand, with the thought of failing to save the D Team's parents still echoing in her mind and how helpless she was to do anything about it….Suddenly without warning she gritted her teeth and began to punch her fist into the sand suddenly much to the micro raptor's shock as she jumped back in recoil! "NO! No! No! Noooo!" She screamed as she pounded repeatedly into the sand cursing herself for letting them all down, before bitter tears dripped from her eyes and she hissed spitefully, she made a hard choice and was so close to achieving it only to turn up with nothing. To her this was a bitter failure to see all of them in front of her and not being able to rescue even one of them…..

Miku looked on nervously while also deeply concerned for her partner knowing she couldn't leave Cera in this state otherwise it could have dire consequences on her performance later on. She tried chirping at her to get her attention but became disheartened upon receiving no response back as Cera stood up on her 2 feet without so much as batting an eye to her. She then took out her dinoshot and began to dial on it, hoping to lock onto the ship's position, "Come on….lock on….please…." she prayed desperately for a silver lining or sign of hope that she could still go back and save the adults. Sadly not so much as a flicker of a signal turned up on her radar, which shut down her hopes as her heart sank heavily, "No…." feeling overwhelmed with defeat and her emotions filling her with sorrow and grief she fell to her knees and forward on the ground once more, "Everyone….I'm so sorry….." she breathed before gritting her teeth and a pair of tears were squeezed out from her eyes which then dripped from her cheeks and then sank into the desert sand.

She was so caught up in her thoughts of despair, that she failed to notice Miku had just climbed up her leg and onto her shoulder. Unable to see her partner suffering any longer, she then nibbled onto her ear to get her attention, before squawking fiercely into her face which surprised the girl when she realised how come she had gotten. It was then when she began to listen more carefully to her partner's words of concern that were just the same as she was, she began to realise it was the parents' choice for them to escape in the end. "Miku…." Now she began to realise they gave themselves up knowing she and the others would save them in the end, no matter how dark the tunnel is at the end there will always be light if they continued onwards without hesitation or worry.

"You're right…what's done is done, no point dwelling on the past, we'll have to move forward from here on, it's what they wanted." she said shaking away the doubts from her thoughts and clearing her head so she could think straight once more. She then took breath and managed to calm down her restless thoughts as she analysed the situation at hand, "They'll be fine, the pirates still need them and as long as we can get one stone there's a chance we can save them later." She then said to herself holding on to the hopes that there will be other chances and as long as they can get a cosmos stone they can still keep then universe safe form the pirates' evil.

"Where are Max and the others?" she then asked herself worrying for her friends' wellbeing as she dialled on her dinoshot, which showed their location on the map which was located in the center of a large palace depicted on the map. "They're in the city now, it's too far on foot and way too hot to travel…." she thought narrowing her eyes. Thinking clearly she decided the best course of action as she keyed in a call to the Backlander, "Jonathan, come in it's me." she said through the communicator and thankfully it didn't take long for the android to respond on the other end.

"Cera? Is that you?" he asked sounding surprised, "Where were you? Master Rex told me to keep a lookout for you since you went missing the other night." He explained which made a small frown appear on Cera's face, "I tried contacting you but I couldn't reach you for some reason. What happened?" he asked concerned.

Cera then swallowed hard, "It's a long story….." was all she could force out from her mouth painfully, "I'll explain everything soon, but right now could you pick me up? It's getting too hot down here." she then said before he could respond.

Jonathan paused a bit before accepting her request, "Right away, I'll be at your location in 5 minutes." he said before the call was cut off.

Not long after that Cera noticed the Backlander approaching from the sky above, its' silhouette appearing as it dropped its cloak before it hovered above her, providing her with much needed shade and relief from the sun. As it began to release its' tractor beam to pick her up, Cera looked on and tensed herself knowing what awaited her on the other end of that beam, "I have a lot to explain to him and everyone else when they get back….just hope I can face them when that time comes…" she thought to herself seriously, as she and Miku looked up to see them both get teleported inside.

(Later)

"I see…..how most unfortunate…." sighed Jonathan as he closed his eyes sadly giving Cera his condolences. After hearing what she had been through all by herself and still turning up without anything to show for her efforts despite giving it her all….was most disheartening to hear especially considering close she was too.

Cera was still choking on the bitter taste of her failure but swallowed down hard ready to accept whatever harsh words the androids would have for her because of this screwup, "I'm very sorry Jonathan….I did my best….but it wasn't good enough." she said sighing heavily unable to look at him in the eye but readying herself for anything he had to say or do to her. Nearby Miku sat at one of the consoles looking on, cooing sadly herself but looked up as Jonathan then stood up and began walking towards her partner.

As Cera closed her eyes and braced herself, Miku too looked away unable to bear with the pressure as Jonathan stood before the young girl staring at her firmly and seriously. He raised out a hand to her and as they closed their eyes almost fearfully, they were surprised to see that Jonathan began before patting Cera comfortingly on her shoulder, "Do not blame yourself for what happened." he said kindly as she looked up to him, "They made their choice because they believed that you and the others will save them, so don't regret over something that wasn't your doing. It's what they would want." he said to her as she sniffled feeling deeply touched by his words and then wiping a small tear from her eye.

"Yeah….you're right about that…." she said before her eyes narrowed and she became more serious, "And we will save them, no matter it takes." she vowed under her breath as Jonathan smiled and nodded pleased to hear her get her spirit back.

"Well said." he said as he walked over to the controls and began to plot a course for the D Team's last known location.

"How soon till we get to the city?" Cera then asked him as the ship began to move and she began receiving dinosaur signals on her dinoshot.

"Not long from now, we should be arriving in a few minutes." he answered her as the ship began to soon hover over the palace grounds situated within a large village like square.

As the signals soon disappeared from her device, "Bring it up on screen." she then requested. As Jonathan brought the live feed in, Cera was beginning to wish she hadn't asked seeing several damaged sections around the area followed by one of the water towers being cleaved off no doubt by a move card and panic ensuring amongst the townsfolk down below. "Whoa that place sure seen better days…." she whistled while Miku stared at the damage done, "Hope the sultan doesn't hold the others responsible for this." she thought hoping Zahrah might be able to put in a good word for them when this was all over.

As the image zoomed in closer, it depicted Max and Rex regrouping with Zoe near a gigantic hole and all seemed calm as it should be as Zahrah, the sultan and a young man met with them followed by the palace guard who were bringing in the 39 thieves along with the Prime Minister with them. "Still it does look like they took care of things already at least so they should be fine." She then said seeing that things could finally quiet down now that the criminals were brought to justice and they no doubt earned the trust of the royal family wth their heroic deeds.

A beeping sound soon came on screen as Jonathan tapped on it and blinked his eyes, "Well well, it looks like Helga and the Alpha gang just returned." he said which caught her ears.

"Good." said Cera acknowledging it before smacking a fist into one of her open palms, "Now I can give them a piece of my mind for double crossing us in the desert earlier." she grunted still remembering what they did back in the desert. Even if they had their reasons it was no excuse for endangering the process and their lives when they could've escaped at any time, even choosing to sell out her and the D Team on top of that to the thieves.

The evening sun soon came upon the Persian Kingdom, and as the D Team and their dinosaurs gathered on screen Cera could tell they were no doubt saying their goodbyes. However as Zahrah leaned in she began giving each of the D Team along with their dinosaurs a friendly goodbye kiss each, "Oh dear….." Cera muttered knowing this would make things rather awkward for Max and Rex since they actually believed they had some sort of special connection with the princess after what they did for her. Not wanting to leave things as they were, Cera then looked over to Jonathan, "Well, looks like we better get going, hopefully with some good news regarding the cosmos stone too." she requested as he began typing onscreen.

"I'll beam them up right away." he said as the beam from the Backlander took up the entire D Team before he propelled the ship to take off for another time.

As a bright light began to shine in the control deck a few steps below her, Cera swallowed down and her heart began to beat hard against her chest knowing she had a lot to fess up to the moment they appear inside. Summoning up whatever courage she had she hardened her expression and tightened her hands into fists tensely, as Miku looked on with anticipation, "Alright…here goes…." she said taking in a deep breath as her friends soon appeared in front of her.

Max then spoke out to Jonathan firmly, "Alright Jonathan, now that we're on board let's go find Cera and-"

"I'm already here guys." said Cera cutting them off as they quickly turned behind in the direction of the familiar voice.

"Huh?" They quickly widened their eyes in shock and disbelief to find her back on the ship after spending a long time worrying about her all day in the desert.

Max and Zoe quickly broke into smiles of relief and joy, "AH! Cera!"

"You're okay!" They cheered.

"Yeah….I am…." was all she could say, smiling with relief to see them again and that they had no reason to worry about her anymore.

Rex though wasn't about to accept a rosy reunion but instead stomped towards Cera, demanding an explanation from her "Where were you!?" he suddenly exploded letting loose all his pent up emotions inside him which was more than enough to make Max and Zoe along with the dinosaurs jump in shock!

"WHA?!" To them seeing Rex act like this was one of those once in a blue moon events you'd want to stay clear of, as they stared at him in disbelief while he panted heavily with anger, Cera meanwhile just stood and looked on, knowing she accepted this much from him for just disappearing behind their backs and worrying them.

"Whoa Rex, take it easy." said Zoe with concern not wanting him to scare Cera all a sudden right after meeting again.

"Yeah you scared the pants off me just now…." said Max hoping he'd calm down though he ignored them and continued.

"Do you have any idea how worried we were when you disappeared into the night last night!?" he yelled, "We thought you got lost, captured or worse when you sent us some message about forgetting and going on without you!" He shouted shooting a harsh glare at her which made whatever confidence she had slowly leak away as she could only look away with guilt in response, "Tell us now what the big deal was with this!" Rex demanded.

Upon hearing his reasons Max and Zoe soon began to side with him though reluctantly, "Rex does have a point there." Zoe admitted with a sad look on her face.

"Yeah we really thought something bad had happened to you when you didn't respond back to us." said Max as he then scratched his cheek, "We could have really used your help a bunch of times earlier today…."

Calming himself down and having shouted all his concerns just now, Rex soon began to clam down thankfully as he spoke in a more mannered tone, "So then….what gives? What happened to make you leave us like that?" he asked more gently, though still wanting a valid explanation from Cera.

All she could do though was look away with a most guilty expression on her face which made Rex begin to regret his harsh outburst just now. "Umm Cera?" She said nothing in response as Rex looked away feeling bad about how he acted. Max and Zoe too were feeling sorry for her as well, she wasn't the type to keep things from them so whatever happened to her must have been so serious she didn't want to talk about it, as much as they had a right to know since they were friends that didn't mean they could demand from her straight up like that, "If you really don't want to talk about it, it's-"

"No guys, you're absolutely right and I'm sorry…." she interrupted with a deep sigh admitting her faults, "But I couldn't tell you even if I wanted at the time since it happened so suddenly and I couldn't miss that chance." she said painfully which puzzled her friends.

"Chance?"

"What do you mean?" Max and Rex blinked their eyes curiously as Cera took in a deep breath and let out a deep sigh, as she knew she couldn't hide this important fact from her friends.

Opening her eyes firmly she began to confess the truth, "Well….it started right when I split off to go scout the area last night….." She began to explain what happened from the moment she left the campsite in order to scout their surroundings to make sure they were safe. As she soon explained what she discovered and went through after that, the D Team couldn't believe their ears at what they heard.

"You were on the space pirates' ship!?" They all exclaimed in alarm as she finished her story, "No way!"

"I know…I didn't believe it myself either but I got on somehow….it's an experience I won't forget for a long time." Cera replied.

"I agree." Zoe nodded, "I'm even more surprised that our parents got out again." she then put her hand to her chest sadly, "And they were so close too…..if only we went with you last night…." Zoe sighed lowering her head down feeling bad that Cera went through all that on her own, it must have been very scary for her and Miku without a doubt.

"No wonder you didn't answer back no matter how many times we tried to contact you." said Max now understanding her side of things.

"I'm sorry for worrying you guys, but under the circumstances there wasn't anything that could be done about it." apologised Cera once more as she looked away from them still feeling guilty.

"Fair point there." said Max shrugging his shoulders understanding her side of things, had it been them things would probably have turned out the same.

"Well let's not dwell on what we couldn't do," Rex then suggested as he walked over to her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder, "What matters is that you're back here safe and sound."

"That's right." Zoe smiled as Max nodded encouragingly, before suddenly realising something.

"But more importantly, did you manage to rescue our parents while on board?" he then asked sounding hopeful as the others all focused like minded expressions at Cera, who became paralysed by that very question, losing the will to stand she then fell onto a nearby chair and sat it in. The weight of her guilt bearing down on her shoulders as she sat down and sank into the chair, losing the strength from her legs and falling completely silent, unable to express the truth as it would only serve to remind her of failure.

"….."

Her friends blinked their eyes in surprise or in uneasiness seeing how quiet she became all a sudden, "Cera?"

"Is something wrong?" Zoe and Rex asked, now beginning to realise they may have asked something wrong…..or that something did happen to her while she was on her own, which made them almost regret asking.

Seeing she couldn't hold it in anymore, she mustered all her courage inside her and forced out her words, each one hurt like daggers stabbing her heart and soul, "I'm sorry…I couldn't get them out….I tried but…..on the way to escape hatch we got cut off by Gavro." she sighed, tightening her hands on her knees as the memory continued to haunt her inside her mind, "Because of him they had to give themselves up in order to help me and Miku escape…..we barely made it off with our skin intact…" she hissed at the end recalling their sacrifice which she still felt regretful at not being able to do a thing for them.

Upon receiving news of her devastating defeat the D Team soon began to sympathise with her, understanding why she felt so pained to say it to them, "Oh….."

"That's….too bad…." Was all Max and Zoe could say while Rex looked away feeling regret for being so upfront and aggressive earlier with his demanding the truth just now.

Cera gritted her teeth hard as that bad memory began to flow her kind with negative thoughts of defeat and also fears of what the adults could go through now because they gave themselves up for her, "I….I really tried but….urgh…" she looked away gritting her teeth, shedding pained tears from her eyes as her heart felt like it could crack at any moment. All Miku and the other dinosaurs could do was look on wishing they could do something for her but couldn't figure out what could ease her burdens as great as what she told.

She soon felt a hand being put on her shoulder, looking up in surprise she saw Max a small smile on his face, "It's….not your fault Cera." he said to her understandably while Rex nodded.

"Yeah, it happened so sudden and we weren't there to back you up," said Zoe supporting her, also feeling bad that one of them didn't go with her at the time, "I mean just getting thrown in there without properly preparing it's not like…..never mind…." she then said stopping herself and biting her own tongue, not wanting Cera to feel more awful than she already was, "We're sorry we couldn't be there for you…." she said at the end feeling partially responsible for not going along with her, perhaps she could have made a difference in that near impossible situation.

Rex then smiled supportively before putting a comforting hand on her shoulder, "The fact you were able to get so far into the enemy's lair like that all on your own really is something…." he said complimenting her courage and efforts, "You also did the best you could at the time, and we're proud of you for that." he said as she smiled back feeling better.

"There'll be other opportunities," Max followed folding his arms behind his back, "Right now we're just glad you're okay and back safe, that's what really matters now, I'm sure our parents think the same way." he then added.

"If you had got caught you'd be imprisoned with our parents on board the pirate ship and things would be way worse." said Zoe, "And don't worry, we'll make sure their sacrifice won't be in vain, that we promise!" she said as they all nodded with her in unison.

Hearing all their kind words of encouragement helped chase away her doubts and regrets, and it helped convince Cera to continue on and follow through with her choice and course of action now, "Thanks you guys, it means a lot…." she said gratefully, vowing in her heart to see their cause through.

"So while up there what did you learn?" Rex then asked hoping to settle for some kind of consolation or gain at least, "What do the space pirates need our parents for and what are they planning?"

Cera then folded her arms and closed her eyes in thought, "All I know is….they plan on harnessing the powers of all 7 cosmos stones for the intention of controlling the entire universe." she said uneasily as Max gulped hard nervously.

"Whoa that's really big…." he croaked as a bead of sweat trickled down his cheek while Zoe and Rex listened.

"They need Rex's parents to fine tune their cosmos stone detector so they can find exact coordinates." Cera continued looking at the blond boy first, who narrowed his eyes hard, before turning to Zoe next, "For Zoe's they're having them vaccinate their dinosaurs and keep them in prime fighting condition before using them to get the stones like they always do." She said as Zoe gritted her teeth feeling hurt at the fact her dad was being used to treat enemy dinosaurs that would serve as no more than mere tools. "As for Max's…they're just there along for the ride." Cera then sighed looking to the last member of the D Team, feeling bad his parents may have ended up getting the shortest end of the stick of all.

"No way…." a feeling of despair and crushed hopes came upon Max and the others upon realising what she and their parents went through without them around to help.

"This is serious…." Rex then narrowed his eyes hard seeing their situation had grown even more difficult. He also worried about what would happen to their parents now, he shuddered at whatever horrors they might be put through at this very moment.

"Well at least we know they're still alright so there's still a chance we can save them." Zoe then suggested trying to look on the bright side which helped alleviate some anxiety from her friends though not all of it.

"I made sure to tell your parents to stall them as long as they can," Cera then said remembering what she told the Ancients, "They won't be able to do it forever though, so until then they're counting on us to either find the stones before the pirates do or rescue them before all 7 are found." The way she saw it, they'd eventually cross a bridge where they may have to trade their parents for the cosmos stones even if they did get one, in the end would they have to sacrifice one of them to save the other? Would it be possible to protect them both? That was a question which she had no answer to, and it haunted her to think of what would happen when they do reach that point.

"In that case we'll do just that." said Max as he clenched his hand into a fist tightly.

Rex and Zoe soon looked to him and nodded firmly in agreement, "Yeah, no way will we let them get away with what they've done!"

"Everyone's counting on us and we've got no intention of letting them down, that's a promise!" They said feeling more fired up and determined than ever.

Seeing everyone's spirits ignited with hope and determination helped ease Cera a little more, perhaps there is still hope for both the adults and the universe as long as they ever gave up and kept at it till their last breath. "Mhmm, well said." she said standing up with them, showing them they had her support to the end as well, before deciding to ask a question of her own, "Enough about me, how did things go on your end?" Cera then asked curiously, "Hope you guys and Zahrah didn't feel too bad about saying goodbye to each other." As she finished asking, Max and Rex suddenly sighed deeply and lowered their heads down, acting completely devastated and heartbroken much to Cera's surprise and Zoe's amusement as she shook her head and sighed pityingly. "Umm…did I say something wrong?" She then asked blinking her eyes in surprise.

Zoe then walked to beside her and then put a playful arm around her shoulder, holding in a cheeky snicker, "Hehe funny thing Cera….." she began to whisper to them what had happened down on the ground earlier, from how they arrived at the palace and battled the Alpha gang once more, to Sheer controlling Genie and taking Zahrah hostage only for her to meet up with another man named Aladdin who then saved her, even giving him the same 'reward' as she did for the boys.

"Wow….I have no words for that…." she whistled at the end of the story, feeling bad for Max and Rex getting their hopes crushed.

"Yeah, it was truly heartbreaking."

"The friend zone really is a cold and lonely place where your feelings will never be returned." They each said feeling utterly devastated lowering their heads in shame that it was never meant to be. "But who Zahrah chooses to love is her choice in the end….plus we come from different times and places so it's a harsh truth we had to face in the end." he then admitted with a heavy heart

Max then brightened up though looking on the positive side, "So as long as she is happy and her kingdom is safe then that's good enough for us." He then said at the end with a satisfied smile at the end shared by Rex for that was all that mattered in the end.

Hearing the boys' sappy story of heartbreak made Cera sweat drop in response, "That's a…mature way of looking at it." she laughed nervously while Zoe merely squinted her eyes and pouted jealously.

"Right….mature…." she muttered looking away in disgust.

Cera soon shrugged it off and got serious once again, "Though now the fact remains." she then said which made the others look to her, "The alpha gang will still have to answer for all the trouble they caused." After that a big tic mark appeared on her forehead as she began to pop her knuckles with anticipation, "What say we go give them their just desserts?" she suggested as the others nodded back at her without hesitation.

"Now that I can agree on." Max gritted his teeth punching his hand into his palm.

"Yeah…." Rex nodded as he scolded hard bitterly, still unable to forgive them for endangering the kingdom and Zahrah.

"Although on the bright side if it wasn't for them we wouldn't have gotten the red cosmos stone." Zoe then pointed out suddenly catching Cera off guard.

"Huh!?" She exclaimed widening her eyes in disbelief, "What did you say!?"

"Hey that's right!" Max then said, "Genie had the cosmos stone this whole time!" He said adding to Cera's ever growing surprise.

"Yeah and after we beat him the cosmos stone got carried away with the Alpha gang after they were brought back up." Rex then concluded at the end sounding much calmer now that he thought of it.

"In that case…..maybe we should be thankful for them I guess….." Cera then said at the end sounding rather conflicted on how to think of it. On one hand the Alpha gang did cause them and many innocent people plenty of trouble, bit on the other hand thanks to their buffoonery they finally got a break and have an edge over their foes.

"Though that doesn't mean they're off the hook just yet." said Rex firmly, "Especially for all the trouble they caused us in the desert and at the palace just now."

On that note Cera had to acknowledge that fact that they needed to answer for their actions, "I agree, let's go pay them a visit." They all stood up together and with firm, angered expressions they stomped out from the upper deck and headed to where the Alpha gang were, hoping to give them a piece of their mind and their just desserts for all the trouble they caused them.

(Later)

Right after that, the D Team went straight to the laundry room to find Dr Z and his crew all in their underwear, apart from Ursula who had a pink towel wrapped around her, for after their recent skirmish in the desert Helga had them remove their clothes on the spot so they could be washed properly and thoroughly. As the D Team glared daggers at them, the Alpha gang couldn't bring themselves to utter a single word all put of shame, one for betraying the D Team all for their own goals and putting the kingdom in danger, the other for being pretty much stripped bare in front of them. "A…A…Achoo!" Dr Z then sneezed as he began to catch a chill without his clothes on to keep him warm in the air conditioned Backlander, "We're umm really sorry about joining up with the thieves down there." he pleaded in vain already knowing what they were in for, though none of the D Team bought it for even a second.

"I trust that apology about as far as I can throw Ed!" said Zoe as she folded her arms on her hips crossly.

"You should consider yourself lucky we were able to get the red cosmos stone." Cera hissed menacingly as her hands throbbed indicating she was barely able to contain her immense rage and going primeval on the A Team for endangering Zahrah and forcing them to fight one another for selfish reasons. Her tone sent shivers down the spines of the Alpha gang, as well as their souls as they could see a black and purple skeleton dinosaur like aura emanating from her, only barley held back by her own self restraint which was on the verge of giving out. Luckily for them she took a slow breath to calm herself down and let it go….though that didn't mean she was going to let them off the hook. She planned on finding the right punishment for them eventually, just now. A display which made the rest of her friends slightly uneasy when they saw her.

On that note Cera did remind Rex about just that as he then asked, "What did Helga do with the cosmos stone?"

Noticing a red glow next to his eyes, Max turned in the direction it was and noticed a glowing red ball on the wall, "Oh it's right here." he said as he began walking towards it.

As the others turned to where he was headed, they blinked their eyes in surprise as to how it ended up there in the first place without them noticing it. It was when Max reached out his hand for it that they widened their eyes in shock.

"No! Don't touch it with your bare hands!" Zoe cried, a second too late as Max grabbed it with his hand causing red energy to surge through him!

BZZT!

"WAAAAAAAHHHHH!" he screamed writhing uncontrollably as power cursed through every course of his body!

Sadly despite the success of the D Team things turned out to be rather bittersweet for Cera, let's hope she has better luck next time to come. Also as to how the parents hacked into Specter's computer from the house in Bad Deal, let's just say what Cera did here helps with it since her tinkering helped provide what they needed to do it.

Also showcased here were alternate coloration of move dinosaurs from the arcade like the pink velociraptors for example, as well as the pteranodons with different colourings in Carnival of Chaos (Which I don't really consider canon though, so let's just say Reese upgraded their dinoholders at some point for their upgraded function). Also using other move card dinosaurs like the tapejaras from quick trike and tapejara dive, cryolophosaurus with haste and special recovery etc.

In response to reviews

Drew Luczynski

-Yeah the dinosaurs will get off easy but the A Team…not so much. And as shown here things ended off rather bittersweet but not completely a loss at least.

Anonymous

-Sheer will use Genie, just that Cera won't be there to see it.

Guest

-After this one I have 6 more chapters till season 2 ends.

-The matter with Seth's cryolophosaurus will be settled later, not now but she does get the move card cryolophosaurus if that counts.