Far out in the middle of the ocean there was an island. It was inhabited by humans and dinosaurs….yes, dinosaurs! How was this possible you ask? Technology of course! This mysterious and blooming population was the result of the collaboration between two business partners: the brainy Dr. Diggins and the wealthy Mr. Richmond. The professor and archaeologist Dr. Diggins was the genius that made the dinosaur revival technology work and Mr. Richmond was the owner of the island. It took time to perfect the techniques and technology that brought the ancient reptiles to life, many trials and errors. But in the end, they came up with a system that revived fossils that were dug up from the island and eventually spread across the world.

This seems a bit dangerous, don't you think? Large herbivores that could run you over and vicious carnivores that could tear you to pieces. That's where another piece of the technology came in. Diggins fashioned a device into the revival machine that would essentially mind-wipe the dinosaurs, clearing out any primal instincts to attack humans. That's not to say the dinosaurs never did fight amongst one another. The humans enjoyed training the beasts and ultimately bonding with them. This led to their favorite sport on the island: fossil battles. The trainers, also called fossil fighters, would send out their dinosaurs in coordinated battles against one another. Large crowds gathered around to watch these events. Because of this, many fossil stadiums started popping up around the island and in prominent cities around the world. There was only one of two reasons that people came to visit the island: to become fossil fighters or to watch the fossil battles as a spectator.

However, there was something about the technology that only Dr. Diggins and Mr. Richmond knew. Sure, Diggins altered the technology to make it work for their purposes….but he didn't actually create it. No, they found it on the island in a crash site. It wasn't from a man-made airplane either. There was something about it that seemed….alien. Being a man of science, Diggins had his doubts about actual aliens existing. But this was proved to be true when the race of aliens, called Dinaurians, made a visit back to earth. It was because of this odd origin that the revived dinosaurs were not exactly what they used to be. They now had altered appearances and special powers. There were five categories of elements that the dinosaurs fell into: fire, water, air, earth, and neutral. For example, now the t-rex could breathe fire and the aquatic plesiosaurus could whip up whirlpools with a flick of their flippers. There were also a few dinosaurs that could evolve themselves even further during battle, but that's a topic for later on…

This story follows a young velociraptor of the air element. He was a white raptor with blue markings on his head and backside. His claws and eyes were the same dark sapphire color as his markings. Now sixteen years of age, young Sora was settling in nicely with his new human family. His owner, named Jeremy, was a police officer and often took him to the academy to train as his partner. Together the two stopped crimes whether it was the average robbery from the local bank or a case of abuse to a human or dinosaur. Just like in any human settlement, it was not perfect. That's why the local police office needed to stay on their toes.

Despite being a police raptor, Sora acted very much like a house dog, even to the degree that he walked around on all four limbs. If he wasn't training at the academy with Jeremy and his friends, you could always find him playing with Tommy. That was Jeremy's seven-year old boy. When the man had first brought the velociraptor into the house, his wife Martha worried greatly for her son. But Sora proved to be kind and gentle to the boy. It was clear that the two loved each other very much. The white raptor even slept at the foot of Tommy's bed to keep him safe. For he would snap at anyone that seemed like a threat to his boy.

It was a hot summer day when Sora lay in the family room with the house to himself. His humans had gone out for a trip to the beach that day. The young raptor felt a bit left out, but he understood their reasoning for leaving him behind. For he was a velociraptor, and that species was not known to be a fan of the water. Sora himself didn't mind it too much. He could even swim a bit if he needed to. His deep sapphire eyes watched the front door, waiting for his family to return.

Down at the beach, Jeremy and his wife and son were splashing around in the gentle waves of the cove. Martha noticed Tommy's cheeks getting a little red and insisted that they reapply the sunscreen. The boy groaned at the thought of getting out of the water. For he knew the sand was going to be hot on his little feet. His mom watched as he hopped back and forth as she tried to smear another layer of the white protection over his skin. Tommy's dancing around made it difficult for the thick cream to be rubbed in. His mom shrugged and finally gave up on trying to finish the job.

Tommy averted his gaze to a group of children that were standing around what seemed to be a pile of seaweed that had washed up on shore. They seemed to be poking at it with sticks and shells.

"Mommy, can I go over there and play with those kids?" He asked and pointed in their direction.

"Sure, honey." She replied.

The seven-year old rushed over to see what the other children were gawking at.

"What is it?" He asked them.

"It's a ball of seaweed." Said the kid that was poking it with a stick. "But it's still very squishy even though it looks all dried up." The other kid, who was probably ten years old, looked back to the sea debris and poked it a couple more times. All of a sudden, something shot out of the squishy ball, making a sound like an egg was getting cracked. Three little claws flexed as it reached out into the warm air. All of the kids freaked out. They screamed and ran for the hills when the small limb came out of the seaweed ball like it was an alien. Tommy shrieked as well but fell on his rump when the other children pushed past him. His parents came rushing up to see what was wrong.

"What happened, Tommy?" Jeremy asked him.

"There's something in the seaweed!" The boy answered now seeming much more curious than scared. They kept their distance and watched as the small creature stuck another limb out, emitting that same cracking noise. Six little dark colored claws moved down to the sand and pulled the rest of its body out. With a loud crack and squish, a dark green body came tumbling out of the seemingly dry cocoon. Two sea green eyes stared up at the family.

"It's a velociraptor!" Jeremy gasped. "But how did it get in the seaweed? Was it drowning in the ocean?" But no one had the answers to his questions. They watched as the hatchling looked up to the sun, squinting its eyes. It then squealed and leapt to its feet, almost as if it suddenly realized that it was in pain. The officer noticed that the raptor closed its eyes and lowered its head as it took off running.

"It's almost like the sun is bothering it…." He said softly. And then it hit him. If this little creature was in trouble, then he should be helping. Without another thought he rushed over to his own belongings and grabbed his towel. His wife and son started to give chase, keeping their eyes on the little runaway.

"Hurry, daddy!" Tommy urged.

With its eyes closed, it did not see where it was going. For it did not realize that it was headed right for someone's large and detailed sandcastle. Its tallest spire stood an impressive three feet tall. The hatchling barreled headlong into the mound of sand. It squealed in surprise as it collapsed in on him. The kid that was tending to the castle's moat screamed and ran away. A small green head poked out of the lump of sand, giving a violent sneeze. Its eyes looked up and saw a human wielding a board-like object.

"Whoa-whoa!" Screamed Martha and held the child back from whacking the small creature with her boogie board. The hatchling took this moment to squirm himself out of the pile of sand and take off again. It didn't get far before Jeremy basically tackled the velociraptor, wrapping it in the towel. The lump resisted the fabric with all its might, letting out shrieks of fear. Jeremy held the package to his chest and stood up once it calmed down a bit. He peeled away a layer of the towel to reveal the dark green creature. It looked up at the man in curiosity. The green eyes then averted up to the sky. Jeremy watched as the hatchling yipped and tried to shrink itself back into the towel. Its skin seemed to be tainted a bright red color as if it were burned. This was the moment that the officer knew that he had to take it home and apply some ointment to those burns. Tommy certainly wouldn't argue about having a baby velociraptor at home. Martha, however, reminded him that someone in particular would be jealous if he brought it home.

"It won't be forever. Just until the little one is feeling better and is ready to find a family." He told her.

"Don't be so sure. You may be able to let it go, but Tommy won't want to." She warned him.

Despite his wife's warnings, he brought the little raptor home. Being a police officer, he felt obligated to help anyone that needed it. And this little one certainly needed it. The hatchling had calmed down enough that he let Tommy hold the bundle of joy for the car ride home.

Sora's head bolted upright at the sound of car doors closing. The golden tags on his dark blue collar jingled as he leapt up from his position. His tail wagged in anticipation of seeing his family again. The sound of keys rattling in the door only made him all the more excited. For he was practically jumping up and down at this point. The white raptor bolted toward the opening door. Sora was ready to play-tackle his boy and beg for constant attention. They had been gone far too long for his liking.

The young raptor came to a halt just before barreling into Tommy. There was something in his boy's arms. Something that wasn't supposed to be there. He ended up coming nose to nose with the little sea green velociraptor. They each took in one another's scent. Now Sora wasn't one to immediately hate anyone without getting to know them, but there was a bad aura coming off this kid. Neither of them showed any signs of hostility toward one another at first. The white raptor had to back away to get his thoughts together. How should he react to this? He needed to tell his family not to let it stay for any period of time. But how? How on earth would they understand his warning without him seeming like he was jealous or even acting like a bully? It's not like humans could understand dinosaur speech.

His family had been taking in each of the raptors' reactions.

"That….went better than I thought." Jeremy finally said.

"Hey, Sora! This is Jack!" Tommy beamed and only held the hatchling more lovingly. "I hope you don't mind him staying with us for a little bit."

The white raptor finally made up his mind: he wouldn't let the small creature in the house in the first place. Sora proceeded to stand long ways between the doorframe, blocking the entrance. His sapphire blue eyes looked to his partner, slowly shaking his head.

"Come on, Sora. This little one needs help. Since when do we say no to those in need?" Jeremy argued back. The creature's gaze stayed locked onto the man's.

"Come on, Sora. Don't be such a grouch." His human said before locking its hand around his collar. The white raptor felt himself gently being moved out of the way. Sora planted his bottom on the ground to make it harder for his partner to do so. Much to his dismay, Tommy entered the house with the little pest….er, I mean the sweet baby, in his arms. The young raptor's tail slapped the floor in a pouting manner. Jeremy let go of his collar and looked his pet in the eyes.

"I can't believe I'm telling you this but….behave!" He said sternly, poking the velociraptor's muzzle. Sora's nostrils twitched before averting his gaze into the kitchen where Martha and Tommy were prepping food and water for the little one. It was only when the steel bowls were placed on the ground that the boy gently plopped the hatchling down. Its tinted red body scrambled itself over to the water bowl. The white raptor watched as it viciously lapped down the liquid from his bowl.

Using my bowls, eating my food. Does he think he owns the place? Sora silently muttered to himself.

"Tommy, why don't you take this and go set up a bed for Jack?" She said, handing the boy a pillow and a sheet. The young raptor could tell she was hesitant about keeping this baby in the house too.

"Okay!" He beamed and skipped off to complete his task. This left only Sora, Martha, and their little guest in the kitchen for a moment. The female human busied herself with her smart phone for a moment.

As the hatchling drank down the water, Sora noticed the red tint on his skin seemed to fade away.

That doesn't seem right…. He noted, cocking his head in confusion. The sea green body then dove over to the food bowl, devouring every scrap of the dried meat Martha had given him. Just then, Jeremy came around the corner with a jar in his hand. Fingers were scraping inside of it and came out filled with a thick white paste.

"All right! I think this should-" He cut himself off when he noticed that there seemed to be no more burns on the infant's body. "….help…..with…..? That's strange. I could have sworn Jack was burned…." If his fingers had not been smothered in the cooling substance, he would have scratched his head in confusion. Martha finally looked up from her phone. Her gaze went from her husband to the hatchling. Jack noticed that the two humans were watching him. With a gleeful lick of his lips, he proceeded to nose the bowl over to them, hoping that they would give him more. He got a little overzealous with the pushing and accidentally put his small hands on the rim of the bowl, flipping it up over his head.

"Looks like you were hungry." The man commented. "Go ahead and give him a little more, Martha." She bent down and took the metal bowl off the raptor's head. The two of them studied the hatchling again. Not a mark or change of color could be seen on its skin.

"Maybe I was just seeing things…" Jeremy concluded and went off to put the jar away and clean his hands. His wife put down a bit more food.

As soon as the baby finished his food, Sora went over to study him. Martha watched the white raptor sniff all over the sea green hatchling. It crouched submissively and merely watched what the older one was doing. The female human realized that it was only right to allow the white raptor to tell the young one who the boss was around here.

"I'm done!" They heard Tommy call. "Jack has a nice bed here in the living room."

Good. He'll go in the corner and stay there. Sora thought as he gently picked up the newborn by the scruff of its neck. Jack went limp as his body dangled out of the teen's jaws.

"Sora, what are you doing?" The boy asked as he passed by the white raptor. He and his mom watched as the resident velociraptor plopped the small visitor down on the newly formed bed in the far corner of the family room.

"Why did he pick up Jack like that, Mommy?"

Martha ushered him into the kitchen to explain to the child that Sora was just trying to teach Jack that he was the boss of the household and that Jack was just a temporary visitor invading his territory. This left Sora alone with the hatchling for a minute.

"I'm watching you. Don't try any funny business, you hear me?" He growled at the baby. The sea green lump merely just rolled around on the soft blanket, not taking much notice of the alpha standing before him. Jack snorted and continued to roll on the fabric. For he had never felt anything so soft in his short life.

Later that evening, Tommy went out in the backyard with his two velociraptors. The hatchling was more than eager to chase balls and chew on all of Sora's toys, making them slimy. Martha watched from the backdoor as her child's attention seemed to be homed in on the new baby. The white raptor lay in the corner, patiently waiting his turn.

"Don't forget to play with Sora, too. He still needs the same attention you've always given him." She reminded the boy.

"I will, mom." He replied, but continued to throw toys for Jack. The female human watched as the hatchling pounced on Sora's favorite red ball.

"Oh, maybe don't let Jack take all of Sora's toys. That's his favorite after all. Here, why don't we set aside the ball and a few other toys for Sora?" She plodded forward and plucked the ball away from the hatchling that had already been thoroughly slimed. Martha gently rolled it over to the white raptor.

"Thank you, Martha." Sora cooed in his dinosaur language and protectively covered the ball with his three-clawed hand. The young raptor quickly removed his hand when he felt the moist substance clinging to him.

"Ugh! What is that?" He squealed and looked at the red ball that was now covered in a green gloop. It looked as if someone had mixed duckweed with seaweed and it resulted in a nasty concoction. Its smell was like roadkill that had been drowned in the ocean. Sora felt as if it weren't just a smell but a taste as well. It seemed to siphon down his throat and choke him.

"Now, where is his squeaky brontosaurus?" The woman questioned as her curly blond hair whipped around. Just then everyone heard a squeak. For Jack had found it first. Sora approached him with a growl of warning growing in his throat.

"Don't you dare…!" He grumbled as the hatchling raised a hand to squeak it again. The purple brontosaurus depressed as another sound was squeezed out of it. Sora lunged to grab it out of Jack's grip. But the sea green raptor was quicker and started to drag it away in his jaws. The teen velociraptor effortlessly jumped in front of the hatchling that was trying to make his getaway.

"I'll take that!" Sora easily pulled it out of the baby raptor's grip. The white raptor then went off to go back in his corner to protect his toys from a little thief. His tail gave Jack a light smack on the rump on his way out. The hatchling yelped as if it had really been hurt.

"Jack! Are you okay?" Tommy rushed over to make sure he was okay.

"He didn't hurt him, honey. Sora's just trying to tell Jack that he needs to learn his place." Martha explained.

"Will they always not like each other, Mommy?" The boy asked as his mother headed back toward the house so she could wash her hands. She stopped and thought about how to answer this question. The woman was just as skeptical about this little velociraptor as Sora. And neither one of them wanted Jack to stay forever. "…..Only time will tell." Was her only answer. Martha then looked over her other shoulder to find Sora rolling his ball over to her. He had a pleading look in his eyes.

Will you please wash this for me? The white raptor silently asked. She picked up the ball and told him that she would be right back. When the woman came back out, she rolled a ball that scarcely resembled the one she went in with. She had to scrub that slime so hard that some of the coloring faded off the ball. Now it was latent with bright pink patches. Sora laid down and merely hugged his toys to his chest, hoping that Jack would not get ahold of them again.

As night draped its dark curtain around the island, everyone began to settle down for the night. Sora hurried himself to reach Tommy's bed before the little nuisance could claim his spot. He poked his slender snout over the bedframe only to be greeted by a dark green lump curled by the foot of the bed. Jack threw a cold glance the white raptor's way before swiping one of the thoroughly slimed toys at his head. Sora flinched when the gooey thing bounced off the top of his head. They heard Tommy racing up the stairs to enter his room. The teenager quickly looked from the doorframe to the bed. For he was trying to decide what he was going to do. If the boy hadn't been coming this way, Sora would have pried the little one off the bed. But if the seven-year old saw him doing that, he would accuse the white raptor of bullying the baby.

Without another thought, Sora flung himself under the bed. He heard the human boy's footsteps followed by the creaking of the bed as he jumped on. The white raptor heard him bid the baby goodnight and flicked off the light.

I'm still here too… Sora silently whined. But the boy didn't even call out for him. Tommy was so enamored with the new velociraptor that the teenager had just gotten bumped down on his priority list. Sora felt like he was getting treated like he was an old toy. Just to be played with if the new one went missing. To get old and dusty without anyone noticing. The white raptor remained under the bed, resting his head on his crossed arms. He stayed awake for a long time, uneasy about the baby raptor that had stolen his spot.

Sora had nearly dozed off when a shuffling noise came from outside. His head perked up in alarm, nearly hitting it on the bottom of the bed. It was a sound that said something large was dragging itself along the ground. He couldn't tell which direction it was coming from. It just seemed to encircle the entire house. The white raptor was about to remove himself from behind the bed skirt when something dropped to floor. A dark green blob landed near the door and then squeezed itself out, prying open the cracked door with its claws.

Where's he going? Sora wondered. Without another thought, he followed Jack out of Tommy's room. The young raptor kept distance to see what the baby was going to do. It shuffled itself down the stairs with a certain urgency to its steps. Almost like how a moth was attracted to a light. Jack bee-lined it for the front door. He plopped his rear end down and stared up at the menacing obstacle.

Sora made it to the bottom of the stairs when a whisper penetrated his mind. It was speaking in a language he was not familiar with. To him it just sounded like a bunch of hisses that seemed to revolve around the house. His gaze averted to the baby raptor that started making a series of clicking noises in his throat. Sora cautiously proceeded forward to see what was going on with Jack. For he had never heard such noises come from a velociraptor before. He certainly couldn't make those noises even if he tried. The sea green raptor looked his way, still making his clicks. It was an intense stare. Jack's eyes were glowing a bright orange and his pupils constricted to reptilian slits. Sora had seen this before. In carnivores this indicated that they wanted to hunt and kill. Herbivores could get this eye pattern too. However, theirs came when they entered a fierce protection mode, most often when protecting their young or their humans.

Sora knew this could be potentially dangerous for his family. What if Jack decided to attack Tommy? The white raptor just couldn't take that risk. Without another thought, Sora pinned him down with one hand and gave him a swift slap across the muzzle with the other.

"Cut it out! What are you doing?" He hissed at Jack. The baby's eyes reverted back to normal, immediately ceasing its alien clicking. It started to panic when it realized the older raptor had him pinned. Jack thrashed around and succeeded in sliding the needle-like claws across the white raptor's nostrils. Sora had to hold back a yelp of pain as he jumped away from the sea-green velociraptor. The back of his hand slid across his muzzle in an effort to lessen the stinging sensation he felt. Jack, on the other hand, took this opportunity to get away from the alpha. The baby bee-lined it up the stairs. Two orange eyes glowered at Sora from the top of the steps. As soon as the teenager made eye contact with him, he took off for Tommy's room again.

It was then that Sora noticed that the house had fallen silent again. The shuffling and whispers from outside had vanished. His blue claws clacked loudly on the floor as he trotted himself over towards a window. Pressing his hands against the wall, he brought himself up on his hind legs so he could see outside. Nothing. Just the yard and other houses in their neighborhood. In the distance were the looming shadows of the local city.

Sora had that same blank stare that he had looking out the window the next day during work. He was brought back to reality when a ball bounced off his head. The white raptor blinked and looked around, realizing that he was in the breakroom with his best friend Harry.

"Pay attention, Sora!" The black and white raptor barked. "Are you going numb in the head or something?" Harry teased, pointing a black claw to his own head.

"No, I just can't stop thinking about the new raptor my humans brought home." Sora confessed, starting to drift off into another realm again.

"Ah, I've heard it's hard to adjust when the humans want to give you a new sibling." He made air quotes when he said siblings.

"There's something off about him. The way he just stared….and made those weird noises. He needs to leave. But how?"

"You got me." Harry replied with a shrug. "If the family seems to like him then he'll be there forever."

Forever.

That word seemed to echo through the young raptor's mind. There was no way he would survive forever with Jack. And neither would his family if the sea green raptor got that dangerous look when he was bigger.

"If I manage to get Jack out, I'll have to make it look like he ran away. Otherwise I'll have to sleep outside for who knows how long." Sora started spouting out random thoughts.

"Well, good luck with that. I wish I could be more help for you, but I don't have any siblings either." The black and white raptor explained. "But right now-" Harry dashed towards his friend, who narrowly got himself out of the way. "You're going to have to deal with this speedy thief!" He scooped up a ball in his jaws.

"Come on, Sora! I've got all this money!" Harry teased, squeaking the ball between his teeth as he talked. "You better come and get me or I'm gonna get away!"

Sora smiled and started to chase after his friend. It was on days like this when business was slow that he and Harry would play games that mimicked their actual job. However, their play was much easier than the actual assignments. Cops and robbers was certainly one of their favorite games.

The white raptor dreaded the moment when Jeremy called him to go home. Normally, he would be happy to return to the house and play with Tommy. But that was not an option now….not anymore. Jack would still be hogging all the attention. Sora walked slowly, trailing behind his partner as they made their usual 15-minute walk home. The end of his tail dragged along the ground. His sapphire eyes were laser-focused on each step he took. There just had to be a way to get the baby out!

Oh, if only I had a little help… Sora thought.

And then it hit him. Literally. The white raptor had not been looking where he was going and ran into a street lamp. He gave a yip as a small bruise formed on the top of his head. Sora looked up to find a piece of paper hanging to the pole. He immediately got up on his hind legs to see what it was. The young raptor couldn't believe it! On the paper was a drawing of a baby raptor. It wasn't a very detailed scribble, like a child had drawn it. Underneath the picture was the word "Missing" written in messy writing that slanted down the page.

Definitely the work of a kid. Sora thought.

There was other writing on the paper, but the letters were incomplete. They oscillated up and down the page almost like someone was trying to translate Japanese kanji to English. Sora could not make out any of it. Perhaps it mentioned a reward? Or maybe it was just saying that they missed their raptor. Either way, his human needed to see this paper.

The white raptor carefully pulled the paper off the post with his teeth. He rushed in front of his partner and sat himself down.

"What have you got there, buddy?" Jeremy asked, taking the page from his pet. He studied it for a few seconds before lowering it. "You think this is Jack?" Sora wagged his tail in agreement. "I don't know, Sora. This could be any baby raptor. Dinosaurs go missing every day, you know that just as well as I do. Besides, I can't even read what they wrote. We wouldn't be able to call or return him to his person based on this information."

The white raptor noticed some scribbles on the back of the page.

"Hey, wait! There's something on the back." Sora pawed at his human's legs and tried to reach for the paper. However, Jeremy only saw this as a spoiled raptor trying to get his way.

"Sora, cut it out!" The male human exclaimed and backed away from his velociraptor's greedy claws. "I know we've spoiled you being the only raptor, but now it's time to open our hearts to this new family member. I need you to be a good brother to Jack whether it's for just a little while or for the rest of his life. You're a good boy, Sora." A hand covered the young raptor's small head. "You're still our best friend and protector. Don't ever forget that."

Sora watched as his master continued to walk forward, folding up the paper and shoving it into his pocket. As the hand left the white raptor's head, he could only hope that Jeremy would remember those words if Jack showed his true colors behind their back. Not if….when. Hopefully they would see that he was only reacting to protect his family and not being a bad boy.

Jeremy and Sora entered the house announcing their arrival. Tommy came running to give his dad a big hug. The white raptor could only hope that would be repeated for him. He sat up straight, put on a toothless smile, and closed his eyes, trying to show that he was behaving.

"Hi Sora!" Came Tommy's voice. All he felt was a quick pat on the head before hearing the boy's footsteps trail away. Sora's sapphire eyes opened. His lips curled down in disappointment. Didn't he deserve more attention than that?

"Daddy, come here and see how big Jack got overnight!" The seven-year old jumped up and down in utter excitement. His father came over, followed by Sora, to find the sea-green raptor in the corner that had been set up for him. The three watched as the baby stretched out and then stood up. Their eyes widened in shock as they realized it had doubled in size overnight. Jack was now half the size of Sora.

"Wha-? How did that happen?" Jeremy questioned, scratching the back of his head.

That's not right. The white raptor thought. Not even a growing sauropod will double in size after one night. At least he's in his corner though.

"Martha, did you feed him hormones or something?" The man asked his wife as he entered the kitchen. Wonderful smells emanated from there. Sora took a big whiff. Chicken! He licked his chops in anticipation for his favorite meat. The white raptor dashed into the kitchen and placed a clawed hand on the rim of his bowl so that Jack could not claim it again.

"No, but he sure does have a big appetite." She explained. "Jack's always asking for treats, like we're starving him or something. He's eaten more than Sora does in a single day."

The baby then came trotting into the kitchen looking for a bowl for itself. Sora just pulled his ever closer to himself. Jeremy looked in the cabinet for a spare bowl for the baby. They found one and placed just as much meat in the bowl as Sora's portion. For Martha knew Jack would devour it easily. She warned her husband not to put the young one's bowl too near Sora. The sea-green raptor was just too greedy with food, she explained to Jeremy. He would no doubt steal from the alpha raptor if he got the chance.

As soon as the food bowls were set down, the two began to eat ravenously; Sora to consume the meat before Jack could have a chance to pilfer anything and the baby just because it was a hog. The white raptor's sapphire eyes averted to the two-day old. Although his size said he had been living for a good seven to eight years already. Sora hadn't even been that big when he turned seven, but then again he was a bit smaller than most other velociraptors. The white raptor was comparable in size to Harry, whom had been the runt of the litter. Sora could only assume he had been the runt too. But he didn't know if he actually had any siblings or even who his real parents were. And if so, where were they? Poor Sora had a hard time remembering things from when he was a kid. That's what happens when you're put through the mind-wipe machine of Dr. Diggins: You forget any prior memories and instincts are forced to go dormant. The only thing he remembered for sure was his adopted father that was an altispinax, a species of tyrannosaur.

The white raptor watched as Jack tried to force a full chicken breast into his mouth. Its lips tried their best to curl around the meat and shove it further into his gullet. He tried to swallow the chicken whole like he was a snake devouring its prey. Sora watched wide-eyed as the meal that was clearly bigger than his throat kept getting shoved farther into the baby's mouth. The large lump made it into the raptor's neck, which puffed out like a snake's stretchy body. It slowly travelled down to Jack's stomach where it sat there like a rock. The sea-green raptor licked his lips in satisfaction. He then averted his gaze to the remaining food in Sora's bowl. The white raptor saw this and promptly tried to hide the rest of his meat. Blue claws slid the bowl under his torso. Sora practically laid on the silver cookware to hide it from Jack's vision.

"No!" He growled in warning.

"Not the bosss of me!" The baby hissed back, prowling ever closer. Sora thought he even sounded a bit like a snake when he talked. The S's seemed to just roll off his tongue like nothing. Without any warning of attack, Jack flung himself headlong into the alpha, trying to bury himself underneath the white raptor to get to the food. They were now head to chest. Pin-like claws poked at Sora's flesh in their attempt to dig down and move the larger creature. Poor Sora bit back a yelp of pain as they threatened to draw blood from him. The claws rolled off him and screeched against the floor. This caught the attention of Martha and Jeremy. Both were baffled at the baby's vain attempt to horde all the food he could get. The female promptly reached for the spray bottle that she had kept handy.

"Hey!" She said sharply and squeezed the red handle of the bottle. Two sprays of fresh water fluttered down onto Jack, who yelped in surprise and backed off. He then hissed at the foul substance that clung to his scaly skin. For he was used to the salt water where his egg came from. It had helped to nurture his growth as a developing embryo. His dark green claws scrabbled on the floor as he ran back for his corner. Sora gave a big sigh of relief when the little pest left him alone. The white raptor's chest stung from the pin-like claws that tried to dig under him. He gave his chest a few tender licks before returning to his food.

"My goodness…" Martha huffed and put down the spray bottle – for now. "Jack is way too greedy and aggressive." She explained to her husband. "I've had to scold him for ripping at our furniture at least twice and then again when he tried to swallow a rat whole."

"Gee, he sure has some fierce hunter instincts." Jeremy commented.

"That's one way to put it…" The female replied, her voice trailing off. "Anyway, he's too dangerous to keep in the house. He sure isn't gentle like Sora."

The white raptor swelled with pride at this compliment. He then licked his chops and finished off the scraps in his bowl.

"Sora and I found a missing paper about a baby raptor on our walk home. Tomorrow we'll search around and see if we can find Jack's owner." Jeremy explained, showing her the flyer.

"You better hurry," Martha replied. "Because Jack won't be a baby much longer…"

Sora gave yet another sigh of relief at the thought of getting the sea-green raptor out of his house. He was happy that his partner was finally starting to see what he had been trying to tell them all along.

After dinner, Tommy was ready to play with his beloved baby raptor. But Jack just curled up in his corner and slept. The large chicken breast made his stomach bulge out like there was a bowling ball in there. Much like a snake, the undigested food made his movements very sluggish. The white raptor, however, found this worrisome. He was sleeping now but would he still be in the middle of the night when everyone else was sound asleep? The question recycled through the teenager's mind, keeping him on edge.

The fact that Jack was asleep forced the boy to play with Sora instead. But the white raptor wasn't complaining about that at all. And neither was Tommy once he realized his good boy was much gentler than the baby. For Jack had missed the toy a couple times earlier that day and caught the boy's fingers. Thankfully they didn't bleed, but Tommy still wanted bandages for the stinging white cuts.

Martha eventually called the seven-year old to go to bed. She even encouraged him to close the door tonight. Jack's aggressive behavior would likely only increase over time. Who knows if he would go and attack Tommy while he was asleep? Or even them for that matter. Martha certainly didn't want to leave that to chance. Sora also had to decide where he was going to be before his humans closed the doors on him. He considered being closed in Tommy's room for the night in order to protect him. But then he realized that may not be a good idea if Jack decided to go after the adults. His ultimate decision was to stay out in the family room in order to keep an eye on the baby. That way he could stop the sea-green raptor from wandering in either direction.

Sora took up a comfy spot on the soft fabric loveseat. During the day, it burned a deep burgundy, but at night it just looked black like the rest of the furniture. He curled up in its cushy seat, placing his crystal gaze on the baby that was still sacked out. The hours ticked by ever so slowly. Jack was still sound asleep.

It's a miracle! Sora thought.

The white raptor's eyes started to droop at about 1am in the morning. Sora had almost passed out himself when he heard that dragging noise coming from outside again. His small head shot up at attention. He slid off the chair and slunk to the window as it started to whisper again. Sora still couldn't make out what it was saying. It seemed to call to him. Blue claws rested on the wall as he hoisted himself to look out.

Nothing.

Still nothing.

Sora couldn't see anything but he felt that something was there. His body began to shiver uncontrollably. The voice seemed to grow louder and play from inside his head. It was like the voice had immobilized him, had somehow put him in a trance.

Something's moving out there… The white raptor realized.

The sound of clawed feet padding across the carpet entered his mind. Jack was on the move! But Sora's body wouldn't budge. It stayed in its spot shuddering uncontrollably.

No! He's going after my family! He silently roared at himself. Using every ounce of his will, Sora pried his slender body away from the window. His blue and white head shook back and forth. It felt like he had just stepped off an intense spinning ride at the carnival. He felt so dizzy that the room visibly swayed back and forth. A movement caught his attention. The sea-green raptor had been bounding up the stairs toward Tommy's room, and now the baby had made it to the top. Sora gave chase. His body teetered left and right from his lightheadedness. It was like going up the moving steps at a funhouse.

The white raptor took a deep breath as he reached the top in an effort to lessen the shaking of his world. It helped a bit but didn't get rid of the wooziness completely. He turned toward the boy's room. There was the door: closed as it should be. But there was no baby raptor standing before it. A triumphant snort came from behind the young raptor. Sora turned around just in time to see the little brat make a beeline down the stairs. The little pest had tricked him! Jack had made it look like he was going for Tommy's room when in fact it was just a diversion to throw off the alpha from his real target.

If Jack thinks he's going after Jeremy and Martha, he's wrong!

Sora took off after the sea-green raptor. He caught up with the little nuisance about halfway down the stairs. The white raptor went to pin Jack under his claws, but the baby had a different idea. It curled back around, tangling its body around Sora's feet. This ultimately caused the alpha to trip over the smaller velociraptor. They both yelped in surprise as the larger one fell face first down the rest of the flight. Sora's body tumbled over itself and ultimately hit the wooden floor landing on his right shoulder. The white raptor squealed in pain and lay there for a moment dazed. His only thought was what Jack was up to while he was down. To his surprise, the baby came rushing down the stairs with his tail tucked up near his tummy. It went straight for its corner as a set of footsteps came closer to their location. Sora gritted his teeth and looked up when the person stopped before him.

It was Martha.

For she was a very light sleeper compared to the two male humans in the house. Even the slightest of sounds would alert her to something awry in the home. And a certain thumping down the stairs was not something that was normal. She bent down to Sora's level as he tried to hoist himself up to look her in the eyes. His right foreleg recoiled back toward his chest when he put weight down on it. Martha noticed him wince when he did this. The human realized that the velociraptor must have fallen. There was no other reason that Sora would get hurt going down the stairs. They looked over to the corner where the baby raptor had curled himself up like nothing had ever happened. Likely pretending that he was sleeping, the white raptor realized. Martha wasn't fooled by the little one's behavior. Just because Jack looked innocent now didn't mean he had nothing to do with the alpha falling down the stairs. Without either of them being able to prove anything, the female promptly went to get an ice pack for Sora's shoulder. The young raptor couldn't keep it on for too long at a time though. For he was a cold-blooded creature that needed an outside source of heat to keep his core warm. A minute or two was enough to make him shiver.

Morning came around ever so slowly. The sun stretched its claws over the horizon and dragged itself into the sky over the island, signaling another day of work. Having hardly got any sleep the previous night, Sora was ready for that baby to be out. He was both physically and mentally drained from his sleepless nights. One more night of this tiresome baby-sitter service and he would be falling asleep during his day job. Not that he probably wouldn't have nodded off today if he and Jeremy had not been out walking around. They were searching for someone that was missing their baby raptor. His human showed the paper to as many people that would take a moment to look at it.

It was almost noon and they were no farther in finding Jack's owner. Most people responded with things like "haven't seen him" or "doesn't look familiar". One person even said that the writing on the paper was so bad that his first-grader could do better than that.

Jeremy crumpled up the paper and shoved it in his pocket. He was starting to doubt that this missing raptor paper was even real. The man rested his back against a police cruiser, running his fingers through his thick brown hair. Sora, who was laying across the backseat of the car, looked up to his human.

"I don't know what to do Sora." He admitted, letting out a long puff of air. "I don't want to kick Jack out all by himself, but he's getting a little too much to handle. Especially for a boy like Tommy. Family life is not for him. He needs a strong adult that will nurture his strengths." The white raptor eventually put his snout back down on the seat. For he hoped to get a couple winks of sleep before they started off again.

"Whoa! Watch out! Clear the way!" Someone shouted in the distance. Both officers looked down the road to see a 20-foot-long spinosaurid theropod dinosaur stumble out into traffic. Its underside was completely white and on its backside was pinkish-purple splotches with dark blue spots running along its sides. On its back was a small fan-like ridge that was bright yellow. It was not nearly as big as the one on its relative, the spinosaurus. A small ridge of this yellow color also sprouted from the top of its head and on the underside of its jaw. This angaturama, better known as the irritator, wailed as if something was wrong with it. Its medium-sized body thrashed about, nearly slamming into nearing vehicles and pedestrians on the crosswalk. Behind it came running a man, presumably its owner. The human tried desperately to get the theropod to calm down.

"It's okay, pal! Please stop throwing yourself around!" He cried to the dinosaur. But the angaturama only ran further into traffic. People slammed on their brakes to avoid the rampaging dinosaur. It seemed distressed but wasn't actually attacking anyone. The alligator-like snout waved around, trying to find the seemingly correct way to go.

Jeremy and Sora jumped into action. They started to give chase like the dinosaur's owner. The white raptor listened as his human questioned what had happened that caused the angaturama to behave in such a way.

"I think something spooked him." The dark-skinned owner huffed and puffed. "We were out on a fishing trip when Baxter suddenly ran out of the water in this fit you see."

Upon hearing the man's explanation, Sora put on the steam and powered ahead of the two men. He followed closely behind the theropod named Baxter. The white raptor watched as the angaturama ducked down a narrow alley. He skidded to a stop before ultimately turning down that way too. The alley reeked of garbage. All of the rotting foods that the restaurants threw out basked in the heat of the day. It was the dinosaurs' leftovers that made it smell really bad. The smell of rotting meat nearly made Sora gag. He liked very fresh meat. If it has sat for any amount of time, the white raptor won't eat it. Sora would rather eat some berries instead of foul smelling meat. The velociraptor had grown so spoiled that he didn't even like to kill his own prey anymore. For he was truly a domesticated dinosaur now. He enjoyed his meals being delivered to him on a silver plate.

The angaturama kept plowing forward. It didn't even slow down until it realized that it was mere feet away from a metal fence that divided the alleyway's property line. Baxter tried to put on the brakes too late. He swung his body around, hitting the fence with his side. The metallic fence groaned under the 20-foot dinosaur's weight but did not give out. Baxter let himself lay there while trying to catch his breath. Sora slowed his pace and approached the larger theropod. He wanted the spinosaurid to know that he wasn't a threat.

"Hey there, friend. It's okay. Nobody's trying to hurt you." The white raptor friendly cooed. "What's all the ruckus about?"

Baxter took a moment to catch his breath. Magenta eyes darted around to make sure there was no danger present. His muzzle shook back and forth to focus himself on the smaller theropod that was questioning him.

"S-something in the w-water!" The angaturama stuttered out. This did not worry Sora. For he knew there were many creatures that called the ocean their home, many of them even bigger than this water loving dinosaur in front of Sora.

"Okay, what did it look like?" The young raptor asked.

"Didn't see much of it. Just those glowing orange eyes!"

"Glowing orange eyes?" He repeated. And then he remembered seeing Jack with glowing orange eyes the previous night.

"Y-yes! They stared right into my soul! Saw everything that I was thinking! I couldn't move! And then when I could, I couldn't stop moving!" The spinosaurid explained. It then gave a yelp of fear as it remembered those piercing eyes staring right through him. Clawed hands seized his head as if he were afraid something would hit him.

The gears began to turn in Sora's head. Just last night he had felt that he had been frozen still. He had heard that sound outside and couldn't tear himself away from the window. Could it be that he had been victim to the same creature? That it was related to Jack? But how? The creature that Baxter saw was really big and lived in the ocean.

"Don't go near the water, man! It'll get inside your head!" The angaturama said, snapping Sora out of his trance.

"Right. Thanks." He replied. Just then, Baxter's owner came running past.

"Oh, Baxter! You're okay!' He beamed and threw his arms around the theropod's neck. The human then looked to the white raptor. "Thanks for calming him down, officer."

Sora gave a curt nod at the man's praise.

"Come on, Baxter. Let's go get you some fresh salmon. How's that sound?" The spinosaurid gave a moan of approval and slowly got up.

Sora watched as the pair left the scene. Jeremy then came up and praised his partner for his efforts. The white raptor didn't even respond to the rough pat on the head he was given. He just held a blank stare for the rest of their shift. The young raptor tried desperately to make sense of how Jack could be related to a sea monster.

They eventually headed home after what seemed like the longest day of Sora's life. He was thoroughly tired from the lack of sleep and his body was starting to wilt. Jeremy swung the front door wide open as the two officers stepped inside. The house looked empty. No one was rushing to greet them.

"Hello? Martha? Tommy? Anyone home?" The man called out. Then Martha's head poked out from the kitchen. It cautiously looked around as if she were being watched. She then ushered them in.

"What's going on?" Her husband whispered.

"Jack's been going on a hunting spree." The woman gestured to a pile of mutilated dead rats that she had swept to one corner. They were torn open and half eaten. It seemed like the sea-green raptor liked certain parts of the rodents, especially their livers. A foul smell emitted from the heap that almost made Sora sick. Most carnivores loved the smell of decaying meat. Some would even roll in the filth like dogs to get the scent on them. But not the young raptor. For he didn't want any part of that.

"On the one hand, we won't have a rat problem anymore. But he just won't stop hunting anything that moves. I had Tommy go in his room and lock the door. I'm afraid for him. For all of us. The only reason I've been able to keep him away from myself is because of my spray bottles." She clutched one of her weapons to her side to keep it handy. "Will you two help me get him outside? I'm sure Sora wouldn't mind if we chained him out back." The young raptor smiled at her as she winked at him.

"Absolutely! I just feel bad that we never found his owner though." Jeremy said.

"Something tells me that he'll be able to take care of himself just fine out there." Martha persisted. That her husband shouldn't feel any guilt for tossing out such an aggressive creature. "We'll figure out what to do with him in the morning. After we've all gotten the well-deserved sleep that we need." Sora snorted in agreement. In all honesty, Martha would have not cared if Jack broke free during the night and ran off into the island. That would be a burden off her chest.

A high-pitched squeak reached their ears. The three of them looked in unison where the sound was coming from. A dark-gray furred rat came scuttling into the kitchen as fast as it could go. The woman knew that could only mean one thing. That the sea-green raptor was hot on its trail. They watched as a green snout batted it into the air. A pair of powerful jaws came closing down on the rodent, snapping its back in one chomp. Jeremy and Sora stood shell-shocked as they now stared at a velociraptor that was a little bigger than the white raptor. Its gaze whipped over to meet them. Those orange eyes. Even though they were not currently glowing, its stare was oppressive and intimidating. Sora felt trapped under it. Like it would freeze him in place if he looked on for any longer. His sapphire eyes darted away from Jack's gaze. The sea-green raptor growled in pleasure, tossing his fresh kill to the side. For he had set his sights on a new, much bigger prey. The alpha would certainly put up a fight, perhaps even a considerable challenge. Jack licked his lips in anticipation of how the white raptor's liver might taste. It would be much juicier than the tiny rat livers he had been devouring all day, that's for sure.

Sora hunched down like he was going to spring at the sea-green raptor. Jack merely smiled, showing his inch-long fangs.

"How are we going to get him outside?" Martha whispered over to her husband. She knew dinosaurs were very intelligent creatures, especially raptors. Jack would not easily be tricked into stepping outside.

"We'll have to herd him toward the door somehow." Jeremy replied. Sora began to think about how they could go about tricking him to go that way. Or if they could knock him out, that would make things easy.

Before he could try anything, Martha squirted the raptor with two pumps of her water bottle. The misty liquid floated down over his face. Jack grumbled in annoyance and took off running out of the kitchen. Jeremy took a lunge at the sea-green raptor when it made a turn to go up the stairs towards Tommy's room. The man tackled the reptilian creature that was the size of a wolf. Jack's snout came down, hitting his chin on one of the steps and instinctively closing his eyes. It seemed stunned for a moment. Sora watched as those orange eyes flashed back open and glared at his human. Jack immediately tried to push himself up and whip his head around to get a hold of his attacker. The young raptor saw those fangs going for his man and sprang into action. Three blue claws swiped at the other creature's face. It roared in agony and jumped straight up in the air. Jeremy was forced to let go and roll down the stairs. If they hadn't been in the middle of their struggle with Jack, Sora might have felt a bit jealous that his human could roll down the stairs much more gracefully than he. There wasn't a single bruise on the man's body.

The sea-green raptor calmed himself down and set its sights on the white raptor. Those orange eyes seemed to pulse in rage. A red scratch mark was clearly painted down over his left eye. Sora heard a growl rumble in his throat. He then silently pounced at his prey. The young raptor let himself be tumbled over, using the momentum to keep them rolling toward the door. Luckily, Martha saw the direction they were going and made sure to open the door wide.

Sora felt grass on his back and he knew they were outside. But they were still tumbling over one another.

How do I get out of this? The young raptor wondered. However, he didn't have to ponder for long. Jack ended up pinning him to the wooden fence that surrounded their yard. His head and between the shoulder blades slammed into the border that was painted white. If they weren't careful, it would be a different color by the time they were done. Sora felt his opponent's claws holding him in place by the shoulders. Jack easily towered over the young raptor's narrow frame. The sea-green raptor bared his fangs and inched them toward its prey's face. It wanted to mangle Sora's face, to get back at him for messing up his.

The white raptor quickly used the claws on his hind legs to kick off his attacker. It yelped in pain and collided with the side of the house. Jack wasn't down for long. He came back up with a deep growl rumbling in his throat. Sora started to get up too. He watched as his opponent suddenly squealed and thrashed about like something was attacking him. The young raptor knew that he was feeling the effects of the temporary poison he had given him. Velociraptors could inject creatures with a mild poison if pricked with the enlarged claws on their back feet. It would sap a small dose of their enemy's strength and allow the velociraptor to get in another attack before they recovered.

Martha quickly bombarded Jack with the fresh water from her spray bottle. He backed away from her, squealing all the while. Jeremy expertly slipped a chain around the raptor's neck. With a knee on the creature's lower back, the man gently pushed the stunned Jack to the ground so he could fasten the clamp of the silver chain to itself. It was a lightweight chain that was supposed to clip onto Sora's collar like a leash. The white raptor had only been forced to use it a few times in his life. Back when he was new to the family and Martha was uncertain about having such a carnivorous creature in the house. She would tie him out at night for fear that he might go after her son during the night. Sora had quickly earned her trust and he no longer was kicked out after the sun went down. She was glad when the white raptor had decided to become the boy's protector, laying at the foot of Tommy's bed like a guard dog.

Sora watched as his female human went over to stomp on the spike that anchored the sea green raptor to the spot. She wanted to be sure that it was driven deeply into the earth. That Jack could not pull it out if he started to get a little agitated. Martha gave Jeremy a nod that she was finished. She got clear of the raptor's chain range before her husband dared to let go of the aggressive carnivore. And for good reason. Sora saw those pulsing orange eyes waiting for the right moment to pounce.

Jeremy silently counted to three in his head before jumping up and making a break for it. For he still had to make it by those teeth without getting caught. Just as predicted, Jack took a lunge as soon as the human let go. Martha pulled her man tightly to her and away from the sea-green raptor's rage. All three of them heard the powerful jaws close down on nothing but air. The velociraptor yanked at the chain, surprised to find out that he could go no further. His neck looped back around to see what these meddling humans had done to him. Jack realized he was stuck. He growled in anger, whipping his gaze back to the family that had welcomed him in. And now they were kicking him out.

"That should hold him for now." Jeremy breathed a sigh of relief. "Let's all go in and get a good night's rest." Sora happily followed his humans into the house. However, he took notice of that dangerous look in the green raptor's eyes. A growl still rumbled in his throat as he watched the rest of them make their leave. Oh, how he wanted to get back at them for tricking him into being chained outside. But that time would come. He would just have to be patient and concoct his escape when they were all sleeping.

Meanwhile, Sora made his way upstairs to get Tommy. The young raptor wanted to spend time with the boy while the nuisance was out of the house. To let him know that it was safe to come out and enjoy dinner. His blue claws gently scratched at the door. The seven-year old cautiously opened it a crack. Upon seeing that it was his old buddy, he let it swing open wide. Tommy flung his arms around the white raptor's neck as it sat there taking in the affection. Sora soaked up every bit of it he could take that evening. It almost made him feel like he was the only raptor again. But the fear that his family was in danger came back that night when he heard the jingling of the chain being moved around outside. The young raptor listened carefully as the metal seemed to make noise every few seconds. It was the sound of Jack angrily pacing back and forth in front of their house like a caged tiger. Sora felt a bit more at ease when the noises stopped. He could only assume that Jack had calmed down, that he was not trying to escape. Even so, the young raptor decided to sleep in the family room in case the aggressive creature somehow got loose. That way he could intervene Jack from going either way.

It was starting to get late at night when Sora began to nod off. His small body was curled up on the nice leather couch, his breathing becoming steady.

Outside, Jack had been gnawing at the chain around his neck. Originally, he thought about digging up the peg, but then he would be dragging the whole line around with him. It would make his movements too loud and cumbersome, he realized. Could easily get caught again. No, he had to get rid of the chain altogether. Even if that meant gnawing through the tough binding apparatus with his own teeth.

The green raptor had been chewing on the silver chain for hours now. His jaw was starting to get sore and his belly was rumbling loudly. At this point, he would've eaten the chain had it seemed edible in the least bit. Jack was getting exceedingly frustrated in the lack of progress he was making. He gave an exasperated growl and punched down on the chain with a fist full of claws. Jack yanked his neck in the opposite direction. His orange eyes widened in surprise when the chain actually snapped off. The green raptor had whittled down the metal enough that it had weakened. His green slime of drool also helped to melt the chain a bit, almost like it was acidic. Jack stared at the cold snake-like apparatus that lay on the ground for a moment. His stomach growled again. He shook off the last piece that was looped around his neck.

Now to get in the house, he thought as he licked his lips. There was human meat or a velociraptor liver to devour. Which should he choose?

Whatever one I can get first, he silently answered himself. His figure approached the door. The green raptor had already bested a chain. A door should be no more difficult, Jack assured himself. Without hesitation, he inserted one of his claws into the keyhole. He poked and twisted the claw around until he heard something click. A sinister smile spread across his lips as he emitted a moan of delight. With a slight push of his claws, the door swung open. A small creak accompanied it. The sound made Sora stir in his sleep but did not wake. Jack looked up the stairs toward Tommy's room.

Perhaps the boy would make a good appetizer, he thought. His muzzle turned toward the kitchen where he knew the adults' room was just beyond and around the corner. They would do well for the main course. And for dessert, velociraptor liver! The sea-green raptor licked his lips in anticipation of all the meat he would get to devour tonight. However, it had to be done just right. A single squeak out of just one of them would alert the whole house to what he was doing. No, the slaughters had to be done in a certain order. The runt velociraptor would have to be the first to go. Otherwise it would cause much difficulty for him to kill the rest of the family. For the white raptor would know if one of his humans were destroyed. It was like an alarm that went off in his head when his loved ones were in danger.

A quick snap of the neck should take care of it, Jack decided as he hunched low and stalked toward the white and blue lump on the couch. The sea-green raptor had been so hyper focused on the spot to which he should attack that he failed to notice one of Sora's squeaky toys laid out on the floor. A shrill squeak echoed through the room. It made the hunter gasp and flinch on the spot. Fortunately for the white raptor, the sound immediately shook him awake. But Jack wasn't willing to give up on his kill that easy. Even though his prey had woken up, he was going to take a snap at him. Sora's blue eyes went big as the green raptor pounced toward him. His white body went limp and slid down off the couch. Jack's teeth punctured deep into the fabric. The young raptor heard the leather ripping as his adversary ripped his teeth and claws away from it.

"You won't essscape me." The sea-green raptor growled as he jumped down to the floor. Both velociraptors hunched down like they were going to attack. "None of your family will ever leave this houssse again."

"Why are you doing this?" Sora questioned as they began to circle one another. "My humans took you in. They were willing to make you a part of the family."

"None of my anccestorsss ever sssuccumbed to the humans. They didn't become sssoft little weenies like you!" Jack hissed.

"But that doesn't mean you should try to attack them!" The white raptor argued back. "You shouldn't commit an act of violence against people that have shown you nothing but kindness."

"What do you know?" His jaws snapped. "You've been brainwashed of all your inssstincts! We are predatorsss! You should start acting like one!"

"I'm nothing like you." Sora said calmly.

"Enough talk! I will end you now!" Jack hissed and lunged forward. The white raptor, however, fully expected this and jumped high. A fistful of blue claws smacked the green velociraptor on the head. It squealed in surprise and tried to shake it away. This gave Sora another opportunity to get in another attack.

The young raptor landed on the ground and whirled around to meet his adversary once more. He promptly pushed the larger theropod to the ground. Jack felt his back collide with the ground, but was not particularly worried about it. He was mainly just annoyed by it. Sora prepared to bite down on the ungrateful dinosaur. The sea-green raptor quickly deterred this by shoving his clawed hand into Sora's mouth. Two blue eyes went wide when the white raptor realized that his opponent's black claws were going to dangle down his throat if he didn't get out of there within the next couple of seconds.

Instinctually, Sora tried to back away from the pain giver. But Jack didn't let go. In fact, the green raptor made sure he was holding onto the white one's lower jaw. Sharp teeth poked into the dark colored flesh and drew blood. Sora could feel it dripping down onto himself too. He continued to try and pull away from the crazy creature that hatched only three days ago. However, the young raptor's desperate attempts to get away only helped pull Jack up to his feet.

The two of them stared each other in the eyes for a second before the larger one gave a sudden and fierce head-butt to the white one. Poor Sora sunk to the ground without a sound. His head pounded with a throbbing pain that didn't seem to want to go away. A forceful hand came down on his shoulder to keep him in place. But the white raptor wasn't getting up anytime soon. For he was too dazed to know what was up or down at the moment.

Jack pried his jaws open with a hiss and prepared to close them down on Sora's neck like he had originally planned. The white raptor could sense the impending danger but wasn't sure if he could do anything about it. Turning over would only make the green raptor's attack even more devastating if it hit.

Perhaps I could try to hit him with my tail… Sora thought.

Before he could try anything, a whisper invaded their minds. The young raptor couldn't understand it, but Jack seemed to know just what it was saying. He stopped in his tracks and listened intently. Orange eyes went wide as his head perked up. The green raptor stared intently out the door, where the sounds seemed to be coming from.

"It'sss your lucky day, runt. There'sss been a change of plansss. I'll come back and sssquish you like a bug when I'm much bigger." Sora heard the creature above him say. Blue eyes fluttered open to see the silhouette of Jack walking towards the outside world. The weight on his shoulder lifted away as the velociraptor plodded forward with a purpose.

Still feeling quite dizzy, Sora stood up and took a lunge at his adversary. His clumsy movements made Jack aware of what he was doing. The sea-green raptor whipped around as the white one came at him with jaws open. But Jack was not worried about this in the least. He merely let his teeth close around the domesticated dinosaur's collar. Using the momentum of the lunging movement, the green raptor spun around and sent Sora crashing back into his home. Specifically, into the bookshelf that was chocked full of beefy books. The young raptor's body slammed forcefully against the five-tier shelf. Jack watched as the wooden structure wobbled back and forth and ultimately vomited its top two layers onto Sora. The green velociraptor chuckled wickedly as he turned and ran out the open door.

"Oooohhh…." The young raptor moaned from under the stack of books. He had not realized how heavy paper could actually be. His small head slowly rose out of the pile. "Ow…" Sora whimpered as a clawed hand rubbed what felt like a large bruise forming on the back of his head.

Jack's last words rang through his head:

I'll be back when I'm bigger and squish you.

When he gets bigger? What does he mean by that? How big is he planning to get? Sora wondered. I can't just sit around and let him do that. Who knows what damage he'll do if he gets his way?

I…must…go….after….him! The white raptor thought as he squeezed his small frame out from under the mountain of literature. He gave a quick shake of his body before darting out after the sea-green raptor. Sora was relying on his sense of smell to guide him in the right direction. With any luck, he would catch up before Jack reached his desired destination.

Back at the house, the loud crash had awoken his family.

"What's all the racket?" Jeremy called out as he scurried through the kitchen. His feet made it into the family room mere seconds after his companion had left, waving a flashlight around wildly. The human looked from the partially emptied shelf to the door that was wide open. He knew none of them had left it in that condition, or even unlocked. For they wanted to keep Jack out for the night. Jeremy knew that Sora knew how to pick a lock. But it didn't make sense that he would do that when he disliked Jack so much. Could it be that the green raptor picked the lock instead? Jeremy was starting to believe this. There was no evidence of any other means of opening the door.

"Is it Jack again? Did he get in somehow?" Came Martha's voice as she followed her husband out into the family room. She also stopped short when she saw the damage to the couch and the half-spilled bookshelf.

"I think so. Looks like he and Sora had a bit of a squabble and then left. But why would Sora follow him?"

Before the female could offer an answer, a third voice entered the conversation.

"Daddy? Is everything okay?" Tommy cautiously came down the stairs, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Hey buddy." His father kneeled down to his level. "It looks like the raptors have run away, but don't worry, we'll find them." Jeremy then stood up and looked to the open door. "I just don't understand why Sora would have left too…."

"There has to be a reason he went after Jack. Perhaps he knows something we don't….?" Martha offered.

"But without that knowledge, how are we going to find them?" The man shrugged, hoping for some kind of clue in the wreckage when they would go to clean it up. "They could have gone anywhere on the island. Jack really seemed like he loved to hunt, so perhaps he went off to somewhere with good game."

"What about home?" Tommy interjected.

"What?" His parents both asked, seeming intrigued by this idea.

"Maybe Jack was just feeling homesick and went looking for his parents. Home is always where I go when I'm feeling nervous or am looking for something." The seven-year-old elaborated.

"Home…" Jeremy repeated, trailing off. "That's it! Jack is still very young so he's looking for comfort in a familiar place. I bet he's going back to the beach where we saw him hatch. Great job, Tommy!" He praised and ruffled his son's hair.

"You two stay here. I'm going after the velociraptors." The officer rushed around to get dressed and grab a few essentials. He would need a phone to call for backup if needed and his gun. The male human hoped that he wouldn't have to use it on Jack, but he just didn't know that for sure. He bid his family a quick goodbye and headed out the door, back to the very spot where the green velociraptor had hatched.

"Mommy, I don't like this." Tommy said once his father was gone.

"I don't like it either, baby. Something's not right here…." She replied.

Sora followed his acute sense of smell and kept right on Jack's trail. Even though there had only been seconds between each of the ratpors' departure from the house, the green raptor seemed to pull way ahead. Not a silhouette of a creature running could be seen in the early sunrise lighting from the sky.

Jack had made it to the beach and stopped at the edge of a bluff. He stared intently out at the ocean, letting the calm sea air dance against his scaly skin and flirt with his nostrils. There was something about the scent of the salty sea air that made him feel at home. The sound of the gently crashing waves on the shore made him feel calm. It was like the ocean was calling to him, and he had no choice but to obey its command.

The white raptor finally caught up to his adversary. Sora realized that he was totally distracted. That he had not noticed the other velociraptor sneaking up on him yet. Instead of slowing down, the young raptor actually sped up. His intent was to knock Jack off the cliff and into the ocean where he would drown, or so he thought.

The green raptor didn't take notice of the clawed feet padding on the grass until the young raptor was only a few feet away. Jack started to turn around when Sora threw his whole body weight against the larger creature. It took him by surprise. His jaw gaped open as his feet left the soft ground. Desperate to keep himself from falling, the green velociraptor instinctively whipped his head back around and grabbed the first thing he could, which was Sora's collar.

"Ugh!" The smaller raptor cried out as a great weight was placed upon his neck. It tried to drag him down to the sandy beach a couple stories below. Blue claws dug into the patch of grass and loose rubble at the very edge of the cliff. They immediately started to slip off, sending small pebbles off their perch. With his neck horribly bent over the bluff, Sora tried desperately to find purchase. For he feared that both of them would be going over if he couldn't get a grip. Jack, however, could feel that his small adversary was having much difficulty in this endeavor. He gave a devious chuckle between closed teeth as he proceeded to swing his body weight around. The white raptor was slipping, but still had hold of the earth. The green raptor swung his body again, taking the runt down with him.

Both of the raptors fell down about two stories before landing on some hard sand. For it had been affected by the water during high tide, leaving it to solidify and stick together. Jack landed flat on his back, taking the brunt of the blow. Sora was lucky enough to land across the larger raptor, softening his fall a bit. Laying long ways across the larger creature's torso, he and the green raptor stayed there writhing on the spot. Jack groaned as an engulfing pain spread throughout his body, specifically concentrating his spine. After a few seconds of not doing a thing, he realized that his small adversary was resting on him, panting with heavily lidded eyes.

"Get off!" He growled and began to thrust himself up. Sora rolled away from the predator that was lashing out. Both of them got to their feet. They stood there looking at one another for a second, the white raptor wondering if Jack was going to try and kill him. But he didn't have to wonder for long. For the dark green one lunged forward, viciously snapping his jaws. Sora backed away, dodging the powerful bites that were aimed for his head. Jack saw that this wasn't getting him anywhere and lunged his whole body forward. The young raptor let himself drop down to the left. He watched as his adversary sailed by. A handful of blue claws slid along the green raptor's flank. It shrieked at the surprise of a sharp pain. Orange eyes glanced down at the presence of blood seeping from the wound. Jack growled, wheeling around to attack his opponent again.

Sora saw those gleaming white teeth coming at him. He took a deep breath before jutting his jaws wide open. A powerful roar emitted from his mouth, gaining even more strength from the sea breeze that whisked by. The winds would always work with an air type dinosaur to aid in giving them the upper hand. Jack went tumbling head over tail away from the young raptor. His green body pounded against the sand as it repeatedly rolled over itself. It only stopped when it forcefully met with a piece of the bluff that had fallen to the beach over time. The velociraptor's jaws went agape when its body was forced back forward again. Orange eyes whipped open as a moan of pain emitted from the creature's throat. With a slight shake in its step, the green theropod forced himself up. Jack attempted to shoot something back at his adversary. Sora flinched when he saw this. Much to his relief, nothing came from the slimy jaws that held agape. The green raptor desperately tried to get something to come out of his system. But try as he might, he could not muster a roar to command the air. Thoroughly frustrated, Jack stamped the ground with a clawed hand and snorted a silent curse.

The white raptor sent another short pulse of wind from his throat. His opponent merely jumped out of the way, letting the sonic-like force shave off an inch or so from the bluff piece. Jack then took charge again. Sora began to rapid-fire those short bursts of sonic air. But the green raptor merely dodged out of the way each time. It was almost like he could tell where they were going to go before they even did.

Jack was getting too close. For the young raptor had to do something quick before he became victim to the vice-like grip of the larger creature's fangs. With only a couple of seconds left to spare, Sora jumped high, propelled by gusts of wind created by his feet. It was almost like he had built-in rocket boots that gave him an extra boost. The green raptor gaped as his opponent flew overhead, locking gazes with one another.

Jack was starting to get put out. Why didn't he have abilities like that? There was no way he could compete with the white raptor's speed. In that case, he would have to hinder its movement somehow. The sea-green creature gave a wicked smile as he realized just how he would do it.

Sora landed on the ground and turned around to see what Jack would try to do next. His adversary merely swiped at the sand with a clawed hand, spraying sand in the young raptor's face.

"Aaahhh!" He cried and desperately tried to wipe the granules away with the back of his hands. The sand stung his eyes. Sora then attempted to open them up when he felt like enough of the particles had been cleared away. A blurry figure of Jack advancing on him flashed into his view. For it did not last long until another blast of that ungodly earth substance blinded him yet again. Poor Sora tried to curl up and protect his face. A pair of jaws locked around his collar and yanked him from the ground. Jack began to slam his small opponent on the ground.

"Ugh!" The white raptor cried each time something made contact with the hardened sand. First his side, then the tailbone, and even his shoulder. The green raptor then pinned him to the ground for good. Those teeth were settling for a long vice-like grip. They started to drill into his collar and poke at his throat. Sora began to flail about. In his panic, a blue claw got shoved up the other theropod's nostril. The sudden and painful jab caused Jack to roar in pain and back off.

The young raptor took advantage of this and went to get up. He had only made it to his feet when his adversary gave him a good shove with both of its hands. One landed on his shoulder and the other just behind it. Sora's body went tumbling sideways. Instead of panicking, the white raptor used his momentum to flip over one more time and land on his feet. Panting heavily, Sora looked to his opponent. He did not seem tired in the least. But the young raptor was sweating and breathing heavily. How was Jack not even a little bit tired?

A gasp escaped his throat as he saw the larger creature winding up for a powerful strike with its claws. One that was sure to crush a bone or two if it hit. Sora ducked out of the way just in time. For the dark-colored daggers sunk deep into the sand. Jack watched as the smaller velociraptor bounced back and latched its fangs on his neck. It was like little needles cutting through his tough skin. The green raptor moaned in both pain and annoyance. Without another thought, he lashed out with the other set of claws that were not rooted in the ground. He felt the middle one make contact with something. It was clear what it was when Sora yelped in pain and went sprawling onto his back. A single bloody cut ran diagonal across the white chest. Jack gave a devious smile. This is exactly what he wanted to see: blood and pain. The sight of the bright red liquid on his prey made him excited. He wasted no time in aiming for that vulnerable spot again.

Sora saw the dagger-like teeth coming at him. The young raptor quickly went block, putting his arm across his chest to protect it from any further damage. He screamed yet again when the fangs closed around his skinny limb. Jack felt great pleasure from drawing blood from the little nuisance. His grip tightened a little to prevent the liquid from escaping his mouth. The small raptor acted quick and pushed off the larger one with his clawed feet. His green body went sailing across the beach and landed just before the bluff. Sora saw this as an opportunity to slow him down a bit. His sleek body got up and sprinted forward. With blue claws poised, he slammed Jack into the rocky terrain. From the look on the green raptor's face, it was clear that he was finally making some progress in slowing the bigger one down and causing some pain at the same time. The white raptor repeatedly crashed his hands onto the other's shoulders, driving him into the wall and weakening the structure. Jack found a moment between the strikes to lash out with his claws. They swiped for the young raptor's head. Sora cried out in pain, backing away. Blue eyes twitched as they felt a stinging pain just above them. A trickle of blood tried to blind him in his right eye.

The green raptor lunged forward with jaws wide open and a roar beginning to trumpet from his throat. With a gasp, Sora quickly turned himself around and raised his tail. Visible swirls of wind began to surround his tail as he brought it down on Jack's head. Orange eyes bulged out as far as they could go from the sudden and immense pain. The strike was so powerful that it drove the green raptor's muzzle deep into the sand and weakened the creature's skull. Sora took a few strides away and then turned around to see what had become of his adversary. For it still lay there motionless. The white raptor's breathing echoed across the beach and bounced back from the bluff. Just as he was about to give a sigh of relief, Jack violently yanked his head from the sand. An ear-splitting roar accompanied the movement. Orange eyes then locked on the young velociraptor's location. It charged forward, wildly swinging its claws at its prey. The small raptor took exaggerated jumps backward to make sure he avoided those powerful claws. That last jump found Sora's feet touching the salty sea water.

Too close to the water… He realized.

As soon as he found an opening, he tried to get around the feral velociraptor. But Jack was too fast for him. For the jaws of the sea-green raptor found his collar again. Sora felt like a ragdoll as he was lifted from the ground and thrown out towards the open ocean. His slender body splashed into the water, nearly dunking his muzzle underwater. The young raptor went to sit up when his head was forced back underwater. A forceful hand held it down, not allowing him to move up. Not even an inch. Sora quickly realized that Jack was trying to drown him. All twelve of his blue claws instinctively lashed out at his attacker. The more he struggled, the faster the oxygen escaped from his lungs. But if he didn't act quickly, he would be dead very soon. It was suffocating and scary, dark and warm. Like a liquid blanket that had wrapped itself around his head and neck, constricting the very life from him. His blue eyes stayed squeezed shut. For the salt water would only cause more pain and panic. A whisper came calling from the depths. Had Sora not been in such a desperate situation, he would have realized that it was the same sweet words that summoned Jack away when they were at the house.

The white raptor was finally able to latch his claws onto his opponent. He flipped Jack up and over his head, throwing him out farther into the ocean. Sora could only hope that the green raptor would drown if far enough out. As soon as he was able to, the young theropod heaved his head out of the water. He coughed and hacked, getting rid of any salty water that trickled down his throat. His snout turned around to find Jack thrashing about. The green body then went still and sunk below the surface. Sora gave a sigh of relief and stood up. A bit stiff from the fight, he trudged himself back to dry land. As soon as his claws met the dry sand, a bubbling sound came from behind him. The white raptor looked over his shoulder to see a patch of the ocean bubbling as if it were boiling. Something launched itself out of the water and clear over the young raptor's head. A sea green body came down onto the shore with a loud thud. Sora flinched as the green body landed on the beach before him. Orange fins now decorated his back, tail and his limbs where the joints connected. Jack turned around with his eyes glowing ever brighter than before. A devious smile formed on his face as he took in his newfound energy. This intimidated the young raptor. It made his adversary looked crazed, hyped up with a passionate desire to fight and cause pain.

"Let'sss sssee you dodge my attacksss now, runt!" He challenged and raced toward Sora. The white raptor went to jump out of the way like normal. Before all of his claws could leave the sand, a powerful swipe to the head sent him tumbling to the ground. It had been such a forceful smack that the young theropod felt a little dizzy. His muzzle slowly lifted to look at his opponent. Jack knew that his adversary was in awe of his newfound speed and strength.

"Go ahead, try that again. If you dare…." The green raptor taunted, narrowing his gleaming eyes. Jack lashed out again with his dark claws. This time it was much slower of a strike. But that was on purpose. He wanted to let Sora dodge once and believe he had actually done something. As planned, he let the little raptor get away the first time. The white raptor didn't have another second to react when the larger creature grabbed onto his shoulder with its powerful jaws. Sora screamed in pain as those teeth drove into his skin, getting a good hold.

"Are you going to ssstart begging for mercy? Or am I going to have to beat it out of you?" Jack said with his mouth full. He then threw his small opponent away, tossing him into a rock that was partially buried in the sand. The small body slumped down, letting the pain consume him for a moment.

All right! Time to see what I can do! Jack thought with a spirited flick of the tail. The green raptor then took a deep breath, intending for something to actually come out this time. He assumed it would be wind like his small-boned adversary. Both velociraptors were surprised when a geyser of lime green water came out of his mouth. Sora quickly rolled himself out of the way of the oddly colored liquid. He looked back to find a hole had been burned right through the center of the rock. It still steamed and sizzled. Thick droplets of the tainted water fell to the bottom of the hole where they continued to eat away at the once seemingly sturdy substance.

"Next time that hole will be in your chessst!" Jack roared, his fangs steaming from the potent acid in the liquid. It was a wonder it didn't destroy his teeth altogether. Sora saw the green raptor preparing for another blast of that devastating water. The young raptor countered with his wind breath. Both substances collided in the middle, causing a large explosion. Lime green water splattered in all directions. Sora had to cover his face with his arms to prevent the liquid from getting into his eyes. He screamed in pain as the droplets painted his arms and torso. He could feel the water sizzling and burning marks into his scaly skin.

Jack raced forward and lashed out with his tail like a whip. Blue eyes went wide as the powerful appendage punched his gut. The white body went sailing backwards, tumbling over itself multiple times. It finally came to a halt and the young raptor lay there for a moment motionless. For he did not want to get up. He was tired and hurt. Patches on his body still felt like they were burning from the acidic water. Sora sensed that the larger creature was approaching him. Although this time it was slow. Not the threatening rush it had been doing. The young raptor could feel that his opponent was very near. His muzzle slowly upturned to look at the sea green theropod.

"Tell me that you yield and I will make your death quick." Jack said. "Otherwissse it will be long and agonizing. It'sss your choice." He gave the smaller creature a moment to think about it. Sora attempted to get himself up so he could look at the other velociraptor in the eyes when he gave his answer. His body said to stay down, to listen to what the green raptor was saying. But Sora knew that was not an option. If Jack was planning to kill him, he would rather go out fighting than cowering like a frightened child. The white body shook horribly as it went to stand. It wobbled back and forth a little before becoming steady on those clawed feet.

"No." He said calmly. "No one should ever yield to an ungrateful bully like you!" Sora then lunged forward to attack him. But Jack was prepared for this. The green raptor merely turned to the side, letting the smaller creature bounce off his muscular hide. "Oof!" Sora grunted and fell on his back.

"It'sss sssuch a shame you will not die with honor." Jack sighed. In a split second, his jaws found their way around the dark blue color again. He tossed the white body a short distance to stun it, but making sure it landed on its backside. Even though a shockwave of pain rippled throughout Sora's body, he knew he couldn't stay put. For Jack would be lashing out again. He promptly rolled out of that spot. And for good reason too. A trio of dark-colored claws slammed into the beach right where the young raptor's head had been. He watched as the white raptor rolled back to his feet.

"Y-you still have to catch me first!" Sora challenged him. His heavy breathing meant that he was quite tired though.

"Don't you know when you've already lossst?" The green raptor taunted back. Capture would be easy when his opponent was this tired. A smirk formed on his face.

They were about to rush one another when a voice reached them. It was the same whisper that had come to Sora when his head had been dunked underwater. Only it was louder now and started to become less of a whisper.

That sound again… The white raptor thought, staring intently out into the ocean. His gaze averted to the larger creature who was also fixated with something in the water. He was distracted! Now was the time to attack! Sora went to grab his opponent by the neck with his jaws. A pupil in one of those orange eyes slid over to him. Clearly Jack had been expecting his small adversary to try to take advantage of him in this moment. As quick as lightning, he swatted the white pest down, clawed hand to the head. The green raptor slid his hand down to Sora's muzzle and pinned him down. He felt the body under him struggle in vain. They both froze as the voice sounded out again. It was getting louder.

It's getting closer, Sora realized. The early morning sunshine revealed a glassy patch of water where something was moving. Ripples went outward from the oblong circle of water, signaling that something was there, like a whale that was moving just below the ocean's surface. Only this trail was just as wide and nearly double in length. Two patches of hunched skin raised out of the water. It was a dark green, nearly black. A third patch started to emerge. This one housed a snake-like head that raised itself out of the ocean. Water dripped ferociously off its muzzle and six spikes that encircled its head like a crown. Shades of green were layered onto the creature. The lightest of the colors being on its underside and the darkest green on the top for camouflage. Its eyes were just as orange as Jack's but looked even more menacing on this sea serpent.

Sora realized that its gaze was locked on them. It seemed to be coming forward with a purpose. This made the young raptor panic. His body thrashed about under the green raptor who only held tighter. Jack could sense that his prey wanted to cry out for help. He quickly deterred this by grinding the white muzzle into the sand. Poor Sora's cries became muffled. The sand was collapsing in around his nostrils. At this point he was going to suffocate before anything else happened.

The serpent held its head high and looked down upon the land-dwellers. Two pectoral flippers rested at the shoreline, bringing her to a halt. She snorted a deep breath through her nostrils, taking in all the scents the island had to offer. Everything from flowers, other creatures, potential food, humans, and all their stinky inventions that polluted the land.

"Hello son." The serpent hissed, looking directly at Jack. He growled a bit and cocked his head, seeming just as confused as Sora at this situation. "I never thought I would be coming back to the human world, especially by my own will. Tell me junior, did you eat any humans?" Her voice gargled as if she had some water bubbles trapped in her lungs. Which was totally a possibility since she didn't have any gills to breathe underwater. That meant she needed to come up to the surface for air. Staying down for longer than she should be was likely when she was hunting. Not to mention probably gulping water when she ate.

"I tried to, but thisss one kept me from doing ssso." Jack retorted and grinded the runt's head down even more. Sora's eyes screwed shut, hoping that he would be let up sometime soon.

"Let him up." Came the serpent's response. Her son hissed at these words, showing her his fangs. A cold glare and a hiss of her own reminded the velociraptor to behave himself. With muscles tensed and head lowered, Jack reluctantly stepped away from his prey.

After a few seconds of squirming around, Sora was finally able to yank his muzzle out of the ground. He took a big gasp of air. Coughs rose to his throat as he realized that sand granules had gotten sucked into his system. A few meaningful hacks later, Sora was starting to get his bearings back. The runt gasped yet again and flinched when he realized the serpent was using her flippers to help her walk-slither on the ground. The green body slowly encircled the land dweller. Soon, he was blocked on all sides with her muscular and flexible coils.

"Long time no see, little one." She cooed, bringing her head down lower.

"Am I supposed to know you?" Sora nervously squeaked. Her incredible length alone was enough to intimidate any opponent. Not to mention any other abilities she may have had in store.

"We had never formally met, no." The serpent admitted. "But we both escaped the humans years ago. However, it seems that you have gone back to them." She then brought her head down to the same level as the young raptor. Despite the head being one of the smallest parts on her body, it was still twice the size of Sora's. "You reek of their stench!"

The white raptor recoiled his head away from her.

"And your breath reeks of fish!" The white raptor replied. He tried to hold his breath while she was that close. It backed off a little with a hiss of insult. Her coils started to move a bit more quickly. The young raptor noticed this and looked over his shoulder. His curiosity was met with a whack to the head. For at the tail end of her body was a fluke like a dolphin's. The sturdy structure hit him square on the back of the head.

"Watch your tongue, boy!" She hissed in warning. A blue-clawed hand rubbed his head where it had been hit.

That'll be a bruise for sure, the young raptor thought.

"Why you would go back to the humans after what they did to us at the lab baffles me."

"I don't know what you're talking about. What lab? What did they do to us?" Poor Sora was utterly confused. This creature seemed to know him, seemed to know something about his past. Why couldn't he remember any of this?

"You really don't remember, huh? But I guess that probably happened before the mind wipes started." She explained.

"Mind wipes?" The young raptor blinked. He was still dumbfounded at what this sea-snake was saying. "I don't understand anything you're talking about."

"Think boy!" The serpent hissed sharply, making him flinch again. "The lab where we were all experimented on. They were trying to combine our powers, make us better, so they said. I don't know what they would have tried to combine with your DNA – maybe ankylosaurus for more defense?" Her tail fluke prodded his bony hips and shoulders, finding a flaw in his design. "For me it was velociraptor, to make me more adaptable on land. For the longest time, I thought the DNA had only altered my water breath ability. That was until I suddenly laid an egg. My kind typically give live birth, so you can imagine my surprise when that slimy little ball came out of me. To be honest, I wasn't quite sure what to do with it. I tried my best to hold onto it, but it was so slippery that it kept getting away from me. One day I lost it for good… or so I thought. That was until I sensed your presence." Her gaze lazily swept over to Jack. The green raptor was pacing back and forth. Little snorts came from his nostrils, signaling that he was getting very impatient. Almost like a tiger that was waiting to be let out of its cage. "I even hypnotized a helpless human into writing a paper that would lead you to me….and possibly some food too." Her snake-like tongue licked her lips.

That explains the sloppy writing and bad spelling… The white raptor thought.

"So this experimental lab you were talking about, you said I was there?" Sora asked her. Outside of her coils, her son stamped his feet and snarled at the fact they were still talking. Didn't they realize that he was here too? And that maybe he had a different desire than to just stand around and talk all day.

"Patience junior! The adults are talking!" She scolded him. Those piercing eyes then averted back to the white raptor.

"Yes, you helped us all escape. As tiny as you were back then, you were able to fit into the vent system and navigate the facility, unlocking cages as you went. I could sense a commotion going on in the facility, and the humans could tell that I was anxious. The head scientist stood there observing me in my containment unit. The light glinted off his round glasses that were way too big for him. That seemed to be the hint that something was supposed to happen to his subject. I, on the other hand, waited patiently for a sign that I could escape.

"And then in you came from above. The grate must have been loose because you fell from the ceiling into my tank. You sank into my aquarium where we met eye contact for the first time. You scrambled out in a panic after seeing me and fell to the floor stunned.

'Seize him.' The head scientist said. His muscular assistant rushed forward and grabbed you. That mechanical hand of his held firm, not giving you an inch to move.

'I told you to stop messing with our operations, little one.' He said down to you. 'Perhaps a more severe punishment will force it into you.'

"It was then that I made my move. You had created a sufficient enough distraction that allowed me to break out of my containment without the humans retaliating. I sent out a sonic shriek and slammed myself into the glass. It shattered immediately. I flooded the lab with my powers, trying to drown every last one of those despicable humans.

"After forcing myself out of that wretched building, I looked back once I was a safe distance away. Far enough away that the humans wouldn't dare give chase if they happened to survive. Those human bodies came flooding out of building. Most of them did not get up. Unfortunately, that mad man that called himself a scientist survived! He yanked a gun from the motionless body beside him and began to fire at the fleeing dinosaurs. I thought you must have drowned in the commotion. But then I saw you in the jaws of a utahraptor. It tried desperately to jump the fence on the building's east side. But it bore the heavy coat of a wooly mammoth. Being wet really weighed it down. Just as it used its powerful claws to hoist his body over, a bullet sank into his flank. Its jaws jutted wide open, causing you to fall to the ground in front of him. You slowly recovered and went back to him. It was clear that he was trying to get you to run away. Eventually, you did just that when you realized the human was coming for you. As you ran away, the scientist pointed the gun to the furry raptor's head, muttering that he was 'such a disappointment'."

"M-my friend… he sacrificed himself to save me?" Sora asked, staring at the serpent. She stared back with no comment. "I don't remember any of that…" More than anything, the young raptor wanted to remember who his friend was at that moment. He had been so focused on the sea-snake's hypnotic gaze that he didn't realize her coils were coming closer to him.

"I should thank you for helping me escape." She hissed. "Or perhaps it should be you thanking me for helping you escape." But Sora stayed quiet and deep in thought. There was something inside of him that said he shouldn't be thankful to her.

"Come on now! Say it!" The serpent demanded and squeezed her prey in her coils. Sora made a bit of a gag noise. His relaxed muscles allowed her to constrict him tighter than she may have meant to. "Why won't you say it?"

"Y-you could be lying to me." The white raptor responded in a strained voice. Her eyes twitched in anger.

"Why you little!" She hissed and aimed her fangs for his neck. Sora flinched and tried to shy himself away as best he could. Closing his eyes, he waited to feel the impending sharp pain and snap that would end his life.

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out. The young raptor looked back to find the spike over top of her head had been blown clean off. Blood exploded down onto her face as she screamed in agony. Her body began spazzing like a panicked snake. Sora dropped from her coils to the ground. He shook from the death grip that still felt like it was around him like an overprotective bear hug. Blue eyes looked over to see his beloved human getting ready to loose another bullet her way. But then a bone-chilling roar came from Jack. This was just what he had been waiting for: an excuse to attack someone! The muscular green body raced toward the male human. It was going to pay for injuring his mother. Sora realized Jeremy was in a lot of danger at the moment. He did his best to get up despite his aching body. The young raptor realized he would never be able to head off Jack before he got to his human. He could only hope Jeremy could hold off the wild beast for a moment while he got his bearings.

Jeremy began to shoot at the velociraptor. It zig-zagged around, avoiding the bullets. One grazed his shoulder, drawing a little blood, but seemed to take little notice of it. Jack leaped and came down on the biped. He pinned it down by its wrists, forcing the weapon to point away from him. A pair of salivating jaws opened and prepared to come down upon him. Jeremy turned his head away out of instinct. All of a sudden, that menacing weight lifted off of him. He bolted to a sitting position to find his pet rolling along the beach and wrestling with the larger creature. Powerful jaws viciously snapped at one another and claws lashed out. Sora managed to pin his adversary for a second. But it didn't last long. Jack's long tail curved back up and whipped him. The edge of the green raptor's orange fin was so sharp that it cut into his shoulder. Sora winced in pain before he got rolled over and they resumed their fight to overpower one another.

Jeremy got to his feet and pointed the gun towards the two velociraptors. With any luck, Sora would be able to pin him for a second again. That was all he needed to get in a devastating shot to the feral raptor. A squeal mixed with a hiss came from the human's left. He looked over to see the serpent striking at him with her jaws. Jeremy jumped away, landing on the hard sand on his side. He got up again only to realize he didn't have the gun anymore. The sea-snake lifted her head from the sand, having bit into it. She let the granules rain from her mouth like a waterfall. Partially blinded from her own blood, she did her best to home in on the two-legged creature that injured her. The man saw his weapon laying on the sand just past her head. She slithered closer, unknowingly distancing the human even more from his death machine. There was no way he was getting past those fangs to reach it. Even with the creature partially blinded, it was just too risky to venture closer.

The serpent began striking at him despite her impairment. Her aim was not great because of it though. It may have been easier to dodge her attacks, but it was still a big effort for a single human to maneuver around and try to come up with a plan to get his weapon back.

Meanwhile, Sora was still tussling with the green raptor. He felt a balled hind foot punch into his gut. The pain stunned him long enough to be thrown away from his adversary. He bounced off a piece of bluff and sunk to the ground.

"You should ssstop making this ssso difficult on yourself, runt." Jack taunted. "Not only have you denied yourssself a quick death, but your human will sssuffer the sssame." The young raptor got up and lunged forward only a couple steps when the larger creature caught him by the neck. Sora gasped as those teeth got a good hold of his neck. "I wasssn't aiming for the collar thisss time." It breathed on his neck.

"And I wasn't aiming for you!" The white raptor spat back as his air supply dropped another octave. Without warning, Sora thrust himself backward, powered by air blasts from under his feet. The green raptor went back too. Its orange eyes widened as it realized death was imminent. In a mere second, Jack's head was crushed between the white raptor and the rock. It had previously been weakened by a powerful tail whip that was infused by the same energy. A deafening crunch echoed throughout the beach.

Sora got up as the jaws went limp. He turned around to find Jack's head split wide open. Blood painted all over the once green body, on the rock, and down to the sand. The serpent jerked her head around at the sudden and awful noise. She and the white raptor watched as his body slowly slid off the rock. Sora scrambled out of the way as she slithered her way over to the bloody mass. Her impaired vision made it difficult to tell whether all the blood was from her own wound or if her son really was dead. She threw her head up and screeched in agony as she realized her only blood relative was gone. Her tail lashed out blindly, whacking the young raptor and sending him tumbling across the beach. Jeremy had been going for his gun when his partner unintentionally barreled into him. The man ended up on his back with the velociraptor sprawled on top of him. His vision started to settle on the dazed raptor when it was pulled away by the large figure of the serpent looming towards them. She hissed, showing her fangs before striking at them again. Jeremy instinctively peeled Sora off him and threw the theropod out of the attack's range. He then rolled in the opposite direction to avoid the sea creature's deadly jaws. She ended up striking the sand yet again.

Tired of always getting a mouthful of sand, she turned her attention to the young raptor and prepared to unleash a different attack. Sora saw her take a deep breath. This was not good. She had mentioned that she had the same green water that her son did. He took off running, knowing that her attack would be even more devastating than the velociraptor's. An eruption of slimy green water came out of her mouth like a waterfall. Sora could hear the sand behind him get scorched. The granules crackled and popped, jumping about before the ultimately melted into the ground. Sora heard her start to pursue. It only took a few seconds for her to catch up to him. The serpent promptly put the raptor's tail in her mouth. There was still some residue acidic water on her fangs. The young raptor screamed in pain as his appendage got burned. Without warning, she flicked him high into the air, sending him spiraling. Through his incessant spinning, Sora caught a glimpse of those serpent jaws coming at him again. But what was he to do? The white raptor was totally exposed and at her mercy. Those teeth closed around his torso. They then led him back to the ground where he was pinned. Poor Sora squealed in panic, unable to move. She had him good and she wasn't letting go.

If that grip gets any tighter, she's gonna break my ribs!

Each of those snake-like fangs sunk into his flank, drawing blood. If she decided not to chomp down and crush his ribs, he would certainly bleed out. But that would be a slow and agonizing death. It was a difficult decision: should she make the runt's death quick or slow? Her thinking process was interrupted by the human who now had regained his weapon. He pointed it at her head. Jeremy knew he could easily take off another one of those spikes around her head. But he didn't dare fire for fear that she would rear back and put his partner in the firing range. Unless he could aim for her heart, there was no other shot that would instantly take her out. For it would only anger her if it hit anywhere else. With little other option, Jeremy merely bargained for her to let the young raptor go.

"Let him go!" He shouted, still pointing the gun towards her head, unwavering with his aim. She didn't budge. "I mean it!" The man reinforced, clicking the weapon into its ready position. Thankfully, the sea serpent knew that click sound meant to obey or else. She had heard it enough times from other humans to know that it meant absolute authority. Sora slowly felt the release of that deadly grip. The runt went to lift up his head to see what was going on. He only got it about halfway up when that dolphin-like fluke came down on the back of his neck. It forced his head back down. The fluke's sharp edge made sure his muzzle didn't leave the sand. For it would start to cut into his skin if he resisted her will. Just because she was forced to let go with her teeth didn't mean that her prey was going anywhere.

Jeremy felt the serpent lock her gaze on his. It seemed to freeze him for a moment. Knowing that the biped was distracted by her hypnotic gaze, she lunged forward. The human narrowly dodged her fangs by diving to the right. His arms hit the ground, accidentally setting off the gun. The bullet grazed her body, drawing more blood. She screeched and lashed her tail. The fluke lifted off of Sora and he rolled away from the frantic body.

She finally stopped thrashing around when she sensed she was still in danger from the human weapon. For Jeremy had got up and pointed it at her again. But she didn't let him fire it. Her orange eyes bored down into his soul, freezing him on the spot again. This time, however, it seemed to root him even deeper.

Why isn't he shooting? Sora wondered. The white raptor looked from the snake's glowing orange eyes to his partner. For Jeremy started shaking. As if possessed by some psychic force, the human began to lower his weapon to the ground. The green serpent watched his every movement, controlling it. For she would sense if he started to resist against her will. After putting the weapon away, she made him stand back up ever so slowly.

She's going to strike again! Sora realized. He instinctively rushed toward her, desperate to keep her from hurting his human. The serpent began to strike just as his blue claws launched him into the air. Jeremy all the while had not moved. For he was still stuck in that trance. Sora met the great snake as she was halfway to reaching the human. His jaws closed down just behind her head, like a mongoose trying to kill its reptilian foes. She shrieked and viciously lashed her body around. The white raptor held on for dear life as she rolled about. He felt his body get pounded against the sand. The pain was growing stronger as she continued to thrash about. His blue eyes closed and tried with all his might to endure the punishment. Sora hoped and prayed that she would exhaust herself before his strength gave out.

Her panic lasted for nearly a minute. Jeremy had woken from his trance and picked up his gun again. He pointed it, hoping he would eventually get a clear shot. There was no way he was firing while her body was seizing and being unpredictable. Sora's grip was beginning to slip. In one fell movement, she arched her neck and swung to the side. That was all it took for the white raptor to lose his hold. His body detached from hers and tumbled over itself as it collided with the beach. It eventually came to a halt. He lay there as his body went numb. The pain seemed to turn to a tingling sensation. Soon he found himself having a hard time keeping a grasp on reality. No matter how hard Sora tried, he just couldn't keep the darkness from pulling at his soul. His vision blurred in and out before he finally fell into a deep slumber.

Now with the little nuisance out of the picture, the serpent was getting desperate to do some damage to the human. Blinded by her hatred, she haphazardly lunged forward without the protection of the biped's partner anymore. It was the last mistake she would ever make. Jeremy had a clear shot of her head and let loose a bullet. The snake's head exploded with blood mid-lunge like her son's had. After taking the shot, Jeremy slid himself out of the way. For the body was still coming forward. The large and long carcass eventually came down with a loud thud, sliding a bit further before becoming silent.

The whole area sat in silence for a few seconds. Jeremy briefly stared at the creature to make sure it was dead. Only his deep breaths were to be heard on the beach now. He lifted an arm to wipe away sweat that had been building on his forehead. Jeremy then looked over to find his partner motionless on the sand. The young raptor lay there on its side, its back facing the human. Without any thought, he ran over to the blue and white creature.

"Sora, are you alright?" He desperately asked as he came down to his knees. But the little guy didn't respond. For he was still out cold. Jeremy eyed all of the wounds on his partner's body. Lots of bruises and cuts were visible. However, the wound that really caught his attention were the puncture marks from the serpent's teeth when she had him pinned. He remembered that look of pure panic and pain on Sora's face when she was biting him. Jeremy also thought back to how his partner kept taking hits and jumping in the way to save him. The human began to sob as a hand rolled over a couple of the puncture wounds. Sora did not stir at all.

"I'm sorry, buddy. This is all my fault. If only I had listened to you and gotten rid of that raptor sooner. All I did was get in the way." Jeremy sniffed and tried to wipe away the tears with the back of his hand. "Come on, let's get you to the hospital. You'll be okay, I promise." But in fact, Jeremy was very worried. He was saying that more for himself than the unconscious velociraptor that he scooped up in his arms.

Jeremy walked all the way to the nearest dinosaur doctor and went right in through the automatic doors. He went right up to the counter, not caring who else was waiting in there. Human and dinosaur alike looked on at the bedraggled man carrying the velociraptor. For they both looked pretty miserable. The man may not have had all the wounds that the theropod did, but there was sand all over his skin and clothes. His sweat made the granules stick to his skin. One lady inched away as a clump of sand fell off a fold in his shirt.

"Oh my!" Exclaimed the lady behind the counter as she saw the poor velociraptor. "This wasn't from a fossil battle, was it?" She asked seriously, adjusting her glasses.

"No, he was trying to protect me from wild dinosaurs." Jeremy solemnly explained.

"Well, he needs medical treatment now. I can take him straight to the doctor." She held out her arms to take the limp theropod. They exchanged Sora's bruised and bloody body over the counter. Even though he was skinny, Sora's weight seemed to be an effort for her small frame to carry. "We'll let you know when we have an update." She added before walking off toward the back of the building.

"Thank you." Jeremy said before turning back to the waiting room. He still didn't notice all the looks fellow patients were giving him. Most of them were confusion and a few were disgust as in: don't you dare sit near me like that!

But he didn't sit. He merely walked to the far corner of the room and pulled out his phone. Jeremy knew he had to call Martha and Tommy and tell them what happened. The phone had only rang once before his wife picked up.

"Hey, what's going on? Where are you guys?" Her voice came.

"We're….uh…..we're at the hospital." Jeremy could barely get out a response.

"At the hospital? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. It's Sora. He's hurt….pretty bad." The man took a big gulp before explaining what had actually happened. "I…uh… I went to the beach like Tommy said. Sora and Jack were there along with a sea serpent. I can only imagine Jack had something to do with the big snake. But anyway, they're both dead now…..I just hope Sora doesn't…." He trailed off, unable to finish that sentence. The two of them continued to talk for a bit until Jeremy said that he would call back when there was any news on Sora's condition. He hung up and slid down to the floor, letting out a long breath. Jeremy let his head rest in his hands. He could only hope that Sora would be okay.

Unknown to him, a small visitor was making its way over. For a young compsognathus was attracted by all the sand he was dropping everywhere. This earth-loving dinosaur rolled around in the patches of sand painted on the floor, making her way to the source of this wonderful element. She made a little squawk of inquire at the person's seemingly sad posture. Jeremy looked up to find the brown-skinned carnivore looking up at him. Her amber eyes searched his soul for the reason of his sorrow. This little one reminded Jeremy much of his own dinosaur. They were quite similar in body shape except for the fact that her arms were much shorter than a raptor's and that she was only the size of a chicken. Light blue stripes all over her body seemed to catch the bright light of the office and sparkle a bit. She squawked again, taking another step closer.

"No, no, no! Darla! Don't bother the man." Her owner came rushing over to take her creature back. "I'm sorry, sir." A young lady apologized and went to pick up Darla.

"No, it's okay. She can stay." Jeremy gave another sniff as he looked from the human to the compso. His eyes felt irritated from all his tears mixing with the sand. The woman merely nodded and went back to her seat. He watched as those big amber eyes followed their owner back to where she came from. Then they came back to him. Darla noticed some blood on his shirt. She sniffed at it, realizing that it was not his blood but his dinosaur's. A concerned cooing sound came from her throat. Jeremy took a quick glance down at his shirt to see what she was inspecting.

"I hope he'll be alright." The man muttered to himself. Darla, all the while, edged closer until she was right in front of his shoes. "You like the sand, huh?" He talked to her, trying to take his mind off the young raptor. Jeremy extended his hand to her and she happily started to lick the sand off his hands and arms. He noticed a bite mark on her tail. No doubt that was reason she was here. That's what the dinosaurs were supposed to get treated for here: minor injuries from fossil battles. Not life-threatening wounds from creatures with mutated DNA.

Time passed by and soon Darla went in to get her tail checked. One by one each of the creatures in the waiting room disappeared. They went in and out, but there was still no word about Sora. It was well past noon now and the waiting room was all quiet. Jeremy noticed the lady with the glasses returned to her position behind the counter. He had to know what was going on!

Jeremy got up and moved over to the counter, not nearly dropping as much sand around the place thanks to Darla.

"How is he doing?" The man asked, immediately getting her attention.

"I'm sorry, sir. I haven't had word-"

But then someone walked in behind the counter. His white lab coat made it clear that he was one of the doctors. The once immaculate clothing was now stained red with blood near the bottom. He immediately saw Jeremy and acknowledged him.

"You're the owner of the velociraptor?"

Jeremy nodded, holding his breath.

"He's pulling through. Lost quite a bit of blood, so he needs some time to rest. That bite…it wasn't from a titanoboa was it?"

"No."

"Didn't think so. It was similar in shape, but there is a distinct difference about this one." He noticed the raptor's owner shift in place, indicating he didn't exactly want to talk about this at the moment. "He's sleeping right now, but you may go in and be near him. It would be beneficial to the raptor if his owner is there when he wakes up. Go down this hallway, last room on the left." The man gestured as Jeremy's gaze followed.

"Thank you." He said tersely and began to pound his way down the hall. It seemed like such a long way, and his shoes seemed to echo loudly in the quiet atmosphere. Now standing outside the door the doctor mentioned, Jeremy took a deep breath and grasped the handle. He pushed it in slowly, careful not to make too much noise. And there was Sora laid out on the cold silver table, under the blinding light of the doctor's office. A multitude of bandages were wrapped around his body. Most of them stained with blood.

The man slowly approached where the creature lay. He took in every one of those bandages, silently counting them. But then he forgot the number as his gaze fell on the velociraptor's small head. Its jaws were hanging open slightly as the chest slowly pulsed in and out. There was no sign that he would wake up anytime soon. But Jeremy was willing to wait however long it took. The man turned and saw a chair in the corner of the room. He sat down in the cheap plastic chair and watched his dinosaur like a vulture awaiting to see if there were any physical changes to the body.

It was about an hour later when Sora eventually began to stir. Blue claws tensed and made a small scraping noise on the table. The velociraptor felt this cold and unforgivingly hard surface beneath him. His jaw slowly closed as his eyes opened up. The light blinded him. All he could see was a blurry white light. After a couple of blinks, Sora was able to make out that someone was standing over him. They seemed to block out the light a little. Still unsure of who this was, the young raptor flinched as a hand pressed down on his shoulder.

"Hey buddy," Cooed Jeremy's voice. "How are you feeling?" Sora's vision became crisp as it focused on the shadow above him.

Jeremy…. He weakly thought and tried to drag himself closer to the human. Blue claws shook as they tried to grasp something to pull himself along.

"Take it easy, Sora." His partner replied. Two hands came down toward him and cupped his head. The young raptor winced a bit as it was lifted up. Jeremy gently hugged the creature's head to his body.

"I'm so sorry about all this, bud. It's my fault that it went so far. I should have listened to what you were trying to tell me." Tears silently fell down the man's face. "Never again will I let anyone in without your permission. You matter too, Sora. You're part of the family….and I don't know what I'd do without you." The velociraptor's blue eyes shifted up to look his human. One of those tears fell on Sora's muzzle. He flinched a bit and tried to pull himself closer to the man. His blue eyes closed as he soaked in the affection.

Of course I forgive you, Jeremy. I'm just glad that you, Tommy, and Martha are safe.

"I hope I'm not interrupting," Came a voice from the hallway as the door slowly opened. "But it's about time to check on how his wounds are healing up."

Sora obediently laid back down with the help of his human. The poor raptor winced all the way back down. He even shuddered as his head and neck came in contact with that cold table again. Jeremy watched as his partner tensed when the doctor started to peel off some of those bandages.

"Everything's okay, Sora." He tried to reassure the white raptor and gently caressed his head.

"So Sora's your name, huh?" The doctor chimed in as he reached for the bandage that covered the cut on his shoulder. "Well, you've been a good patient, that's for sure." The young raptor gave a little sigh of relief when the man dressed in white gave a nod of approval. His wounds were healing nicely.

"He should be able to go home this evening. Just make sure he rests for a good couple of weeks before returning to any strenuous work." The doctor explained.

Jeremy nodded.

"Thanks so much." Sora watched his man thank the doctor profusely as tears welled up in his eyes again. The young raptor eventually went back to sleep for a little while. He immediately woke up when his human picked him up and began to walk out of the dull white place and towards home.

"Someone else is going to be happy to see you too." Jeremy said gently to his raptor. The door to their home opened as they approached the threshold. Tommy and Martha had been expecting them. The man walked in and gently placed the theropod down on the couch.

"Sora!" His boy cried as he saw the patched-up wounds.

"Easy with him, Tommy. He's been through a lot." Jeremy warned. The seven-year-old took special care to be gentle with his petting. But Sora was more than happy to have some affectionate strokes on the head. It calmed his nerves and even made him a bit sleepy. The raptor let out a bit yawn and placed his muzzle down on the soft fabric. Sora took a little nap while his family showered him gentle pats. They even hand-delivered some dinner to the couch, which Sora merely nibbled on. For he didn't really have much of an appetite at the moment, but he also didn't want to insult his family by not eating his favorite meal: roasted garlic chicken.

Bed time came around and they bid him good night. They all began to leave the room when the white raptor realized he was getting left behind. Making a half-whine sound, Sora tried to slip himself off the couch to follow his boy. Jeremy saw him doing this and raced back to assist.

"Take it easy there, Sora." The man watched as his pet's eyes followed Tommy. "You want to go up and be with him, don't you?" The look in Sora's eyes said it all. "Come on then, up you go." His partner said gently as he lifted the dog-sized creature yet again. Tommy was overjoyed when his dad plopped his buddy down at the foot of the bed. The raptor's tail wagged a bit as the boy gave him a pat good night.

Sora stayed awake long into the night, still feeling on edge after hearing those whisper noises multiple nights in a row. He knew that the creature it came from was dead, but it still unnerved him. It almost seemed too quiet now. His mind kept replaying what the serpent had said about the experimental lab. About how the humans were experimenting on the dinosaurs and that most of them (now hybrids) had escaped the lab. It made him wonder if there were other creatures like the sea serpent that wanted to exact revenge on the humans. And what DNA, if any, had been fused with his? What powers or abilities would he have? But the fact that he could not remember a second of that experience was what bugged him the most. What were these mind wipes the snake talked of? Sora had so many questions and so little answers. He just had to know the truth about his past! But where would he even begin to search?