I WILL NOT BE STOPPED!
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The Ancient Mariner shot across the seas, breaking the otherwise serene waves.

At this point in time, there are no large sea creatures to break the waves for air, making the seas calmer than they ever will be in the future. Taken even further, there are no pterosaur or birds to dot the surface of the waves, leaving them utterly barren of life.

But that can change at any moment.

Tristan, Marcus and Lucas are at the back of the boat, their sea-sickness having faded. They look out across the sea, searching for signs of life.

"So, what made you guys decide to hop along for this mission?" asks Tristan.

"Well, we've been at the park for so long, we might as well get out and have fun," answers Marcus.

"Plus we get the chance to say we caught a sea dragon if we pull this mission off."

"Indeed we...can..." remarks Tristan, whose eyes are focused on the water behind them.

Confused, his companions look at where he is and are surprised to see several dolphin like reptiles hopping across the waves.

"Are those ichthyosaurs?" asks a surprised Lucas.

"Mixosaurus natans," responds Tristan. "Didn't think we'd see them. It looks like they chasing after some fish."

"Okay... can we catch them?" asks Marcus.

"Of course," remarks Tristan, who turns toward the bridge. "Nigel, we've got some small ichthyosaurs on our tail. I think we can catch them if we repeat our strategy from the Miocene."

"On it!"

Ahead of the boat, the portal opens wide, while the ship begins to slow down. The ichthyosaurs, however, are headless of this, and soon find themselves in the present.

"Well, that was easy," remarks Marcus as the boat plows past the now closed portal, still searching for its target.

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Back at the park, the girls are dealing with the new arrivals.

Michelle and Vera are working to move the ichthyosaurs into a holding pen, while Alice gathers food for them. One ichthyosaur is attempting to jump out of the tank, but is swiftly caught by Ted, who throws it back in with the others.

"Wow, these guys are really active!" remarks Vera as the ichthys swim around their holding pen, trying to find an escape. "How are we supposed to get them to calm down?"

"With food!" answers Alice, who hurls a barrel of fish into the tank.

The minute the fish hits the water, the Mixosaurus descend into a feeding frenzy, eager to gobble up as many fish as they can. Several individuals fight over coice fish, but soon, all of the reptiles have calmed down.

"Wow, they're voracious, aren't they?" asks Michelle.

"They are," answers Vera. "It's hard to believe something so small can eat so much."

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While the girls finish up dealing with the new arrivals, Ted has some other residents to help.

Ted is sitting on the walls of one of the oceanic pens. He's wearing full diving gear and has just inserted the respirator into his mouth. After gesturing to a co-worker, he falls backwards into the waves, then begins diving.

Beneath the surface, it is mostly open ocean, but there is the occasional outcropping to break up the monotony of the otherwise barren sea. In the distance, small fish dart around, searching for plankton to eat. A quartet of tuna skim the surface, chasing after a swarm of baitfish.

Further down, however, reveals a different world: corral rises from around the remains of a broken ship, with fish eagerly swimming inside, using the inner workings of the vessel as a safe haven from predators.

Unfortunately for them, it won't save them from the main resident here.

Before any of the fish can react, a reptilian head darts in and snatches a yellow fish in one bite. Quickly swallowing its catch, the head soon darts out, revealing itself to be attached to a long neck and a rather large body. Nearby, a second plesiosaur heads toward another of the ship's openings, eager to snatch a meal for itself.

"Now these guys are spectacular," remarks Ted, in awe of the sight before t=him. These are Hydrotherosaurus, one of the last plesiosaurs to ever live. Nigel rescued these two in mission one, along with a pair of Cimoliosaurus. These guys are unlike anything to ever live, and they are just majestic. I love swimming with these guys."

At this moment, one of the plesiosaurs finally notices Ted. Curious, it slowly moves toward him. Plesiosaurs normally spend most of their time in the deeper parts of the their exhibits, so this is the first time this one has a seen a human other than Nigel. It's curious and wants to observe Ted.

For his part, Ted remains relatively neutral to the beast before him and allows it to circle around him. The reptile takes every opportunity it can to smell up the male human, using specially adapted nostrils made for underwater life. Although it finds nothing edible on the man, it still float around him for a moment, trying to understand him better.

Finally, the giant reptile breaks away from Ted and begins to head upwards. It soon breaks the surface of the water and takes the opportunity to breath. After only a moment, the beast begins its descent.

Just like their ancestors, plesiosaurs must surface to breath, otherwise they will drown. And although their necks appear powerful, they cannot support the animals head out of water, at least not in the way art often shows them.

Soon, the plesiosaur returns to the shipwreck, where it resumes hunting for food.

The true usage of plesiosaur necks is to snatch at fish that have yet to ready the body as a threat. The tiny head allows the animal to snatch a meal that would swim away from other giant sea reptiles.

However, in the present, the neck offers another advantage: it lets the plesiosaur access food in ship wrecks, something that is almost impossible for other sea creatures.

Even in the modern age, it is still an effective hunter.

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AN: Read and review.