Almost done, then onto much bigger quarries (hint hint).

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At last, the team has found their quarry: a pack of Arizonsaurus. Unfortunately, they aren't really sure how to rescue them.

No more then 15 meters away from the team, the sail-backed archosaurs are busy gorging themselves on the dismembered carcass of a dicynodont. Nearby, a few more of the carnivores rest in the shade, trying to avoid the heat of midday. And they are not alone: nearby, several living dicynodonts take shelter in a clump of large ferns, trying to avoid drawing the attention of the predators. While they are unlikely to attack from hunger, getting close to a carnivore still isn't the best idea.

The team, though, is stumped on what to do.

"How are we going to rescue them?" asks Drew, unsure on what to do. "I mean, they've got a good meal right next to them, so bait isn't an option, and I don't want to try scaring them into the portal."

"He has a point," remarks Elise, "there isn't much we can do to rescue them at the moment."

While that may be true, this isn't much discouragement to the team, especially when other targets are nearby.

"Well, why don't we try rescuing the dicynodonts?" asks Tai.

Drew and Elise go quiet upon hearing this, the looks on their faces making their embarrassment clear.

"Good point," they say in unison.

"How about we bait them into the portal with food?" asks Violet. "They do look rather hungry."

"That could work," responds Drew. "Do you have any carrots or potatoes?"

"Yeah, I do," responds Violet. "Why are you asking?"

"Dicynodonts used their teeth for digging up tubers, so we should use tubers as bait."

Violet nods, acknowledging the point he has.

While this is happening, Elise notices several large shapes darting under the water. A determined look begins to cover her face.

"Hey, Nigel," she begins, "do you have another portal device? One that opens up to a freshwater pond?"

"Yes, I do. Why are you asking?"

"I can see some coelacanths in the water. I thought maybe we could rescue them?"

"Well, I don't see why not."

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Back at the park, the rest of the younger recruits is busy examining the restricted zone... without entering it, of course.

Up on the tree they were using for shade, Alice, Vera, Lucas and Marcus have taken out binoculars and begun looking at the forbidden zone. Unfortunately, they haven't found much.

"All I see in that area are a bunch of hills," remarks Vera, "so why does it happen to be restricted?"

"Well, maybe it's for future development," replies Marcus. "Don't they block off the areas where they make new exhibits prior to construction?"

"Yeah, but they specifically mark those as construction sites," answers Lucas, "and besides, this area isn't marked for building. Ever."

The minute the remark comes out of his lips, three sets of eyes focus on him, all expressing suspicious thoughts.

"How, exactly, do you know that?" asks Alice, clearly wondering where her friend would find that knowledge.

"...I signed up to work on the construction detail for one of the future missions. Anyone who signs up for construction detail gets to see the areas of the park zoned for construction so they can choose a specific project. At least if they want to... Wait, Bob told us this during the briefing we got after helping Tristan rescue all of those mammals, so shouldn't you guys know this already."

Instantly, the three teens go red, realizing too late that yes, they were told this.

"Well, this is awkward," remarks Vera. Marcus and Alice can only nod in agreement, while Lucas smirks before turning his attention back toward the hills. Soon, his eyes catch something that the others failed to notice: a small stony pillar. Though mostly obscured by the curvature of the landscape, the pillar is clearly not of natural origin; it has the tell-tale signs of human hands in its making.

"Hey guys, I found something!"

"What is it?" asks Marcus.

"It looks like a stone pillar. I can't see most of it, but it's obviously not natural. Someone had to build it."

"Then I guess the next question would be who," answers Alice.

"Well, I don't know the answer to that," responds Lucas, "but I think Nigel might. Let's head over to the portal site and see if we can ask him when he returns."

"Good idea," responds Vera, "by the way, how do you think Drew and Elise are doing?"

"Knowing them, they'll be fine."

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Back in Prehistoric Arizona, the team is already had at work attempting to rescue the other inhabitants of the area.

At the edge of the river, Elise has set up the portal, while Tristan, Violet and Tai wade in the water. The coelacanth swim about cautiously, trying to avoid the strange new creatures. This forces them right where Elise wants them, and as the portal starts up, the fish disappear into the present.

"Well, that was easy, wasn't it?" asks Tai, to which his siblings can only nod.

Just then, a strange grunt catches the quartet's attention. Turning toward it, the find themselves staring down a large lizard-like creature with a parrot-like beak. Nearby, more of them begin to make their way toward the river, apparently trying to quench their thirst.

"Are these... rhynchosaurs?" asks Violet, perplexed at the sight of the strange reptiles.

"They're Ammorhynchus," replies Elise, "the only type of rhynchosaur known from North America by a generic name. I think we saw them earlier, but while we were making our way downstream, they disappeared. Now they're back."

And they are curious: the rhynchosaurs are entranced at the sight of the portal, curiosity overwhelming caution as they begin to meander toward the light. Without any prodding, the rhynchosaur that first came up to the group begins to march toward the portal. Realizing its intent, Elise begins to frantically tap on the portal device, trying to change its destination to dry land instead of a holding tank. There's no evidence that rhynchosaurs could swim, so if it arrives in a deep body of water, there's a good chance it will drown.

Luckily, the archosauromorph is still somewhat cautious of the glowing light, giving Elise enough time to change the destination to dry land. When the curious Ammorhynchus exits the portal, it finds itself in a terrestrial holding pen. As it begins to gain its bearings, a keeper on standby drops some roots onto the ground, which the rhynchosaur greedily devours. It is not eating them to sate its hunger, however: the roots are rich in water, which helps quench the reptile's thirst.

As its thirst begins to subside, the Ammorhychus realizes that it is the only one of its kind in the holding pen. Suddenly feeling very exposed, yet unwilling to abandon the roots, it calls out to its kin, informing them of the roots on the other side of the portal.

With the knowledge that their companion is unharmed, and that there are roots on the other side of the portal, the rest of the rhynchosaurs begin to meander through, until the last one, which has a pronounced limp, passes through the portal.

Elise and her siblings can only smile, feeling some achievement at the feat they've accomplished.

The triumphant air vanishes, however, when a loud growl pierces the air. Turing toward it's source, they find Nigel and Aileen slowly backing toward the main portal as a yellow-sailed Arizonasaurus slowly advances on them, while the rest of its kin begin to head their way. Behind them, the dicynodonts quickly trot into the portal, while Drew and Aiden attempt to find a way past them.

The four siblings can only wonder what happened to land the rest of the team in this precarious situation.

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Five minutes earlier...

Cautiously, Drew approaches the dicynodonts. They've never seen humans before, but Drew isn't sure whether that means they will be relaxed or guarded over his appearance; new can be dangerous in nature.

Fortunately, it appears that their reaction to Drew is a mix of the two, leaning toward the former: while the dicynodonts are cautious of his approach, they don't try to attack, and seem more interested in determining where he fits in the food chain. This gives him plenty of time to set his plan in motion.

Once he's close enough, he signals for the rest of the team to move up, and the comply without a word. The dicynodonts, cautious by nature, notice them before they start moving, but afford them the same curiosity they afforded Drew. As the team convereges, Aileen hands Drew a handful of carrots, which he takes and offers to the herd. His plan depends on a certain member of the herd taking his bait.

Fortunately, the one he needs to take the bait is the one that does: a juvenile, unafraid of the strange new biped, waddles toward him, despite warning cries from its mother. Soon, it is right next to him, and begin to nibble at the carrots. It does not take long for the herbivore to devour three of the tubers, and those are not enough to sate its hunger.

As this is happening, Aiden begins to set up the portal, while Nigel and Aileen attempt to coax the herd toward Drew. This puts them dangerously close to the Arizonasaurus, as the members of the herd that are farthest from the portal are themselves fairly close to the predators. Their numbers, however, discourage the archosaurs from attacking. One of the archosaurs, though, is cearly agitated by the prescence of the humans, or, more specifically, their closeness to it.

It only takes Aiden half a minute to set up the portal, and as soon as the swirling vortex opens, Drew throws the remaining carrots inside, with the greedy dicynodont following them, unwilling to abandon the tasty roots. It's mother soon follows it through, and the two soon find themselves within a holding pen, adjacent to the one the rhynchosaurs occupy. As the two synapsids ponder what to do, the waiting keepers begn dropping in plant matter for the dicynodonts to eat. The synapsids soon dig into the feast, letting out relaxed calls in-between mouthfuls. The rest of the herd takes it as their queue to join their compatriots.

The team can only smile at the success of Drew's plan.

Suddenly, a growl pierces the air, causing the dicynodonts to grow uneasy. Turning toward the sound, Nigel and Aileen find themselves staring at the agitated Arizonasaurus, which has grown unable to tolerate their prescence any longer. The rest of its kin begin to move toward the group, attracted by the prospect of a kill. This, in turn, causes the dicynodonts to panic and charge toward the portal.

Nigel and Aileen are now in a precarious situation: while they cannot advance toward the Arizonasaurus without provoking an attack, they risk being trampled by the dicynodonts if they continue backing toward the portal. And they need to figure out what to do fast, because the archosaurs aren't going to wait for them to act.

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AN: Almost done. Just a head up, the next chapter will be up by Friday at the earliest; I have some family things to attend to these next few days.

Here's the final hint for who Elise is based on: she's friends with a juvenile Apatosaurus.

Read and Review. This is Flameal15k, signing off.