There is something missing from our world. The amazing creatures that time has left behind. But what if we could bring them back?
What if extinction didn't have to be forever?
We're going back in time on a safari with a difference as wildlife adventurer Nigel Marvin plunges into prehistory to rescue creatures on the brink of extinction. His plan is to bring them back to the safety of the present and give them a second chance.
This time, the team goes back sixty million years to a time just after the extinction of the dinosaurs, to rescue the mammals that conquered the Earth.
Welcome to the ultimate wildlife sanctuary.
Welcome to Prehistoric Park.
XXXXXXXX
After twenty two successful missions, Prehistoric Park has become a smashing success. From a wooly mammoth, to a pack of Dryptosaurus, and even several species of trilobites, the park is a true extinct sanctuary.
Now, however, Nigel wants to turn his attention to a relatively neglected time in history.
Yet again at his den, Nigel is staring at a variety of pictures, depicting a giant snake, terror birds, land living crocodiles, and a variety of mammals.
"Now, most people tend to believe that after the dinosaurs died out, birds took over the Earth. Walking With Beasts didn't help with that, especially since it portrayed Gastornis as a carnivore, because we wren't sure people would accept it as a seed and nut eating plant eater. Other finds in the Americas, such as Titanoboa and Boverisuchus, have made people assume that reptiles initially dominated during the Cenozoic. The truth, however, is that as soon as dinosaurs were gone, mammals began to fill in the niches they'd left behind. A variety of orders, families, and other grouping of mammals, most now extinct, evolved after the dinosaurs were gone, and among them were the pantodonts and the mesonychids, who ended up becoming the largest herbivores and the most ferocious predators of their time. These are the animals I'm after."
Pausing from his speech, Nigel put most of the pictures aside, except for those of a large, grey mammal and a creature that resembles a cross between a lion, a wolf, and a bear. "Among the largest of the pantodonts was Barylambda, which grew to be about as large as a pony. When it was alive, it was the largest animal on Earth that didn't swim, and was all but immune to attack. Still, even it had predators, and among them was Ankalagon. Named after the mightiest of Tolkein's dragons, it was the largest land predator on Earth at the time. Both of these animals would make excellent additions to Prehistoric Park.
XXXXXX
While Nigel gets the last of the supplies needed for the mission, Tristan and co are busy helping care for one of the park's newest and strangest residents.
Carefully, Tristan lowered the raw flesh into the feeding chute. As soon as it disappeared down said chute, he began preparing to force more meat in. Behind him, Aileen, Alice, Aiden and….Terence (?) would pass more meat into the pile Tristan was loading into the exhibit. Occasionally, Terence would deposit the meat onto one of the girls, much to their ire. At one point, Alice attempted to vent her frustration at him by spraying him in the eye with water, only to quickly discover that the tyrannosaur had a powerful backhand. After crawling back to the rest of her team, she simply settled for glaring at the tyrannosaur. Once the last of the meat had been deposited in the exhibit, the team and their saurian companion backed off, allowing the watching resident to enjoy his feast.
Once they were far enough away, the male prehistoric dragon began to dig into his feast, and he was swiftly joined by the two females he shared his pen with. Occasionally, the male would use hi breath to sear some of the meat, but he mostly ate it raw. From time to time, he would stop feeding and glare at the tyrannosaur, but eventually, hunger would outweigh aggression, nd he would return to feeding.
"Oh mighty team leader, is your plan to eliminate any potential enmity between two super predators working?" heckled a feminine voice. Turning behind themselves, the teen trio and their tyrannosaur companion watched as Pamela pulled up in a large truck, carrying with her a variety of plants, fruits and...empty plots.
"Honestly, I have no idea," replied Tristan. "This is a long shot, especially since we have no idea how smart Terence is, but he's docile and capable of learning, so maybe we can end this rivalry before it begins."
"You sure his peaceful nature isn't due to brain damage?"
"...*Slap*…."
"OW! Owowowowow. Jeeze, what gives?"
"Don't you even say that, Ms. Poison Ivy."
"...Do not call me that."
"Then don't say that Terence has brain damage."
"Fine. Now can you shove the fruits and veggies I brought into the dragon's aviary. Don't ask questions, just do it."
"...Um, okay."
The minute the plants entered the cage, the dragons started tearing into them, to the teen's surprise.
"Before you ask, I thought dragons might eat large amounts of plants so that they'd be able to generate lots of hydrogen and methane to fly. They do seem to have large bellies, don't they?"
"...Yeah, they do...What are the pots for?"
"They're my attempts to see if planted dragon seeds can give rise to legendary warriors. So far there have been no successes, despite my efforts to fertilize them with titanosaur waste, tyrannosaur crap, mammoth dung, caseid poop, yesterdays tacos after nature called me-"
"WAIT, WHAT?!"
"-and even some dragon feces. I guess that part from the Argonautica really was just a myth."
"Please tell you washed your hands after...well, you know."
"Yes, I did."
"Good, because otherwise, I'd need to put you in a hazmat room," snarked Aiden.
"Eh, laugh it up, shrim-OW MY PANCREAS!"
"Thank you," remarked Tai. Vera nodded as she massaged her left hand.
"Was that really necessary?" coughed out a still in pain Pamela. "I can feel the pain in my pancreas, and you didn't even hit it!"
"..Ok, maybe I was a little harsh with that. But don't call Aiden a shrimp - we like him."
"Then please don't make jokes about hazmat stuff and me."
"Then don't leave us an opening."
"Fair enough. Now are you guys going to stick around or are you going to the past."
"We're going. Bye!"
"Goodbye!"
XXXXXXXX
To rescue the first mammals to dominate the Earth, Nigel and his team will have to travel back sixty million years ago, to what is now New Mexico. There, with the dinosaurs out of the way, mammals mushroomed to gigantic sizes.
XXXXXXXX
As the team exited the portal, they found themselves in a lush rainforest, not unlike the ones at the park. Overhead, Birds could be heard chirping, while insects flirted through the air. A small mist covered the area, just barely obscuring the surroundings.
Nigel could only smile in ecstasy at the scenery. "Most of the world is covered in rainforests at this point in time. These won't disappear until the Eocene, when grass really starts to expand. Even then, it will still take millions of years for savannas and prairies to become common. At this point most mammalian herbivores are browsers, and since there aren't many bushes around here, we'll need to get moving if we want to find our targets."
"Actually, I think some animals are coming to us," noted Aiden, who was pointing at a nearby tree. Turning toward it, the group found themselves staring at a group of sheep sized animals, with hides colored a mix of black and white. Some distance away from that group, a pack of jackal sized predators were tearing into the remains of a bird. Briefly, the carnivores stared at their herbivores, before returning to their meal.
"Looks like we ran into a group of Phenacodus and...Dissacus, of I remember right," noted Tristan.
"Indeed. These aren't our targets, but they are still amazing creatures. Unfortunately, they, like many animals here, don't have any future - though both will have many descendants, their lines will die out by the Oligocene, leaving the stage clear for modern groups to evolve.
That lack of descedants, however, makes them excellent targets to rescue.
Quickly, the group set up the portal and pulled out some leaves and meat. Aiden, Vera and Nigel began to attract the attention of the Phenacodus, while Tristan and Alive began to bait in the Dissacus. As they neared the portal, the phenacodonts noticed thenapproaching carnivores and charged through the portal. Not interested in hunting, the mesonychids simply ambled in behind them.
"Well, two species down-" remarked Alice.
"-and at least two to go," finished Vera.
XXXXXXXX
AN: Okay, a few things before this chapter ends.
One, for those who want to know, Pamela does look a lot like Poison Ivy, more specifically her incarnation from The Batman (awesome cartoon, might still be on Netflix).
Two, while her joke is rather rude, realistically, Terence docility is EXTRAORDINARILY unlikely. The park actually did check to see if he had brain damage, because him being so unaggressive toward other animals is pushing some limits, even when you factor in predators not always trying to kill and eat things.
Three, even if I decide to include more mystical elements in this story, dragon's teeth cannot create soldiers - this was established as being impossible in Dragonology.
So, Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!
