As the raptors continued to harass the herd, the team moved into action. Carefully, Nigel approached the herd, shining a torch at the animals. For a moment, both predator and prey abandoned their aggression to stare at the human, though the conflict soon resumed. It stopped for quite a bit longer when Nigel pulled out a flare, though. The bright light mesmerized the dinosaurs, who stared on in wonder.

With the giant animals' attentions caught, the rest of the team sprang into action. Tai and Violet ran up to the injured juvenile and its parents, while Aileen set up the portal nearby. Once they were close enough, the two youngest recruits did what was probably the dumbest thing a person could do to a mother: take her baby. Though the mother's attention was focused on the flare, the minute she heard her baby in danger, she turned around, just as the duo hobbled through the portal, carrying the heavy juvenile with them. The mother soon followed, as did her mate, though of those animals that entered the portal, only the two humans returned.

As the light faded away, a new one appeared behind the raptors. Turning to face it, they promptly felt something round and soft hit them, one after the other. As the tomatoes fell to the ground, the coelurosaurs took a moment to sniff the fruits, then looked up toward the portal. There stood Marcus, holding a bag of greens he had brought to make sandwiches for the team. While the extras wouldn't work well as bait, they did a perfect job angering the raptors.

Charging forward, the raptors prepared to run the human down, only to find out that the teen had placed several rotten fruits in front of him as a safety measure. Within moments, one of the raptors had slipped, and its teammate was unable to stop itself from colliding with its fallen comrade. The two tumbled in the portal, barely missing Marcus as he sidestepped out of the way. The portal quickly closed, leaving the raptors trapped in the present.

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As the second light vanished, the Torosaurus turned to where the youngster had been, only to find it having vanished, as had its parents. Confused, the herd called out, but received no response. After three minutes of calling, the group grew eerily quiet, before starting to march off.

As the herd had no way of knowing what had happened to the juvenile and its parents, they could only assume another predator had caught it, and the parents run off to avenge their child. For the herd, the loss of the parents was painful, but the lose of the baby was a blow. Too few dinosaurs were being born in this toxic world, their eggs improperly formed due to acidic rain and volcanic fumes. Many were now endangered species, doomed to die off in a few million years...well, if the asteroid wasn't already on its way.

As the herd trudged off, the female tyrant observed them. She had been preparing to bed down with her mate and two children when the herd had started bellowing. Confused, she had watched as the giants tried to coax away their foes, before the humans had arrived. The bipeds had caused the raptors and horn heads to vanish, somehow, and were retiring for the night. Briefly, they had tried to approach the herd after the raptor's had vanished, before ultimately backing down. She wondered what they would do tomorrow.

As watched them go to sleep, the female rex turned her attention toward her family. Her youngest had failed in his first attempt at hunting large game today. He had attempted to catch a juvenile Triceratops, only to be forced away by the adults. His sister had bossed him around after this, though said sister was hardly one to complain - she had attempted to hunt a Denversaurus, only to take a blow to the tail.

Briefly, the female winced as the scars in her legs started to act up. The wounds had long since faded, but she had suffered the misfortune of one of having one of her offspring nudge the wounds with their tail, aggravating the old injury. She had chastised them for this, but for now, she was willing to overlook this mistake.

Tomorrow, things would be different. Tomorrow, her young would learn how to hunt.

Unknown to the female, though, tomorrow would be the end of her species' dominion over North America.

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As the sun began to break over the horizon, Elise was the first to awaken. While the rest of her team slowly came to, she was already making breakfast. Scrambled eggs and bacon was on the menu, as were pancakes.

As the teen prepared to set up the most important meal of the day, though, she was brought to a halt when she saw a massive flock of pterosaurs resting on the ship's upper level. it didn't take her long to guess what kind they were - the lack of hands clearly established them as nyctosaurs. These animals had once been assumed to have died out well before the end of the dinosaurs, until fossils in Africa proved otherwise. The fliers were only just starting to stir, evidently having decided to use the ship as a roost.

Seeing an excellent opportunity before her, Elise began setting up the time portal, careful to set things such that the food she had prepared wouldn't burn, but wouldn't get too cold either. As she looked around, she noticed the pterosaurs that were already awake were trying to head toward the beach, where there was something delicious to eat - the long dead remains of a mosasaur, now mostly picked clean. The meat that was left, however, attracted many small lizards and another scavengers, creatures that the flying reptiles would gladly eat. Already, some were starting to chase prey on the shoreline, while a group of hadrosaurs watched on.

Cautiously, Elise activated the portal, whilst readying some greens. When the light first appeared, she threw some scented plants into the vortex of light, before offering some of those same plants to the hadrosaurs. Once they exhausted the ones provided, the Augustynolophus trudged through the portal, still after the plants she had offered. Once they were on the other side, she turned her attention to the pterosaurs...who immediately darted into the portal without any action on her part. Confused, Elise looked around, unsure what had provoked them into action.

She got her answer a moment later, as a group of six tyrannosaurs marched up to the carcass and dug in. Attracted by the smell of flesh, they were now trying to devour what remained of the kill, eager to fill their bellies. Briefly, they looked at her, but made no effort to charge - there was enough meat to sustain them for now.

A set of three darts suddenly shot through the air, embedding themselves in three of the tyrants, who looked up in confusion. Moments later, another trio slammed them into the remaining tyrants, who cried out in surprise. As they searched for their assailants, Elise turned her attention back to the boat, where the rest of her team had awakened and were all holding tranquilizer rifles. Elise stared on for a moment, before giving them a thumbs up. Then, she pulled out a flare, lit it, and waved it in front of her for a moment to catch the tyrannosaurs' attention, before hurtling it into the portal. Already feeling the darts' effects, the tyrants thundered into the portal after the red light, where, five minutes later, they passed out.

As the hole in time, vanished, Elise crawled back into the ship - she still had breakfast too eat.

Mentally, she counted herself lucky that Alice hadn't eaten all of the eggs - though she had taken a fair amount of the sausage. That, Elise could deal with.

As soon as the team finished breakfast, they set a course for the open ocean - today, they would catch the giants of the Prehistoric Sea.

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Thousands upon thousands of miles above, danger drew ever closer to the team. The asteroid that would bring about an end to this age was hurtling toward Earth at unimaginable speeds. The meteors that had flashed by the night before were precursors to this Titan, and in only a matter of hours, the Prehistoric World would be turned upside down.

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As mid morning came to be, Tristan and his team began to march across the ancient flood plain, searching for dinosaurs to rescue. They did not have to go far - as the crested over a small hill, the team found themselves staring at a group of crested theropods. These were a pack of Ojoraptorsaurus, the only native oviraptorid of the region. The omnivores were busy picking through the ground, feasting seeds that had been blown there by strong winds. The team had hardly needed much effort to get these dinosaurs into the portal - a few handfuls of grapes easily enticed them into the present.

Yet as the group prepared to move on, movement on a nearby hill brought them to a halt. Cresting over the summit of the raised ground was a ceratopsian, similar in appearance to a Triceratops, but this one was noticeably larger, and had a purple frill, in stark contrast to its sandy yellow body. As it took a moment to observe its surroundings, more ceratopsians followed it, some sharing the same appearance as the first herbivore, others having golden frills instead of purple ones.

These were Eotriceratops, and this herd was one of the last ones in existence. Ancestral to Triceratops, the genus had mostly vanished when their descendants had come to dominate the land. The southern populations, however, had managed to endure, until competition from Torosaurus, Bravoceratops, and Ojoceratops had once again pushed them toward extinction. In a few more generations, there would be no more of them.

Of course, within a year, there would be few dinosaurs left on the Earth at all.

For this herd, though, salvation was at hand. The team quickly set about trying to convince the herbivores to head toward them, piling up fruit around the still active portal, trying to bait the giants into heading toward the glowing light. For a moment, known seemed to take the offer, until a low, familiar bellow changed their minds. Te herd quickly trotted into the portal, leaving the team to confront the source of the bellow - one of which was already face to face with the humans, even though its body was several meters away.

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In Hell Creek, Nigel's team was already having some luck. When the sun had risen, the team had resumed their pursuit of the Torosaurus, only to find themselves facing another giant.

Before the humans, a gigantic female Tyrannosaurus dug into the corpse of a Triceratops. Nearby, a trio of Dakotaraptors watched on, angry at having been forced off of their kill, even if they were already mostly full. The ceratopsian herd had briefly watched the predators squabble, before continuing to move on, still looking for food.

The team, however, declined to march onwards, instead trying to coax the carnivores into the present. The raptors were easily lured in - just the sight of meat made them lose focus on the kill, and they soon followed the team into the present.

The rex, however, refused to leave the carcass.

At least until something flew through the air onto her snout and shattered.

For a moment, the carnivore stared on, dumbfounded, as the yellow material flowed down her mouth, before pooling on the ground. In front of her, Marcus held another egg, hoping she would take the bait.

Fortunately, the teen's plan succeeded in egging on the female tyrannosaur into attacking the team, who easily sidestepped her as she hurtled into the present. After the staff had ensured she was safely in an exhibit, they sent the carcass into the present as well, where it was soon gorged on by the two species of predators.

As the team readied to move on, though, the sound of rustling bushes turned the team's attention toward an ash filled clearing. There, a male Ankylosaurus was striking his tail against a bush. The team wondered why the herbivore was acting so aggressive.

Then the female tyrannosaur came into view. The tyrant dinosaur hissed and bellowed at the armored dinosaur, trying to get it to back off.

Once again, the team was left bewildered - why would she antagonize such a heavily armored herbivore? Surely she could simply back off?

The question was answered when three tiny forms started moving from under a nearby bush. As the team focused on the them, they realized that these were baby tyrannosaurs. One of them, in particular, looked to have been bitten quite a few times. All three were staring intently at the adult rex, unsure how to act.

Now, at last, the pieces clicked together.

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The female Tyrannosaurus stared at the Ankylosaurus, still hissing and bellowing at him. Normally, she would avoid such a well defended dinosaur, but with her young in danger, all she could do was stand and fight. Hopefully, she could convince the armored herbivore to back off.

Yet as the growling match dragged on, neither party backed down. Indeed, the club-tail had only turned sideways, so as to give himself a better angle to strike. Now the female was really starting to get uncomfortable - if this continued, it was likely he would see her young, and if that happened, then they would be in mortal danger - herbivores were perfectly willing to crush baby rexes to ensure they never grew old enough to pose a threat to the leaf eaters. Sensing the increase in danger, the female carnivore's mind changed focus from defense to attack. The only way she could remove the ankylosaur as a threat was to attack him and either drive him off through enough assaults...or kill him. Of course, this left her vulnerable to his tail.

Just as she was about to strike, though, a white elliptical object sailed through the air and landed flat on the herbivore's head. The chicken egg shattered on impact, covering the creature's armored cranium in albumen and yolk. While the female carnivore stared on in confusion, the club tailed herbivore turned its attention toward the humans, who were now standing in front of the active time portal. Uncaring of the light behind them, the male thyreophoran charged, and swiftly found himself trapped in the present.

The female tyrant continued to observe the humans for a few more moments, before calling to her young and moving away. Perhaps she could take down a Torosaurus later?

XXXXXXXXXX

As the tyrannosaur family began to walk way, the team immediately moved to try and rescue them, only to be halted when the adult female turned and hissed at them. With the team momentarily frozen, she picked up the pace, her young quick to follow. Soon, they disappeared from view.

Though momentarily disheartened at their inability to rescue the family, the team continued onwards, eventually coming across a very impressive sight: a herd flood plain filled with dinosaurs. Among the familiar faces were the Torosaurus herd, now joined by Edmontosaurus, Triceratops, various ornithomimosaurs, a few Anzu, several Ankylosaurus, Denversaurus, therezinosaurs, some pterosaurs, and even a few Parasaurolophus. The herbivores blissfully went about their lives, unaware of the end that was soon to come. Some distance away, the tyrannosaur family was watching the plant eaters, with the mother looking for an opening to strike.

Silently, the team shared a glance. No words were needed here - they would rescue these dinosaurs.

Carefully, the team fanned out, trying to get around the herd. Of course, doing so would pose a problem, as its large size meant the team would risk putting themselves in a position where they couldn't see each other. For this reason, Nigel had given the team special communicators, allowing them to keep in contact over a distance without having to deal with certain inconveniences - namely, a lack of cellphone and radio towers to bounce the signal off of. The team had made sure that the communicators worked prior to splitting off the previous day, and now, they were lifesavers.

Thus, slowly, the team fanned out, preparing to rescue the herbivores.

XXXXXXXXX

As the humans began to fan out, the female tyrannosaur eyed them with caution. From the looks of it, they were hunting the leaf eaters, but they had no obvious weapons. For any animal, that was an alarm bell - it meant that a predator's killing tools were well hidden, with potentially unknown effects. Instinctively, the female carnivore drew her young closer.

As the humans continued their advance, she began looking for signs of her mate. He had gone hunting earlier this morning, but had not returned for some time. Normally, she would have stayed near her nesting site until he returned, but the presence of the bipeds an the ankylosaur had forced her hand. Hopefully, he would find her again.

Overhead, clouds began to move in, shielding the dinosaurs from the sun's light.

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Hundreds of miles to the South, Tristan and his team had been following the Alamosaurus herd, which had brought them back to where they had rescued the female rex. Now, a mixed her of Kritosaurus and Ojoceratops prowled the area, joined by a mixture of Edmontosaurus, Torosaurus, Glyptodontopelta, and a herd of hadrosaurs that resembled Hypacrosaurus. Uncaring of the team's presence, they continued to graze, unware their world would soon be ending.

The presence of the sauropods, however, made rescuing the herbivores a great deal easier - the smaller leaf eaters were moving away from the herbivores, lest they be trampled, which had the effect of corralling them in one direction. The team trotted around the herbivores so that they were able to stand in font of the herd and hastily began setting up the portal, readying to send them all into the present.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Back with Nigel's team, Tai was halfway around the herd, slowly trying to link up with Violet and Marcus. As he made his way around, though, he noticed that Aileen was not where she was supposed to be. Instead, his sister had traveled toward a lake in the distance, where a trio of coelurosaurs were harassing an ankylosaur...well, it was more like a pair of raptors were using the armored dinosaur for cover while a tyrannosaur tried to eat them.

Briefly, he readied to call up his sister until a hissing noise turned his attention to the ground directly behind him. There lay a pair of tyrannosaurs...one of whom was missing a large amount of his right arm. Perhaps it had been severed in a past battle?

Before tai could ponder what this meant, the peace was shattered by a bright light from above. Looking skyward, the boy watched, now very uncomfortable, as the light streaked south, before disappearing over the horizon. A moment later, and a new light appeared from where the old one had vanished.

The nearby dinosaurs had no idea what this meant.

For the humans, however, the meaning was obvious - they were at the endgame now.

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AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!